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Join the Arlington Historical
Society
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Board - Officers, Directors, and Committee Chairs
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Notable Events
WORLD’S FIRST PUBLIC PASSENGER FLIGHT
(Commonwealth of Virginia marker) 
Route 50 and Pershing Drive at Fort Myer
On September 9, 1908, near this site, Orville Wright carried aloft in public his first passenger, Lt. Frank P. Lahm, for a flight lasting 6 minutes and 24 seconds. Three days later, he took Major George O. Squier on a flight of 9 minutes and 6 seconds duration. From this primitive beginning has evolved an air transportation system that today spans the globe.
FIRST HEAVIER-THAN-AIR FLIGHT IN VIRGINIA (Commonwealth
of Virginia marker)
Route 50, at entrance to Fort Myer
The first heavier-than-air flight in Virginia was made by Orville Wright at Fort Myers [sic.] on 4 September 1908. A United States Signal Corps log noted the flight spanned three miles at a height of 40 feet. The engine's condition following the flight of four minutes and fifiteen seconds was described as "good." The engine ran a total of six minutes.
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