Learning Center Our Enshrinees

Eugene Burton Ely

• Joined the Curtiss Exhibition Team and performed successful exhibition flights at numerous events. He was one of the team’s star performers and was awarded the Aero Club of America’s Pilots Certificate No. 17.
• Became well known for attempting to fly 1,000 miles from Chicago to New York
• In 1910, made the first successful unassisted airplane takeoff from the wooden deck of the USS Birmingham.
• Made the first successful airplane landing on the USS Pennsylvania in 1911, the first ship to be equipped with a landing deck and arresting system.