Ben T. Epps, Georgia's Pioneer Aviator
Athens, Clarke County, Georgia
Marker Inscription
GEORGIA'S PIONEER AVIATOR BEN T. EPPS 1888 - 1937. Ben T. Epps - Georgia's First in Flight - designed, built and in 1907 flew the first airplane in the State of Georgia. He was born in Oconee County, educated in Clarke County, and attended Georgia Tech. A self-taught aviator, aircraft designer, and builder, Epps built the 1907 Monoplane in his shop on Washington Street in Athens and designed and flew new airplanes in 1909, 1911, 1916, 1924, and 1930. The 1924 Epps Monoplane weighed only 350 pounds, had a wingspan of 25 feet, and was powered by a two-cylinder motorcycle engine. Designed for the average man, easy to fly, and inexpensive to operate, it would get 25 miles per gallon at 60 miles per hour. Epps began operation of an airport at this location in 1917, and operated a flying service for the next 20 years. In 1937, he died of injuries here after engine failure and the crash of his light biplane on take-off. 029-16 GEORGIA HISTORIC MARKER 1987
Erected by Georgia Historical Commission
The Story
A self-taught mechanic and inventor, Ben T. Epps designed, built, and flew the first airplane in Georgia in 1907 — just four years after the Wright brothers. From his Athens shop he built a series of ever-lighter monoplanes, including a 1924 model weighing just 350 pounds and powered by a motorcycle engine, and he opened an airfield here in 1917. He died in 1937 from a crash on takeoff at this very field.
Why it matters
Epps stands among the pioneering barnstorming generation of American aviators who, working alone in small-town shops, turned the newborn miracle of powered flight into a homegrown craft.
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