First Airplane Flight Over Texas
South Houston, Harris County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The first documented flight of a heavier-than-air flying machine in Texas occurred over this site on February 18, 1910, two weeks before the first military airplane flight by Lt. benjamin Foulois at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. The South Houston flight was part of a land development promotion sponsored by the Western Land Corporation and the Houston "Post." French aviator Louis Paulhan, on a coast-to-coast flying exhibition tour of America, was commissioned to demonstrate his flying skills. The promoters arranged for special excursion trains to transport spectators to the site from downtown Houston. Headlines in the "Post" proclaimed, "This is the first opportunity for Texans to see a real demonstration of man's ability to fly. Don't fail to come and see demonstrated the greatest invention of the present era." A crowd of more than 2,500 people gathered on Friday, February 18th, to witness Paulhan's first Texas flight in his Farman biplane. Because of high winds and inclement weather, the aviator was not able to perform some of his most spectacular stunts, but the crowd was thrilled with the aerial display. A second flying exhibition on the following day drew almost 6,000 people.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
On February 18, 1910 — just two weeks before Lt. Benjamin Foulois made the first military flight at Fort Sam Houston — the French aviator Louis Paulhan lifted his Farman biplane over this site in what is regarded as the first documented airplane flight in Texas. The exhibition was staged as a land-promotion stunt by the Western Land Corporation and the Houston Post, which ran excursion trains from downtown; more than 2,500 spectators came the first day and nearly 6,000 the next, thrilled despite high winds that grounded Paulhan's boldest stunts.
Why it matters
The flight brought the astonishing new age of aviation to Texas within a decade of Kitty Hawk, letting thousands of ordinary people see for themselves that human flight was real.
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Related people
- · Louis Paulhan
- · Benjamin Foulois
Themes & tags
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