John Valentine Pliska
Midland, Midland County, Texas
Marker Inscription
Mechanical genius who made and flew first locally-owned aircraft. Born in Austria, Pliska came with parents to Texas, and after 1903 followed blacksmith trade in Midland. He built (1912) and flew at intervals up to 15 minutes an aeroplane of his own invention. (plane now in museum at Midland-Odessa air terminal.) Pliska was a master Smith. Gen. John J. Pershing had U. S. Army horses shod here during border trouble prior to World War I. Branding irons for a large west Texas area were also made here. Pliska married Louis Hundle. They had seven children.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
John Valentine Pliska, born in Austria and brought as a boy to Texas, took up the blacksmith trade in Midland after 1903 and became a master smith renowned for his skill. A mechanical genius, in 1912 he built an aeroplane of his own design and flew it in flights lasting up to fifteen minutes, creating the first locally owned aircraft in the area. His forge also shod U.S. Army horses for General John J. Pershing during border troubles before World War I, and his surviving plane is now displayed at the Midland-Odessa air terminal.
Why it matters
Pliska's homemade airplane captures the restless inventive spirit of America's early aviation age, when self-taught tinkerers across the country reached for the sky.
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Related people
- · John Valentine Pliska
- · John J. Pershing
Themes & tags
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