Our speaker this month will be Richard “Dick” Genaille with the Virginia Aeronautical Historical Society (VAHS). Dick will present “Firsts in Flight Along the Potomac” on the early aviation history of Virginia. The presentation addresses The Civil War Balloon Corps, Samuel Langley and development of the first heavier than air mechanically driven aircraft,
testing and acquisition of the first military dirigible and the first military piloted and controllable heavier than air aircraft at Fort Myer, the history of Washington-Hoover Airport where the Pentagon is now, the origins and construction of Washington National Airport, the first modern airport in the U.S. and the early history of Bolling Field and Anacostia Naval Station, the first U.S. military “joint base.” Dick has spent hundreds of hours collecting and analyzing information about early aviation in Virginia. This is a high level summary of several other presentations he has presented. This one concentrates on events along the Potomac River from Washington to Quantico. You may learn some new aviation firsts! Join us at 10:00 AM for the meeting and 9:20 AM for coffee and doughnuts.