The Aviation Trail is a non-profit organization and heritage trail located in Dayton, Ohio focused on Ohio aviation history.
History The Aviation Trail was founded by a group of individuals including Jerry Sharkey and Mary Ann Johnson on 3 August 1981. The organization acquired one of the Wright Brothers' bicycle shops located at 22 South Williams Street and the nearby Hoover Block, where they operated a print shop, in 1982. A booklet of 45 sites was published in 1986 and, following restoration, the bicycle shop opened to the public in 1988. After the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park was established in 1992, the Hoover Block was sold to the National Park Service and opened in 2003 as its visitors center.
Exhibits The organization also operates the Parachute Museum located on the second floor of the visitor center. The museum acquired two adjacent buildings in 2016 and announced plans for its expansion.
Programs The Aviation Trail provides a brochure with a list of 16 sites. Visiting 8 of the sites on the trail allows visitors to exchange their brochure for a "Wilbear Wright" teddy bear.
Sites Number Name 1a Wright-Dunbar Interpretive Center and Aviation Trail Visitor Center 1b Parachute Museum 1c Wright Cycle Company 2 Paul Laurence Dunbar House 3a Wright Brothers Memorial 3b Huffman Prairie Flying Field Interpretive Center 3c Huffman Prairie Flying Field 4 Carillon Historical Park 5 National Museum of the United States Air Force 6 National Aviation Hall of Fame 7 Hawthorn Hill 8 Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum 9 Wright "B" Flyer 10 Wright State University 11 WACO Air Museum 12 Armstrong Air & Space Museum 13 Champaign Aviation Museum 14 Grimes Flying Lab 15 Tri-State Warbird Museum 16 Butler County Warbirds
See also Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park
References
External links
A Field Guide to Flight: On the Aviation Trail in Dayton, Ohio on Internet Archive