To train pilots to fly their planes the Wrights opened a flying school on Huffman Prairie where those early and precarious flights had been made. Here a notable group of flyers received their training. One of them was Henry H. Arnold who became Commanding General of the Army Air Corps in World War II.
In May, 1910, Wilbur made his last flight as pilot. Shortly afterward he and Orville flew for a brief time together. It was the only flight when the brothers were both in the air at the same time. Later the same day Orville took up his 82-year-old father. In the spirit of the Wrights the Bishop’s only comment was ... “Higher! Higher!” Orville’s final flight as pilot was made in 1918 from South Field near Dayton.
Orville Wright meeting with members of National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics.
After an illness of three weeks, Wilbur Wright died on May 30, 1912, in his forty-fifth year. The whole world mourned him. Thus, in the prime of life, with a record of achievement privileged to few, passed a notable figure in American creative history. Orville Wright survived his brother for 36 years, passing away January 30, 1948. Throughout his life he maintained his active interest in aviation, was a life member of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics and a frequent and honored visitor to Wright Field, the great Air Force research center named in honor of the Wright brothers.
Always interested in new developments, Orville Wright visits Wright Field.
The “Kitty Hawk,” Smithsonian Institution, Washington.
The Wright brothers have been honored by many nations. Medals, trophies, monuments tell in part, at least, the story of their great achievement. The original Kitty Hawk aeroplane holds the place of honor in the aeronautical exhibit of Smithsonian Institution, Washington. A replica of the Kitty Hawk in the Science Museum at South Kensington, London, speaks for the British nation in honoring the Wrights. Monuments have been erected at Kitty Hawk, N. C., at Le Mans, France, and at Dayton. And now Wright Hall with its restored 1905 plane takes its place as one of the efforts of a grateful world to honor one of man’s greatest achievements.