On a cold December morning in 1903, the first powered flight lasted 12 seconds and covered 120 feet, a distance you could walk in under a minute. It was shorter than the wingspan of a 747. Today, the FAA alone handles about 45,000 flights a day, and most of us board one thinking mainly about legroom.
August 19 is National Aviation Day in the United States. We’re a travel app for people who love to fly, so around here it’s basically a national holiday. Here’s what the day actually celebrates, plus a few easy ways to join in, even if the closest you’ll get to a cockpit this week is seat 23A.
What National Aviation Day actually celebrates
Orville Wright was born on August 19, 1871, in Dayton, Ohio. Thirty-two years later, on December 17, 1903, he lay across the lower wing of the Wright Flyer near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, and flew: 12 seconds, 120 feet. He and Wilbur made four flights that day; the longest, with Wilbur at the controls, covered 852 feet in 59 seconds.
In 1939, President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed Orville’s birthday National Aviation Day (Orville was still alive to see it; he lived until 1948). It isn’t a federal holiday. It’s an observance, a day when federal buildings are invited to fly the flag and Americans are encouraged to celebrate flight and the people who make it work.
And 122 years after Kitty Hawk, the thing most worth celebrating is how ordinary it all feels. Crossing an ocean in an afternoon is now something we complain about. That’s the achievement.
Five easy ways to celebrate today
- Find out where your plane is coming from. Every flight you take starts somewhere else. Looking up your inbound aircraft is the single most pilot-brained habit a traveller can pick up, and it tells you about delays hours before the airline does.
- Learn what you’re flying on next. Aircraft type, age, where it’s flown before. Once you start noticing the difference between a 737 and an A321, airports get more interesting.
- Add up your own year in the sky. Flights, miles, hours, airports, nights away. Your travel year in one picture is a very satisfying thing to scroll on Aviation Day.
- Visit the place it started. The Wright Brothers National Memorial stands on the dunes at Kill Devil Hills, near Kitty Hawk. The airstrip beside it, First Flight Airport, has the best airport code in America: FFA.
- Thank the people who make flying boring. Pilots, cabin crew, controllers, dispatchers, rampers. When nothing eventful happens between pushback and parking, that’s thousands of people doing their jobs perfectly.
Made for the window seat
Goafie exists because we never stopped looking up. That’s why the app sweats the details frequent flyers care about: where your aircraft is right now, when boarding actually starts, which gate changed while you were in the security line, with your hotels and whole itinerary alongside, on iPhone and Android alike.
Celebrate by knowing exactly where your plane is. Free on iPhone and Android.
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FAQ
What is National Aviation Day?
A United States observance held every August 19 to celebrate the development of aviation. It was established by presidential proclamation in 1939 under Franklin D. Roosevelt and is codified in Title 36 of the U.S. Code.
Why is National Aviation Day on August 19?
It’s Orville Wright’s birthday. Orville, born August 19, 1871, piloted the first powered, controlled airplane flight near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on December 17, 1903.
Is National Aviation Day a federal holiday?
No. Offices and schools stay open. It’s an observance day: the presidential proclamation may direct federal buildings to fly the U.S. flag, and citizens are encouraged to mark the day with activities that promote interest in aviation.
How long was the Wright brothers’ first flight?
The first flight lasted 12 seconds and covered 120 feet, with Orville at the controls. The brothers flew four times that day; the longest flight covered 852 feet in 59 seconds, with Wilbur piloting.