Cleveland's Legacy of Flight, Ohio

Images of Aviation

by Thomas G. Matowitz Jr.

Since the dream of flight was finally realized by two Ohioans, Wilbur and Orville Wright, it is little wonder that Greater Clevelanders were quick to embrace it. From the August day in 1910 when Glenn Curtiss flew from Euclid Beach Park to Cedar Point, aviation has had a strong following in Cleveland. World War I saw the dawn of aircraft production in the city, and the 1920s brought the world-renowned Cleveland National Air Races. Cleveland industry supported aviation in many different ways, and multiple airports, many now long gone, promoted business aviation and flight training for decades. During World War II, Cleveland was a center of war production, and much of this was aviation related. Subsequently, renovations of the Cleveland Municipal Airport created Cleveland Hopkins International Airport. A scene of thriving airline operations to this day, Cleveland's business community was quick to appreciate the advantages of corporate aviation, which remains a daily feature of Cleveland's aviation life.

128 pages, Paperback

First published March 5, 2008

Reviews

[John Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick fun book on Cleveland’s earlier days in the air. Lots of fun pictures and limited words fill the 127 pages. Some of the pictures of crashes alone made the book fascinating. I also learned a few things such as:

 Cleveland established a major network in 1925, prior to when Charles Lindbergh made his famous flight. Cleveland’s first airport was on the edge of Lake Erie on dirt that still is at that airport.
 The Cleveland National Air Race ranked up there with the Kentucky Derby Indianapolis 500 when it started on Labor Day weekend.
 Glenn Curtiss few his Hudson Flyer to Euclid Beach Park to Cedar Point, completing the 64-mile journey in high winds.
 Cleveland had a Martin Field on the east side, an airport in Willoughby called the Lost Nation Airport, an airport in Strongsville up to 1953 (squeezed out by residential housing), and one in North Olmsted.
 The USS Akron had it’s maiden flight in 1931.

The black and white pictures make this book, including pictures of the Port Clinton Islands Airlines that continued to operate into the 1970’s and photographs from the air of downtown Cleveland during those years – and earlier.