First single-winged aircraft and first woman pilot flew their historic flights on January 12, 1909 at farm on Harrisburg Rd. in Canton, Ohio.
At 3 p.m., Jan. 10, 2009 the MAPS Air Museum will commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first flights of William H. Martin and his wife Almina P. Martin in his monoplane aircraft.
The historic flights took place on Tuesday, January 12, 1909 from a snow-covered hilltop on the Martin’s farm located on Harrisburg Rd. NE in Canton, Ohio. William and his sons George, Thoburn and Charles hauled the machine from the barn to the top of a hill on the back section of the farm. William climbed into his latest creation and waited as Old Billy, the family’s farm horse, was hitched to the front of the plane by a long rope. When all was ready, George whistled to Billy and the horse started down the hill at a fast clip. The craft’s sleigh-like runners glided through the snow for only a short distance before the aeroplane lifted from the ground and rose to a height of 20 feet. As Billy slackened speed the plane settled gracefully back to the earth. It had gone about 200 feet. This was the first aircraft of single-wing design to make a successful flight.
The second person to sit in the plane was William’s wife Amina Martin. As the aircraft lifted off one hundred years ago on that cold Tuesday in January, Almina became the first woman to pilot a heavier-than-air aircraft, anywhere in the world. Almina took the aircraft to a height of 35 feet and flew a distance of 300 feet before descending.
Mr. And Mrs. Martin made several flights then their sons Thoburn and Charles tried their hands at the controls. Over 100 flights were made in the weeks that followed.
William Martin was an inventor from an early age. When he was twelve, he invented a rope-spinning machine to help his father Charles’ side business of making ropes. He began tinkering with toy aircraft when he was fourteen. Besides being a farmer and inventor, William studied engineering and surveying. He was the Stark County surveyor from 1883 to 1885. While attending Brush College, near Canton, William debated in the affirmative that man would someday fly, to his scoffing classmates. He also began to experiment with powering toy airplanes with rubber bands.
On April 22, 1900 Mr. Martin demonstrated one of his rubber band-propelled models to the New York Aeronautic Society and Scientific American Magazine. It is believed that this was the first successful powered flying model airplane. As a result, William Martin is widely regarded as the father of the sport of flying powered model airplanes.
Martin patented his model aeroplane design on Jan. 3, 1908. He hoped to interest a toy manufacturer in producing his model airplanes. But he could find no takers. The story goes that Almina had earlier suggested to William that he build a full-sized aeroplane to attract attention to his model plane. She thought he could put on flying demonstrations and drum up interest in the toy. William completed his monoplane in December of 1908 based on his model aircraft experiments. The design was unique in having only a single upper wing braced from below by two V-shaped panels. All of the other flying aircraft of the time were biplane designs Almina helped with the construction of the monoplane by sewing all of the cloth panels out of English broadcloth. William used parts of a small boat for the frame and hay bailing wire to rig his invention.
The natural dihedral of the wing gave the plane great stability. The craft has simple control for the pilot. A hand lever controlled the front canard for climbing and descending. A foot-operated cross bar moved the small rudder in the back and steered the front landing gear wheel. Banking while turning the plane was achieved by leaning left or right.
The craft originally used sleigh runners for takeoffs and landings. William later added three wheels to his design so that flights were no longer limited to snowbound operation. This was the forerunner of modern tricycle landing gear. Indeed, in May 1909 the monoplane was towed behind an automobile around a one-mile racetrack at an air meet at Morris Park, New York. Later Henry Ford gave a Model T to William Martin to use for his aircraft demonstrations.
Another first was achieved on Sept. 21, 1909 when the Martin’s eight-year-old granddaughter, Blanche Martin, made her first of many solo flights in the monoplane. Becoming the first adolescent to pilot a heavier-than-air aeroplane.
In 1928, the Smithsonian Institute acquired the Martin monoplane for display at their facility alongside other pioneer aircraft. It was hung next to the “Spirit of St. Louis” at the request of Charles Lindberg. The monoplane was on display at the Smithsonian until 1957. The Institute dismantled Martin’s aircraft to make room for other displays and stored it in one of their many warehouses.
An intensive campaign was launched in 1971 by then McKinley Museum Director, to return the Martin Monoplane to Canton for display in the museum’s Science Center. Finally, after years of wrangling and cutting through mountains of red tape, the aircraft arrived at the museum in a 2-by-9 foot crate. The McKinley museum reassembled the plane and recovered it with new, artificially aged cloth. As the McKinley Presidential Library and Mueum grew, the Science Center was replaced by the Discovery Center and a new home for the monoplane was needed.
MAPS Air Museum was the natural choice for displaying the aircraft. In 2005 the aircraft underwent careful restoration and preparation for static display by a MAPS team of volunteers lead by Richard With and Dick Stahl. After months of painstaking work, the invention of William H, Martin was hoisted into position in the display hangar where it proudly resides today.
The 1908 Martin Monoplane was the first of its kind. There were several “firsts” attached to this aircraft: the first woman to solo a heavier-than-air aircraft, the first eight-year-old child to pilot such a machine. It was the first high-wing monoplane design to fly. It was also the first aircraft to have a tricycle landing gear. Most importantly, the aircraft marks the dawning of a long period of aviation prominence in Stark County and Northeast Ohio.
Saturday, Jan. 10, a plaque will be dedicated to Almina and her first flight by the International Women’s Air and Space Museum. Mayor William Healy III of Canton has proclaimed January 12, 2009 as Canton’s First Flight Day, and Jan. 10 - 17 as Martin Aviation Week.
The Martin Monolane is on permanent loan to the MAPS Air Museum from the McKinley Presidential Library and Museum. It is on display at MAPS in the hanger gallery of aircraft.
The commemoration event is free and open to the public.
MAPS Air Museum is located at 2260 International Parkway, off of State Rte. 241 (Massillon Rd.) on the West side of the Akron-Canton Airport. For more information about the Martin Monoplane and the museum, visit the Web site: www.mapsairmuseum.org or call: 330-896-6332
The Military Aviation Preservation Society (MAPS) is a nonprofit organization with over 400 members. This all-volunteer museum is dedicated to the preservation of aircraft and education about the history of aviation and the men and women who flew, designed, built, and maintained the aircraft.
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