Side A
In 1908, West Milton native Charles Furnas
worked as a machinist in Dayton doing
odd jobs for the Wright Brothers, the
inventors of the first practical airplane.
At that time the U.S. Army had agreed
to purchase an aircraft from the Wright
Brothers provided it would carry a pilot and a
passenger. Furnas worked with the brothers to
adapt their plane. On May 14, 1908, he flew first
with Wilbur and then with Orville, becoming the
world's first airplane passenger.
side B
Following the test flights in 1908, the
Wright Brothers engaged Charles Furnas
full time. As the first person hired to
build airplanes, he was the first employee
in what would become the aerospace
industry. He worked with Orville and
Wilbur to develop "Signal Corps No. I," America's
first military aircraft and the beginning of the
U.S. Air Force. He left employment with the
Wright Brothers to start a garage in West Milton,
but remained friends. Orville attended his funeral
in 1941.
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