At this site on February 11, 1912, Frank Bryant piloted the first airplane to land in Tulare County at what was then the Tulare County Fairgrounds. The plane, a Curtiss pusher-type biplane, had been used by Glenn Curtiss to win a world speed title in France 1909. Later, following a crash, it was rebuilt by Bryant who taught himself to fly this aircraft constructed of wood and bamboo held together by wire; its wings covered by canvas the plane was put through its paces by Bryant during a two-day air show. Executing thrilling dips, dives, and turns at an unbelievable 60 miles an hour. It also raced an automobile around a kite-shaped track. Joining Bryant for the show was Roy Francis, flying a Gage biplane built in Los Angeles by the Eaton Brothers. People packed the fairgrounds grandstand and paid $10,000 in admissions to get a close look at the fearless pilots with their newfangled flying machines, and unknowingly, ushered Tulare County into the modern age of aviation.
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