Move over North Carolina. Stafford County, Va. says it was first in flight

The Stafford Regional Airport held an event to announce the launch of its Aerodrome No.5 project, which will tell the story of the county’s connection to early American aviation.

Professor Samuel Pierpont Langley is noted for successfully conducting the first heavier-than-air flight on May 6, 1896, with the designated Aerodrome No. 5. Langley chose Chopawamsic Island, a small land mass in the Potomac River between Quantico and Stafford County, as his launching point. 

The 14-foot structure was launched from a houseboat off of the island’s coast and flew approximately 3,300 feet for 90 seconds before having a gentle landing on the river. The Aerodrome No.5 flight is the first instance of mechanical flight in the U.S., event organizers said. 

Until now historians have credited The Wright Brothers are credited for being the first to fully when they flew a heavier-than-air contraption at Kitty Hawk, N.C., on December 17, 1903. The state coined the phrase “first in flight” and printed it on its vehicle license plates.

Langley beat his record on November 26, 1896, when Aerodrome No.6 was launched from the same location and flew 4,200 feet at an average speed of 30 miles per hour. 

“Stafford’s history is so rich and deep, we want to get it out there and talk about it,” said Scott Mayausky, treasurer of the Langley Flight Foundation. “What Langley achieved changed the course of world history, he was an instrumental part of that, and it happened right here in Stafford County. We want to recognize that, acknowledge that, and be proud that it happened here in Stafford County.”

In addition to his position with the foundation, Mayausky is also the president of the Stafford Museum and Cultural Museum and the county’s Commissioner of Revenue.

The Foundation and the Stafford Regional Airport have formed a partnership to have a to-scale model of Aerodrome No.5 built to display it in the airport’s terminal. The 14 by 14 model intends to use it for educational purposes for students interested in STEM fields such as engineering, aviation, and mathematics.

Other possibilities of use for the Aerodrome No.5 exhibit include spurring more economic development and tourism, which could attract aviation enthusiasts and airplane and drone development.

“This is an incredible opportunity to not only educate people not only about a little-known aspect of Stafford’s history but to give people a sense of the whole concept of what happened here and how we can move forward in the future,” said Hank Scharpenberg, a member of the Stafford Regional Airport Authority.

The event was-co sponsored by the Langley Flight Foundation, a 501c3 corporation, seeking funding of $350,000 for constructing a replica of Aerodrome No.5. The Wright Experience in Warrenton would build the model, to be housed at the Stafford Regional Airport.

The original Aerodrome No.5 sits at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

The Langley Foundation has set up a GoFundMe page as one method of raising funds for the exhibit. Donations for the project can also be made on the foundation’s webpage at langfound.org.