FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas - On March 2, 1910, Lt. Benjamin Delahauf Foulois was catapulted into the air at the controls of Signal Corps Aircraft Number One from the Cavalry Drill Field on Fort Sam Houston for a seven-and-one-half-minute flight.
This year, the Air Force, Army and City of San Antonio will conduct a year-long series of celebrations and commemorations to mark the Centennial of Military Aviation.
On the 100th anniversary of Foulois' solo flight, a re-enactment of the event will be conducted on Mac- Arthur Parade Field, not far from the original launch point. This will be followed by a heritage flyover and other ceremonies.
During the centennial celebration, the Institute of Texas Cultures and the Army and Air Force museums in San Antonio will be conducting student tours.
Special exhibits are being shown at the Institute of Texas Cultures and the Fort Sam Houston Museum.
Aviation-themed events and flyovers will be highlighted during Fiesta, the Army birthday celebration in June, the Air Force birthday celebration in September and the Lackland Air Show in November.
Fort Sam Houston begins its celebration activities with a series of articles about early aviation activities at the post. The Fort Sam Houston Museum will have special exhibits dealing with the birth of military aviation and will set up displays on MacArthur Parade Field during the re-enactment of the 1910 flight.
The Army Medical Department Museum will focus attention on its exhibits about aeromedical evacuation, which was first attempted here at Fort Sam Houston in 1917.
In late February, a Wright Model B Flyer will arrive at Fort Sam Houston in preparation for a re-enactment of the first flight. It will be put on display on MacArthur Parade Field and participate in the ceremonies March 2.
Another Wright Flyer will be sent here to actually conduct the flyover.
As firm dates and times for the numerous Centennial of Military Flight in Texas become known, they will be announced.
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