Known as the "Air Capital of the World," Wichita, Kansas, has been continuously associated with aviation longer than any city in the world. The city's inventive and entrepreneurial spirit made an early mark on the aviation and aerospace industries. From the first hot air balloons floating over the wheat fields to the major aviation corporations that still call the city home, Wichita has been associated with the wonder of flight, which celebrates its 100th anniversary in 2003. The images in this book document the evolution of flight and its subsequent effect on the cowtown that dared to dream it could become an international center for aviation.
The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics-Wichita Section has sponsored this book as part of the nation's celebration of the centennial of flight. The project team, under the direction of Jay M. Price, consisted of students with Wichita State University's Public History Program. The students were John D. Hays, Benjamin Hruska, Chad Kannady, Ben Matthaei, Charles Lawrence, Sandra Reddish, and Theresa St. Romain.