Stafford County’s Aerodrome No 5 is here!
KipAero expended over 3,000 man hours to produce Stafford Counry’s Aerodrome No. 5! Langley Aerodrome Experience: Open House Tour Stafford VA KipAero
Why Build Aerodrome No. 5?
In December, 2022, the Langley Flight Foundation hired KipAero to build an exact reproduction of Samuel Pierpont Langley's Aerodrome No. 5, the first craft of substantial size to achieve heavier than air flight. Thanks to the assistance of the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution, KipAero's team has visited the National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution twice to take precise measurements of original aerodrome's and has substantially completed the frame, wings, and boilers of our reproduction, which is scheduled for completion and installation at the Stafford Regional Airport by May 6, 2024, the 128th anniversary of Aerodrome No. 5's historic flight in Stafford County, Virginia. Recently, Kip Lankenau shared his thoughts on the importance of rediscovering this remarkable nineteenth century accomplishment and sharing the story with the world.
ACES Day 2023
On November 1, 2023, Stafford County Schools, Germanna Community College, Stafford Regional Airport, and the Langley Flight Foundation hosted 160 5th grade students from Grafton Elementary School at the Stafford Regional Airport for the first annual ACES (Aviation Careers Expo in Stafford) Day. The event featured aviation-based STEM experiments and career demonstrations by the Federal Aviation Administration, Virginia Department of Aviation, NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration, United, Aviation Institute of Maintenance, Germanna Community College, the Langley Flight Foundation, and many others. These organizations volunteered their time and resources for a full day to engage students with presentations on pilot training and aircraft maintenance, flight simulators, and drone and robotics demonstrations.
The goal of the ACES Day event was to expose students to a variety of aviation and STEM career opportunities at an early age to inspire greater participation and attention during in-class STEM instruction and encourage the pursuit of post-graduation educational opportunities, apprenticeships, and careers.
The Foundation's hope is that the event was a successful test for an annual program that will be expanded to include additional schools in the future and serve as an introduction to a future aviation education pathway at the high school level.
Feedback from students:
"I learned that there are a ton of jobs in aviation and they are all amazing jobs that some I see myself doing."
"I loved everything there and I would like to be a military technician. I learned more about drones and how airplanes fly and what parts are in an airplane."
"I learned that there are way more jobs in aviation than pilots, and police, more complicated jobs, I enjoyed enough, probably everything. I see myself as something to do with the military, and special forces, more so with something to do with the Space Force."
Feedback from parents:
"My daughter came ho
Langley Flight Foundation's Principles of Flight
In 1877, Samuel Pierpont Langley wrote, "science is not for the professional student only, but that every one will take an interest in its results if they are only put before the world in the right way.”
In furtherance of Langley's legacy and in partnership with Tour Stafford VA, the Langley Flight Foundation has produced the "Principles of Flight" lesson to teach students the basics of controlled, heavier-than-air flight. As a Stafford County Schools business partner, we've provided Grafton Elementary School's 5th grade science teacher with 160 balsa gliders (supplied by Stafford County Tourism) and lesson instructions for in-class experimentation. With feedback from students and educators, we hope to improve on the lesson and identify partners that will help us make it available throughout Stafford County schools. For more information on the lesson, check out our webpage: https://www.langfound.org/flightprinciples
With forecasts of significant shortages in aviation industry workers in the years to come, we are advocates for the development of an aviation education pathway for Stafford County students that will give them a head start on post-graduation vocational training, apprenticeships, and higher education in aviation and other STEM-focused careers.
The Foundation's educational initiatives would not be possible without support from Stafford County Government, Stafford, VA Economic Development, Discover Stafford, Silver Companies, Bob and Amy Stanford, Rappahannock Development Group, Chemung Contracting Corporation, Bowman Consulting, Atlantic Builders, Talbert, Bright & Ellington, Development Consulting Services and Stafford Regional Airport.
The Langley Flight Foundation was honored to help kids build and launch their own rockets at the Stafford NAACP Juneteenth Celebration on June 17th.
On September 16, 2022, the Stafford Regional Airport Authority (Stafford Regional Airport) opened a new 1,000' runway extension, enlarging the runway to 6,000'. The extension, which was funded by the Federal Aviation Administration and the Virginia Department of Aviation, will allow the airport to serve larger aircraft and departures to more remote destinations.
The first flight from the new runway was made by Dave Ellis in his 1940 Stearman PT-17 in front of a gathering of Authority Members, DOAV representatives, Stafford County Board Of Supervisors, and representatives of Stafford, VA Economic Development.
Langley Flight Foundation: Chopawamsic Island Tour
On July 29th, the Langley Flight Foundation visited Chopawamsic Island, the site of the first heavier-than-air mechanical aircraft flights in human history, by Samuel Pierpont Langley on May 6, 1896.
The island was purchased in the 1880's by the Mount Vernon Ducking Society, which constructed "a handsome clubhouse" on the island for its members, which included Presidents Grover Cleveland and Theodore Roosevelt. The club catered to wealthy Washington D.C. businessmen seeking easy access to the rich hunting and fishing waters of the Potomac River.
Langley used the island as his base of operations for periodic flight experiments in 1894 and 1895, and his successful flight trials in May and November 1896. He returned for his 1903 manned flight attempt but was asked to leave by irritated club members. The island has been uninhabited since 1979.
Chopawamsic island is privately-owned, and the surrounding waters are restricted due to its location adjacent to Quantico Marine Corps Base. The Foundation visited with the permission of the owner, special FAA authorization, and with a USMC escort.
The Langley Flight Foundation is dedicated to preserving and celebrating Samuel Pierpont Langley's hi
