100 years ago today in Tampa

Between 1905 and 1915, the Pioneer Era of Aviation in the United States, hundreds of women and men learned to fly, in airships, gliders and aeroplanes. One of the very best aviators among these pioneers of the air was Lincoln Beachey, who flew balloons, one-person dirigible airships, biplanes and monoplanes during his ten-year aerial career.

February 19, 1911
On a beautiful Sunday afternoon on February 19, 1911, in front of approximately 12,000 people, Lincoln Beachey took to the air in what became the first aviation flight in Tampa.

Then in March 1911, Beachey returned to Tampa and flew the first night flight in all of aviation history.