JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO, Texas –
While known for being the “father of U.S. military aviation” with his historic flight at Fort Sam Houston March 2, 1910, Benjamin D. Foulois was also the owner of many other aviation-related “firsts.”
1910 – First military man to teach himself to fly
After only 54 minutes of flight training with the Wright Brothers and no solo experience, Foulois left Fort Myers, Md., in 1909 and headed for Fort Sam Houston, Texas, as the United States’ lone pilot with a team of enlisted men known as his “flying soldiers.”
He was instructed to teach himself how to keep flying; to use and take care of the United States’ first airplane, designated “Signal Corps No. 1;” assess its military possibilities; and to take along plenty of spare parts.
He learned to fly it on his own, using instructions sent via letters from Orville and Wilbur Wright.
1911 – First to fly more than 100 miles non-stop
With Foulois plotting a course and Phillip Parmelee at the controls, the Wright Type B, on loan from Robert F. Collier, sets an official U.S. cross-country record from Laredo to Eagle Pass, Texas. It flew the 106 miles in two hours, 10 minutes on March 3. He and Parmalee flew along the Rio Grande River at an altitude of 1,200 feet from Laredo to Eagle Pass to search for enemy troops. They saw none during the flight.
While conducting preliminary flights at Laredo, James Hare, a photographer from Collier’s magazine arrived and was taken aloft several times. Hare took a number of pictures of the terrain and established another first: photo reconnaissance and aerial map making.