DUANE
Duane's take
Now, I'm gonna tell this one the way the official marker tells it — so hold on, because this story takes off fast. Way back on February 18, 1910, something happened over a patch of South Houston ground that nobody in Texas had ever seen before. A heavier-than-air flying machine lifted off and cut through that Texas sky.
The first documented flight of its kind in the entire state. And the man doing the flying was no local daredevil — he was Louis Paulhan, a French aviator, right in the middle of a coast-to-coast flying exhibition tour of America. The Western Land Corporation and the Houston Post had commissioned him to come down and demonstrate his skills, and the whole thing was dressed up as a land development promotion.
Showmanship and real estate — now that is a Texas combination if I've ever heard one. The Post ran headlines that didn't exactly undersell the moment. 'This is the first opportunity for Texans to see a real demonstration of man's ability to fly,' they declared. 'Don't fail to come and see demonstrated the greatest invention of the present era.' The promoters arranged special excursion trains to haul spectators right out from downtown Houston to the site. More than 2,500 people showed up that Friday, February the 18th, ready to see something they had never laid eyes on.
Now, the weather had its own ideas that day — high winds, inclement skies — and Paulhan wasn't able to pull off some of his most spectacular stunts. But that crowd? Thrilled.
Absolutely thrilled. Because when a man climbs into a Farman biplane and rises into the air right in front of your eyes, it doesn't much matter what tricks he skips. The following day brought a second flying exhibition, and word had spread — nearly 6,000 people came out for that one.
And this was all happening two full weeks before the first military airplane flight in Texas, when Lieutenant Benjamin Foulois took to the skies at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. Two weeks. That crowd in South Houston saw it first.
The sky over Texas had opened up, and 2,500 people were there to watch it happen.
What the marker says
The first documented flight of a heavier-than-air flying machine in Texas occurred over this site on February 18, 1910, two weeks before the first military airplane flight by Lt. benjamin Foulois at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio. The South Houston flight was part of a land development promotion sponsored by the Western Land Corporation and the Houston "Post." French aviator Louis Paulhan, on a coast-to-coast flying exhibition tour of America, was commissioned to demonstrate his flying skills. The promoters arranged for special excursion trains to transport spectators to the site from downtown Houston. Headlines in the "Post" proclaimed, "This is the first opportunity for Texans to see a real demonstration of man's ability to fly. Don't fail to come and see demonstrated the greatest invention of the present era." A crowd of more than 2,500 people gathered on Friday, February 18th, to witness Paulhan's first Texas flight in his Farman biplane. Because of high winds and inclement weather, the aviator was not able to perform some of his most spectacular stunts, but the crowd was thrilled with the aerial display. A second flying exhibition on the following day drew almost 6,000 people.