Kansas Aviation Legacy

Learjet is a manufacturer of business jets for civilian and military use. It was founded in the late 1950s by William Powell Lear Jr. as Swiss American Aviation Corporation. Learjet is now a subsidiary of Bombardier and marketed as the “Bombardier Learjet Family”. […]

During World War II, Kansas was a major United States Army Air Force (USAAF) training center for pilots and aircrews of USAAF fighters and bombers. Kansas was a favored because it has excellent, year-round flying conditions. The sparsely populated land made ideal locations for gunnery, bombing, and training ranges. […]

The Stearman (Boeing) Model 75 is a biplane, of which at least 9,783 were built in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s as a military trainer aircraft. Stearman became a subsidiary of Boeing in 1934. Widely known as the Stearman, Boeing Stearman or Kaydet, it served as a Primary trainer for the USAAF, as a basic trainer for the USN (as the NS1 & N2S), and with the RCAF as the Kaydet throughout World War II. […]

Founded in 1932 by Walter H. and Olive Ann Beech, the Beech Aircraft Corporation has left an indelible mark on general aviation. […]

Boeing has been a fixture in the Wichita aerospace industry since 1929. Here’s what makes this site tick […]

They’d set out one or two or three at a time, flying World War I surplus biplanes low over the Kansas countryside. […]

The Beechcraft Starship is a futuristic-looking aircraft designed by Burt Rutan’s Scaled Composites and produced by the Beech Aircraft Corporation. […]

Recorded Events, Beginnings, Activities and First Flights […]

Kansas has played an historic and domineering role in general aviation since the earliest beginnings of flight by fearless pioneer aviators. […]

Of all the industries that have propelled America into the leadership of the world economy, few can match aviation for the incredible changes it has made in how we think and act and live. […]