The Indianapolis Airport Authority and the Indiana Aviation Hall of Fame join forces for a new exhibit at Indianapolis International Airport (IND) honoring Hoosiers in Flight.
The exhibit honors Hoosier natives and state institutions with significant roles in aviation history and is located in the IND Bag Claim, near Carousel 3.
The list includes the first flight at Kitty Hawk, the Apollo 11 mission, Amelia Earhart, the Tuskegee Airmen and Rolls Royce.
Here’s a sample of the people, places and achievements honored in the exhibit:
Wilbur Wright, a Millville, Ind., native flew the first airplane flight in 1903 at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
Margaret Hamilton, from Paoli, Ind., invented software engineering and wrote the code for the Apollo 11 mission, helping to put Neil Armstrong on the moon in 1969.
Lewis A. Jackson, an Angola, Ind., native combined his aviation skills with his education degree to become the Director of Training for the 99th Pursuit Squadron of Tuskegee Airmen during World War II.
Col. Harvey Weir Cook, a Wilkinson, Ind., native, a military hero, and the namesake of the Indianapolis International Airport campus, was instrumental in educating the public in the 1930s about the history of flight and aviation via his radio show sponsored by Pennant Syrup.
Purdue University. Amelia Earhart joined the staff in 1935 as the “Counselor on Careers for Women” and during her four years there encouraged many women to join Purdue’s aeronautics engineering program.
