When the Wright Brothers loaded up their gear, packed their suitcases, and kissed their families goodbye, leaving Dayton, Ohio, they knew they would either achieve greatness in Kitty Hawk or die trying. Their experiments in gliding, wing and rudder controls, and powered propellers gave birth to the first powered airplane, The Wright Flyer. (Seen in the first shot of this video.)
From there, the rich history of powered flight unfolded. The Wright Brothers went on to innovate, set even more first-time aviation achievements, and make good use of their notoriety and fame. Many other aviators, engineers, inventors, and pilots joined the race around the world. By the summer of 1927, Charles Lindbergh had made the first non-stop trans-Atlantic solo flight from NY to Paris in 33.5 hours. In the decades since, fueled by war, exploration, and commerce, aviation has taken many leaps forward.
When C. Forbes was approached to help design and develop products to commemorate the Centennial of Flight in 2003, we leapt at the chance. The products featured in this video are just some of the fruit of that partnership.
As C. Forbes celebrates our 20th year in business, this video is also part of a series featuring highlights from various projects spanning recent years. Custom products like pins, challenge coins, and medallions play such a tangible role in the act of recognition and remembering. We’re honored to play a small part in these stories.
All photos/videos are from Wikipedia and are public domain.
