June 11, 1918 On this day in 1918, the first aircraft, a Curtiss JN-4 called a “Jennie” piloted by Lieutenant John F. Buffington, took off from Mather Field as part of its aviation school. The plane was built at the Liberty Iron Works, formerly known as the Globe Iron Works, on Del Paso Boulevard. The Liberty Iron Works was awarded an 18 million dollar government contract to build Curtiss JN-4 airplanes and the iron works constructed 200 planes for the war effort. The Liberty Iron Works brought

The National Museum of the United States Air Force has a large portion of its collection, including many aircraft, in secure storage areas at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base that are not generally accessible to the public. About 10% of the total collection is on public display. Restoration Division: The museum's Restoration Division works on aircraft in these hangars, but regularly scheduled public or "behind the scenes" tours of the Restoration Hangar are not currently offered. More than 350 ai