Wikipedia:Today's featured article/June 28, 2026
The Morris Park Aerodrome was a short-lived airfield in what is now the Morris Park section of the Bronx, New York, U.S. In operation from 1908 to 1909, it was the first flying field in the nation, occupying the grounds of the Morris Park Racecourse. The Aeronautical Society of New York leased the land in 1908 and used it for building and testing aircraft, and for putting on public exhibitions including major events in November 1908 and June 1909. The first event, captured in an oil painting by Rudolph Dirks titled The Fledglings, included several glider flights by sixteen-year-old Laurence Lesh (shown), culminating in a crash in which he was severely injured. The second had flights by Glenn Curtiss in his Golden Flyer motorized biplane, including the first demonstration of a stable flight around a closed course using ailerons for lateral control. After Morris Park closed, developed for residential use, the Society moved its operations to Long Island's Roosevelt Field. (Full article...)