Home of the Wright brothers and long known as the Birthplace of Aviation, the Dayton region now enjoys a new accolade: In November 2004, Congress recognized the Dayton region as the National Aviation Heritage Area, in honor of the region's leadership in our nation's aviation history.

It began with the Wright brothers' invention of the airplane in the back of their cycle shop on Dayton's west side in 1903. They later perfected their flying machine on the testing grounds of Huffman Prairie Flying Field, just east of Dayton. Huffman is considered sacred ground by aviation enthusiasts the world over; meanwhile, the original 1905 Flyer, widely considered the world's most significant airplane still in existence, is on display at Carillon Historical Park in Dayton.

But the Dayton region's contributions to aviation progress merely began with the Wrights. In later years, other milestones would occur in the Dayton region, such as the first military airfield, the first emergency parachute jump, WACO's dominance of civilian aircraft production between the World Wars, and much, much more. All told, Dayton truly is the Global Center of Aviation Heritage. Today, it continues that heritage as one of the most significant regions in the world for aviation advancement. Dayton is synonymous with aviation.

The new National Aviation Heritage Area (NAHA) joins 26 other heritage areas in existence around the country. Like the Motor City Heritage Area in Detroit, NAHA is one of the few that represents more than a bygone era of heritage; it embodies an industry that is alive and well, but which is chock full of great history and stories that can only be called the "purest slices of Americana."