Fairborn Daily Herald
FAIRBORN — The Fairborn Area Historical Society will present the history of Wright Field 2 p.m. Sunday, March 20.
The presentation — being held at the Fairborn Senior Center, 325 N. 3rd St. — will feature guest speaker Ken Keisel, whose latest book, “Wright Field,” will be released March 14.
Keisel will also sign copies of his book, which will be for sale following his presentation.
“Wright Field” is the second book authored by Keisel in a series about the role played locally in the history of aviation. He will present highlights of his book, beginning with the relocation of the Army Air Service’s test facilities from McCook Field in Dayton to Wright Field, a new airbase built near Fairborn in the 1920s.
Using unusual photos and anecdotes, Keisel will talk about aircraft development and the growth of Wright Field, first during the 1930s and then during the critical years of the 1940s, when Wright Field was working around the clock to develop state-of-the-art piston and jet-powered aircraft to win WWII. Keisel will show rare images of experimental aircraft tested at Wright Field, and will talk about the accidents that inevitably come with the testing of high-performance experimental aircraft.
Keisel has written for the “Journal of the American Aviation Historical Society,” “Flight Magazine,” and “Smithsonian Air & Space Magazine.”
The Fairborn Area Historical Society will also update members on current activities, such as the preservation of the Fairborn Theater mural, which will be in placed in its permanent home in the senior center in Fairborn in time for the Historical Society’s annual meeting in April.
The March 20 presentation is free and open to the public.
