Aviatrix Rose Dugan, Student of the Wright School of Aviation

The Wright School of Aviation opened its door to students on March 19, 1910 in Montgomery, Alabama on a site that later became the Maxwell Air Force Base.  Orville Wright was the principle instructor at the school.  By May of that same year, the training facilities had been relocated to Huffman Prairie Flying Field, just outside of Dayton, Ohio. In the six years of operation, more than 100 individuals learned to fly under the tutelage of Orville and various other instructors.  Some notable students trained there, including:  Cal P. Rodgers, who was the first person to fly across the United States; A. Roy Brown, the famed WWI pilot who shot down the Red Baron; and Lt. Henry H. “Hap” Arnold, who later became the Commander of the U.S. Army Air Corps in WWII.  Three daring women also enrolled in the school, including Mrs. Richard Hornsby, Marjorie Stinson and, as seen here, Rose Dugan. This photograph is from the William Preston Mayfield/Marvin Christian Collection at Dayton History.

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