Springfield Aviation

Citizens of Springfield first witnessed human flight, a balloon ascent, on July 5, 1858. In 1861, the capital city�s most famous resident, Abraham Lincoln, then residing in the White House, authorized the creation of the first U.S. �air force,� a balloon to observe Confederate troops. Springfield�s interface with aviation has been a steady stream of hot-and-cold-running enthusiasm since airplanes began flying from the state fair racetrack infield about 1910. Springfield Aviation chronicles that