Long Island, from the Earth to the Moon and Beyond

Over the course of a century, aviation grew up on, boomed on, and helped shape Long Island. Long Island has helped transform aviation from a dangerous sport into a viable means of private and commercial transportation. The contributions by Long Islanders and Long Island corporations to the development of aviation and spaceflight and their key roles in making aviation central to our world today are the main focus of the Cradle of Aviation Museum archival collection. From the first flights on the Hempstead Plains in a frail biplane in 1909 to Man’s first steps on the Moon, Long Islanders have been at the forefront of America’s aviation and space adventure.