Antecedents.

Aviation in the United States began with the enthusiasm for ballooning in the years before the Civil War. There were some three thousand balloon ascents by 1859. Both the Union and Confederate armies used balloons for reconnaissance during the war. The Union effort, headed by Thaddeus Lowe, used tethered balloons to observe enemy movements which were then telegraphed to field officers. At the Saint Louis Exhibition of 1904 prizes that were offered for navigable airships drew ninety-seven entrants with dirigibles and similar machines. One of these was Roy Knabenshue, who piloted a sixty-two-foot dirigible over New York City in 1905. A second airship competition held in Saint Louis in 1907 again reflected the national fascination with large airships. Many Americans believed that dirigibles held the key to future air travel.

Early Experiments.

The major precursor of American aeronautical engineering was Samuel P. Langley, director of the Smithsonian...