The Wichita Art Museum will host a talk by aviation journalist Edward H. Phillips on Thursday evening, September 20, 2018.
When the guns of August 1914 roared, their fury was felt around the world. The brutal, protracted war witnessed the first use of the “aeroplane” as a weapon of destruction.
When the United States entered the conflict in April 1917, the manufacture of aircraft was in its infancy. Yet, Wichita, Kansas, was quick to offer its aeronautical services to Uncle Sam in the form of a flying school for pilots and manufacture of reconnaissance aircraft. It was not until 1919 that the city began its rise to fame as the “Air Capital of the World,” admired and respected as one of America’s foremost hubs of aircraft design, development, and production. Wichita also became home to a small group of aviation visionaries, whose foresight and determination drove its reputation to new heights.
Edward H. Phillips is an aviation journalist and historian with a special interest in Wichita’s role in the evolution of American aeronautics. He is the author of Wings Over the Prairie: A Brief History of the Aviation Industry in Wichita, Kansas, published in conjunction with the fall exhibition Over There, Over Here: American Print Makers Go to War, 1914–1918. Phillips has researched and written eight books and dozens of magazine articles on the development of the aircraft manufacturing industry in the city.
The talk will be held at the art museum beginning at 6 p.m. Galleries will be open prior to the program and admission is free.
