calsfoundation@cals.org
May 21, 1910
In Fort Smith (Sebastian County), Arkansas’s first well-documented flight took place. James C. “Bud” Mars was the pilot of the Curtiss Bi-Plane that reached an estimated speed of sixty miles per hour. Aviation history in Arkansas includes one pioneer inventor, a few attempts at commercial airplane production, a regional commuter airline, a now-national air freight company, and varying degrees of impact on the state’s communities. By the 1970s, aviation had become essential both for business and for personal travel.