Fort Towson

Aviation in Rhode Island is the aeronautical history of that American New England state.

Rhode Island's first aeronautical event was a flight by James Allen in 1856 in a hot air balloon.^[1]

Events

• 1896, Edson Fessenden Gallaudet demonstrated a wing warping glider four years before the Wright Brothers. The glider is on display at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.
• 1916, Providence born pilot, Godfrey DeCourcelles Chevalier participates in the first production catapult launches.

Aircraft Manufacturers

• Gallaudet Aircraft Company (–1923), Merged with Consolidated Aircraft in 1923.
• Textron, Providence, Rhode Island, (1923–) is a conglomerate that includes Bell Helicopter, E-Z-GO, Cessna Aircraft Company, and Greenlee, among others.

Airports

• T. F. Green Airport has nearly four million passenger movements per year.
• List of Airports in Rhode Island

Commercial Service

• New England Airlines provides regional air service.

Organizations

• Rhode Island Pilots Association - is headquartered in Warwick, Rhode Island.^[2]

Government and Military

• All flight operations in Rhode Island are conducted within FAA oversight.^[3]
• The Rhode Island Air National Guard was founded 1915 operating two Curtiss flying boats.
• Former Governor Bruce Sundlun served as a Boeing B-17 gunner in World War II. Later becoming a partner in Executive Jet Aviation.
• The Rhode Island Airport Corporation operates a Bell 407 Helicopter in support of all state agencies.
• The Rhode Island Airport Corporation enforces the provisions of the Uniform Aeronautical Regulatory Act (UAR).

Museums

• Quonset Air Museum ^[4]
• Rhode Island Aviation Hall of Fame is managing the John F. Kennedy Aircraft Carrier Project.^[5]

Gallery

• 
  T.F. Green Airport

References