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historic photo of men standing on propeller aircraft in Wichita Kansas, Air Capital of the World

Founders in Flight: Why Wichita is The Air Capital of the World

In January 1925 four aviation pioneers — Clyde Cessna, Lloyd Stearman, Walter Beech and Olive Ann Mellor Beech — joined forces in Wichita to form Travel Air Manufacturing Company. It was the beginning of Wichita’s global leadership in corporate, commercial and defense aerospace; leadership that earned the city the title, “The Air Capital of the World.”

Today, Wichita continues to be an international hotspot for aerospace engineering and advanced manufacturing. This is where the future of aerospace begins. Inside the National Institute for Aviation Research more than 400 research scientists and technicians take test plans to certification within 320,000 square feet of research and office space. And Wichita is where the most modern aerospace structures take shape inside Spirit AeroSystems, Textron Aviation, Bombardier, Airbus Engineering and hundreds of manufacturing production companies supplying parts to these and other OEMs.

From the very beginning of aircraft design and production to today’s most advanced materials, processes and testing capabilities, individuals with the vision, drive and talent to fly farther choose Wichita. Now, it’s your turn.

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