Air cargo celebrates a century of flight

On Nov. 7, 1910, Phil Parmelee took off in a Wright Brothers-built biplane from Dayton, Ohio, carrying bolts of silk cloth. After flying 65 miles, he landed in Columbus, Ohio, and delivered the shipment to The Home Store, owned by merchant Max Morehouse. Thus concluded the inaugural air-cargo flight—the first in the world, according to the Columbus Regional Airport Authority.

In early October, Mitchell Cary and Richard Stepler re-enacted Parmelee's flight in a replica Wright "B" Flyer. They took off from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base outside of Dayton and stopped at Madison County Airport before landing at Columbus's Rickenbacker International Airport. Total transit time, including the stop, was two hours.

Like its predecessor, the October flight also carried cargo. Instead of bolts of silk, however, the open-cockpit aircraft delivered ceramic composite cloth and three concept micro-unmanned air vehicles (UAVs). The shipper of this unusual load was the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson. The consignees were Wright brothers descendants Amanda Wright Lane and Steve Wright, and Parmelee family members Lecia Lamphere and Philip McKeachie.