WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) delivered remarks this week on the Senate Floor recognizing “National Aviation History Month” and Kansas’ contributions to the aviation industry.

“Kansas is an aviation hub, and it has a rich history in aviation manufacturing,” said Sen. Moran. “Kansas has played a key role in cultivating America’s leadership in aviation and is home to thousands of engineers and manufacturers who have supported America’s aviation heritage for more than a century. We are and will continue to be the ‘Air Capital of the World’ not only because we build airplanes, but because we have leaders and students driving the industry forward with innovation, ingenuity and a relentless pursuit of excellence.”

Click HERE to watch Sen. Moran’s Full Remarks

 

Remarks as prepared:

“Last month, we celebrated “National Aviation History Month” across America, and I would be remiss not to recognize the Air Capital of the World and Kansas’ contributions to the aviation industry – both historically and still today. 

“Kansas is an aviation hub, and it has a rich history in aviation manufacturing. This tradition dates back to Albin Longren, who developed Kansas’ first aircraft, the Longren Flyer, which was fully designed, produced, and successfully tested in Topeka in 1911 – less than a decade after the Wright Brothers’ Historic first flight.

“Clyde Cessna went on to develop his pioneering aircraft, the “Silverwing,” in 1911, which was designed and built in Kingman County, Kansas.

“Clyde Cessna, Lloyd Stearman, and Walter Beech partnered to found the Travel Air Manufacturing Company, which would later be spun off into three companies with global recognition – the Cessna Aircraft Company, Stearman Aircraft, and the Beech Aircraft Company – all of which were headquartered in Wichita.

“Cessna, Stearman, Beech, and over a dozen other aviation entrepreneurs in Wichita produced 120 airplanes each week at the outset of Wichita’s aviation dominance in the late 1920s. It was then that Wichita earned its title the “Air Capital of the World.”

“During WWII, tens of thousands of Kansans contributed to the war effort by working in aircraft plants, making nearly 26,000 planes, including over 1,600 B-29 Superfortress heavy bombers.

“Following the war, The Boeing Company started testing mid-flight refueling using the B-29 Superfortress and eventually delivered the KC-135 Stratotanker to the United States Air Force in the 1950s, still one of the premier mid-flight refueling aircraft for the United States Armed Forces. Many of these tankers are stationed at McConnell Air Force Base in Wichita.

“Other than agriculture, the aviation and aerospace industries in Kansas support more jobs than any other sector in the state, including more than 65,000 aerospace and defense jobs across more than 450 world-class suppliers.

“Kansas is a global leader in general aviation, producing 35% of all general aviation aircraft in America and supplying 75% of all general aviation aircraft since the Wright Brothers’ first flight at Kitty Hawk in 1903.

“At the end of November, Bombardier delivered its first Global 6500 to the U.S. Army in support of its next generation Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) platform.

“One week later, Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research received a Boeing 747-8i as part of a strategic partnership with Sierra Nevada Corporation on the Air Force’s “Doomsday” program. 

“I would also like to highlight that NIAR and Wichita State was recently ranked by the NSF as the number 1 R&D expenditures university in the country for aerospace engineering.

“Our state is also diversifying its aviation and aerospace work with companies like General Atomics and now has 17 Kansas manufacturers working on NASA’s Artemis Program,

“We are also developing essential components for commercial space providers such as SpaceX, United Launch Alliance, Sierra Space, Rocket Lab and Blue Origin. 

“Additionally, Kansas is home to Crew-9 astronaut Nick Hague of Hoxie, who is currently stationed at the International Space Station.

“Museums across Kansas, including the Kansas Aviation Museum; Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum in Atchison; B-29 Museum in Pratt; Mid-America Museum in Liberal; and the Cosmosphere in Hutchinson, showcase the rich aviation history, and point toward a continued legacy of excellence in aviation and aerospace in Kansas and our entire nation.

“You cannot talk about aviation without talking about Kansas.

“Kansas has played a key role in cultivating America’s leadership in aviation and is home to thousands of engineers and manufacturers who have supported America’s aviation heritage for more than a century.

“We are and will continue to be the ‘Air Capital of the World’ not only because we build airplanes, but because we have leaders and students driving the industry forward with innovation, ingenuity and a relentless pursuit of excellence.”

# # #