In January 1925, four aviation pioneers — Clyde Cessna, Lloyd Stearman, Walter Beech and Olive Ann Mellor Beech — joined forces in Wichita to form the Travel Air Manufacturing Company. It marked the beginning of Wichita’s global leadership in corporate, commercial and defense aerospace — a legacy that earned the city the title “Air Capital of the World.”
Today, Wichita remains an international hub for aerospace engineering and advanced manufacturing. From the earliest days of aircraft design to today’s most advanced materials, processes and testing capabilities, innovators with the vision, drive and talent to fly farther continue to join the Air Capital of the World’s thriving aerospace ecosystem.
This is where the future of aerospace begins.
May 4, 1911
Wichita hosts “Aeroplanes” Air Show to over 18,000 in attendance – Wichita Beacon headline ‘Wichita is Aviation Mad Today’.
1920
Jake Moelledick and EM Laird form the Laird Company (employing both Lloyd Stearman and Walter Beech).
Dec. 1924
Lloyd Stearman, Walter Beech and Clyde Cessna begin formation of Travel Air.
1927
Formation of Cessna Aircraft Company and Stearman Aircraft Company.
1929
Great Wichita Rotary Fly-Ins – Fleet of 15 Wichita made aircraft used to transport over 400 Rotarians to the Rotary International Convention in Dallas.
1920’s
Over 15 aircraft manufacturers are headquartered in Wichita, KS.
1932
Formation of Beechcraft.
1934
Boeing deepens ties to Wichita with the government contract for the Kaydet trainer.
1935
Opening of the Wichita Municipal Airport with service provided by Trans World Airlines (TWA).
1940s
B-29, B-47, B-52 and Waco CG-4 glider produced in Wichita.
1948
183,027 flights landed or took off from Wichita Municipal airport this year.
1948
Mooney Aircraft reemerges after 1930 closure.
1953
Wichita Air Force Base begins out of the Wichita Municipal Airport — renamed in 1954 to McConnell AFB when it takes of the entirety of the Wichita Municipal Airport.
1963
Bill Lear produces the first prototype of a business jet with his Learjet 23.
1971
First KC-135 arrives at McConnell AFB, signifying its longstanding mission with this fleet.
1980
Raytheon enters the Wichita market with purchase of Beechcraft.
June 1983
Mid-State Aerospace, Inc. is established.
1985
The Institute for Aviation Research — now Wichita State University’s National Institute for Aviation Research (NIAR) — is founded.
1990
NIAR building opens with a dedicated ceremony.
2002
Airbus opens their engineering facility this year.
2003
John Tomblin is named executive director of NIAR.
2014
Wichita State University establishes Innovation Campus.
2014
Textron announces Textron Aviation in conjunction with purchase of Cessna, Beechcraft and Hawker, making Wichita their headquarters.
2019
NWI Aerostructures was formed in 2019 through strategic acquisitions and has been transformed through investment, restructuring and integrating operations.
2020
NIAR announces first Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul (MRO) and Department of Defense (DoD) digital twin programs.
2022
Bombardier announces Wichita as U.S. headquarters.