Up... Up… And Away! The Mission Inn, Riverside, and Aviation History

December 17, 1903 First Powered Flight Orville and Wilbur Wright *Telegram image courtesy of the Library of Congress

What advantages could the military have gained from flight in 1908? *Document courtesy of the Library of Congress

Mission Inn founder Frank A Mission Inn founder Frank A. Miller recognized the importance of flight, and in 1917 he successfully lobbied to have a new Army Air Corps base in Riverside.

Left: Two WWI-era bi-planes. March Field as it appeared in 1920, just a few years after Frank Miller and other Riverside citizens helped get War Department approval for a new base in Riverside. Left: Two WWI-era bi-planes. *Photos courtesy of the March Field Air Museum

Planes flying over March Field with major landmarks noted Circa 1930

Military Training Planes, 1935 Military training planes, 1937

The popularity of flight continued to grow during the 1930s and 1940s. Frank Miller’s daughter and son-in-law, Allis and DeWitt Hutchings, created the Fliers’ Wall at the Mission Inn in 1932. Far left: DeWitt Hutchings, Allis Hutchings.

The Mission Inn Fliers Wall The Mission Inn Fliers Wall, the Flying Hutchings, and “Air Mindedness” The Mission Inn Fliers Wall Present day, currently home to 157 copper wings representing notable aviators and aviation groups

Buzz aldrin affixed his wings to the wall in 2009

The Women Air Service Pilots (WASPs) were honored with wings in 2001 *Photo courtesy of the National Archives, document courtesy of the Eisenhower Presidential Library

The Tuskegee Airmen had their wings affixed to the Fliers Wall in 2012. *Photo courtesy of UC Riverside Special Collections, document courtesy of the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum

Amelia Earhart had her wings affixed during a ceremony in 1936

Charles Lindbergh had his wings applied posthumously in 1994

Other notable aviators include: Orville Wright Chuck Yeager John Glenn Eddie Rickenbacker Michael Coates Neil Armstrong Can you match the aviator with their name and explain what they did to earn wings on the Mission Inn Fliers’ Wall?