Home > Blogs > Nick T Pappas > Huntsville Alabama and Madison Alabama Real Estate Resource

Who Flew The First Plane In Alabama...Quick?

By Nick T Pappas

Real Estate Agent with Assoc. Broker ABR, CRS, SFR, e-Pro, @Homes Realty Group, Broker/Providence Property Mgmnt, LLC Huntsville AL

January 23, 2011 10:39 AM

Who Flew The First Plane In Alabama...Quick?

Orville and Wilbur Wright are generally credited with first in flight at Kitty Hawk North Caroline in 1903. However, my question is, "Who flew the first airplane in Alabama"? And the answer to that comes Quick...William Lafayette Quick and his sons that is. William Lafayette Quick in 1900 began construction of the first airplane to be flown in Alabama. At the family property in New Market Alabama Quick built his airplane from timber grown on his property and processed at his sawmill. The metal hardware was also forged in his blacksmith shop.

Quick's airplane is a single wing design with an upright seat for the pilot and three wheel landing gear. Having to wait 8 years for the engine Quick's plane didn't successfully fly until 1908 in New Market, Alabama nearly 5 years after the Wrights.

Currently William Lafayette Quick's airplane is on display at The US Space and Rocket Center in The Davidson Center For Space Exploration. If you visit Huntsville Alabama...make plans to spend an hour or the day touring The US Space and Rocket Center. Below are photos of the Quick airplane.

Sorry about the background clutter, but it was tough to get a good shot of the airplane.

First airplane to fly in Alabama

Who Flew The First Plane In Alabama...Quick?

Nick T Pappas

If you need a knowledgeable real estate professional in Madison or Huntsville Alabama area, why don't you let me Google that for you! I also know outstanding agents in all states and Canada should you need help relocating to a new area.

Re-Blog

Comments(12)

Comment

Show All Comments

Sort:

Tony & Darcy Cannon

Aubrey and Associates Realty - Layton, UT

The C Team

Nick, those guys were brave to try to fly those machines! Great photos and history!

Jan 23, 2011 10:44 AM

Dawn A Fabiszak

Private Label Realty ( Denver metro area, Colorado - Aurora, CO

The Dawn of a New Real Estate Experience!

Nick ~ that looks like some kind of futuristic thing!

Jan 23, 2011 11:04 AM

Myrl Jeffcoat

Sacramento, CA

Greater Sacramento Realtor - Retired

Nick - You proved that a person can "quickly" learn something new. . .I had never heard of Quick before your blog.

Jan 23, 2011 11:36 AM

George Souto

George Souto NMLS #65149 FHA, CHFA, VA Mortgages - Middletown, CT

Your Connecticut Mortgage Expert

Nick I have to give those early pioneers credit, because there is no way I would have ever gotten into that plane :)

Jan 23, 2011 02:16 PM

Patricia Feager, MBA, CRS, GRI,MRP

DFW FINE PROPERTIES - Flower Mound, TX

Selling Homes Changing Lives

Oh what a piece of art! What a plane! What a story! Thanks for sharing! Because of you, I learned something new!

Jan 23, 2011 04:12 PM

Jenny Kotulak

RE/MAX Real Estate Centre Inc., Brokerage - Oakville, ON

Broker - Oakville Ontario Real Estate

Well if I were looking for a quick way to visit Huntsville it would have to be by flying there. I just checked and it is a 14 and a half hour drive from Oakville.

Now Huntsville, Ontario will take me just over 2 hours. But it's in the wrong direction.

Jan 23, 2011 04:35 PM

Ellen Caruso

Daniel Gale Sotheby's International Realty - Glen Head, NY

Cool, as was this weekends Barrett Jackson auctions, where they featured a ambulance that was probably the one JFK was transported in and sold for 120K.

Jan 24, 2011 02:36 AM

Chris Alston

Chris Alston (Keller Williams Realty, Silicon Valley, California) - Campbell, CA

Silicon Valley, California

To think of the imagination and effort that went into this... I wonder what he was thinking of next...

Jan 24, 2011 02:59 AM

Assoc. Broker ABR, CRS, SFR, e-Pro, @Homes Realty Group, Broker/Providence Property Mgmnt, LLC Huntsville AL - Huntsville, AL

Madison & Huntsville Alabama Real Estate Resource

Tony & Darcy-for their time, yes they were certainly brave.

Dawn-I was thinking how much it looked like some of Da Vinci's drawings.

Myrl-I probably would not have found out about the Quick's if I didn't live in this area.

George-I love flying and who knows what I would have attempted back then.

Patricia-Wow...thank you. There's so much out there in our history that we may never know.

Jenny-but if you take the 14 hour drive to this Huntsville...I'll buy you dinner!!

Ellen-I like watching Barrett Jackson too...lot's of nice cars go through there and some are actually affordable.

Chris-actually his next project was a redesign of the first plane. Having learned from failures of the first Quick patented a new design in 1912.

Jan 24, 2011 05:09 AM

Nick you've heard me blog about my husbands car addiction, well last week he traveled 6 miles to buy the perfect car for my son, a mustang with butterfly doors. He hasn't moped around about his heart attack since the purchase. Cars are his ultimate cure!

Jan 24, 2011 09:04 AM

Ellen-cars (the right cars) can cure a lot of ills!

Jan 24, 2011 02:25 PM

Suzanne Strickler

Realty Mark Associates - Havertown, PA

School is never out for the Successful.

Nick - Where else can I go to learn fascinating Alabama tidbits but in your blog? :-)

Jan 25, 2011 06:36 AM

Who Flew The First Plane In Alabama...Quick?

Comments(12)

Nick T Pappas

Service Areas

Real Estate Resources

Recent Posts