Wright Model B Delivered Silk From Dayton to Columbus in 1910

A Wright Model B biplane carried a commercial shipment of silk from Dayton to Columbus on November 7, 1910. Philip Orin Parmalee piloted the flight, which Morehouse-Martens, a Columbus dry-goods retailer, arranged as a paid delivery.

Key details

• The Wright Company supplied the aircraft and pilot for a reported contract fee of $5,000.
• The aircraft departed Huffman Prairie near Dayton at a reported 10:37 a.m. and landed at Columbus’s Driving Park at 11:50 a.m.
• Published accounts give differing figures for the shipment: one report described five bolts weighing 47 pounds, while an Ohio History Connection account records ten bolts in two packages weighing about 70 pounds.
• Accounts also differ on the flight’s distance and duration: one contemporary newspaper account gave 62 miles in 71 minutes, Parmalee reportedly estimated about 65 miles, and later accounts cite 57 minutes.
• The Ohio History Connection reportedly holds a commemorative card bearing a piece of silk from the shipment.

The Wright Company arranged the paid silk delivery for a reported fee of $5,000.

Why it matters

The Dayton-to-Columbus journey linked an aircraft manufacturer, a commercial customer and a retailer in a paid goods delivery. The Ohio History Connection’s commemorative card preserves a piece of the shipment as a physical record of the flight.