First Flight Ship to Shore

First Flight Ship to Shore is a Virginia historical marker in Norfolk County, dedicated 1982.

Norfolk County · dedicated 1982 · 9401 4th View Street

Get directions ↗Start a road trip Historical trails

On 14 November, 1910, Eugene Ely in a Curtiss built "Hudson Flyer," utilizing a specially constructed platform with an uptilt at the end, took off from the cruiser Birmingham anchored off Fort Monroe and landed at Willoughby Spit, 2 1/2 miles distant, thus completing the first flight from ship to shore and the first flight to utilize the "Ski Jump" deck. This was the birth of Naval aviation.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection

Example

The Articles of Confederation marker in Pennsylvania stands under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s.

What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

From one family's 77-marker roster

Upload your family tree and TreeAlive finds the markers near where your own ancestors lived.

See your family's markers

Start with a tree file, a FamilySearch sign in, or a WikiTree ID.

Report a problem with this page

The marker isn't at this spotOur pin may be off. If you know where it stands, tell us.I couldn't find the markerWe record what the source recorded. We have not been to look.The sign reads differentlyThat would be an error, and we can pass it to the program.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

We may pass what you report to the state's marker program. Please don't include personal details.

Marker program managed by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources.

More markers nearby

Susan Constant Shrineunder 1 mi
Landing of Wool and Surrender of Norfolkunder 1 mi
Operation Torch, 1942under 1 mi
Naval Aviation Depot, Norfolk2 mi