Today is National Aviation Day, first proclaimed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1939 to recognize the development of aviation in the United States.
Aviation in 1939 meant something very different than it does today.
Today, aviation reaches far beyond airplanes and airports. It encompasses commercial and military aviation, advanced aircraft development, unmanned systems, aerospace engineering, satellites, cybersecurity, advanced communications, space exploration and technologies that are changing how we operate in the air and beyond it.
It is also the foundation for an enormous range of jobs and career opportunities. Pilots and aircrews are only part of that picture. Aviation and aerospace depend on engineers, aircraft mechanics and technicians, air traffic controllers, manufacturers, software developers, cybersecurity specialists, researchers, educators and countless other skilled professionals. For young people especially, aviation and aerospace offer career paths that may not have even existed a generation ago.
And today, our definition of aviation extends beyond the atmosphere.
Space exploration and the rapidly expanding space industry have created entirely new areas of technology and opportunity. The creation of the United States Space Force in 2019 established a new branch of our Armed Forces dedicated to protecting American interests in, from and to space. Space is now an essential part of our national defense, communications, navigation and everyday life.
For the Air & Space Forces Association, National Aviation Day has particular meaning. Our mission connects the heritage of American aviation with the future of air and space power. It also challenges us to introduce the next generation to the opportunities ahead, support education in aviation, aerospace, cyber and STEM, and help build the workforce and leaders who will take us into the future.
When President Roosevelt proclaimed the first National Aviation Day 87 years ago, even the most imaginative aviation pioneers of the time could hardly have envisioned where their work would lead.
From the first generations of powered flight to aircraft flying faster than sound, remotely piloted systems, satellites orbiting the Earth and Guardians serving in the United States Space Force, aviation has become something far greater than simply flying airplanes.
And we are still only beginning to see where it will take us next.
Happy National Aviation Day from AFA Palm Springs Chapter 134