Industrial Airplane Show

Coordinates: 40°45′16″N 73°58′27″W / 40.75444°N 73.97425°W / 40.75444; -73.97425 The First Industrial Aeroplane Show, an industrial show, of exhibited full-size airplanes, opened on New Year's Eve 1910 as part of the 11th U.S. International Auto Show at the Grand Central Palace in New York City. The aviation show was organised by the Aero Club of New York. There was much media attention, and local newspapers such as the New York Times and The Brooklyn Daily Eagle covered it for many days. The New York Times reported on January 2, 1911 that "All Palace attendance records were smashed Saturday when over 15,000 persons passed through the doors." The Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported that many spectators bypassed the cars to look at the airplanes. Major General Frederick Dent Grant, USA Department Commander of the East, was one of the main speakers. General Grant attended with three of his aides—Colonel Stephen Mills, General Staff; Captain C.W. Fenton, Second Cavalry; and Marion W. Howze, First Field Artillery. The speakers discussed at the airplane show the possible use of planes for wars, and that the U.S. government should provide funding for airplane research and development. It may have been the first public speech by the military regarding the use of early military aircraft.

Most of the spectators had never seen a full-size airplane before. The Aero Club of New York said to the media that their aim was "to bring under one roof the various machines of domestic and foreign design so as to enable the visitors to the Palace to see the astonishingly rapid advancement made in the field of aeronautics. " A few days before the exhibition The Philadelphia Inquirer published an article predicting that the "Show will be an Eye-Opener" and that "the managers of the International Show at the Grand Central Palace, say that aside from record-breaking attendance of visitors at the exhibition, in connection with which is to be held with the First International Aviation Show, that it will be an eye-opener as a 'Dealer's' Show."

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