Turpin [and] Lt. Rogers (photo)

Although the Purdue University School of Aeronautics and Astronautics was not formally established as a separate academic unit until July 1, 1945, the Purdue and Lafayette community have a much longer aerospace tradition. The first airmail delivery in the U.S., for example, originated by hot air balloon. in Lafayette on August 17, 1859. Flown by John Wise of Lancaster, Pennsylvania, this balloon carried 123 letters and 23 circulars approximately 25 miles to Crawfordsville, Indiana, until forced to land by lack of buoyancy. Mr. Wise also conducted experiments for a local resident to detect the presence of ozone in the upper atmosphere during this flight. Thus, ten years before Purdue University was founded in 1869, Lafayette already had a history of experimentation with air travel, and with using that new technology for scientific exploration.  Community interest in aviation continued when Purdue was established across the Wabash River in what was to become West Lafayette. The Purdue Aero Club was organized in 1910 under the direction of Professor Cicero B. Veal of mechanical engineering, and the community's first aircraft demonstration was held on June 13, 1911. Sponsored by the Purdue Alumni Association and the Lafayette Journal newspaper, this "Aviation Day" attracted an estimated 17,000 people. Other flights to campus during the next few years continued to draw large crowds.  The first Purdue graduate to become an aviator was J.Clifford Turpin (class of 1908), who was taught to fly by Orville Wright. Turpin set an altitude record of 9,400 feet in 1911, establishing an alumni tradition that was continued 55 years later, when an X-2 aircraft flown by Captain Iven C. Kincheloe (BSAE 1949) set an altitude record of 126,000 feet in 1956. That record was subsequently surpassed by alumni Neil A. Armstrong (BSAE 1955) and Eugene A. Cernan (BSEE 1956) during their flights to the moon. Lieutenant George W. Haskins (BSME 1916) was the first alumnus to land on campus, as he flew from Dayton, Ohio, in 1919 with a resolution from the Dayton alumni group proposing formation of a School of Aviation Engineering at Purdue.