Morris Park Aerodrome

The Morris Park Aerodrome was a short-lived airfield in what is now the Morris Park section of the Bronx, New York, United States. In operation from 1908 to 1909, it was the first flying field in the nation, occupying the grounds of the former Morris Park Racecourse. The Aeronautical Society of New York, after a split from the Aero Club of America, leased the land in 1908 and used it as an aerodrome for two years until it was developed for residential use.

The Society used the grounds for building and testing aircraft, and for putting on public exhibitions including major events in November 1908 and June 1909. The former, captured in an oil painting by Rudolph Dirks titled The Fledglings, included several glider flights by sixteen-year-old Laurence Lesh, culminating in a crash in which he was severely injured. The latter had flights by Glenn Curtiss in his Golden Flyer motorized biplane, including the first demonstration of a stable flight around a closed course using ailerons for lateral control. The exhibitions also featured balloons, kites, helicopters, parachute jumps, and ground vehicles driven by propellers known as wind wagons.

Other projects worked on during the two years of operation included a biplane by Wilbur Kimball using eight propellers and a novel rudder system for lateral control, and a biplane from Frederick Schneider with three adjustable-pitch propellers. Stanley Beach and Charles Willard constructed what is believed to be the first monoplane flown in the United States. Joel T. Rice demonstrated a 100-foot (30 m) long dirigible using vectored thrust, capable of carrying 15 passengers.

The aerodrome ceased operations at the end of 1909, when the land was given over to residential development. The Society moved its operations to a larger facility on Long Island, later known as Roosevelt Field.