August 23, 1937

Aug. 23, 1937
The first completely automatic landing of an aircraft occurs at Dayton, Ohio. A Fokker C- 14B parasol wing transport flown by Capt. George V. Holloman takes off from Wright Field, and after its automatic equipment is switched on, it turns toward Patterson Field, gradually descends, and then lands without any assistance from the human pilot or from the ground using a ground radio system that consists of five transmitting beacons. Capt. Carl J. Crane, the system’s inventor, and Holloman are later awarded the Mackay Trophy.

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