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The fascinating (and long-running) story of aviation in Tulsa and Northeast Oklahoma.

By Rich Fisher

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kwgs/local-kwgs-817704.mp3

Tulsa, Oklahoma – Early balloonists, called aeronauts, traveled all across Oklahoma way back when. And soon after the Wright brothers proved the possibility of powered, controllable flight, local Oklahoma inventors were building their own such machines. Once oil was discovered in the state, aviation quite literally took off. Various Gilded Age oil barons quickly seized upon the utility of aviation --- and from these humble beginnings sprang an aerospace industry that would carry Tulsa and its environs into the 21st century. On today's show, a chat about such matters with Kim Jones, the curator of the Tulsa Air and Space Museum and Planetarium. Jones is the author of a new book called "Aviation in Tulsa and Northeast Oklahoma." (Also being published, in connection with this book, is a collection of 15 postcards.)