Throughout 100-plus years of flight, Purdue University has propelled
unique contributions from pioneer educators, aviators, and engineers who
flew balloons into the stratosphere, barnstormed the countryside,
helped break the sound barrier, and left footprints in lunar soil. Wings of Their Dreams
follows the flight plans and footsteps of aviation's pioneers and
trailblazers across the twentieth century, a path from Kitty Hawk to the
Sea of Tranquility and beyond. The book reminds readers that the first
and last men to land on the moon first trekked across the West
Lafayette, Indiana, campus on their journeys into the heavens and
history. This is the story of an aeronautic odyssey of imagination,
science, engineering, technology, adventure, courage, danger, and
promise. It is the story of the human spirit taking flight, entwined
with Purdue's legacy in aviation's history.