Celebrating aviation change maker Arthur L. Welsh

In recognition of Jewish American Heritage Month, the MAC acknowledges Arthur L. Welsh (1881-1912).

Arthur L. Welsh, born Laiber Welcher in Ukraine in 1881, immigrated as a child in 1890 to Philadelphia, speaking no English. 

At 13, he was sent to Washington, D.C., to live with relatives after his father passed away. Years later, Welsh joined the Wright brothers’ Wright Company and helped establish its first flight school. 

Welsh joined the United States Navy as a 20-year-old. Following his time in the Navy and while working at a local gas company, Welsh wrote a letter to the Wright brothers seeking employment after seeing a flight demonstration in Virginia. He was denied. 

Determined to break into the aviation field, he traveled to Dayton, Ohio, to meet the Wright Brothers — believing he would make a better impression in person. He ultimately was offered a job, even without experience. 

Welsh proved to be a great pilot and was asked to help establish the Wright Company’s first flight school. He became an instructor, teaching students such as Hap Arnold, who would become a five-star general leading the United States Army Air Corps during World War II. He also set multiple records for flight time and altitude and won several flying competitions, including establishing a new two-man altitude record of 1,860 feet in 1911.

Welsh would unfortunately lose his life at the age of 30, dying in a plane crash in 1912.Despite his lack of experience, Welsh demonstrated his passion for aviation through hard work and skill-building, ultimately becoming a pilot and instructor to many aviation greats.

Welsh’s passion for and dedication to aviation is why the MAC acknowledges him as an aviation change maker.