On your first visit to Chanute, Kansas, you may be forgiven for thinking that it is a cradle of aviation. How else would you explain the biplane sculpture visible from Main Street? This plane and the surrounding park honors Octave Chanute, the town’s namesake, for his achievements in flight and his mentorship of the Wright Brothers. The only catch? He only briefly visited the town, and it was named for him before he began working on aeronautic exploits in earnest. Nevertheless, this unusual memorial offers a photogenic look into early…
