John V. Pliska, born in Tyne, Austria, came to Texas with his
parents in 1897 and settled in Flatonia. In 1903 he started on a
trip to Mexico by train. When the train stopped in Midland, he got
off to look over the local blacksmith shop. Pliska was hired as a
blacksmith and became the first person in Midland County to become
a U.S. naturalized citizen. Fascinated by airplanes, Pliska planned
to build one and by 1909 had started gathering materials. In 1911,
a Wright Brothers Model B plane landed in Midland on a
cross-country flight. Pliska viewed it and began to build his own
plane along with Gary Coggin, a local auto mechanic. Pliska flew
his plane in 1912. Pliska's flying machine can be viewed daily in
the Midland International Airport lobby.