#AviationDay

National Aviation Day falls on August 19, the birthday of Orville Wright, who was born in Dayton, Ohio in 1871. President Franklin D. Roosevelt proclaimed the first one in 1939, and every president since has issued a proclamation for it. The point of the day is simple: look up, think about how flight changed the way we live, and give some credit to the people who keep planes in the air.

Aviation Day vs. Wright Brothers Day

These two get mixed up a lot, so it helps to know which is which before you post. National Aviation Day is August 19 and celebrates aviation as a whole. Wright Brothers Day is December 17, the anniversary of the first powered flight in 1903 at Kill Devil Hills near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. That first flight, with Orville at the controls, lasted 12 seconds and covered about 120 feet. Using #WrightBrothersDay on August 19 is fine when your post is about the brothers themselves, but #AviationDay and #NationalAviationDay are the tags people actually search on this date.

Post Ideas for #AviationDay

• A window-seat photo from a memorable flight, with the route and the year in the caption.
• A plane spotting shot from an airport viewing area, tagged with the aircraft type.
• A visit to an aviation museum or an air show, with one fact you learned there.
• A thank-you post for the people behind the scenes: mechanics, air traffic controllers, ground crew and flight attendants.
• For pilots and student pilots, a logbook milestone, a first solo or a favorite cockpit view.
• For travel brands, a "first flight" memory from the team or a throwback photo of air travel decades ago.

Tips for Using These Hashtags

Lead with #AviationDay or #NationalAviationDay, then add one or two specific tags for your niche, such as #AvGeek for enthusiasts, #PlaneSpotting for spotter photos or #PilotLife for flying content. Post in the morning on August 19 to catch the most activity. August 19 is also World Photography Day, so a great photo of an aircraft works for both. If you share a photo of a specific aircraft, name it in the caption: aviation fans love details, and specific posts tend to get more comments than general ones.