June 11, 1918 On this day in 1918, the first aircraft, a Curtiss JN-4 called a “Jennie” piloted by Lieutenant John F. Buffington, took off from Mather Field as part of its aviation school. The plane was built at the Liberty Iron Works, formerly known as the Globe Iron Works, on Del Paso Boulevard. The Liberty Iron Works was awarded an 18 million dollar government contract to build Curtiss JN-4 airplanes and the iron works constructed 200 planes for the war effort. The Liberty Iron Works brought