OHIO — An effort in the Ohio legislature that began in 2023 is landing on the governor's desk: make the Wright Flyer III the official state airplane. 

The Ohio House approved Senate Bill 24 in a vote of 85-0 Wednesday and now awaits Gov. Mike DeWine's signature. It was approved by the Ohio Senate last month.

Making it the state plane would pay ode to the Wright Brothers, who grew up in Dayton and were American aviation pioneers. The brothers designed the plane in 1905, which ended up setting flight duration and distance records, according to historical documents. It stayed in flight 39 minutes and 24 seconds on Oct. 5, 1905.

"The Wright brothers significantly contributed to Ohio’s rich history and altered how the world views transportation," said Sen. Matt Huffman, R-Lima, in a previous statement. "This monumental achievement is already recognized nationally, and the technology they developed here is worthy of statewide recognition."

Huffman is one of the sponsors of the bill, along with State Sen. Terry Johnson, R-McDermott. 

“Bob Nelson, former captain in the Air Force, gave me the idea. My team researched it, then we decided to move forward with the Wright Flyer III,” Johnson said in a previous interview.

The plane is currently on display at Carilon Historical Park in Dayton, and it's the only plane in the country to have the designation as a National Historic Landmark. It also marked the revolution of aviation, having four key characteristics that changed the functionality of airplanes: its ability to be self-propelled, pilot-carrying, heavier than air and controllable, said Brady Kress, the president and CEO of the organization Dayton History, who joined an episode of Spectrum News 1's In Focus to discuss the aircraft.