English: The Wright Flyer EX Vin Fiz, displayed in the Main Hall at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

Calbraith Perry Rodgers purchased a specially-built Wright airplane in August 1911. He became the first person to purchase an aircraft. The Wrights called their plane the Model EX. The plane had a 35 horsepower engine allowed a speed of 50 miles per hour. Since the plane would be stopping constantly, refueling, and needing repairs, Rodgers persuaded meatpacking multi-millionaire J. Ogden Armour to sponsor the attempt. Ogden's company had just released a new grape soda, Vin Fiz. Ogden asked that the plane bear the soft drink's name.

The Rodger's transcontinental flight began on September 17, 1911, at Sheepshead Bay, New York. Rodgers landed in Pasadena, California on November 5.

The Smithsonian acquired the Vin Fiz in 1934, and it was restored in 1960.