In 1911, Longren became the first person to successfully design, build, and fly an aircraft in Kansas. He made 8 successful flights in his “Topeka I,” a pusher biplane, using a watch and a pocket barometer as his only instruments. In 1912, Phil Billard flew over Topeka in a Longren designed pusher at an altitude of 2,500 feet. Throughout the 1920’s, he experimented with the design of a “flivver” aircraft with fold back wings that could be stored in a Model-T garage.