Housing in what would become known as the Hilltop Neighborhood would not take physical shape for nearly two decades, but the future need for it was cast in 1927. It was that year that two new aircraft companies, Stearman (which would be purchased by Boeing in 1929) and Beechcraft, were formed in Wichita. Although Walter Beech of Beechcraft decided not to manufacture the plane that would carry Charles Lindbergh on his trans-Atlantic flight that year, the City of Wichita began promoting itself as "The Air Capital of the U.S." and the nationwide interest in aviation following Lindbergh's flight benefited the City. By 1929, Wichita had sixteen aircraft plants that employed 2,000 people, had its own airline (Central Air Lines), thirteen flying schools, 1,640 acres of flying fields, and six aircraft engine factories. During that year, 26% of the total U.S. production of commercial aircrafts (1,000 planes) were manufactured in Wichita.

A queue of B-17's on an Air Force landing strip.

By the late 1930's when Hitler began his assault in Europe, the locally-manufactured Stearman biplane was in high demand as a primary training craft for the United States Air Force. The plant received military contracts in 1934 and delivered the trainers, PT-13's, two years later. By the end of World War II, more than 10,000 PT-13's would be built in Wichita. In 1937, the Wichita Eagle printed a supplement on local aircraft production proclaiming that "War Clouds Rain Dollars into Wichita." Besides Wichita's existing aircraft production capacity, its middle-of-the-country location made it a suitable site for a major defense production center. It was also less likely to be attacked by the Germans or Japanese than coastal cities.