KILL DEVIL HILLS, NC
October 29, 2003

Event planners for the First Flight Centennial Celebration announced several of the educational and historic exhibits at Wright Brothers National Memorial from December 12-17, 2003 for the First Flight Centennial Celebration, a tribute to the Wright brothers' achievements and the first century of manned, powered, controlled, sustained flight.

"The exhibits we've chosen for our celebration not only highlight the achievements of the Wright brothers and the incredible strides made in aviation in the last century, but also have been carefully selected with an eye toward inspiring our youth to carry forth the spirit of the Wrights and their successors," remarked Kim Sawyer, Program Administrator for the North Carolina First Flight Centennial Commission. "Our celebration pays tribute to the eventful first century of aviation, and paves the way for future generations to carry out their legacy in the next century."

Confirmed on-site exhibitors for the six-day celebration include the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA); the United States Air Force; the United States Coast Guard; the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA); the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA); the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA); Dare County Schools; the United States Postal Service, and the First Flight Society.

In addition, the First Flight Centennial Pavilion will feature its current exhibits from NASA, the United States Air Force, The Outer Banks History Center, General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA) and North Carolina's First Flight Centennial Commission. The park's Visitor Center will house an exhibit of Wright brothers' artifacts from the Museo Aeronautico Gianni Caproni in Italy. Additional exhibits will be announced as they are confirmed. Tickets are still available for purchase for December 13-16 at $10 per day until the 35,000-ticket limit has been reached for each of those days. Tickets for December 17 have already sold out.

Information about December centennial events is available at www.firstflightcentennial.org. For First Flight Centennial Celebration tickets, visit www.wrightbrothers.reserveworld.com, or call (800) 973-7327 or (301) 722-1257 (for callers outside the United States) between the hours of 10 a.m. and 10 p.m. Eastern time.

(Details on some of the larger exhibits follow:)

The NASA Centennial of Flight Exhibit includes:

• Exhibit panels detailing NASA's mission
• Shuttle Experience theatre
• Education Information Distribution Center
• Space Shuttle Main Engine
• Numerous Artifacts and Models
• Moon Rock
• Simulator
• Mock-up of the International Space Station, which includes habitation module, laboratory module, docking tunnel
• Downlink with the International Space Station on Friday, December 12 from 10 a.m.-12 p.m.
• Mobile Aeronautics Education Laboratory, a 12-station aeronautics laboratory including Activity Center, Aeronautics Interactive, Aircraft Design; Air Traffic
Control, GPS/Amateur Radio, Remote Sensing, Resource Center; Virtual Reality; Weather, Wind Tunnel; World Wide Web

• The "Cross Into The Blue" Tour is a high-tech, interactive experience designed to educate the public on today's U.S. Air Force
• State-of-the-art Movie Theater - featuring a 6'x14' movie screen and digital surround sound built into a customized trailer. The movie features a 3 ½ minute, high-powered audio visual experience of what it's like to be inside today's U.S. Air Force
• Air-to-Air Refueling Game - test your skills as a boom operator on a refueling tanker
• Extreme Equilibrium Ride - experience the 'spatial disorientation' pilots may encounter
• Special Ops Jumper Interactive - virtual reality game that simulates a parachute jump
• Satellite Systems Display - showcases the detail and intricacies of a GPS satellite
• F-16 Fighting Falcon - visitors can peer into the cockpit of an actual F-16 fighter jet
• Interactive Kiosks - six computer kiosks built into the side of the movie theater trailer features trivia questions designed to educate visitors about today's U.S. Air Force in a fun and entertaining way

UNITED STATES COAST GUARD EXHIBIT:

The display backdrop includes nearly 100 historic photos from the Coast Guard Archive, several aircraft models, and two video montages that chronicle the progression of flying machines used by the Coast Guard since LT Elmer Stone's first flight in 1917. The centerpiece for the display is a full-size mockup of a helicopter doorway and rescue basket that will allow visitors to photograph family members and friends being "rescued".

The remaining elements are designed to provide hands-on activities for visitors..
• A pair of tabletop helicopter flight demonstrators. These devices use mechanical linkages to control a small tethered, electric-powered helicopter to pick up survivors and land on ships. It takes some concentration to pick up an object, but it's quick to learn and very safe and manageable for young visitors.
• A fixed-wing hands-on demonstrator that allows visitors to fly a Coast Guard airplane down a wire, timing the drop of a raft to survivors in the water below. This is a relatively simple device that kids of all ages can operate.
• A crafts table where kids can make their own flight suit "patches" from a standard adhesive sticker and a variety of rubber stamps representing each of the flight crew breast insignias.

FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION (FAA):

FAA Air Traffic Command Center:
• The interior of this Command Center consists of six controller consoles.
• One half of the interior space of the Command Center is a recreation of the interior of an air traffic control tower. The visitor will view air traffic control equipment and "window space" above it. As the visitor looks out of the air traffic cab windows, he/she will view a surround of three screens depicting one airport environment, showing views from the control tower or from the flight deck of planes taking off and landing.
• The opposite side of the Command Center exhibit is fashioned after FAA National Radar Control/Command Center. Visitors can sit at or stand behind three stations, where "live" pre-taped traffic will be displayed. One screen will display the National airspace--tracking planes as they make their way across the country. A second screen will who incoming flight into the U.S. airspace from overseas. A third screen will display a combination of air traffic and weather patterns.
• In addition, the remaining pavilion will consist of the "Safe Flight 21/Alaska Capstone" flight simulator, demonstrating new cockpit technology display for general aviation aircraft.

EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFT ASSOCIATION (EAA):

• EAA's Countdown to Kitty Hawk Touring Pavilion is an impressive interactive exhibit visiting U.S. cities and events throughout 2003 and into 2004. The exposition celebrates the invention of first flight and the ensuing possibilities that wondrous achievement launched.
• EAA's Countdown to Kitty Hawk pavilion is a hands-on experience, where visitors can take the controls of innovative aircraft such as the DC-3 and 747 and fly through simulated skies or try their hand at replicating the Wrights' first flight at a virtual Kitty Hawk so real you can almost touch the sand and feel the breeze on your face.
• The pavilion showcases EAA's accurately reproduced 1903 Wright Flyer, while documents on display are drawn entirely from the Library of Congress collections. This story is further brought to life through a theatrical re-enactment with actors portraying 1903 Kitty Hawk resident Bill Tate -- and fictional flying machine inventor, Travis Fowler, to give visitors spirited insight into the remarkable discovery of flight.

AIRCRAFT OWNERS AND PILOTS ASSOCIATION (AOPA):

• Tours of the $350,000, 900 square-foot Pilot Facility at Wright Brothers National Memorial, which was generously donated by AOPA to the Wright Brothers National Memorial in 2003. The Pilot Facility includes a dedicated pilot briefing room complete with a computerized weather briefing system, route planning software, telephones, wall-mounted navigation charts and workspace for flight planning. The facility is located adjacent to the 3,000-foot First Flight Airfield and also provides rest rooms and space for an air tour concession.
• The grand prize for AOPA's Centennial of Flight Sweepstakes - a 1940 WACO UPF-7 Biplane
• A small hospitality tent with displays on AOPA and general aviation.

DARE COUNTY SCHOOLS:

• Partnering with NASA, the Toothpick Air Force, and Kitty Hawk Kites to provide interactive educational opportunities
• This exhibit will also showcase local students' centennial-related art and essay display from the First Flight Contest during the 2000-2001 school year
• A mosaic of the Wright Memorial by Manteo Middle School Students
• Wright Flight Program
• Kids will have the opportunity to make toy airplanes

FIRST FLIGHT SOCIETY - OUTER BANKS STAMP CLUB - UNITED STATES POSTAL SERVICE:

• A display of First Flight-related Philatelic materials
• Fiberboard poster of 1900 photo of Kitty Hawk Post office
• Quote from letter of postmaster William S. Tate to Wilbur Wright

The United States Postal Service will sell First Flight Stamps and framed mementoes. The First Flight Society and the Outer Banks Stamp Club will sell commemorative cachets to celebrate the event.

Contact:

Contact: Erin Porter Centennial Planning Office
Tel: 252 441 6291, ext. 224
ErinPorterNPS@aol.com