New York, N.Y. And Fayetteville, N.C.
April 16, 2003

The Next Century of Flight (NCF) Education and Workforce Forum, a global leadership initiative launched last fall by Aviation Week to promote innovation as an engine for economic development, will be a feature of Festival of Flight 2003 on Wednesday, May 21 at the Crown Center.

The NCF Forum will bring together Fayetteville area leaders from education, government, media, and business in a highly interactive day-long investigation of the history and future of innovation in Fayetteville. The Forum capitalizes on the 2003 commemoration of the flight centennial to promote the spirit of innovation and discovery that launched the aviation industry 100 years ago.

Aviation Week, a Festival partner, is contributing the Forum as part of its commitment to support the community's education and outreach objectives. Aviation Week is also publishing the Festival Official Program.

"It's been said that if Kitty Hawk was where flight began, Fayetteville is what it has become," said Festival of Flight President and CEO Gordon Clapp. "The NCF Forum is one of the initiatives the Festival has embraced to help our community answer the questions about where we are headed next."

The Fayetteville NCF Education and Workforce Forum is the fourth in series that debuted last October during Aviation Week's Aerospace Expo Conference & Exhibition in Los Angeles. That event was followed by a Forum conducted during the World Space Congress later that month in Houston. Last March, the third NCF Forum was conducted in Toulouse, France, the aerospace capital of Europe.

In Fayetteville, the NCF Forum will bring together top students, education leaders, technology managers, local business leaders and human resources professionals from the area's leading aviation, aerospace and technology companies in an interactive all-day workshop to:

• share knowledge, experience and success stories
• identify critical workforce opportunities for growth and competitiveness
• collaborate on integrated solutions to capitalize on those challenges
• contribute to a blueprint for developing and motivating the workforce of the future
• connect with a growing worldwide network of innovators

"AVIATION WEEK, and our parent company, The McGraw-Hill Companies, share Fayetteville's commitment to education, information and innovation as the building blocks for the next century of flight," said AVIATION WEEK Executive Vice President/Publisher Kenneth E. Gazzola. "With its emphasis on aerospace economic development, the Festival of Flight is the perfect venue to host a Next Century of Flight Forum."

About AVIATION WEEK

With nearly 50 products and services and a core audience of some one million professionals and enthusiasts, AVIATION WEEK, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, is the world's premier multimedia information and service provider to the aviation and aerospace market. The Next Century of Flight leverages all of the assets of the Aviation Week group to promote aerospace education and careers around the world. More than 20 industry, government and education partners currently support the program. For more information, visit http://www.AviationNow.com.

Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE:MHP) is a global information services provider meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor's, BusinessWeek and McGraw-Hill Education. The Corporation has more than 350 offices in 33 countries. Sales in 2001 were $4.6 billion. Additional information is available at http://www.mcgraw-hill.com.

About Festival of Flight

Festival of Flight 2003, North Carolina's largest public celebration of the centennial of flight, will run from May 16 to 26, 2003. Expected to draw over a half million people, the Festival will feature extensive exhibits from NASA and the United States Air Force, interactive displays from all branches of the military, exhibits from the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum, static displays of current and vintage aircraft, both military and general aviation air shows and daily flight demonstrations with a replica of the Wright Brothers' famous 1903 Wright Flyer. The Festival will also host 5,000 students from across North Carolina in special educational programs. For more information about Festival of Flight, visit http://www.festivalofflight.org.

Contact:

Chris Meyer Aviation Week
(212) 904-3255

Margee Herring
Festival of Flight
(910) 763-4439