FEBRUARY/MARCH ACTIVITY REPORT
Please remember to put your centennial events on the Commission’s calendar at www.centennialofflight.gov/calendar_cf/submit_event.cfm.
The next Commission meeting has been set for May 20-21, 2003 in the Outer Banks, N.C. A draft agenda has been circulated.
The Commission’s brochure has been updated to include new events and our new Partners and Patrons. It is available on our Web site as well.
Patty Wagstaff will be using the Commission logo on posters she will be giving out at autograph signings at air shows and events such as Oshkosh.
A Memorandum of Agreement has been signed with the Oklahoma Centennial of Flight Commission.
A licensing agreement has been signed with Flight Line Apparel Group.
General Dailey’s speech at the National Press Club will not be rescheduled.
Partnership Updates:
Terre Jones, President and CEO of the Wolf Trap Foundation, will be speaking at the National Press Club Luncheon on March 25, 2003. He will be discussing “Education and the Arts: A Vital Role…A Critical Link” and will announce Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts’ Summer 2003 Filene Center Season, which will include their centennial celebration.
NAA is hosting its annual spring awards reception & ceremony on the 31st of March at 7:30 p.m. at the College Park Aviation Museum in College Park, Md.
The ceremony will recognize Young Artists National Aviation Art Contest winners, Federation Aeronautique Internationale award recipients, recipients of the "Most Memorable Aviation Records of 2002" and World & National Aviation and Space Record Setters.
The March 3, 2003, issue of Aviation Week & Space Technology features Women in Aviation, Parker Hannifin and AIA in its Partner Update.
Tom Crouch has been asked to speak on the subject of the “First Flight” at the Oatlands Plantation, a National Historic Trust Site in Leesburg, Va.
The Challenger Learning Center located on the campus of Paducah Community and Technical College is planning a Space Day celebration featuring the centennial of flight.
The Oklahoma Centennial of Flight Commission will use our logo on their stationery, in printed materials, Web sites, press releases, presentations, and signs and banners promoting the centennial. This would include activities associated with Tulsa International Airport’s 75th anniversary in 2003, Tulsa Air and Space Museum, the Oklahoma Aeronautics Commission, and within the pages of The Oklahoma Aviator:
Don Pearsons, Director Air Force Heritage & History, Canada, has been named Chairman of the Canadian Centennial Celebration. He can be reached at 204-833-2500 ext. 6276 or pearsons@escape.ca. The Canadian campaign is called Altitude is Everything, A Canadian Celebration of 100 Years of Flight.
The certificate of appreciation to be given to volunteers of the Vintage Aircraft Division of EAA will display the Commission logo.
NASA Ames’ Public Affairs Office provided video of wind tunnel tests of the Wright Flyer replica to Vidicom Production Company for the French-German Channel ARTE, Hamburg.
The Top 100 Stars of Aviation voting site, www.aviationnow.com/Top100, is up and live. This is an initiative of Aviation Week to identify the most important, most interesting and most influential people in the global aerospace community.
Volunteers are needed to staff NASA exhibits during the Festival of Flight in Fayetteville, N.C., from May 19-25, 2003. Please register to help at oea.larc.nasa.gov/festivalofflight.
Altus Air Force Base is using the Commission logo with a story for its Air Force base newspaper on how sergeants contributed directly to the Air Force over the years.
The NASA History Office is planning a centennial of flight history conference for the fall of 2003 to be hosted by the Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. Contact for the conference is Steve Garber at sgarber@hq.nasa.gov.
NASA History News & Notes has an article about centennial of flight activities.
The AIAA 1903 Wright Flyer Centennial Tour and Exposition began September 26, 2002, at the FAA Flight Deck Museum in Lawndale, Calif., and will end December 2, 2003. Additionally, the AIAA Wright Flyer team will attempt to actually fly a second replica of the 1903 Wright Flyer in 2003.
CRT continues to work with Rockefeller Center and the plans for the event in July are progressing well.
Outreach Activity:
The National Park Service has released a new publication that outlines the story of the Wright brothers and the invention of the airplane. This new publication, First Flight, is available for sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office at bookstore.gpo.gov. Tom Crouch authored the book, with sidebars by Peter Jakab.
Tom Crouch’s article on the 1899 Kite, which appears on our Web site, will be included in a Wright Kite educational kit that includes materials to build and recreate the Wright Kite. The kit is made by Imagination Factory’s Da Vinci Division.
Kirkpatrick Science and Air Space Museum at Omniplex will be using the Commission logo on its member publication, The Explorer.
As the 100th anniversary of flight is celebrated this year, AIA UPDATE is publishing features about aviation and aerospace achievements over the past century. These are excerpts from Milestones of the First Century of Flight, an AIA-inspired commemorative book of historic air and space accomplishments written by F. Clifton Berry.
The 2003 Annual USO Gala Black Tie Salute to the Military will take place on April 12, 2003 at the Williamsburg, Va. Marriott.
To honor the historic 100th anniversary of flight, The Wright Brothers 100 Years of Aviation Celebration design will be featured on Jeff Gordon’s No. 24 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, which he will race during The Winston Cup Race on May 17, 2003, at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in Concord, N.C.
The U.S. Department of Commerce publication “A Century of Service,” notes that 2003 is its 100th anniversary and the bicentennial of the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office, and includes a diagram of the “O. & W. Wright Flying Machine” from their patent application filed March 23, 1903.
The Alabama Jubilee Hot-Air Balloon Classic to be held May 24-25, 2003, has added an annual award called the Montgolfier Aeronautical Lifetime Achievement Award. The first recipient will be Chuck Yeager.
There will be a 43,000 square foot Centennial of Flight Exhibition produced for the 2003 L.A. County Fair. The Commission logo will be used in materials such as brochures, field trip guides for schools, Web site postings, on-site graphics and signage, and possibly as an emblem on the staff golf shirts.
The Society of Experimental Test Pilots is hosting a symposium in L.A. from September 24-27, 2003. The theme will be the centennial of flight. If you are interested in exhibiting there, please contact Randy Neville at 661-275-4558 or Randy.Neville@f22ctf.edwards.af.mil.
The 2003 Wichita Aviation Festival will take place September 18-21, 2003, and will feature Patty Wagstaff, the Thunderbirds, Jim Franklin and more. They will also be hosting the National Air Tour the weekend of September 12-14, 2003.
We have been in contact with the Australian Aviation Museum Bankstown about how they might commemorate the centenary of the Wrights’ flight.
Met with Captain Vladimir Sams, President of Honor of the Yugoslav National Aeroclub, to discuss how they might celebrate the centennial of flight.
The Alaska Chapter of the Ninety Nines will be using the Commission logo on their exhibit.
Metropolitan Nashville Airport Authority is using the Commission logo on a variety of materials to include its external newsletter and celebration-related materials in the months of November and December.
There is a 12’ by 14’ mural of the Wright brothers and their accomplishments currently in storage at the Ohio Historical Society. The Historical Society is receptive to making it available on a loan basis. If you are interested, please contact Dwight Mutchler at 513-984-0386.
The McAllister Museum of Aviation will be using the Commission logo on all publications to help educate the local public about the centennial of flight celebration.
AIA is looking for centennial exhibits, displays, simulators, etc. that they could use on May 10, 2003, at the National Model Rocket Competition in the Plains, Va. The contact is Bruce Mahone and his number is 202-371-8462.
The Irish Post Office has confirmed that the centennial of flight will be recognized by four stamps issued on July 29. The stamps will depict the Wright brothers, Alcock & Brown, Lilian Bland and Harry Ferguson.
The Miramar Air Show will display the Commission logo.
Perdue University Press is reprinting a juvenile series – the PuP Books – that will bring out-of-print stories back to publication. The first series will be the Airplane Girl and Airplane Boys books of the late twenties and early thirties.
Random House Children’s Books, in celebration of the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers first flight, is publishing “First to Fly: How Wilbur & Orville Wright Invented the Airplane” by Peter Busby.
The Explorers Journal, the official quarterly of The Explorers Club, will be devoting a section of its spring issue to the centennial of flight. The Explorers Club will also be honoring several aviation pioneers in aviation at its March 22 Annual Dinner in New York.
The Commission’s brochures will be included in Wright Flyer erector sets.
A band director in Abilene, Texas, will be using the Commission theme as the title of the band’s show, which is musically based on the history of flight.
The City of Phoenix Sky Harbor Art Program will be holding a public art exhibition as part of its “100 Years of Flight” celebrations. They are looking for supporting materials for their exhibition. The contact is Stuart Black at stu@earthfromspace.com.
The University of Rochester holds an annual celebration entitled Meliora Weekend and this year’s theme is Innovation and the 100th Anniversary of Flight.
The Science Museum of Minnesota is celebrating the centennial by focusing on flight and aviation related topics.
The John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences at the University of North Dakota is hosting the Safety and Flight Evaluation Conference sponsored by the National Intercollegiate Flying Association in May 2003. In celebration of the 100th anniversary of powered flight, SAFECON 2003 is focusing its competition around the theme of “flying through the decades.”
International Children’s Day has incorporated the centennial of flight into their plans for June 1, 2003 in Shanghai, China. They are working with the Shanghai Discovery Children’s Museum and the theme is “To the Blue Sky” with exhibits of hot air balloons, Wright brothers’ glider models and other air related craft and exhibits.
On April 19, 2003, the Tarara Vineyards in Leesburg, Va., is hosting “Winds and Wines,” featuring kite flying, control line model airplanes, model sail boats and a tethered hot air balloon display in recognition of 100 years of flight.
Media Relations:
CRT is working on pitching travel publications, inflight magazines and the travel editors of the top dailies. Media relations activity has been difficult due to the situation in the Middle East.
The March 17 issue of Newsweek magazine included an article by the great great niece of New Zealander Robert Pearse that mentions the Commission. Please see the attached media tracking report for additional media hits that have occurred since the last status report.
Web site:
The History of Flight Collection of essays on our Web site is now complete as the 12th, 13th and 14th categories of essays have been added. A search capability has been added to the History of Flight collection.
The Wright Experience module on the 1902 Glider has been added to our Web site.
Partners’ press releases have been added to the Web site. Please continue to send your press releases via email to CRT to post on the site.
Press Releases:
A number of press releases have been issued recently and are available on the COFC Web site. Releases will be posted on the home page as well as in the media section.
March 20, 2003 – U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission Signs Licensing Agreement with Welcome Enterprises
March 19, 2003 – Tena Clark and U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission Sign Licensing Agreement, “Way Up There” Will Serve as NASA’s Centennial of Flight Theme Song
March 18, 2003 – Festival of Flight 2003 Engages Top Flight Exhibits Depicting Aviation’s Past, Present and Future; North Carolina’s Largest Centennial Event is May 16 – 26, 2003
March 18, 2003 – Authentic 1903 Wright Flyer Reproduction and 2003 Lincoln Aviator Kitty Hawk Edition to be Unveiled
March 13, 2003 – Media Advisory – Inventing Flight Announces Title Sponsor
March 12, 2003 – U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission and Flight Line Apparel Group Sign Licensing Agreement
March 12, 2003 – Altitude Is Everything – Canadian Centennial of Flight Campaign Launches National Youth Initiative
March 7, 2003 – Women Aviators and North Carolina Astronaut William S. McArthur, Jr. to Gather and Celebrate at Wright Brothers National Memorial as Part of Women’s History Month Observations
March 7, 2003 – Ready for Takeoff, Jeff Gordon’s DuPont Chevrolet Takes Flight with the Wright Brothers
March 5, 2003 – Veridian to Present National Aviation Hall of Fame President’s Dinner During Inventing Flight: the Centennial Celebration
March 3, 2003 – The Royal Aeronautical Society and the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts Join Centennial Celebration
March 3, 2003 – NASA Engineers Test Wright Stuff
March 2003 – Legends of Airpower Hits Distribution Milestone, Series Will Have Ten Thousandth Broadcast March 17th
February 22, 2003 – “Way Up There”: Music’s Healing Hand
Articles/Interviews:
Please see the attached media tracking report for recent media hits. If you have any questions about the report or would like to see full text articles, please contact CRT.
Educational Outreach Activities:
The Singapore Youth Flying Club publishes a quarterly Take-Off magazine for their students, ages 12 to 18 years old. We have given them permission to print the History of Flight essays from our Web site in their educational magazine as part of their 100th year of powered flight celebration.
The 7th grade students at Sunset Middle School in Coos Bay, Oregon, have designed a poster called “Celebrating the Centennial of Flight.” It can be viewed on their Web site at home.att.net/~becky.cb/intronsip.htm. They have been working on a NASA Student Involvement Project about Apollo 14 Astronaut Stuart Roosa and “Moon Trees.”
Exploration Station in Robeson County, N.C., is working on a Dreams of Flight project with the N.C. Arts Council, public and private schools, and the home school association.
Shaw Elementary School in Beavercreek, Ohio, has chosen the theme Centennial of Flight for their PTO event this year. Reading the “Cleared for Takeoff” article in the January/February issue of Home & Away motivated them to do that.
CRT has posted information about the Educational Tool Kits on a list serve that reaches more than 800 children’s museums across the country and internationally. Early responses have been great and museums have expressed an interest from as far away as China.
Beatrice Public Library, Nebraska, in conjunction with the Beatrice Airport Authority and the Flying Conestogas, will feature the Commission logo with their collection of aviation memorabilia display.
Organizing activities and materials for the U.S.A.F. Centennial of Flight Commission to use in conjunction with their Art Exhibit at Union Station May 19 through June 9, 2003.
Presentations were made to twelve 4th, 5th and 6th grade classrooms in Lincoln, Neb., about the Wright brothers and the centennial of flight.
Attended the National Coalition of Aviation Education quarterly meeting. NCAE continues to work on coordinating the educational efforts, conference participation and product development of the more than 50 member organizations.
Met with Civil Air Patrol staff to coordinate centennial of flight activities at multiple venues in 2003. Discussed the dissemination of CAP materials via NASA’s Educator Resource Centers. NASA materials are currently included in all of CAP’s educator packages.
Judged student K-12 art from across the United States that had been submitted for the international FAI student art contest. Over 6,500 K-12 students in the U.S. alone submitted entries. This year’s theme is “100 Years of Powered Flight.” The U.S. winners selected will be forwarded to FAI for the international finals in April in Madrid.
Continue to work with EAA, FAA, CAP and others to finalize NASA’s COF educational participation in EAA’s Countdown to Kitty Hawk Tour. The tour will include Dearborn, Mich.; Dayton, Ohio; and Kitty Hawk, N.C.
The Washington Times will publish an educational supplement based on the 32-page brochure “Celebrating a Century of Flight.” The supplement will be disseminated to newspapers all over the country and is expected to reach over a million teachers and students.
Continue to work with the Brewer Educational Forum, sponsored by NAA, to help communicate educators’ needs to more than 50 national organizations with an active interest in aviation and space education. Brewer Selection Committee for the 2002 Brewer Trophy met February 14, 2002. Brewer Education Meeting also took place on February 14.
Completed Activities/ Events:
On March 21, 2003, there was an Ohio Bicentennial Tribute by the Air Force Band of Flight at the United States Air Force Museum.
The FAA is hosting a monthly series of Centennial of Flight Awareness Events. The second was held March 20, 2003, and featured several WASPS as they addressed the changes in aviation for women since World War II.
On March 18, 2003, the authentic reproduction of the 1903 Wright Flyer and the Lincoln Aviation Kitty Hawk Edition were unveiled. This was sponsored by EAA, Ford Motor Company, Microsoft Flight Simulator and Eclipse Aviation.
March 14-15, 2003, Women in Aviation were honored as part of Women’s History
Month at Wright Brothers National Memorial.
On March 11, 2003, the National Association of State Aviation Officials hosted a reception celebrating the Wright brothers and the centennial of flight in the Hart Senate Office Building.
On March 10, 2003, The United States Air Force, in cooperation with the Women in Military Service for American Memorial Foundation and Art Reach-International, commemorated the centennial of flight and Women’s History Month with a private screening of Above & Beyond: 100 Years of Women in Aviation.
The Mutual Concerns Conference, jointly sponsored by the National Air and Space Museum and the American Association of Museums, was held March 1-4, 2003. The session, chaired by Dr. Tom Crouch, was entitled “Centennial of Flight Celebration: A Primer on North American Resources.”
February 20-22, 2003, was the annual conference of the Science Education Council of Ohio and featured the centennial of flight.
The quarterly journal of the U.S. Air Force Historical Foundation, Air Power History, Winter 2002 issue, is dedicated to the centennial of flight. The magazine cover features a watercolor of the 1909 military flyer at Fort Myer, , from the U.S. Air Force art collection, and all of the articles are extensively illustrated, in many cases with rarely published photographs.
Other:
CRT will be ordering tapes of the national kick off ceremony at the National Air and Space Museum that will be available for about $15 each. If you would like a tape of the ceremony and have not yet contacted CRT, please email Julie to let her know how many you would like. (jbreissinger@crtpr.com)