MARCH/APRIL 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.
Fayetteville Festival of Flight has activities on May 19 that they have specifically invited Commission and Advisory Board members to attend. On the morning of May 20, the CBS News Early Show will be live from the Aviation Exposition at the Coliseum in Fayetteville.
The new Navy representative on the First Flight Centennial Federal Advisory Board is Mr. Bill Balderson. He can be reached phone at 703-614-7794 or by email at balderson.william@hq.navy.mil.
A Web Enhancement procurement announcement has been posted at www.asu.faa.gov
under "Contracting Opportunities." The intent of this procurement is to obtain historical information regarding the Wright brothers that is credible, authentic, legitimate and educational for inclusion on the COFC Web site. The procurement closes May 2, 2003.
A Memorandum of Agreement has been signed with Netside TV Ltd.
A licensing agreement has been signed with The Alaska Chapter of The Ninety-Nines, Inc. International Organization of Women Pilots.
We had an entrance conference with the GAO as they begin their audit of the 2002 financial transactions of the Commission.
Many thanks to the Commissioners for filling out the General Services Administration’s Federal Advisory Committee Stakeholder Engagement Survey. The mean score government-wide was 3.98 (out of 5) and the COFC’s mean score was 4.58.
Partnership Updates:
A limited number of tickets to the Inventing Flight Opening Day Ceremonies are now available to the general public by calling 937-228-2287.
The next meeting of the First Flight Centennial Commission will be on April 24, 2003, in Kill Devil Hills, N.C.
The annual Space Day Student Survey has launched at USA Today’s Educational site, usatoday.com/educate/home.htm.
H. Congress Res. 58 was passed March 31, 2003 honoring Fayetteville, N.C., and its many partners for the Festival of Flight, a celebration of the centennial of Wilbur and Orville Wright’s first flight.
Chris Meyer, Aviation Week, has sent out a fact sheet regarding advertising opportunities in the Fayetteville Festival of Flight Official Program.
Staff from the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum have many speaking engagements throughout the centennial year on the Wright brothers or aspects of the invention of the airplane. Some in April and May include:
April 4: Sinclair College, address to a symposium sponsored by the Higher
Education Consortium of the Miami Valley
April 7: Wright brothers, Loyola University
April 15: Address to the International Symposium on Aviation Psychology,
Dayton, Ohio
April 15: Address to the Dayton-Cincinnati section of the American
Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics
April 29: Participating in an all-day symposium on the history of flight,
National Archives
May 2: Address to the San Francisco Aeronautical Society
May 4-5: Bower Lecture, San Antonio, Aerospace Medical Association
May 10: Wright brothers, Royal Aeronautical Society
May 13: Wright brothers, University of Liverpool, UK
May 14: Wright brothers, University of Westminster
May 15: Address to the Phoenix Chapter, AIAA
May 21: Addressing the Friends of the Library Author's Lunch, Wright State
May 22: Participating in Lindbergh Lecture, NASM
May 31: Address to International Science Teachers, Williamsburg, VA
The Goddard rocket exhibit pop up mural at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center will include the Commission logo.
Air Force ROTC cadets at Iowa State University are building a parade float for ISU’s annual parade. The theme will be the centennial of flight.
The Army Air Force Exchange Service is using the Commission logo on a t-shirt that its staff will wear.
Robins Air Force Base Library is using the Commission logo on its Web page and its advertising materials.
The Survivability & Sensor Materials Division of the AFRL/Materials and Manufacturing Directorate is using our logo in conjunction with its annual award banquet. The theme is “Celebrating 100 Years of Flight – Conquering Today’s Challenges for Tomorrow’s Freedom.”
The “Air Power” Aviation Art Exhibit is at the United States Air Force Museum.
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 fly a second replica of the 1903 Wright Flyer in 2003.
Outreach Activity:
Met with Tony Monaghan, Education Liaison Officer, Bombardier Aerospace Northern Ireland, about their plans for the centennial of flight.
College Park Aviation Museum will be distributing COFC posters and educational materials during its Maryland Centennial of Flight celebration.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will use the Commission logo on its printed materials and banners. This would include Newark Liberty International, Kennedy International and LaGuardia airports.
The Board of Directors of the Iowa Aviation Museum voted to induct Orville and Wilbur Wright as honorary members of the Iowa Aviation Hall of Fame to celebrate the 100th anniversary of powered flight, since the Wrights lived in Iowa for a time. The induction ceremony will be held in Greenfield on Saturday, May 31st.
The Commission logo will be laser engraved on boxed pen and pencil sets to be presented at the annual workshop/symposium for Honeywell employees that administer Honeywell’s Product Safety Oversight Program and provide on-scene accident investigation support to the National Transportation Safety Board.
Wings over Houston Airshow on October 18-19 will use the Commission logo on its brochure and poster.
The Chronicle in Centralia, Wash., has put the “Celebrating a Century of Flight” brochure online.
On May 1, 2003, “Celebration of a Legend,” the 80th birthday celebration for General Chuck Yeager, will be held in Dallas, Texas.
The State of Maine government passed legislation that recognizes the third week in each April as “Aviation and Aerospace Education Week.” COFC brochures will be handed out at this year’s event.
In AIA’s Winter 2003 Executive Report, The Message from the Chairman talks about the centennial of powered flight.
San Diego County Regional Airport Authority used the Commission logo on a flyer for a non-profit event put on by the San Diego Chapter of the Tuskegee Airmen.
The Amelia Earhart Festival, July 25-26, will use the Commission logo on the cover of its festival brochure and poster, both of which will feature a photograph of Orville Wright and Amelia Earhart taken at the dedication of the Franklin Institute’s Hall of Aviation on December 17, 1933.
TheatreWorks, a national touring theatre for young people, will be presenting the play “First in Flight” to youth across the nation.
LAD Communications, a Montreal-based advertising agency, will use the Commission logo in a Bombardier Aerospace internal newsletter that is published monthly for the 6,000 employees based in Montreal.
Pratt & Whitney, West Palm Beach, Fla., is using the theme “The Wright Stuff – Celebrating the Evolution of Flight” as the theme for this year’s Take Your Child to Work Day Event.
One of the essays in the History of Flight section of the Web site will be reproduced on a fan Web site for Chuck Yeager.
Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, has an air show called “Gunfighter Skies 2003.” Its theme is “Celebrating 100 years of Airpower and 60 years of Airpower in Idaho.”
Media Relations:
The Mini Page in the Washington Post on Sunday, March 23, 2003, featured Women Pilots and Astronauts. CRT is working with the Mini Page regarding future centennial of flight issues.
The KidsPost of the Washington Post on March 19, 2003, had an article and picture of the Unveiling of the Wright Flyer at Ronald Reagan International Airport.
The April 2003 issue of the Smithsonian Magazine features “100 Years Ago - The Wright Brothers – How They Did it” on the cover.
Horizon Air magazine is doing a story on the centennial of flight.
Nickelodeon is running a 60 second piece on the AIA National Model Rocket Competition on the Sports and News brief on Friday, May 9, 2003. Willard Scott has been invited to the Rocket Competition on May 10, 2003.
CRT is working on following up with travel publications, in flight magazines and the travel editors of the top dailies. Media relations activity has been difficult due to the situation in Iraq.
Web site:
Wilbur and Orville Wright A Chronology is live on our Web site. The Library of Congress assembled this collection of the Wright brothers' adventures and achievements with the assistance of the Wrights' own journals and other historical sources of the time.
Web Trend data for March 2003 shows an all time high of over 1.4 million hits to our Web site.
Partners’ press releases have been added to the Web site. Please continue to send your press releases, and pictures if you have them, via e-mail 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.
April 11, 2003 – AirsideTV.com Relationship Enhances Centennial of Flight Coverage
April 2, 2003 – Harrison Ford Joins National Aviation Hall of Fame’s Centennial Salute
April 2, 2003 – U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission Announces Two New Alliances
April 2, 2003 – 2003 Cyber Space Day Webcast to Focus on the Future of Flight
March 28, 2003 – Children and Their Families Can Receive Passport to Flight, United States Air Force Museum
March 27, 2003 – National Acts Confirm Participation in Centennial Celebration
March 24, 2003 – AIA Announces High School Finalists for World’s Largest Rocket Contest
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
March 19, 2003 – Festival of Flight 2003 Engages Top Flight Exhibits Depicting Aviation’s Past, Present and Future
March 18, 2003 – EAA Unveils 1903 Wright Flyer Reproduction to Kick Off Countdown to Kitty Hawk Tour
March 10, 2003 – Touchstone Energy to Send Hot-Air Balloon and Champion Pilot to Festival of Flight
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.
There was an article in the Timaru Herald, New Zealand about Richard Pearse that mentions the U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission and Karen Smith.
Educational Outreach Activities:
The December 6, 2002 issue of Scholastic News features “Flying through History” with a picture of a Wright brothers’ plane on the cover.
The Challenger Learning Center located on the campus of Paducah Community & Technical College is planning a Space Day celebration with over 900 local fifth graders from Illinois and Kentucky on campus and 500 community members. The theme will be “100 Years of Flight: Past, Present, and Future,” and the resource packets will include our educational material.
Working with the Community Education Liaison, Santa Barbara, Calif. They will be using the Commission logo on the Santa Barbara City Parks and Recreation Department guidebooks and on history displays at the public libraries in Santa Barbara.
Attended the National Science Teachers’ Association annual convention in Philadelphia, Penn. Met with members of the Franklin Institute and gave two presentations to more than 1,000 educators at the museum. Also introduced centennial of flight and NASA educational materials to educators at the conference.
Working with Space Center Houston staff to provide information and materials related to centennial of flight for their 2003 educator workshops.
We are providing educational material and handouts to the keynote speaker at a Texas high school Air Force ROTC military ball.
Educational material and our brochure have been provided to the Educational reporter from Science Education in Korea.
The staff at the Cape Girardeau Regional Air Festival, southeast Missouri, will be using COFC educational material and posters. The brochures will feature the Commission logo.
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. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram is the first newspaper to print the supplement.
Completed Activities/ Events:
The 2003 Annual USO Gala Black Tie Salute to the Military took place on April 12, 2003, at the Williamsburg, Va., Marriott.
April 10, 2003 was the WorldFlight 2003 Grand Opening Gala at the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh, N.C.
In his April 8, 2003, statement to the Subcommittee on VA-HUD Independent Agencies, House Committee on Appropriations, NASA Administrator O’Keefe referenced the centennial of flight.
April 3-5, 2003, The University of Dayton, Wright State University, Sinclair Community College and Central State University presented “Aviation & the Human Experience,” A Symposium Commemorating the Heritage of Flight.
Attended the annual Civil Air Patrol Conference: the National Congress for Aviation and Space Educators April 2-5. Conference attendance included approximately 800 educators from across the country. Distributed centennial of flight related educational materials and information.
On March 31, 2003, the National Aeronautic Association’s Spring Awards Reception and Ceremony was held at the College Park Aviation Museum.
March 27, 2003, was the dedication of the Birds, Flight and the Wrights trail in Dayton, Ohio.
The March 25, 2003 luncheon at the National Press Club featured Terrence Jones, President and CEO of the Wolf Trap Foundation of the Performing Arts. He spoke on “Education and the Arts: A Vital Role … A Critical Link” and also announced Wolf Trap’s Summer 2003 Season. Wolf Trap’s September 6, 2003, Face of America will feature the centennial of flight.
More than 2,400 attendees participated in 14th Annual International Women in Aviation Conference at the Cincinnati Convention Center. Fifty five women were awarded aviation and aerospace training and merit scholarships totaling $313,000.
Participated in a Women in Aviation and Aerospace Conference at Kitty Hawk, N.C., in partnership with the National Park Service, U.S.A.F., Coast Guard, FAA, Civil Air Patrol, Ninety-nines, NASA’s astronaut office (Bill McArthur), NASA Langley and others. Provided presentations and NASA educational materials to approximately 3,000 people, including about 1,500 students from all over the state and hundreds of girl scouts and their leaders.
Other:
The Space Day Foundation has moved into new offices. The new contact information is: Space Day Foundation, 1725 I Street, NW, Suite 300, Washington, D.C. 20006. Phone number is 202-349-3755 and fax is 202-349-3756.
Peter McKenna has a new position of Sponsorship Manager with the Society of British Aerospace Companies, the trade association that owns and operates the Farnborough Air Show.
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)