JUNE/JULY ACTIVITY REPORT
The next meeting of the U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission will be a joint meeting with the First Flight Centennial Federal Advisory Board. It will be held September 9, 2003 in Washington, D.C.
Upcoming Centennial of Flight celebrations include EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wis. July 29 – August 4 and GE Presents Centennial of Flight at Rockefeller Center July 29 – August 18. Good luck to those involved!
Congratulations to everyone who worked tirelessly to make Inventing Flight: Dayton 2003 a huge success! The President’s visit on July 4 was especially exciting.[ANM1]
Aviation Week’s “Top 100 Stars of Aerospace and Aviation” were announced on June 18, 2003. In the year commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers’ historic flight, it is certainly fitting that Wilbur and Orville Wright were number 1.
**Please continue to add your Centennial of Flight related events and activities to the Centennial calendar of events.**
Partnership Updates:
The First Flight Centennial Commission will hold its quarterly meeting on August 15, 2003, in Kill Devil Hills, N.C.
Lt. Sheila Johnston at Laughlin Air Force Base, Del Rio, Texas, is looking for a guest speaker for the Air Force Ball on September 13, 2003. She is looking for someone who could speak for 15-20 minutes on the history of aviation. The theme for the ball is the Centennial of Flight. She can be reached at 830-298-5988 or Sheila.Johnston@laughlin.af.mil.
The FAA’s Research and Development 2002 Annual Report features the centennial of flight on the inside cover and in the introduction by Administrator Blakey.
The “Letters of the Wright Brothers: Letters of Wilbur, Orville and Katharine Wright” in the Royal Aeronautical Society Library (edited by Brian Riddle and Colin Sinnott) has just been published. The support of the COFC is acknowledged in the book’s Preface and the logo is on the back cover of the book.
Two fully restored World War II vintage bombers, a B-17 Flying Fortress and a B-24 Liberator were on display at NASA Ames Research Center to commemorate World War II and the 100th year of powered flight.
NASA Kennedy Space Center newsletter contains a “Celebrating a Century of Flight” timeline.
NASA History News and Notes contains articles about the centennial of flight as well as ”Realizing the Dream of Flight,” a one-day conference cosponsored with Glenn Research Center on November 5, 2003. This symposium will honor the Wright brothers’ invention and the contributions of scientists, engineers, daredevil pilots, bold entrepreneurs, military strategists, and creative administrators and managers who contributed to placing human flight among the most important technical achievements of the twentieth century. Three panels will address “Dreamers and Doers,” “Barnstormers and Entrepreneurs,” and “Aviation Leaders and Managers.” This free symposium is open to the public, but advance registration is strongly suggested due to limited space. For more information and to register, please visit http://history.nasa.gov/rdfconf/index.html.
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. July/August presentations include:
July 27: Keynote address to the International Association of Transport Museums, Dayton, Ohio.
August 1-4: Various talks at the annual EAA Fly-in, Oshkosh, Wisconsin
August 14: Address the members of the American Airlines Credit Union,
Chicago
August 19: Address on aviation day, Wright Brothers National Memorial
Have sent posters and other resources to the AFRL Munitions Directorate Technical Library at Eglin Air Force Base, FL.
Reno Composite Squadron, Nevada Wing, C.A.P., will be using the Commission logo in its newsletter.
The Historian of the 366 Wing, Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho, has requested materials to support their “Gunfighter Skies 2003” Air Show on September 13-14. The theme is “Celebrating 100 Years of Airpower and 60 Years of Airpower in Idaho.”
Outreach Activity:
Centennial of Flight Commission was featured in the July issue of Terrific Science E-News.
There will be a Centennial Celebration Steering Committee meeting on July 22, 2003, in Atlanta, GA.
The 2003 Civil Air Patrol National Board and Annual Conference will be held August 25-27 in Las Vegas, NV.
Texas A & M University Press will publish “Beyond Imagining: Airplanes, Movies, Tourism and Transformations of Consciousness” as one of the NASA centennial of flight series.
Savannah Airport Commission will be using the Commission logo on banners and literature at their airport as part of the celebration of the first flight.
On October 25, the University Libraries, with the support of its Friends and the Wright State University Foundation, will present “An Evening in 1903.”
With the first three paintings finished, Marsha Mills is on target to have all four paintings of the serial numbered limited edition “First Flight Centennial® Watercolor Collection” completed by the end of the summer. Ms. Mills selected to take part in this celebration as the First Flight Centennial® Foundation’s official watercolor artist.
Susan Gray has received licensing from the Ohio Bicentennial Commission to use their official mascot in a series of children’s books entitled “A Bird’s Eye View.” It will include the invention of flight, the Wright brothers and the centennial of flight.
The Commission logo will be used in conjunction with the 2003 Lindbergh Symposium.
The Amelia Earhart Festival will be held July 25-26 in Atchison, KS. The theme is “100 Years of Flight,” recognizing the centennial anniversary of the Wright brothers’ first flight in December 1903.
Walter Schupfer Mgmt., with the permission of the Library of Congress, has reproduced prints of the glass plate negatives and will be exhibiting those prints at the opening of the new Red Bull airplane hangar on August 22, 2003, in Salzburg, Austria.
Women with Wings Program, a group of women pilots that fly into Oshkosh together, will be wearing t-shirts with the Commission logo.
Among the many groups working toward preserving the history of the aerospace sector is a small journal entitled, Quest: The History of Spaceflight. Since 1992, Quest has been preserving the history of the space industry, one story at a time. Now in its 10th year of publication, it is the only journal to focus exclusively on the history of spaceflight -- the people, missions, and programs that have made up the last fifty years of military, civil, and commercial space activity. Articles have included a 40- page interview with Neil Armstrong; an article written by Valentina Tereshova, the first woman in space; and an unpublished work by Robert Goddard. Quest is edited by Prof. Stephen Johnson of the Space Studies Department at the University of North Dakota and is renowned worldwide for its content and feature articles. Quest's Web site (www.spacebusiness.com/quest) contains information on how to contribute articles and subscribe as well as a complete bibliography of past articles and links to space history resources.
The Commission’s theme will be used on the outside packaging of a Czech Republic toy model of the Wright Flyer.
Air Beat Magazine, a trade journal for the Airborne law Enforcement Association, is using an essay on the history of fuels from the COFC Web site.
The Artistic Director for the North Carolina Dance Institute has choreographed a full-scale production number with 36 dancers, ages 6-26, celebrating flight.
The University of Nebraska Aviation Institute will be using the Commission logo in its school newsletter.
A retired N.C. school teacher has written a book about the Wright brothers and flight that is told in rhyme and pictures. Math, science, reading and history skills are taught in fun and entertaining ways.
The U.S. Consulate in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada has contacted us about the use of the Commission’s exhibit.
The Brigantine Community and Recreation Department sponsored a Family Fun Day with a centennial of flight theme. The COFC provided resources for the celebration.
The Waterloo Wellington Flight Centre located at CYKF Airport is having its annual Aviation Day and theming it around the centennial of flight. Commission materials have been provided.
FOGANA, a cultural dance competition in Dayton, Ohio, will be using the Commission logo on their trophies.
Paul Hoffman has written “Wings of Madness” about Santos-Dumont.
The Society of Experimental Test Pilots Centennial of Powered Flight Gala will be held in Los Angeles September 25-27. For registration, pricing and further details please visit the SETP Web site at www.setp.org or contact SETP Executive Director Paula Smith at (661) 942-9574 or setp@setp.org.
The Commission has received samples of the Crown Agents Stamp Bureau’s Centennial of Flight stamps and they look great.
Articles/Interviews:
BBC World Service interviewed NASA’s Bonnie Dalton for a weekly program called 'Everywoman,' which features extended interviews with women who have done extraordinary things. The program is broadcast to 45 million people worldwide. Dalton's interview is part of a story about women in space that commemorates the 1963 space flight of Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman to fly in space.
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.
Press Releases:
A number of press releases have been issued recently and are available on the COFC Web site. Releases are posted on the home page as well as in the media section.
July 15, 2003 – The Federal Aviation Administration Provides Historic DC3 Aircraft as Official Participant in The National Air Tour 2003
July 9, 2003 – AIAA Class of 2003 Ambassadors Visit Dayton, Ohio
July 9, 2003 – Active Aeroelastic Wing F/A-18 on Display at Three Midwest Air Shows
July 8, 2003 – National Park Service Releases Ticket Sales Update for First Flight Centennial Celebration
July 7, 2003 – The National Air Tour 2003 Announces Edsel B. Ford II as Honorary Chairperson
July 4, 2003 – RE/MAX Balloon Celebration, Inventing Flight: Launch Window for Race Opens
July 2, 2003 – Another Famous Ohio Astronaut Joins Inventing Flight Opening Ceremony
July 2, 2003 – Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts Media Advisory
June 30, 2002 – AIAA/ICAS Technical Symposium Focusing on the Next 100 Years
June 28, 2003 – 3 Roads Communications to Host Legend of Airpower George McGovern
June 27, 2003 – White House Confirms Presidential Visit
June 27, 2003 – AirsideTV.com Broadcasts Paris Air Show Highlights Online
June 25, 2003 – National Park Service Releases Ticket Sales Update for First Flight Centennial Celebration
June 23, 2003 – John Travolta Honored with the AIAA Foundation Award for Excellence
June 18, 2003 – John Travolta to be at Inventing Flight Celebration
June 18, 2003 – Ultralight Pilots to Make Historic Flight From Dayton to Kittle Hawk to Honor Wright Brothers
June 13, 2003 – Inventing Flight Unveils Plans for the Great Blimp Meet
Web site:
The Web Enhancement procurement announcement closed May 2, 2003. 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 six proposals have been evaluated and awarded.
Web Trends for June [ANM2]2003 show close to 1.6 million hits to the Web site and approximately 65,000 unique visitors.
Laurence King Publishing, London, is preparing a book on the history and development of the airport and would like to use some of the resources from our Web site.
An Israeli nature magazine for children is using images from the Commission Web site.
Working on a project that will be featured on the Centennial of Flight Commission Web site including student directions for the construction of models of the Wright brothers’ airplanes. [ANM3]
Daniel Webster College, Nashua, NH, is using resources from our Web site.
Kjeller Flyhistoriske Forening (KFF) is a non-profit aircraft/aviation historical society at Kjeller, the first airfield in Norway. They are commemorating the first 100 years of flight September 19-21 by showing some highlights in aviation. Many of the images they will use are coming from the Commission 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.
Educational Outreach Activities:
The Commission staff has been contacted by an extraordinary number of schools, including home schools, museums and libraries requesting copies of our educational resources and the exhibit. Examples include: Cleburne Middle School, TX; Rockdale County Public Schools, Conyers, GA; Johnson Elementary School, Mesa, AZ; Mayde Creek Elementary School, Houston, TX; Grade 6 class, Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada; Belle Hall Elementary, Mt. Pleasant, SC; Office of Aviation, Ames, IA; Campbell Elementary, Rosenberg, TX; Wintergreen Intermediate School, Greenville, NC; Chicago Architecture Foundation, IL; Simpsonville, SC; St. Julie Billiart School, West Chester, OH; 2nd grade class, Bethpage, NY; Arlington Public Library, Arlington, TX; Cosmos Studios, Studio City, CA; Harris Middle School, Spruce Pine, NC; Tesago Elementary School, Clifton Park, NY; Historical Education Coordinator, Old Courthouse Museum, W. Santa Ana, CA; Mediapolis Community School, Mediapolis, IA; 4th – 6th graders, Kiel, WI; 5th grade, Kingwood, TX; Robles Elementary, Tampa, FL; Beech Hill Elementary School, Summerville, SC; Granville School, Granville, MA; Clover Valley Elementary, Oak Harbor, WA; Buffalo Prairie Middle School, Buffalo, MO; Montgomery County Public Schools, Silver Spring, MD; Scout Troop #624, Orwigsburg, PA; Woodway Elementary, Fort Worth, TX; Lithonia Middle School, Lithonia, GA; Lindsay Park Public School, Australia; Cascade Elementary School, Wisconsin; Jolliff Middle School, Chesapeake, VA; Calico Rock Elementary, Calico Rock, AR; Solomon Elementary, Solomon, KS; Yadkinville Elementary School, Yadkinville, NC; New Hope Elementary School, Chapel Hill, NC; Faith Christian School, Roseto, PA; Simsbury Elementary School, Simsbury, CT; Kanapaha Middle School, Gainesville, FL; Selden Middle School, Centereach, NY; Fred L. Wilson Elementary School, Kannapolis, NC; Meadow Woods Elementary, Oviedo, FL; Oak Hollow Elementary, Draper, UT; and the Indianapolis-Marion County Public Library, IN.
Organizing the educational activities that will be supported by NASA at Kitty Hawk, N.C., for their centennial of flight celebration December 12-17, 2003.
Supporting an all day Civil Air Patrol Teacher Workshop at Andrews AFB on July 22.
The Learning Resources Center Director at Enterprise-Ozark Community College Aviation Campus at Ozark requested educational resources. The school offers the only comprehensive aviation maintenance training program in the state of AL, with instruction in airframe and powerplant and avionics.
The Silver Wings organization will be distributing the COFC brochure at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte as part of a community service project to educate the campus about the history of flight and the centennial celebration.
City of Syracuse Department of Aviation, Syracuse Hancock International Airport, has requested large quantities of our educational resources.
Director of Education Programs, Boys & Girls Clubs, Raleigh, N.C., requested educational resources. CRT is working with the Boys & Girls Club to promote COFC educational materials to Boys & Girls Clubs nationwide.
The University Aviation Association Fall Education Conference will use the Commission logo on materials such as its newsletter, published annual reports, brochures, registration, flyers and the official program.
The Commission logo will be used in a newsletter, brochure and posters that the C. Haskell Elementary School in Edmond, OK will be developing for use in a week long celebration of the centennial of flight.
Educators in Bad Axe, MI, are finalizing plans for their September 27, 2003 celebration of 100 years of powered flight. They plan on having a World War II B-17 bomber at their celebration.
Identifying airplane templates for the COFC Web site that will be used to generate interest in COF through the development of activities for students. Efforts are also underway to align these activities with future educational demonstrations of a ten-inch Wright 1903 aeroplane by Astronaut Ed Lu on ISS.
Completed Activities/ Events:
The Missouri Botanical Garden sponsored a “Come Fly with Me” special event on July 19 at the Butterfly House in St. Louis.
July 18 was NASA Day at Inventing Flight.
On July 16, a Rededication Ceremony was held for the Huffman Prairie Flying Field.
John Glenn, Secretary General of Inventing Flight, and the Tuskegee Airmen visited Celebration Central, Deeds Park, on July 11, 2003.
Raymond Lehner, Jr., an EAA member since 1981, flew his Cessna 172 to the First Flight Airstrip on July 5 and delivered the Massachusetts state flag to the Wright Brothers National Memorial.
On July 4, 2003, The 108th Army Reserve Band performed at Wright Brothers National Memorial.
On June 27, the Wright-Dunbar Interpretive Center Aviation Trail Visitor Center and Museum and The Paul Laurence Dunbar State Memorial were dedicated.
Gen. Dailey and NASA Administrator O’Keefe met with Secretary Norton and Senator Stevens on June 9 to discuss the centennial celebrations scheduled for December 2003.