Event
116th Anniversary of Flight
Fee:
Free. The park is Fee Free on December 17.Location:
The formal morning program will take place outside the Wright Brothers National Memorial Visitor Center. Other special activities will be scattered throughout the park.Dates & Times
Date:
Time:
Duration:
Type of Event
The morning program and ceremony starts at 9:30 am with a flyover around 9:45 am. The morning program will conclude around 11:30, but special activities will continue throughout the day until the closing of the park at 5:00 pm.
Description
Join us in celebrating the 116th Anniversary of the First Flight and the 70th Anniversary of the end of the Berlin Airlift!
The day starts off at 9:30 am with a special ceremony in partnership with the First Flight Society commemorating Wilbur and Orville Wright's historic acheivement of December 17, 1903.
Around 9:45 am, weather permitting, there will be a fly-over of the following planes: U.S. Navy C-40, U.S. Air Force C-17 & German A400M. Throughout the program, visitors will here presentations from the following:
-
David Hallac, Superintendent of the National Parks of Eastern North Carolina
-
Remarks from Wright brothers descendant Paul Wright Jameson
-
Keynote address by General Maryanne Miller, Commander, U.S. Air Force Air Mobility Command
- Darrell Collins, Historian, will speak on Wilbur and Orville Wright’s historic achievement on December 17, 1903
The morning’s proceedings will conclude with a wreath-laying ceremony conducted by descendants of the witnesses of the first flight and led by Lisa Ellstrom, witness decedent and First Flight Society Vice President.
After the morning event, special activites will continue throughout the day, including the following:
- Ranger-led programs at 12, 1, and 2
- The base of the Wright Brothers Monument will be open to look inside, weather permitting (until 3 pm)
- The Outer Banks Repeater Association will be demonstrating ham radio for visitors at the site for visitiors to participate in (until 3 or 4, weather permitting)
- Exploring the history of the Berlin Airlift and the Candy Bomber at the "Spirit of Freedom", a historic C-54 airplane used during the Berlin Airlift (open all day, with a special activity in the afternoon)
- The placement of the portrait of this year's First Flight Shrine Inductee, Col. Gail Halvorsen, the "Candy Bomber," into the Wright Brothers National Memorial Visitor Center (in the afternoon)
- Youth are invited to participate in the park’s free Junior Ranger program and other special activities throughout the day to earn a special Junior Ranger patch.
For more information, check out our press release below, and we hope to see you on December 17!
More information
Reservation or Registration: No
Image Gallery
NPS Photo Gallery