CELEBRATE OUR NATIONS AVIATION HERITAGE ON NATIONAL AVIATION DAY

Date: August 15, 2007
Contact: Outer Banks Group, [phone]

Throughout the day on Sunday, August 19, 2007, there will be fun for the whole family as National Aviation Day and Orville Wright’s birthday is celebrated at Wright Brothers National Memorial.

National Aviation Day was first established by Presidential Proclamation in 1939 to celebrate America’s aviation heritage "on the anniversary of Orville Wright’s birthday". Orville Wright, the first American to fly, was born 136 years ago in Dayton, Ohio on August 19, 1871, the sixth child of Bishop Milton and Susan Wright. Orville and his brother, Wilbur, made history in 1903 with their success of powered human flight.

Event Schedule:

10:00 a.m. – Flight Room Talk: Join a National Park Service Ranger to learn about the Wrights and how they developed the first successful airplane. See a demonstration of their control system on a reproduction of the 1903 Flyer. Visitor Center Flight Room Auditorium.

11:00 a.m. - Tom Crouch, Senior Historian, Division of Aeronautics at the National Air and Space Museum will open the official program at the First Flight Centennial Pavilion Auditorium. Bill Harris, President of the First Flight Society, will present 80 Years of Service, a history of the efforts to establish and preserve the legacy of the Wright brothers and the site that honors their achievements. Following the presentation, join in a cake cutting for the birthday celebration.

11:00 a.m. – Kite Flight: A family activity designed for the kids. See a demonstration of kite building and join in the fun of flying a homemade kite (or bring your own). Then test the winds of Kitty Hawk just like the Wright brothers. First Flight Centennial Exhibit Hall.

11:00 a.m. to 5 p.m. – Try your skill at flight with Kitty Hawk Kites hand-gliding simulator and the Wright Experience Wright 1903 Flyer simulator and demonstrations. First Flight Centennial Exhibit Hall.

12:00 p.m. - Dr. Crouch will present TheBishop’s Boys: a life of Wilbur and Orville Wright at the Visitor Center Flight Room Auditorium. Dr. Crouch, an author of many books on the Wright brothers and flight, will be available for book signing following his program.

12:00 to 2:00 p.m. - Join descendants of the original crew of the Kill Devil Hills Life Saving Station, dressed in authentic costume, as they reminisce about "the olde days" at the restored Wright brothers’ Camp Building.

1:00 p.m. - Orville Wright in His Own Words, a narrative slide presentation taken from Orville’s letters and diaries illustrating the curiosity, engineering and scientific insight Orville Wright brought to the invention of the airplane will be presented by the Discovery of Flight Foundation in the First Flight Centennial Pavilion Auditorium.

2:00 p.m. - Ken Hyde and Bill Hadden, two of the builders of the authentic 1903 Flyer reproduction located inside the Wright Brothers Visitor Center, will present a detailed look at the construction and operation of the machine. Meet in the Visitor Center Flight Room Auditorium.

3:00 p.m. – Fun in Flight: a family activity designed for the kids. Experience the fun of building a gliding machine. Design and construct a paper airplane and test the winds of the Outer Banks, just like the Wrights. First Flight Centennial Exhibit Hall.

3:00 p.m. – The Wright Experience presentsThe Wright Brothers in Film, highlighting motion pictures of the Wright brothers including Orville’s last known flight as a pilot, the Wrights’ triumphs in 1908-1909, the Wrights’ exhibition team and flights over New York City. First Flight Centennial Pavilion Auditorium.

4:00 p.m. - Learn how the Wright brothers solved the problems of human flight as a National Park Service Ranger tells the story of the Wrights’ triumph at Kitty Hawk in 1903. Visitor Center Flight Room Auditorium.

Wright Brothers National Memorial is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily. Call (252) 441- 7430 for more information. The park entrance fee is $4 per person 16 years of age and older.

--NPS--