U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission and the Wright Experience For Alliance
The U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission and The Wright
Experience of Warrenton, Va., have entered into a memorandum of
agreement that will allow them to jointly promote the 100th
anniversary of the first powered flight in 2003.
The Wright Experience, which is building an exact reproduction
of the Wrights’ 1903 Wright Flyer, will receive national
outreach support from the Commission as a result of the
agreement. In turn, The Wright Experience will help promote the
national outreach campaign, “Centennial of Flight: Born of
Dreams — Inspired by Freedom.”
Ken Hyde, executive director of The Wright Experience, and his
team of Wright devotees are working to rediscover the
experimentation and methodology of the Wrights’ pursuit of
flight. The task is particularly difficult because the Wrights
left very little documentation of their work in an effort to
hide their secrets and expertise from imitators.
“Today we see the magnificent evolution of the Wrights’
original efforts,” Hyde said. “Our quest is to discover how the
first steps were made — steps that are lost in history. We are
confident that we will retrace those steps and finish the first
century of flight as it began, by flying over the sands of
Kitty Hawk. It will be an amazing end to a once-in-a-lifetime
celebration of both the realization of dreams and the freedom
of flight.”
The U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission was created by
Congress to coordinate and publicize the activities celebrating
the 100th anniversary of powered flight. The Wright
Experience’s 2003 Wright Flyer will be an important part of the
national celebration, which consists of a range of events,
activities and educational components.
The Wright Experience has contracted with the Experimental
Aircraft Association (EAA) to build the reproduction Flyer,
known as the 2003 Wright Flyer, which will be flown at the
Wright Brothers National Monument in Kitty Hawk, N.C., at 10:35
a.m. on Dec. 17, 2003, exactly 100 years after the Wrights’
first flight. Prior to that date, the 2003 Wright Flyer will
tour the country as part of the EAA’s centennial celebration,
“Countdown to Kitty Hawk presented by Ford Motor Company.”
“The 2003 Wright Flyer is an important educational tool because
it is so historically accurate,” Commission Chairman Gen. J. R.
(“Jack”) Dailey said. “The task Ken has undertaken to reproduce
the airships of the Wright brothers requires tremendous
dedication and innovation. The excitement and anticipation that
will stem from watching the 2003 Wright Flyer lift off the
sands of Kitty Hawk will be a fitting climax to the centennial
celebration.”
A complete listing of Centennial events and more information on
the Centennial of Flight Commission can be found at:
www.centennialofflight.gov
More information also is available from Christian Markow, U.S.
Centennial of Flight Commission, at 804/675-8153.
Additional information on The Wright Experience can be found
at:
www.wrightexperience.com
More information also is available from Mike McCall, The Wright
Experience, at 540/955-2100.
