News & Events

/News & Events/
24 03, 2020

Our New Membership Program Starts March 1st, 2020.

Our exciting new Membership program started March 1, 2020! We introduced new levels that include new privileges and swag that are a step up from our current program. Just to give you an idea, the new 1900 Wright Glider membership will now include one of our exclusive First Flight Society ball caps with embroidered logo!FFS is encouraging Wright Brothers fans to join in March for $40! Readers of our website and Social Media pages are getting the inside scoop! Use the code KITTYHAWK1903 at checkout!

Here are the new levels for annual membership:

$20 Wright Kite (members 18 and under)

$50 1900 Wright Glider

$150 1901 Wright Glider

$250 1902 Wright Glider

$500 Birth of Flight Business Membership

$1500 1903 Wright Flyer Lifetime Membership (individual only)

You can read about our program by downloading the PDF below:

 

Membership forms

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10 03, 2020

The Second Annual FFS Golf Tournament is Saturday, May 16th, 2020

Saturday, May 16th, 2020

 

 

FIRST FLIGHT SOCIETY ANNUAL GOLF TOURNAMENT

SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2020

Starts at 9:00 AM

 

SEA SCAPE GOLF LINKS KITTY HAWK, NC

300 W. Eckner Street, Kitty Hawk, NC 27949

 

$75/PLAYER / $300 PER 4-MAN TEAM

INCLUDES GREEN FEE, CART, & POST MATCH MEAL AT SANDTRAP TAVERN
CAPTAIN’S CHOICE
4-PLAYER SCRAMBLE

 

Registration: B.J. Gourley, First Flight Society – 252.441.1903

Questions: Charlie Davidson – 252.548.9141

 

Registration and Sponsorship forms are available to download below:

 

Golf Tourney Registration Form

 

Golf Tourney Sponsorship Form

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21 02, 2020

FFS is Accepting Nominations for the First Flight Shrine.

We are accepting nominations for the First Flight Society Paul E. Garber First Flight Shrine for 2021. Nominees should have made an outstanding accomplishment in manned flight and that they are generally recognized nationally and internationally for their achievements and contributions to aviation.

All nominations must be received no later than March 31st, 2020.  

Download Nomination Form
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9 02, 2020

Our Calendar of Events for 2020

Here is the First Flight Society Calendar of Events for 2020:

 

April 16, 2020                   Wilbur Wright Birthday Celebration

May 16, 2020                     First Flight/Girls Golf Golf Tournament 

August 19, 2020                National Aviation Day/Orville Wright Birthday                                                             Celebration

December 16-17, 2020   117th Anniversary of Powered Flight

More details to follow as the events get closer.

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9 02, 2020

2020 Membership Drive

We are trying to add 1000 new members by the end of the year, so we are giving everyone a heads up!

Our annual Individual Memberships will be going up to $50 on March 1st, but we are encouraging Wright Brothers fans to join in February for $35, before the rates go up! Readers of our website and Social Media pages are getting the inside scoop!

Please purchase through our website or contact us at [email protected]  to take advantage of our February special!

Members have always been an essential part of the First Flight Society. By joining FFS you become part of a community of people who care deeply about the legacy of the Wright Brothers, the Wright Brothers National Memorial and the future of aviation. Member by member, dollar by dollar, we are ensuring that future generations may enjoy this legacy and the Wright Brothers National Memorial.

As part of your membership […]

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19 01, 2020

Colonel Gail S “Hal” Halvorsen

Inducted in 2019

70th Anniversary of the end of the Berlin Airlift

1920-

Colonel Gail Seymour “Hal” Halvorsen, best known as the “Berlin Candy Bomber” or “Uncle Wiggly Wings”, gained fame for dropping candy to German children during the Berlin Airlift from 1948 to 1949.   Colonel Halvorsen joined the United States Army Air Corp in 1942 after Pearl Harbor and trained on fighters with the Royal Air Force in Oklahoma, earning both his RAF and Army Air Corp wings. After the war, he was stationed in Mobile, AL when word came in that the Soviet Union had blockaded West Berlin. Arriving in Germany in July, 1948, Lieutenant Halvorsen’s role in the 15-month Berlin Airlift, labeled “Operation Vittles” was to fly three trips a day, mostly in C-54’s, from Rhein Main airbase to the blockaded city of Berlin.

[…]

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20 12, 2019

Welcome Our New Officers and Board Members!

The First Flight Society would like to announce our new Executive Committee:

President-Mike Fonseca

1st Vice President-Dr Charles Davidson

2nd Vice President-Lisa Ellstrom


Treasurer-H Taylor Sugg


Secretary-Katie Morgan

Also, welcome our new board members:

Paul Carr

Katie Morgan

Blake Sauls

Congratulations!

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11 12, 2019

December 17th Celebration Itinerary

WELCOME TO THE

116TH ANNIVERSARY OF POWERED FLIGHT

Celebrating

The Legacy of Orville and Wilbur Wright

Honoring

The 70th Anniversary of the World War II Berlin Airlift

June 1948 – September 1949

December 17, 2019

Wright Brothers National Memorial Park

Kitty Hawk, North Carolina

TODAY’S PROGRAM

9:00 a.m.                                                       Park Gates Open to Visitors

                                                                            PRELUDE BAND CONCERT

                                                                            First Flight High School Band, Bob Ebert, Director

 

9:30 a.m.                                                                                   ANNIVERSARY PROGRAM

WELCOME & GUEST RECOGNITION       Arthur Lamothe, President, First Flight Society, Inc.

PRESENTATION OF COLORS                      Camden High School ROTC

NATIONAL ANTHEM                                     Walter Swan, Director – ECSU Choir

FLYOVER TRIBUTE TO                                 U.S. Navy C-40, U.S. Air Force […]

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11 11, 2019

The 116th Wright Brothers Anniversary of Powered Flight and More.

ON DECEMBER 17, 2019 THE FIRST FLIGHT SOCIETY HONORS A 99-YEAR-OLD WWII VETERAN, THE 70TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BERLIN AIRLIFT AND THE 116TH ANNIVERSARY OF POWERED FLIGHT.

JOIN US AT WRIGHT BROTHERS NATIONAL MONUMENT IN KILL DEVIL HILLS, NC.

The First Flight Society annually honors those individuals and groups that have achieved significant “firsts” in aviation and includes them in our Paul E. Garber First Flight Shrine exhibit at the Wright Brothers National Memorial. This year’s honorees are 99-year-old Colonel Gail Halvorsen, USAF (Ret) “the Candy Bomber” and the Berlin Airlift (June 27, 1948 to May 12, 1949) commemorating the 70th Anniversary of that historic event.

 

On the morning of December 17,  2019 we will honor the Berlin Airlift 70th Anniversary with ceremonies on the Wright Brothers National Memorial grounds at Kitty Hawk, NC.  The 116th Anniversary Celebration of the […]

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5 11, 2019

116th Anniversary Sponsorship Opportunities

Organizations from the aviation community and area businesses sponsor and underwrite many First Flight Society activities and programs throughout the year, especially the December 17th anniversary celebration at the Wright Brothers National Memorial.   Members, sponsors and volunteers work to joyfully commemorate the legacy of Orville and Wilbur Wright.  This year we will honor Col. Gail Halvorsen, USAF (Ret), the “Candy Bomber”, as representative of the crews that participated in the Berlin Airlift on this 70th Anniversary of the completion of that great humanitarian effort. We cannot help others experience this important story without you.  Your support keeps the inspiration, adventure and exploring spirit alive for the next generation of aviation pioneers.  Thank you!

 

LEGACY SPONSOR – $10,000

  • Framed Certificate of First Flight Society Sponsorship
  • Sponsor listing in official Commemorative Program
  • Framed 8×10 photo of “The First Flight”
  • Subscription to THE FLYER, with full page ad in each issue […]
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