15 06, 2020

First Flight: The Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk Webinar

First Flight: The Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk Webinar hosted by the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, VA. FFS President Mike Fonseca speaks about both the Wright Brothers’ experiences at Kitty Hawk. He also speaks about the First Flight Society and their role in the creation of the Wright Brothers Monument.

The First Flight Society would like to thank The Military Aviation Museum for hosting this webinar.

Military Aviation Museum

1341 Princess Anne Road
Virginia Beach, VA 23457
1 (757) 721-7767
The Military Aviation Museum is a 501 (C) (3) non-profit organization.

28 04, 2020

Check Out Our New YouTube Channel!

Exciting news! We just created our own channel on YouTube. Our first major online event was an interview with Wilbur Wright for his birthday Celebration on April 16th. The interview streamed Live on Facebook and YouTube and is now available to view on our YouTube channel. We are slowly, but surely, adding new videos like the one below. This features a slideshow of some of the many paintings of our Paul E Garber Shrine Honorees.

To see our other videos, please go to First Flight Society YouTube Channel.

17 04, 2020

Watch Our Interview with Wilbur Wright

Watch our interview with Wilbur Wright recorded on April 16, 2020 for Wilbur’s 153rd birthday.
Lifetime member Alfred Poor interviewed Wilbur live on Facebook and YouTube. Wilbur is portrayed by First Flight Society Board Member Paul Carr.

If you enjoyed this video please support the First Flight Society by becoming a member or making a donation.

7 04, 2020

Join Us Online for Wilbur’s Birthday Celebration!

Join us online to celebrate Wilbur Wright’s birthday! We are going to celebrate Wilbur Wright’s 153rd birthday online. Lifetime member Alfred Poor will be interviewing Wilbur live on Facebook and YouTube on April 16th at 2:00 PM eastern.

Wilbur will be portrayed by First Flight Society Board Member Paul Carr.

Captain Paul Carr appears as The Spirit of Wilbur Wright and offers a personal story of his life growing up in Dayton, Ohio, the positive influences of his parents, and how the close relationship with his brother Orville combined to forge the path that led to their historical achievements. Beginning with childhood sledding, printing presses, bicycles and kites, audiences will hear and see how the brothers overcame personal tragedy, applied common sense to scientific research, and persevered through failure, danger, and disappointment to solve man’s age-old dream to fly. Along the way you will hear about North Carolinians who shared in […]

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

10 03, 2020

Canceled–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

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

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.

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 […]

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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