News & Events

Wilbur Wright Day Celebration 2022 Focused on Education

Historian Larry Tise was the keynote speaker for the Wilbur Wright Day Event at College of the Albemarle- Currituck. The event held Saturday, August 16th consisted of presentations by Tise, Currituck historian Barbara Snowden and “Spirit of Wilbur Wright” portayed by First Flight Society Secretary Paul Carr.

Two of the first five teachers that we awarded the Wilbur Wright Teacher Incentives. First Flight Society is collaborating with Sally Ride Science at UC San Diego to offer classes that award continuing education credits. The five teachers are: Miriam Fauth, Ted Mitchell, Kelly Chrisco, Caroline Kittrell and Sandy Corbett. Congratulations to all!

Save the Date for National Aviation Day, August 19th, 2022!

Make plans to join First Flight Society for our National Aviation Day Event on August 19th. We will be celebrating National Aviation Day and Orville Wright’s birthday at the Dare County Regional Airport (MQI). There will be representatives from First Flight Society and several other Aviation and Outer Banks organizations, as well as educational displays. 

Free and fun for the whole family. Event hours will be 10:00 AM-3:00 PM.

The Dare County Airport is located at:

410 Airport Road
Manteo, NC 27954

Look out for more details here and through email and social media as we get closer.

Please RSVP on our Facebook event page.

First Flight Society Celebrates Wilbur Wright Day 2022 On April 16th

The First Flight Society announced the 1st annual Wilbur Wright Day at Currituck County Regional Airport on April 16th, 2022. The event runs from 12PM-3PM and features historian Larry Tise and other speakers.

FFS will display the winning artwork of the 2022 FFS Youth Aviation Art Contest. The society will also introduce the first four teachers they are sponsoring for classes leading to Continuing Education Credits from Sally Ride Science at the University of California-San Diego.

Come visit displays from the First Flight Society and Civil Air Patrol among others. All children will receive an aviation activity booklet from FFS sponsor, AOPA.

This will also be the launch day of the First Flight Society Kids Club www.ffskidsclub.com focusing on youth aviation education for elementary aged children 6-12 years old.  

Other speakers include Currituck historian Barbara Snowden and Paul Carr as The Spirit of Wilbur Wright. Mr. Tise will also be signing books after his presentation.                                              

The mission of the celebration is to provide a fun and educational experience celebrating the life of Wilbur Wright and helping educate the world about aviation. WWD is Wilbur Wright’s birthday and a free event aimed at all ages.

Presentations will be in classrooms of the College of the Albemarle-Currituck at the Currituck County Regional airport (ONX). COA-Currituck is located at 107 College Way, Barco, NC 27917.

Additional information can be found at www.nationalaviationday.org/wilbur-wright-day.

First Flight Society 2022 Young Artist Contest


Firsts in Aviation and Aerospace – Use Your Imagination!
The First Flight Society invited Northeastern North Carolina students to participate in our 2022 Young Artist Contest.


The Contest is an opportunity for Young Artists in Camden, Currituck, Dare, Hyde, Pasquotank and Tyrrell Counties to express themselves artistically according to the selected theme.


Teachers also have an excellent starting point to teach students about the legacy of Wilbur and Orville Wright in North Carolina.

Participating Young Artists are urged to let their artistic talents
and their imagination soar to create their own personal vision of a person, aircraft or flight system that was a first in aviation.

Each year the First Flight Society recognizes a person who has
made an outstanding contribution to the great world of aviation. In 2022, the Paul E. Garber First Flight Shrine honoree will be Benjamin O. Davis, commander of the Tuskegee Airmen
— The first African American fighter group in World War II.

Rules for participation in the First Flight Society’s 2022 Young Artist Aviation Contest.

Eligibility: Children enrolled in the following grades are encouraged to participate in the appropriate category listed.


Category I Students in Grades K-2

Category II Students in Grades 3-5

Category III Students in Grades 6-8

Category IV Students in Grades 9-12

The winners will be displayed at the Wilbur Wright Day event at COA-Currituck on April 16th.

We are Accepting Nominations for the Paul E. Garber First Flight Shrine for 2023

Honorees for the Paul E. Garber First Flight Shrine are selected annually by our National Advisory Committee from a list of nominees submitted to the First Flight Society and passed to the Committee for consideration.  The nominee(s) may but does not have to be a “first” but rather “…a person, living or dead, who since December 17, 1903, either personally or with the assistance of others, has made such outstanding accomplishments in manned flight that they are generally recognized nationally and internationally for their achievements and contributions to aviation.”  Nominees are kept on file for immediate or future consideration. Enclosed is the Nomination Form for the 2023 Paul E. Garber First Flight Shrine Inductee, which can be emailed with any supporting documents to: admin@firstflight.org or mailed as indicated on the form. Nominations are due April 30th, 2022. Please call our office if you have other questions.

2023 NOMINATION FORM – ShrineDownload

Benjamin O. Davis Jr Selected as 2022 Paul E Garber Shrine Honoree.


The First Flight Society announced today that Benjamin O. Davis Jr., has been named the 2022 Honoree to be inducted into the Dr. Paul E. Garber First Flight Shrine located in the Museum and Visitors Center at the Wright Brothers National Memorial, Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, USA.


This honor is selected annually by a high-level panel appointed by the First Flight Society, from among numerous nominations submitted from around the world as well as compiled lists of qualified candidates. The induction ceremony will be held on Wright Brothers Day, December 17, 2022, with a celebration banquet held on December 16, 2022 in Kitty Hawk. A portrait of Benjamin O. Davis Jr. will be unveiled and presented at the ceremony on December 17th, 2022, celebrating the 119th Anniversary of the Wright Brothers First Flight.


Benjamin Oliver Davis Jr. was a United States Air Force general and commander of the World War II Tuskegee Airmen. He was the first African-American brigadier general in the USAF. Davis Jr was born December 18th, 1912 in Washington, DC. He earned a 1932 nomination to the U.S. Military Academy from Rep. Oscar S. De Priest (R-Ill.), then America’s only black congressman. He was the first African-American to be admitted to the Academy since Reconstruction.


President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the Army Air Corps to create a flying organization for African-American troops. Davis Jr., the only living black West Point graduate, was ordered from Ft. Benning, Ga., to Tuskegee Army Air Field in Alabama. Davis would see the Tuskegee Airmen swell in ranks to 1,000 and form the 99th Pursuit Squadron, later the 332d Fighter Squadron. By the end of the war Davis had flown 60 combat missions and had been promoted to colonel.


Davis also served in the Korean and Vietnam wars. He ended his career as deputy commander in chief of the U.S. Air Force. After retiring in 1970, he served as an assistant secretary at the Department of Transportation under President Richard M. Nixon. Davis died July 4th, 2002 at age 89.


William Douglas, Chairman of the First Flight Society’s National Advisory Committee, served as Chair of the Dr. Paul E. Garber Shrine Selection Panel and managed the selection process.


For more information about the Paul E Garber Shrine visit First Flight Society/ Paul Garber Shrine


Without the First Flight Society there would not be a Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. The Kill Devil Hills Memorial Association, later named First Flight Society, began as a group of local businessmen who successfully petitioned the US Congress to fund and build a monument to the Wright Brothers’ 1903 achievement.


The FFS plans an annual celebration at the Wright Brothers National Memorial on December 17th mandated by their bylaws to memorialize the work of the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk, NC.


They created the Paul E Garber Shrine in 1966 to honor individuals and groups for achieving significant “firsts” in aviation development since 1903. Charles Lindbergh, Tuskegee Airmen, Mary Feik, John Glenn, Katherine Johnson (Hidden Figures) and most recently astronaut Sally K. Ride among others.


First Flight Society promotes aviation education through an Aviation Education Committee to expand the knowledge of the Wright Brothers’ legacy by bringing aviation education programs to students in Dare County. They also offer an annual FFS Scholarship through Outer Banks Community Foundation for students pursuing aviation education in North Carolina.

Introducing the 2022 First Flight Society Board of Directors

KITTY HAWK, N.C. – January 13, 2022 — The First Flight Society would like to announce its Board of Directors for 2022. Most of the directors are from North Carolina.

The newly elected Executive Committee consists of:

President-Mike Fonseca
1st Vice President-Dr Charles Davidson
2nd Vice President-William “Bill” Douglas
Treasurer-H Taylor Sugg
Secretary-Paul Carr

The rest of the 2022 board consists of :

Peter Bruemmer, Tony Bruno, Sara Lou Copeland, Danny Couch, M. Roy Daniels, III, David Daniels, Judith Fearing, Orestes Gooden, Barbara Gourley, Todd Huvard, Paul Wright Jameson, Penny Leary Smith, William Nelson, Doug Seay, Mike Smith, and Peregrine White.

Mike Smith is a former president of the 94 year old Society that started out as the Kill Devil Hills Memorial Association.

The FFS plans an annual celebration at the Wright Brothers National Memorial on Wright Brothers Day, December 17th mandated by their bylaws to memorialize the work of the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk, NC. First Flight Society also celebrates National Aviation Day on August 19th which is also Orville Wright’s birthday.

Without the First Flight Society there would not be a Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. The Kill Devil Hills Memorial Association, later named First Flight Society, began as a group of local businessmen who successfully petitioned the US Congress to fund and build a monument to the Wright Brothers’ 1903 achievement.

They created the Paul E Garber Shrine in 1966 to honor individuals and groups for achieving significant “firsts” in aviation development since 1903. (Charles Lindbergh, Tuskegee Airmen, Mary Feik, John Glenn, Katherine Johnson (Hidden Figures) and most recently astrounaut Sally K Ride, among others.

First Flight Society promotes aviation education through an Aviation Education Committee to expand the knowledge of the Wright Brothers’ legacy by bringing aviation education programs to students in Dare County. They also offer an annual FFS Scholarship through Outer Banks Community Foundation for students pursuing aviation education in North Carolina.

Welcome our Latest Lifetime members!

First Flight Society wants to welcome our newest Lifetime Members from 2021 and so far in 2022.

Breynn Hope Bailey, Manteo, NC

James Jordan Hennessy, Kitty Hawk, NC

Mark Kevin Jacob, East Lansing, MI

These three join hundreds of Lifetime Members, both current and past. All Lifetime Members receive:

  • Wall plaque signifying Lifetime Membership
  • Special First Flight Society Pin with Ruby
  • First Flight Society Hat
  • 8 x 10 photo of the First Flight
  • Discounts on FFS store items
  • Listing on the First Flight Society website
  • Access to Member section of the website
  • VIP status at our events

First Flight Society is proud to have our members help the Society preserve the legacy of the Wright Brothers through our programs, events and educational initiatives.

For a complete list of Lifetime Members please go to Lifetime Members

Sally K Ride

Inducted in 2021

Sally Ride was the first American woman to fly in space.

1951-2012

Sally Ride was born May 26, 1951, in California. After high school, she went to Stanford University in California. She earned degrees in physics. NASA began looking for women astronauts in 1977. Sally Ride decided to apply for the job and she was one of six women picked.

Dr. Ride was selected as an astronaut candidate by NASA in January 1978. In August 1979, she completed a one-year training and evaluation period, making her eligible for assignment as a Mission Specialist on future space shuttle flight crews. She subsequently performed as an on-orbit Capsule Communicator (CAPCOM) on the STS-2 and STS-3 missions.

Dr Ride was a Mission Specialist on STS-7 in 1983 and STS-41-G in 1984. On June 18, 1983, Sally Ride became the first American woman to fly in space. Sally’s second shuttle flight made history as the first space mission with two female crew members. When Challenger blasted off for STS-41G on Oct. 5, 1984, Sally was joined by Kathryn Sullivan.

Ride stopped working for NASA in 1987. She started teaching at the University of California in San Diego. She started looking for ways to help women and girls who wanted to study science and mathematics. She came up with the idea for NASA’s EarthKAM project. EarthKAM lets middle school students take pictures of Earth using a camera on the International Space Station. Students then study the pictures.

In 2003, Ride was added to the Astronaut Hall of Fame. The Astronaut Hall of Fame honors astronauts for their hard work.

Until her death on July 23, 2012, Ride continued to help students. A long-time advocate for improved science education, Dr. Ride has written five science books for children. She worked with science programs and festivals around the United States.