News & Events

/News & Events/
7 04, 2021

2021 Paul E Garber Honoree Announcement April 16th.

April 16th, 2021 will be Wilbur Wright’s 154th Birthday. It’s also the day that we announce our 2021 Paul E Garber Honoree. We will be celebrating Wilbur’s birthday online throughout the day. Watch for videos, photos and social media posts.

Wilbur Wright is best known for developing the first successful airplane with his brother, Orville. Wilbur was born on April 16, 1867, near Millville, Indiana.

The FFS Paul Garber honoree 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 Shrine is located within the Museum and Visitors Center at the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kitty Hawk, NC. The induction ceremony will be held on Wright Brothers Day, December 17, 2021, with a celebration banquet held on December 16, 2021 in Kitty Hawk. A […]

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18 02, 2021

We are Accepting Nominations for the Paul E. Garber First Flight Shrine for 2022

We are accepting nominations for the First Flight Society Paul E. Garber First Flight Shrine for 2022.

Honorees for the Paul E. Garber First Flight Shrine are selected annually by a National Advisory Committee from a list of nominees submitted to the First Flight Society and passed to the Committee for consideration.  The committee   accepts a letter of nomination accompanied by supporting documentation. 

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 Paul E. Garber First Flight Shrine, which should be mailed with any supporting documents to:  First Flight […]

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18 02, 2021

Welcome Our New Bronze Sponsor Twiddy & Company Realtors.

First Flight Society would like to welcome our newest Bronze Sponsor and Business Member.

“In 1978, Twiddy & Company Realtors opened its first office on the Outer Banks in Duck Village. In 1982, the business expanded to include a second office in Corolla. As the company grew, the restored Kill Devil Hills Lifesaving Station was moved to Corolla to serve as an additional office space. A new office building was constructed in 1995 and expanded in 2003.

Twiddy & Company reflects the ideals, values, and vision of its Founder, Doug Twiddy, who has set the standard for excellence in professional real estate services in the northern Outer Banks area.

Doug’s philosophy was always that Twiddy & Company and rental property owners are business partners pursuing mutual goals. He believed creating success for our company, clients, and customers were achieved only through the combined efforts of a team of competent, experienced and motivated professionals who fully endorse the founder’s values of […]

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26 01, 2021

Introducing the 2021 First Flight Society Board of Directors

KITTY HAWK, N.C. – January 26, 2021 — The First Flight Society would like to announce its Board of Directors for 2021.All of the directors are from North Carolina, except three who are from Virginia.

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 2021 board consists of :
Sara Lou Copeland, Danny Couch, M. Roy Daniels, III, David Daniels, Lisa Ellstrom, Judith Fearing, Orestes Gooden,  Paul Wright Jameson, Arthur J. Lamothe,  Blake Sauls, Doug Seay, Mike Smith, Penny Leary Smith and Peregrine White.

Joe Lamothe, Mike Smith and Geneva Perry are former presidents 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 […]

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10 01, 2021

Frank W Caldwell

Inducted in 2020

Developed the Variable Pitch and Hydromatic Propellers

1889–1974

Frank Walker Caldwell was a leading American propeller engineer and designer. As the United States government’s chief propeller engineer, he pioneered propeller engineering and propeller testing facilities and techniques. Mr. Caldwell’s many contributions to aviation in propeller technology highlighted by his winning with Hamilton Standard the 1933 Collier Trophy for design of the controllable-pitch propeller. His design innovations led to the Hydromatic constant-speed propeller used by virtually every frontline US aircraft in WWII, and his pioneering whirl test procedures were indispensable to the development of all modern high-performance propellers during the 20th Century.

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11 12, 2020

Wright Brothers National Memorial hosts virtual-only celebration event

On Thursday, December 17, 2020, Wright Brothers National Memorial, in partnership with First Flight Society, Outer Banks Forever, Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park, and National Aviation Heritage Area, will honor the accomplishments of Wilbur and Orville Wright at an online, joint celebration of the first heavier-than-air, controlled, powered flight.
The 117th anniversary of the Wright brother’s first flight celebration online event will be shown on Wright Brothers National Memorial’s Facebook page beginning at 8:30 a.m. As part of this year’s celebration, the First Flight Society will induct Frank Caldwell into the Paul E. Garber First Flight Shrine. Caldwell’s groundbreaking advances in propeller technology in the 1930s ushered in a new era of modern aviation.
To limit the potential spread of COVID-19, this year’s in-park celebration will not occur. The park is open daily, and visitors should continue to […]

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9 12, 2020

First Flight Society Announces 2020 Class of Honorary Members

The First Flight Society announces 5 new Honorary Members: Colonel Gail Halvorsen, Brigadier General Charles McGee, Lieutenant Colonel Richard “Dick” Rutan, Sean D. Tucker, and Patty Wagstaff.

Colonel Halvorsen, General McGee and Colonel Dick Rutan have all been previously inducted into the
Paul E Garber Shrine. Halvorsen was nicknamed “the Candy Bomber” for air dropping candy to German
children during the Berlin Airlift. McGee was one of the famed Tuskegee Airmen who flew fighter
escort for Allied bombers. Rutan is a fighter pilot, test pilot, and record-breaking aviator who in
1986 piloted the Voyager aircraft on the first non-stop around-the-world flight with co-pilot Jeana
Yeager. Halvorsen turned 100 in October and McGee celebrated 101 on December 7th.

Sean Tucker and Patty Wagstaff are celebrated Aerobatic pilots, who still perform. Tucker has won
numerous air show championship competitions throughout his career and was inducted into the
National Aviation Hall of Fame in 2008. Wagstaff […]

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