December 17

/Tag:December 17
16 04, 2024

Charles McGee Selected as 2024 Paul E Garber Shrine Honoree.

Charles McGee Selected as 2024 Paul E Garber Shrine Honoree.

By: First Flight Society, Inc 

KITTY HAWK, N.C. – April 16, 2024 – The First Flight Society announced today that Brigadier General Charles McGee has been named the 2024 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, 2024, with a celebration banquet held on December 16, 2024, in Kitty Hawk. A portrait of McGee will be unveiled and presented at the ceremony on December 17th, 2024, celebrating the 121st […]

Read More
20 11, 2023

First Flight Society Announces 2023 Class of Honorary Members

KITTY HAWK, N.C. – November 19, 2023 – The First Flight Society announces two new Honorary Lifetime Members: Record holder Mack Rutherford, and pilot Erik Lindbergh.

Mack Rutherford became the youngest person to fly solo around the world and the youngest person to fly a microlight aircraft solo around the globe. Now 18, Mack started his 5-month journey at age 17. Mack landed in Sofia, Bulgaria on August 24, 2022, completing a trip that took him across 52 countries. Mack was born to British parents but has grown up in Belgium. He joins his older sister Zara Rutherford as a First Flight Society Honorary Lifetime member.

Erik Lindbergh is a pilot, adventurer, artist and entrepreneur. He is the Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of VerdeGo Aero which provides Powertrain Systems and Engineering Services to the electric aircraft industry. Erik is the Co-Host of […]

Read More
19 10, 2023

This Wright Brothers Day Is The 120th Anniversary of the Wright Brothers’ First Flight

Wright Brothers Day: December 17, 2023 – 120th Anniversary of the Wright Brothers’ First Powered Flight

First Flight Society 12-17-22

This year’s event will honor Walter and Olive Ann Beech, American aviators and early aviation entrepreneurs who co-founded the Beech Aircraft Company—now called Beechcraft—in 1932.  The festivities will feature speakers from the National Park Service as well as a flyover, among other activities. For more information about Wright Brothers Day 2023, please click the button below.

120th Anniversary

Wright Brothers Day Luncheon

FFS Annual Luncheon Celebrating The Wright Brothers Legacy and Honoring Walter and Olive Ann [...]
Read More
3 01, 2023

Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.

Inducted in 2022

Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. was the first black brigadier general in the USAF.

December 18, 1912 – July 4, 2002

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 […]

Read More
21 11, 2022

Make Plans to Celebrate Wright Brothers Day 2022!

Save the date! December 17th, 2022 is the 119th anniversary of powered flight. The First Flight Society will be honoring Benjamin O. Davis, Jr. as the 2022 Paul E Garber Shrine inductee. The Shrine is 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 luncheon also held that day in Kitty Hawk. A portrait of General Davis will be unveiled and presented at the ceremony on December 17th.

The FFS Annual Luncheon will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn OBX/Kitty Hawk at 12:00 […]

Read More
20 11, 2022

First Flight Society Announces 2022 Class of Honorary Members

Zara Rutherford
Zara Rutherford
Nicole Malachowski
Nicole Malachowski
Jerry Yagen
Jerry Yagen

KITTY HAWK, N.C. – Nov. 19, 2022 – The First Flight Society announces 4 new Honorary
Members for 2022: Record holder Zara Rutherford, military pilot Nicole Malachowski, airplane collector
Jerry Yagen and artist Gregory Kavalec.


Zara Rutherford became the youngest female pilot to fly solo around the world and the first person to
circumnavigate the earth in a microlight aircraft. She was just 19 years old when she began a 5-month
journey that started in Kortrijk, Belgium, in August 2021, and ended back there in January 2022.


Nicole Malachowski was the first female pilot selected […]

Read More
11 07, 2022

Your Chance To Win a 2022 Jeep Wrangler 392 with a 6.4L HEMI V8 engine!

The Rubicon 392 is the ONLY WRANGLER with a 6.4L HEMI® V8 engine. This Jeep is highly sought after, and we have one on hand to give away to one lucky winner! This Rubicon comes in Silver Zynith Clear coat exterior and a Black interior with Leather trimmed bucket seats, 8-speed automatic transmission and LT285/70R17C OWL off-road tires. These cars typically sell for a premium over the $79,380 list price. You can no longer order a 2022 392 in any form.


The Sweepstakes began on June 30, 2022 and ends at 10:00am EST on December 17, 2022 (“Sweepstakes
Period”). Entries received outside this time will be ineligible and will be discarded. The Sweepstakes for the prize or prizes will be conducted by the Organization at 12:00pm EST on December 17, 2022 at Wright Brothers National Memorial, 1000 N Croatan Hwy, Kill Devil Hills, NC 27949. The […]

Read More

Business Members

Privacy Policy

Toggle Sliding Bar Area