Paul E Garber Shrine Archives - Page 3 of 10

24 08, 2020

Frank Caldwell Selected as 2020 Paul E Garber Shrine Honoree

The First Flight Society announced today that Frank Caldwell, has been named the 2020 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, Kitty Hawk, 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, 2020, with a celebration banquet held on December 16, 2020 in Kitty Hawk. A portrait of Frank Caldwell will be unveiled and presented at the ceremony on December 17th, 2020, celebrating the 117th Anniversary of the Wright Brothers First Flight.

Mr. Caldwell’s many contributions to aviation in propeller technology highlighted by his winning with
Hamilton Standard the […]

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.

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

19 01, 2020

Colonel Gail S “Hal” Halvorsen

Inducted in 2019

70th Anniversary of the end of the Berlin Airlift

1920-2022

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 […]

11 12, 2019

December 17th Celebration Itinerary

WELCOME TO THE

116^TH ANNIVERSARY OF POWERED FLIGHT

Celebrating

The Legacy of Orville and Wilbur Wright

Honoring

The 70^th 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 […]

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 70^th Anniversary with ceremonies on the Wright Brothers National Memorial grounds at Kitty Hawk, NC. The 116th Anniversary Celebration of the […]

8 09, 2019

FFS Partners with ECSU!

FIRST FLIGHT SOCIETY FORMS NEW ALLIANCE WITH

ELIZABETH CITY STATE UNIVERSITY’S

DEPARTMENT OF AVIATION EDUCATION

The Tuskegee Airmen, the Apollo 11 astronauts, Amelia Earhart: these are just a sampling of the historic portraits hanging along the wall of the second floor of Elizabeth City State University’s STEM Complex, celebrating the pioneers of aviation.

They are part of a collection of 75 portraits that are on loan from the First Flight Society. The loan of the portraits are thanks to a Memorandum of Agreement between the organization and ECSU.

The First Flight Society, […]

13 05, 2019

Colonel Gail Halvorsen will be the 2019 Paul E Garber Shrine Honoree.

The 116^th Anniversary of Powered Flight Event on December 17, 2019 will induct Col. Gail Halvorsen, USAF (Ret), the “Candy Bomber”, as a representative of the crews that flew the mission, and the Berlin Airlift (June 27, 1948 to May 12, 1949) on this 70th Anniversary of the completion of the great humanitarian event into the Dr. Paul E. Garber First Flight Shrine. The event will include having the Berlin Airlift Foundation C-54 and a C-47 on display to represent the “workhorses” of the airlift, and a flyover, all dependent on maintenance and weather. The event at the Wright Brothers National Memorial is free and open to the public. More details here as we solidify the program.

9 05, 2019

Why Donate to the First Flight Society?

Donate.

You see this almost every day from one organization or another. You get telephone calls. You get letters. You see it on television. You hear it on the radio.

Like most non profits we rely on donations and memberships from people just like you to keep our group alive. Your next question is probably, “Why should I donate to the First Flight Society?” What do they actually do?

Did you know that If it wasn’t for the First Flight Society there wouldn’t even be a Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina? Under the name Kill Devil Hills Memorial Association, a group of local businessmen petitioned the US Congress to Fund and build a monument to the Wright Brothers’ achievement of 1903.

Though primarily known as the group that puts on the annual celebration at the Wright Brothers National Memorial every December 17^th, that is not all that we […]

25 03, 2019

Why Should You Donate to FFS?

Donate.

You see this almost every day from one organization or another. You get telephone calls. You get letters. You see it on television. You hear it on the radio.

Like most non profits we rely on donations and memberships from people just like you to keep our group alive. Your next question is probably, “Why should I donate to the First Flight Society?” What do they actually do?

Did you know that If it wasn’t for the First Flight Society there wouldn’t even be a Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina? Under the name Kill Devil Hills Memorial Association, a group of local businessmen petitioned the US Congress to Fund and build a monument to the Wright Brothers’ achievement of 1903.

Though primarily known as the group that puts on the annual celebration at the Wright Brothers National Memorial every December 17^th, that is not all that we […]