Wright Brothers National Memorial Archives - Page 2 of 5

18 10, 2021

Make Plans to Celebrate Wright Brothers Day 2021.

Save the date! December 17th, 2021 is the 118th anniversary of powered flight. The First Flight Society will be honoring Sally Ride as the 2021 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, 2021, with a celebration luncheon also held that day in Kitty Hawk. A portrait of Sally Ride will be unveiled and presented at the ceremony on December 17th.

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 […]

16 04, 2021

Sally Ride Selected as 2021 Paul E Garber Shrine Honoree.

KITTY HAWK, N.C. – April 16, 2021 – The First Flight Society announced today that Sally K Ride, has been named the 2021 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 Shrine is located within the Museum and Visitors Center at the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, 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 portrait of Sally Ride will be unveiled and presented at the ceremony on December 17th, 2021, celebrating the 118th Anniversary of the Wright Brothers First Flight.

Sally […]

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.

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 117^th 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 […]

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 […]

19 10, 2020

Make Plans to Celebrate the 117th Anniversary of Powered Flight.

Save the date! December 17th, 2020 is the 117th anniversary of powered flight. The First Flight Society will be honoring Frank Caldwell as the 2020 Paul E Garber Shrine inductee.

Like every other event held this year, this will be different than previous years. There will be a large Virtual element to this years celebration. More details will be coming soon.

The Paul E 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. 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 1933 Collier Trophy for design of the controllable-pitch propeller. His design innovations led […]

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.