Amanda Svec Delivers South Dakota State Flag To Wright Brothers Memorial

KILL DEVIL HILLS, N.C. - June 27, 2003-Amanda Svec, EAA member-pilot from Estelle, South Dakota, officially represented her state in EAA's "50 Flags to Kitty Hawk" program on June 27 when she landed at the Wright Brothers National Memorial and presented the state flag to National Park Association officials.

Svec was one of 50 EAA-member pilots chosen-one from each state-to participate in the "50 Flags to Kitty Hawk" program, a year-long effort that is part of EAA's "Countdown to Kitty Hawk" initiative, presented by Ford Motor Company, celebrating the achievements of the Wright brothers and the 100th anniversary of powered flight in 2003.

Svec, whose co-pilot was Kendra Jorgenson, was the 10th EAA-member pilot to complete the journey to Kitty Hawk. She presented National Park Service officials with a signed proclamation from Governor Mike Rounds, declaring June 27, 2003 as "50 Flags to Kitty Hawk Day" throughout South Dakota. Following the presentation, the South Dakota flag was raised at the Wright Brothers National Memorial site, where it flew for the entire day.

"Seeing the South Dakota flag flying here made me proud to an South Dakotan and American," Svec said. "As a representative of my state, flying here was an honor and I hope I made my state proud."

Svec is a certified flight instructor with more than 420 hours in the air. She has been an EAA member since 2001. Her flight of 2000+ miles took four days to complete in a 1998 Cessna 172 SP.

EAA's "Countdown to Kitty Hawk" program, which is also supported by Microsoft Flight Simulator and Eclipse Aviation, includes construction of an exact flying reproduction of the 1903 Wright flyer, and a six-stop national tour of EAA's "Countdown to Kitty Hawk" pavilion exhibit, which features the Flyer, historic artifacts and Wright brothers correspondence from the Library of Congress, and numerous interactive aviation displays.

The tour will culminate at Kill Devil Hills, N.C., when as part of the Centennial of Flight Celebration, EAA's Wright Flyer will fly again at 10:35 a.m. on Dec. 17, 2003-precisely 100 years to the minute from when the Wrights made history.

For more information on EAA's "Countdown to Kitty Hawk" program, visit www.countdowntokittyhawk.com.