Area Pilot Delivers State Flag To Wright Brothers Memorial

KILL DEVIL HILLS, N.C.-July 31, 2003 - Emmett Carson, an Experimental Aircraft Association member pilot from Lafayette, Louisiana, officially represented the state in EAA's "50 Flags to Kitty Hawk" program Thursday, July 31, when he landed at the Wright Brothers National Memorial and presented the state flag to National Park Service officials.

Emmett 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.

Emmett was the 19th EAA-member pilot to complete the journey to Kitty Hawk, where he also presented National Park Service officials with a signed proclamation from Governor Mike Foster, declaring July 31, 2003, as "50 Flags to Kitty Hawk Day" throughout the state. Following the presentation, the Louisiana flag was raised at the Wright Brothers National Memorial site, where it flew for the entire day.

"The honor of being selected as the flag bearer, the pride in my state, and the love of aviation, combined this date to create an overwhelming humility of being here on this hallowed ground," Emmett said. A resident of Lafayette, Emmett is a helicopter pilot with more than 20,000 hours in the air. He has been an EAA member since 1970. His flight of 888 miles took six hours to complete.

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.