Douglas Kandle Delivers Idaho State Flag To Wright Brothers Memorial

KILL DEVIL HILLS, N.C. - 26 July, 2003 - Douglas and Sherry Kandle, an Experimental Aircraft Association member pilot from Boise, Idaho, officially represented the state in EAA's "50 Flags to Kitty Hawk" program Saturday, when he landed at the Wright Brothers National Memorial and presented the state flag to National Park Service officials.

Doug Kandle 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.

Doug Kandle was the 17th EAA-member pilot to complete the journey to Kitty Hawk, where he also presented National Park Service officials with a signed proclamation from Governor Dirk Kempthorne, declaring July 26, 2003 as "50 Flags to Kitty Hawk Day" throughout the state. Following the presentation, the Idaho state flag was raised at the Wright Brothers National Memorial site, where it will fly for the entire day.

"It was an honor to represent Idaho for the EAA. It is our 1st visit to the Memorial. Powered flight has certainly changed or lives, it is amazing how far flight has gone from the Wrights to the SR-71 Blackbird, to man walking on the moon." Doug said. Doug Kandle, a resident of Boise, ID is an engineer with Northrup Grumman, has more than 3000 hours in the air, and has been an EAA member since 1995. His flight of 2000 miles took 3 days to complete. Doug and Sherry flew their 1975 Cessna 206 on their historic flight to North Carolina.

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, search the website at www.countdowntokittyhawk.com.