Ken
Smith Delivers Alaska State Flag To Wright Brothers Memorial
Ken Smith, an EAA member
pilot from Anchorage, Alaska officially represented the state in EAA’s
“50 Flags
to Kitty Hawk” program Friday, May 30, when he landed at the Wright
Brothers National Memorial and presented the state flag to National Park
Association officials.
Smith is 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.
Ken , who arrived with his wife, Diane, was the seventh EAA-member pilot
to complete the journey to Kitty Hawk, where he also presented National
Park Service officials with a signed proclamation from Governor Frank
Murkowski, declaring May 30, 2003 as “50 Flags to Kitty Hawk Day”
throughout the state. Following the presentation, the Alaska flag was
raised at the Wright Brothers National Memorial site, where it flew for
the entire day.
“What an honor to be able to fly the Alaska flag to Kill Devil Hills
where powered aviation all started. I could not have made it without my
wife, Diane’s help” Ken said. Ken, a resident of Anchorage, and a
retired teacher, has more than 4000 hours in the air, and has been an EAA
member since 1997. The 5,200-mile flight in his 1963 Piper PA 18 Super Cub
took six days 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,
search the website at www.countdowntokittyhawk.com.
