Gina
Montgomery Delivers Pennsylvania State Flag To Wright Brothers Memorial
Gina Montgomery, an EAA member pilot from Everett,
Pennsylvania, officially represented the state in EAA’s “50 Flags to
Kitty Hawk” program Thursday, May 29, when she landed at the Wright
Brothers National Memorial and presented the state flag to National Park
Association officials.
Montgomery 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.
Montgomery was the sixth EAA-member pilot to complete the journey to Kitty
Hawk, where she also presented National Park Service officials with a
signed proclamation from Governor Ed Rendell, celebrating May 29, 2003 as
“50 Flags to Kitty Hawk Day” throughout the state. Following the
presentation, the Pennsylvania flag was raised at the Wright Brothers
National Memorial site, where it will fly for the entire day.
“It was a real honor, wonderful adventure, and a tribute to my late
husband Bob and flight instructor Tim Jeffery who both lost their battles
with cancer recently.” Montgomery said.
Montgomery has just under 100 hours in the 1946 Piper J-3 Cub (built
in Lockhaven, Penn.) that she flew to Kitty Hawk, and has been an EAA
member since 1996. Her flight of 310 miles took 5 ˝ hours plus two
one-hour rain layovers 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.
When Gina Montgomery delivered the Pennsylvania state flag to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on May 29, she did so in honor of two important people in her life…and she did it flying a Pennsylvania-built 1946 Piper J-3 Cub.
Gina,
Everett, Pennsylvania, and her son, Sam, took off from Blue Knob Valley
Airport, Duncansville. They covered over 310 miles in 5 ˝ hours, to
present the flag to the National Park Service at the Wright Brothers
National Memorial as part of EAA's 50 Flags to Kitty Hawk program.
Pennsylvania's was the sixth state flag to be delivered for the program
that celebrates 100 years of powered flight.
Montgomery applied to be part of the event as a way to honor two late aviators…her husband, Bob, and her flight instructor, Tim Jeffery, both of whom succumbed to cancer within the past two years.
Bob thrilled; Tim taught - Bob was a self-taught aerobatic pilot who learned to fly in a Cub. He thrilled many people with his aerobatics in a variety of airplanes. Tim was an excellent flight instructor. Both men lived aviation and firmly encouraged Gina to complete her flying lessons, even after their own battles with cancer started.
"Bob and his brothers bought the plane so our sons could learn the basics of flying," Montgomery said. "No radios, no electronic starter, a tail wheel. You hand prop it and fly by a compass." It was the second Cub they owned, purchased in 1996 in Lock Haven, PA.
Seven
friends in three other planes piloted by EAA Chapter 400 pilots joined
Gina and Sam at Kitty Hawk for the flag presentation. NPS's Fent Davis
noted that it was "the largest group to deliver the flag to
date."
"The flight itself was a great learning experience for me," Gina added. "As a fairly new pilot with under 100 hours, I never would have attempted it without Sam. I learned so much, and am glad we were given the opportunity to represent Pennsylvania. A few times I wondered whether it was a mistake to have left the GPS at home, and when the batteries died in our handheld radio and our headsets during the flight…with no communications, and with the door open, it seemed to really connect us to what the Wrights experienced."
Gina appreciated NPS officials' hospitality. "They were excited from the moment we arrived. From the photos at the planes to the flag raising ceremony, they allowed us to know how important our part in touching history was to them!"
Photos of the are posted on the Blue Knob Valley Airport web page, www.members.aol.com/bkvairport/kittyhawk.htm
