The 105th anniversary of powered flight was a busy day in Dayton. The Wright family and the community observed the anniversary with a traditional wreath-laying at the Wright Memorial on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Following it was a press conference where the National Aviation Heritage Alliance (NAHA) and its partners announced major events planned for 2009. The capstone event was Aviation Trail Inc.'s annual First Flight Anniversary dinner (photo gallery) in the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. AOPA President Phil Boyer was the keynote speaker (AOPA story), and the National Aviation Hall of Fame announced its enshrinement selections for 2009.

Here is a copy of the NAHA press release.

Dayton, Ohio (17 Dec 08)—The National Aviation Heritage Alliance (NAHA) and its partners will celebrate the Dayton Region’s rich history of aviation and the Wright brothers in 2009 with several special events and programs. The upcoming year marks the 100th anniversary of the Wrights’ Homecoming Parade in Dayton Ohio, where in June 1909 the brothers returned from a very successful trip in Europe to be recognized as hometown heroes. To help commemorate that event, a number of NAHA events will be connected to that “Homecoming” theme. In 2009 NAHA will recognize the 100th anniversary of the Wrights’ sale of their first airplane to the US Signal Corps, establishing aviation as part of the United States military arsenal. The year will see NAHA members participating in a number of air shows both here and abroad, and hosting special programs throughout the Dayton Region.

NAHA partners range from the National Park Service’s Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park to smaller groups like the Experimental Aircraft Association’s chapters located throughout the National Aviation Heritage Area. The broad scope of the activities planned is a reflection of the deep roots of aviation in the area. While the Wrights were responsible for inventing the airplane, many other aviation and aerospace developments were led by pioneers who called the Dayton Region home, such as Warren Grimes, creator of the first aircraft landing light to the first man to walk on the moon, Neil Armstrong.

Some of the year’s highlights will include the launching of new Wright brothers replica aircraft and simulators, the National Aviation Hall of Fame’s 2nd Annual REEL STUFF Film Festival of Aviation in March 2009, and a greatly expanded Dayton air show, with United States Air, Trade and Technology Expo taking place in July. In addition, there will be NAHA partners in Europe participating in Wright brother centennial events in the Netherlands. Later in 2009, the Huffman Prairie will come alive with a celebration of the Wright brothers most successful flight of October 5th 1905, when they flew at will over the Prairie and were convinced they had truly perfected the airplane.

A comprehensive list of activities and programs is attached.

The National Aviation Heritage Alliance (NAHA) is a private, not for profit corporation operating as the management entity of the Congressionally designated National Aviation Heritage Area, one of 40 national heritage areas in the United States. NAHA’s vision is for Dayton to become the recognized global center of aviation heritage and premier destination for aviation heritage tourism, sustaining the legacy of the Wright brothers. The National Aviation Heritage Area encompasses an eight county area (Montgomery, Greene, Miami, Clark, Warren, Champaign, Shelby, and Auglaize counties.)

National Aviation Heritage Alliance
Partner Activities and Programs
2009

National Aviation Hall of Fame
• 2nd Annual Reel Stuff Film Festival, March 12-15, 2009-Four action-packed days of classics, documentaries and new feature films celebrating the cinematic people, wonder and joy of flight.
• 48th Annual Enshrinement Ceremony, July 17-18, 2009-Two days of activities associated with the recognition of the most important individuals in aviation. Includes the WOW Conference (Wings of Women) for high school age girls, the President’s Reception and Dinner and the formal Enshrinement Ceremony.

Vectren Dayton Air Show
• 35th Anniversary of Dayton’s premier summer event, July 18-19, 2009-The USAF Thunderbirds, Tora Tora Tora, and Patty Wagstaff will headline the Dayton Air Show in 2009. The Thunderbird appearance in Dayton will be a “homecoming” as team lead, Lt Col Greg Thomas, is a Wright State graduate.
• SOAR/A2 will move to a new location in 2009 (the NAHA Pavilion) and with additional NAHA partners helping to create a unique educational experience for children at the Vectren Dayton Air Show.

Wright B Flyer, Inc.
• Test flight program for “Silver Bird” will begin in 2009-Wright B Flyer will conduct extensive tests of its newest Wright replica with plans to have the new plane certified for flying by mid-summer 2009. The Silver Bird was designed to be dis-assembled and placed into a standard shipping container to allow for transportation throughout the world.
• Wright Simulators-Three new Wright Simulators are being constructed by Wright B Flyer for use by NAHA partners. The simulators will complement the existing simulator located at Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park’s Huffman Prairie Flying Field Interpretive Center. The simulators will be owned by the Alliance and made available to community groups when requested. It is anticipated the simulators will be used by NAHA convention and visitor bureaus at various travel and trade shows to attract more visitors to the Dayton Region.
• Wright B Flyer will maintain a busy flying and static display schedule-In 2009 Wright B will be at Dayton Air Show, Air Force Material Command’s Tattoo and the USAF Marathon along with numerous other community events.

Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park
• 104th Anniversary of Practical Flight, October 5, 2009-A Wright Flyer replica returns to fly at Huffman Prairie Flying located at Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio. Piloted by Mark Dusenberry, the public will once again have a chance to see first hand what the Wright brothers experienced when flying in 1905. In addition to the flight, there will be educational activities for school children throughout the day, including edible Wright Flyers, paper helicopters and model hot air balloons.
• Wright Brothers Homecoming in Wright-Dunbar Village, June 20, 2009-Join others for music, ice-cream and a home tour in the neighborhood of the Wrights’ to commemorate the 100th Anniversary of the Wright Brothers Homecoming in Dayton.
• Aviation Heritage Speaker Series will see a number of noted speakers from the world of aviation make presentations at the Engineers Club of Dayton throughout the year.

Wright Family Foundation
• Landmark of the Wright, 100th Anniversary of the Dutch Centennial of Flight, June 18-19, 2009-Wright family members will participate in commemoration of the centennial of the first flight in the Netherlands with the formal dedication of the sculpture of a Wright Flyer. The following day, the Wright family will attend an air show conducted under the auspices of the Dutch Air Force.

United States Air, Trade and Technology Expo
• A trade show and technical conference (Wright Dialogue with Industry) will take place in the Dayton Region, July 13-18, 2009-The United States Air, Trade and Technology Expo brings together leaders in the military, civilian government, academia, and industry to address challenges and highlight successes across the aerospace industry with a keen focus on second and third tier companies.

Historic WACO Field
• 2009 WACO Homecoming Fly-In, September 18-19, 2009-WACOS and other vintage airplanes are expected to return to Historic WACO Field from all parts of the United States.

Ohio Historical Society-Armstrong Air & Space Museum
• 40th Anniversary of Moon Landing, July 19- 20, 2009-Ohio Historical Society’s Armstrong Air and Space Museum will celebrate the landing of Wapakoneta native, Neil Armstrong on the moon. The Summer Moon Festival on the 19th will take place on the grounds of the museum with a number of activities planned including an evening concert. On July 20th, the 40th anniversary of the landing, the museum will be selling commemorative covers with special cancellation by the Wapakoneta Post Office. Special admission policies will be in effect for the museum that day.

Aviation Trail Inc.
• Trailblazer Awards Banquet and Ceremony, April 2009-Honors the birthday of Wilbur Wright (April 16, 1867) and presents the Trailblazer Award to an individual or organization that has furthered aviation in the Dayton Region.
• National Aviation Day, August 19, 2009-commemorates both Orville and Katharine Wright’s birthday with a picnic luncheon.
• First Flight Dinner, December 17, 2009-Annual dinner celebrates the Wright brothers first flight at Kittyhawk NC in 1903.

Greene County Historical Society
• 40th Anniversary of the Moon Landing, July, 2009-The Greene County Historical Society will commemorate the historic landing on the moon with exhibits at the Society’s headquarters.

Grimes Flying Lab Foundation
• Mid-Eastern Regional Fly-In, September 12-13 2009-Grimes Flying Lab Foundation will host the Fly-In at Grimes Field in Urbana, Ohio.

Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 284
• Red Stewart Field, Waynesville, Ohio Open House and Tail Dragger Fly-In, September 5-6, 2009-Chapter 284 will host the public and present an air show on the evening of the 5th and on September 6, the Tail Dragger Fly-In will commence. A Young Eagles Rally will take place on the 6th.

Experimental Aircraft Association Chapter 36
• Wings and Wheels Fly-In, June 6-7, 2009 at WACO Field, Troy, Ohio
National WACO Club 50th Anniversary Fly-In, June 24-28, 2009 at Wynkoop Airport at Mt. Vernon, Ohio

Tags: aviation heritage, Aviation Trail, First Flight Anniversary, Wright "B" Flyer, Dayton Air Show, Air Force Museum, National Aviation Hall of Fame

Vectren Dayton Air Show managers weren't saying ahead of time what they would announce at today's press conference, but the setting gave a pretty good hint: Right in front of the new F-22A exhibit in the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.

The announcement, of course, was that the Air Force's Raptor demo team will fly at the 2008 air show on July 19-20 at Dayton International Airport.

Well, OK, I knew what was on the agenda because I'm on the air show's board of trustees. Still, it was a pretty cool way to announce it. And I'm jazzed that Major Paul "Max" Moga will be demonstrating the big fighter's surprising maneuverability: I've yet to see the demo live, but the videos on the Internet — like the one below — are astonishing. How does it do that?

We're calling it a "homecoming" because the Raptor has its roots in the Dayton area at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Two major research organizations there had a lot to do with shaping the airplane you will see this summer. The Foreign Technology Division (now the National Air and Space Intelligence Center) analyzed the new-generation fighter and missile technologies the Soviet Union was developing in the 1970s and '80s, and the Flight Dynamics Laboragtory (now the Air Vehicles Directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory developed the new technologies U.S. fighters would need to defeat them. F-22 acquisition continues under the Aeronautical Systems Center, also based at Wright-Patterson, a unit of Air Force Material Command. ASC’s 478th Aeronautical Systems Wing remains responsible for design, production, deployment, modernization and sustainment of the aircraft.

Also booked for this year's show: Civilian Performer Sean D. Tucker, flying his one-of-a-kind Oracle Challenger II biplane. Sean has won every major award in the air show industry; this summer he'll be inducted into the National Aviation Hall of Fame, joining the ranks of The Wright Brothers, Charles Lindbergh and Neil Armstrong. Sean will also be on the cover of The Dayton air Show: A Celebration in Photographs, by Ty Greenlees and me.

Joining Sean for its first Dayton appearance be the newly formed Collaborators Formation Aerobatic Team. Introduced to the air show circuit in 2007, The Collaborators is a four-ship team that combines the grace and beauty of tight formation flying with hard-charging aerobatics. Sean flies Lead, with his son Eric on left wing; Ben Freelove, on right wing, and Bill Stein, a former Red Baron Squadron pilot, in slot. Stein, an accomplished formation aerobatic pilot, serves as the team’s formation instructor and will also perform a solo routine.


Want more? Here's what else the air show announced:

• Misty Blues All-Woman Skydiving Team
•AeroShell Aerobatic Team
•Les Schockley's NeXplore Shockwave, a Peterbilt truck powered by three blame-belching jet engines.

Now, strap in and watch the Raptor video:

Tags: Dayton Air Show, F-22A Raptor, Sean D. Tucker