The joint meeting of the U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission and the First Flight Centennial Federal Advisory Board was called to order May 20, 2003, at 1:00 pm at the site of the new First Flight Centennial Pavilion in Kill Devil Hills, N.C.

Park Superintendent Lawrence A. Belli welcomed those in attendance and introduced Dick Howard, chairman of the First Flight Centennial Foundation. Mr. Howard introduced Libba Evans, Secretary of Cultural Resources for the State of N.C., and thanked Secretary Evans and Superintendent Belli for their support. Secretary Evans also thanked N.C. Governor Mike Easley for his strong support.

General Dailey opened the meeting by noting that the Centennial of Flight celebration is truly underway. We are out of the planning phase and into the execution phase. Several major centennial events have occurred or were occurring at the time of the meeting, such as the Fayetteville Festival of Flight, the AIA Rocketry Challenge and Space Day.

Fayetteville's Festival of Flight was an 11-day aviation celebration with three days of air shows, a weekend arts festival, aviation-themed drama and film screenings, and seven days of exhibits from NASA, the military and others representing the past, present and future of flight. Opening ceremonies began on the evening of May 16, and the festival culminated in a Memorial Day celebration and parade on May 26.

The Rocketry Challenge, sponsored by the Aerospace Industries Association and the National Association of Rocketry, was created to celebrate the 100th anniversary of flight, and to encourage interest in aerospace design and engineering among high school students. Students had to build a rocket that could fly to an altitude of 1,500 feet, release a payload of two raw eggs, and parachute the eggs back to the ground unbroken.

Space Day was congratulated for a great day on May 1. During the Opening Ceremony at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, Senator John Glenn, co-chair of Space Day, recognized seventeen teams from across the country for their ingenuity in creating an aircraft of the future. The Space Day initiative, which is supported by the non-profit Space Day Foundation, is dedicated to the advancement of science, technology, engineering and math by inspiring young people to realize the vision of our space pioneers. Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien proclaimed May 1 as Space Day in his country, with special activities planned in provinces throughout Canada.

Two Memoranda of Agreements (MOA) have been signed since the last Commission meeting. AirsideTV, a subsidiary of NetsideTV Company, Ltd., will promote the Commission's national campaign, Centennial of Flight: Born of Dreams - Inspired by Freedom, through Web-based programming and live Web coverage of centennial of flight events on both AirsideTV.com and the Commission Web site. The second MOA was signed with the Oklahoma Centennial of Flight Commission. Its main goal is to promote and encourage the Centennial of Flight celebration statewide with a variety of events across Oklahoma. Many programs, events and air shows have the Centennial of Flight theme this year and are working closely with the OCOFC. The U.S. Commission now has a total of 23 MOAs.

There were approximately 1.6 million hits to the Commission Web site in the month of April and the number of unique visitors was more than 70,000 (up from 55,000). One of the Web products we bought through the Web Enhancement procurement from the Library of Congress, the Wright Brothers Chronology and Log book, is now online. "Way Up There" can be heard on our "Sights and Sounds" page. Two more licensees have been added to our "Licensed Products" page. The first children's Word-Search puzzle was added to our Web site. Six Web procurement proposals were received on May 2.

Carter Ryley Thomas's (CRT) contract has been increased by $50,000 to expand the hands on support the Commission provides to our Partners. The annual GAO Audit on the Commission's FY 2002 financial transactions began in April and is still underway.

Since the last Commission meeting, licensing agreements have been signed with: The Alaska Chapter of The Ninety-Nines, Inc.; Tena Clark, founder and CEO of Disc Marketing; Flightline Apparel Group; Kestner Education Services LLC; and Welcome Enterprises for the publication of Flight: A Celebration in Art and Literature by Ann Collins Goodyear, Tabori Publishing, 2003.

In January 2003, Bruce Gamache, our primary centennial contact at Primedia, left the company to relocate to Florida, as Primedia was consolidating its TV production in LA and Dallas. In April 2003, Tom Rogers, chairman and CEO of Primedia resigned. Primedia's controlling investor has decided to sell much, if not all, of Primedia over the next 18-24 months. The divisions to be sold include its consumer magazine group; its television group, which includes the Channel One Network; its business-to-business group, which includes trade magazines; and possibly parts of its directories group and enthusiast magazine group. It was the unanimous decision of the Commission and Advisory Board members that Primedia be removed as a Media Patron.

There has been an increased amount of international interest in the Centennial celebration. To date, the Commission has been contacted and/or is working with individuals and organizations in the following countries: Canada, Britain, Australia, Korea, Argentina, Norway, China, Italy, Israel, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, Japan, Spain, New Zealand, Germany, Brazil, France, South Africa, India, Indonesia, Russia, Puerto Rico, Slovenia and Costa Rica, among others.

The Commission is in the process of finalizing an MOA with Yugoslavia. The Commission has an MOA with The Royal Aeronautical Society in Britain and the Crown Agents Stamp Bureau.

Dr. Tom Crouch, Chairman of the Advisory Board, gave the status of replacing two of the Board members. The paperwork for both replacements is with Congressional members. Other updates included the Aviation Theme Study of historic aviation sites, which is an activity strongly supported by the Commission and the Advisory Board. It is a fine example of a legacy that the centennial celebration will leave behind. Dr. Crouch thanked Larry Blake and Tony Sculimbrene for their efforts promoting and advocating the Aviation Theme Study, and the Air Force for providing half of the funding. Dr. Crouch summarized centennial activities planned by the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. These included the opening of the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, the new Wright brothers exhibit opening in October, new publications and the many speaking engagements the NASM staff is committed to honoring. Gen. Dailey thanked Dr. Crouch and the Advisory Board for their many efforts promoting awareness of the centennial of flight.

Secretary Evans introduced the next agenda item, a North Carolina status report. Superintendent Belli spoke of the many site improvements that have been completed or are under construction. The Wright Brothers Memorial Visitor Center, a National Historic Landmark, opened May 21 after having been closed for two years. The centennial of flight is also the 50th anniversary of the seashore and the 200th anniversary of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. Ken Mann, chairman of the First Flight Centennial Commission, presented detailed program content for the December 12-17, 2003 event. He also recognized the incredible amount of hard work that has gone into and will continue to go into making this event spectacular. Additional information is available at http://www.firstflightcentennial.org/Celebration_page.htm. Kim Sawyer, First Flight Centennial Commission, reminded us on behalf of Mayor Sherry Rollason that the Commission/Advisory Board meeting was taking place in Kill Devil Hills and not Kitty Hawk! Kim also explained the ticketing approach used. Secretary Evans closed the N.C. presentation by announcing its gift to the nation, a life size sculpture commissioned by the state of N.C. that will be unveiled in November 2003.

Commissioner Brad Tillson introduced the Inventing Flight presentation. Dayton's event will begin six weeks from the date of the Commission meeting. Inventing Flight Co-President Will Roess reviewed the Inventing Flight goals that were laid out in 1989 and still stand today. They are expecting 600,000 visitors over the 17-day event and three million visitors throughout the year, twice the normal number. The short-term economic benefit is estimated to be more than $112 million. Inventing Flight's logistics partner is MC2 of St. Louis, the third largest company in the industry. Its entertainment partner is the Entertainment Design Corporation. Inventing Flight has 70-80 local partners as well. Mr. Roess discussed in detail the specific daily program content of the event, which is available on the Inventing Flight Web site at http://www.inventingflight.com. There were more than 100,000 unique hits to the Web site last month. Mr. Roess also discussed how important volunteer efforts will be to their success. He reviewed the legacies that will remain after the event is over, such as the plaza at Deeds Park, the Wright brothers statue, Flight Scape Plaza and new facilities at National Park Service sites.

Greg Herrick, National Air Tour 2003, brought the first plane owned by NACA, a 1928 Fairchild FC-2-W2, which was subsequently turned over to the National Park Service becoming the first U.S.N.P.S. airplane. It was based on the Outer Banks. The Fairchild will be on the National Air Tour, representing other Fairchild airplanes that flew on the original Tours. The National Air Tour, celebrating the Golden Age of Aviation, will consist of approximately 33 rare and vintage aircraft following a 4,000 mile route and visiting 26 cities. Mr. Herrick announced that on September 20, 2003, the National Air Tour will be at the First Flight Airstrip with the planes in a circle around the base of the Wright Brothers National Memorial. On September 21, 2003, the National Air Tour will be in Richmond and then Dulles International Airport. These stops will be a once in a lifetime opportunity to see this collection of historic aircraft. Dayton is a stop on the Tour as well. More information is available on the Web site at http://www.nationalairtour.org.

Gen. Dailey introduced Major Ryan of the U.S. Air Force's Centennial of Flight Office and spoke to the total commitment the Air Force has made to the centennial celebration. Major Ryan reviewed in detail the specific events the Air Force has conducted as well as those planned for the future. These included the Tournament of Roses parade; numerous fly-overs; senior A.F. attendance at events; Tattoo in San Antonio, Texas; Air Power; an 18,000 square foot exhibit; the Coca Cola 600 Air Force NASCAR racing car; art exhibits and many other activities. Details are available on the Air Force Web site at http://www.centennialofflight.af.mil. The Air Force has a very robust educational program as well. To date, they have distributed 780,000 of the 32 page centennial brochure.

Nadine Peyser of Rockefeller Center presented detailed plans about the event they are hosting from July 29 to August 17, 2003, and introduced members of her team. GE is their sponsor. The event is free and open to the public. They expect approximately 250,000 visitors a day. The NBC TODAY show reaches 8 million viewers a day and a Wright Flyer will be in the backdrop every day for the program. Josh Stoff is the curator of the event. Each day at noon there will be a dedicated outreach program for children.

Don Pearsons, Chair of the Canadian Centennial of Flight Program, outlined the plans and status of the Canadian celebration. In spite of getting a late start, significant progress has been made. The Canadian efforts were coordinated with our own Centennial of Flight Kick-off on December 17, 2002, and plans are being made to coordinate our December 17, 2003 celebrations. Mr. Pearsons spoke of Canada's McCurdy family and how the Canadian Air Force is well integrated into his program. The Canadian Snowbirds will be featured as well as Sundance Balloons, a poster contest and the Canadian Spirit Flight, a four-day flight around the world. Mr. Pearsons presented "A Tradition of Excellence," a book about Canada's Airshow Team heritage by Daniel V. Dempsey, to Gen. Dailey and Sherry Foster.

Christian Markow of Carter Ryley Thomas (CRT) provided the status of activities concluded since the last Commission meeting and previewed upcoming centennial outreach activities. Gen. Dailey was very complimentary about the outstanding quality of support the Commission receives from the CRT team.

Gen. Dailey closed the joint Commission/Advisory Board meeting by recognizing Karen Smith who has been on loan to the Commission staff for several months. Many thanks to Karen for the outstanding work and many contributions she has made.

Many big events are coming up very quickly and before our next meeting: Inventing Flight, Rockefeller and Oshkosh to name a few. Gen. Dailey urged the Commissioners and Advisory Board members to try to attend as many Centennial events as possible, and also to mention the centennial in their comments whenever possible. There are great synergies to be realized by all of us working to promote the centennial of flight. It is through the efforts of everyone working together that we will make the Centennial of Flight celebration a fantastic, memorable and educational commemoration.

Heartfelt thanks to N.C. for hosting this Commission meeting. Everything was extremely well planned and carried out. The new First Flight Centennial Pavilion was an outstanding location for our meeting. Thanks also go to the NC DOT for the great transportation support.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:00 pm.