First flight ceremonies will mark 118th anniversary of powered flight

  • Published
  • By Jim Varhegyi, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio — Wright-Patterson Air Force Base officials along with the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park and the National Aviation Heritage Area in North Carolina will commemorate the 118th anniversary of achieving powered flight with 1st Flight ceremonies on Dec. 17, at 10 a.m. in Dayton and in North Carolina. During the ceremony, Kitty Hawk and Dayton officials will virtually trade soil to acknowledge the joint geographic effort and partnership that put humans in the sky in 1903. 

Brig. Gen. Luke Cropsey, director, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s Air Force Security Assistance and Cooperation Directorate, and director of International Affairs at Air Force Materiel Command, will provide the event’s keynote speech.

Although the ceremony is not open to the public due to COVID-19 restrictions, Dayton locals can look up around 10:35 a.m. for a C-130 Hercules flying overhead.

Members of the Wright family will symbolize an even deeper connection to the historical event with a wreath laying. Ultimately, the ceremony reminds all Airmen to look back in time to fully appreciate the achievements that allow the Air Force to fly, fight and win. 

The National Aviation Heritage Area will livestream the event beginning at 9 a.m. on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/visitNAHA. 

The event page is available now.