Celebration Held To Commemorate Orville Wright's 1911 Soaring Record

A grass-roots partnership of the primary sporting soaring associations in the US, with the help of Kitty Hawk-based First Flight Foundation, celebrated the centennial of Orville Wright’s record soaring flight of 9 minutes 45 seconds set on October 24, 1911. The event, called SOARING100, attracted over 10,000 visitors to the Outer Banks, NC venues of Jockey’s Ridge State Park and Wright Brothers National Memorial over the weekend of October 21-24.

“We were overwhelmed by the attendance,” said John Harris, president of the Rogallo Foundation. “People are still enthralled by the Wright brothers story and excited about sport soaring, whether with sailplanes, hang gliders, paragliders or models.”

“The goal of SOARING100 to complete the story of the Wrights experiments on the Outer Banks and instill greater interest in the role of gliders over the last century was well-received,” added event chairman Jim Short. “This was a remarkable grass-roots effort that happened because of the generosity, volunteerism and enthusiasm of all involved.”

Kicking off the event was the dedication of a National Landmark of Soaring, coordinated by the National Soaring Museum, at Jockey’s Ridge. The Landmark plaque honors those who have flown the Outer Banks dunes, including the Wrights, Francis Rogallo (father of the modern hang glider) and modern hang glider and paraglider pilots. Just prior to the unveiling, Art Greenfield, Director of Records of the National Aeronautic Association introduced officers of the NAA’s sport soaring divisions (all partners in organizing the event) the Soaring Society of America, United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association and the Academy of Model Aeronautics.

An historical symposium, coordinated by Dr. Tom D. Crouch of the National Air and Space Museum, focused on the role of gliders in the earliest development of the airplane, possibly the first such event. A “Legends of Hang Gliding” symposium, organized by John Harris, was another first at which hang gliding pioneers gathered to discuss the development of their sport. “We were indeed happy that these unique events occurred at SOARING100,” said Lola Hilton, executive director of the First Flight Foundation, the lead partner for the event. “And there was more,” she added. “Individual speakers included NASA Space Shuttle pilot Susan Kilrain, National Park Service interpreter Darrell Collins who was the National Soaring Museum’s prestigious Barnaby lecturer and Amanda Wright Lane, great grand niece of the Wrights and featured speaker at the October 24 formal recognition of the Wright record.”

Flying sailplanes at Wright Brothers National Memorial and hang gliders at Jockey’s Ridge State Park dominated much of the program on Saturday and Sunday. At the Wright Memorial a flying Showcase of Soaring History featured 15 specially selected sailplanes and motorgliders, taking off from the First Flight Airstrip and landing on the adjacent historic ground of the National Park. After landing the Showcase pilots became docents, discussing soaring while showing their planes to the throngs of visitors.

Static displays included a just-completed replica of the Wright 1911 glider built by Rick Young of Richmond, VA and an as-yet uncovered version built by family and friends in honor of the late Jim Dayton of Mechanicsville, MD. Other displays included significant sailplanes and hang gliders and a World War II military gliding exhibit. A specially created video explaining the history and context of 1911 aviation and the reasons for the Wright soaring experiments, commissioned by the First Flight Foundation and sponsored in part by a grant from the Outer Banks Visitors Bureau, premiered at the Wright Brothers pavilion.

Formalities and speakers including Mike Murray, Superintendent of the Outer Banks Group of the National Park Service concluded the ceremonies on October 24. (Images provided by SOARING100)

FMI: SOARING100