April Activity Report
**The May 1, 2002, U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission meeting has been postponed. It has been rescheduled for June 19, 2002, from 1-5 pm, location TBD.**
CRT and NASA met with Rockefeller Center officials on March 20, 2002, to discuss the possibility of a 3-week Centennial of Flight exhibit in 2003. Many good ideas were generated for the exhibit and CRT will be in contact with our Centennial Partners for their thoughts/ideas.
Primedia was unanimously approved as the first Media Patron of the U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission on April 10, 2002.
The Trademark Licensing Agreement with C. Forbes, Inc. was signed on April 1, 2002, by the NASA Administrator.
Memoranda of Agreement with the U.S. Air Force, 3 Roads Communications and Aviation Specialty Resources, Inc. are in the NASA signature loop.
Partnership Updates
The AIAA Seminar Spaceflight in Art and Literature will take place on April 22, 2002, from 1-5 pm at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City. There will be a book signing afterward.
The next meeting of the Evolution of Flight Committee Meeting will be April 24, 2002, at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City, 8-11 a.m. This meeting will take place in conjunction with the Global Air & Space 2002 International Business Forum and Exhibition, April 23-24, 2002.
NASA History Office will be holding its annual program review meeting at Stennis Space Center on April 25-26, 2002.
We will be presenting at the AIA Communications Council meeting on
May 8, 2002. The audience will include senior public relations representatives from AIA member companies.
The next public meeting of the Commission on the Future of the U.S. Aerospace Industry is scheduled for May 14, 2002.
The International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences (ICAS) has reserved space on its calendar for a history of aeronautics session at its 23rd Congress set to be held in Toronto, Ontario, on September 8-13, 2002. ICAS is closely aligned with the AIAA and has asked the AIAA History Committee to organize a history session for the conference. More information is available on the ICAS Web site at www.icas.org
The Chicago Centennial of Flight Commission has approached us about an MOA, as has Mr. Greg Herrick, President of the Aviation Foundation of America, Inc. Mr. Herrick is planning to recreate the National Air Tours in the fall of 2003.
COFC has been in contact with Priscilla Newbold of the Space Dynamics Laboratory concerning the Utah State University Wright Flyer project.
A comprehensive “Centennial of Flight Educational Toolkit” is being developed for national dissemination by the COFC in partnership with Code FE and R. The toolkit will be beta tested this summer, printed in the fall, and disseminated in time for the 99th anniversary of powered flight.
GAO is in the process of auditing the COFC again.
Outreach Activity:
Media Relations
CRT completed a New York media tour in March to introduce the networks and other major media outlets to the Centennial. The response was very positive and CRT will continue to keep in touch with those contacts.
CRT met with Pace Communications, which owns three of the major in-flight magazines.
We have made contact with the president of the Hollywood Flyers club, who is willing to work with us to contact celebrities.
CRT is continuing to pitch travel stories to travel publications and major daily papers.
The new Centennial of Flight Commission brochure is being printed and should be available for distribution soon.
Gen. Dailey was interviewed on C-Span on April 3, 2002.
Web site
The minutes of the March 21, 2002 First Flight Centennial Federal Advisory Board meeting have been placed on our Web site at www.centennialofflight.gov/commission/minutes/mar21_02.htm.
The Web enhancement procurement announcement closed March 15, 2002. There were five proposals and the technical evaluation team has met to evaluate them.
New additions to our Web site include The Wright Experience’s “In Depth: The 1901 Glider” and “In Depth: Engine No. 3.” Both of these features are included in the Wright Brothers History section.
Five additional sections of the History of Flight should go live on our Web site in the next 1-2 weeks.
Press Releases
A number of press releases have been issued recently announcing memoranda of agreements that have been signed. They are available on the COFC web site at www.centennialofflight.gov/aboutcommission.htm.
Several releases will be ready for distribution in the next 1-2 weeks pending approval. Releases that have been distributed since the last status report include:
April 16, 2002 – Excitement for National Centennial of Flight Celebration Spreads West
April 10, 2002 – Aviation World’s Fair “Dream Team” of Performers Announced
April 10, 2002 – Reproduction of Wright Brothers’ Plane Readied to Fly at Aviation World’s Fair
April 7, 2002 – Microsoft to Join the Centennial of Flight Celebration as Part of EAA’s Countdown to Kitty Hawk Presented by Ford Motor Company
March 27, 2002 – Active Aeroelastic Wing Rollout Highlights Centennial of Flight
March 27, 2002 – Inaugural Macmillan/McGraw-Hill and Aviation Week Next Century of Flight Glider Contest Winners Announced
March 20, 2002 – U.S. Aerospace Commission Issues Interim Report
Articles/Interviews/Inquiries
Smithsonian Magazine’s Great Escapes, Dayton Daily News, AIA Newsletter, First Flight Centennial Commission Spring Newsletter, The Virginian-Pilot, Triangle Coalition for Science and Technology Education, Aviation Week’s The Next Century of Flight Partner Update, Daily Press, AvWeb Online, Capital Flyer, Wings of Gold feature story (Winter 2001), Sun-Sentinel, and newsobserver.com.
Completed Events:
Debbie Gallaway met with Vance Albott, President and CEO of The Challenger Center and Alan Ladwig, Vice-President of Marketing of Team Encounter on April 16, 2003. Both organizations are considering entering partnership agreements with COFC. A Space Day educational alliance is being discussed as well as additional centennial of flight educational initiatives.
Met with Linda Hicks of the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum to begin discussions on the Centennial Kick-off event scheduled for December 17, 2002.
The Society for History in the Federal Government ‘s annual meeting was held at the Library of Congress on April 11, 2002. Tom Crouch, Roger Launius, Tony Springer and Sherry Foster formed a panel to discuss “Beyond Commemoration: The Wright Brothers Hundredth Anniversary and Collective Memory.”
Signed a letter to Mr. Tom Hanks on April 11, 2002 requesting that he write a short quote on what flight means to him, and the importance of the Centennial.
Met with Liam Cusack on April 9, 2002. Mr. Cusack is the licensing coordinator for Dragon Models Ltd.
Debbie Gallaway staffed the COFC’s booth at Sun-N-Fun in Lakeland, Florida April 8-13, 2002 in partnership with representatives from NCDOT, Inventing Flight 2003, Fayetteville Festival of Flight, the First Flight Centennial of Flight Commission, the National Park Service, Lumberton’s Sport Aviation Event, and NC’s Tourism Council. She attended several meetings to discuss centennial of flight venues in 2003 and plans for educational activities.
Debbie Gallaway attended the National Conference for Aviation and Space Educators in Arlington, Virginia April 3-6, 2002. Approximately 1200 educators attended the conference. Debbie staffed the booth and conducted sessions at the conference. She was presented with the Crown Circle for Aerospace Education Leadership Award at the conference.
The Brewer Education Committee met with educators and representatives of aviation and aerospace industry, government, and business organizations on April 3, 2002. The purpose of the conference was to discuss and collect information that will help developers of aerospace educational products better understand and meet the needs of educators and students, foster increased cooperation among organizations that provide aerospace educational products, and expand the use of aerospace educational materials. The conference proceedings will be disseminated broadly to developers of aerospace-related educational materials and follow up meetings will be conducted
Debbie Gallaway presented information about COFC overall plans and partnerships on April 2, 2002 to all of the FAA’s Regional Education Directors. Future joint educational activities were discussed. FAA’s Educational Directors are currently conducting a broad range of centennial of flight educational initiatives throughout the country. FAA’s plans for the 99th anniversary of powered flight were also discussed.
Met with Peter Max on March 20, 2002 to discuss what he might do as part of the NASA Art Program administered by Bert Ulrich.
Tom Crouch and Sherry attended the Inventing Flight and The Ohio Bicentennial Commission reception celebrating “Birthplace of Aviation Pioneers” The Ohio Quarter, March 17, 2002. The official release of The Ohio Quarter occurred on March 18.
Debbie Gallaway attended the Women in Aviation, International Conference in Nashville March 12-15, 2002. She staffed the COFC’s booth and presented information about the COFC’s educational initiatives and opportunities to approximately 300 people.