THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 18, 1994 TAG: 9412180064
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B2 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL SOUTH, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: KILL DEVIL HILLS LENGTH: Long : 106 lines
Bad weather foiled the annual flyover of scores of planes, but dull gray skies and chilling winds did not keep aviation buffs from celebrating Saturday's anniversary of Wilbur and Orville Wright's first flight.
As part of the 91st celebration of the Wright brothers' 1903 flight, former President George W. Bush and aviation pioneer Eugene Barton Ely were inducted into the Paul E. Garber First Flight Shrine.
An overflow crowd at the Wright memorial, forced indoors by rainy weather, watched as portraits of the former president and Ely were unveiled.
On hand for the celebration were dignitaries and visitors from all over the world, including descendants of those who were directly involved in the first flight on the dunes of Kill Devil Hills.
Bush and Ely join such aeronautical pioneers as Charles Lindbergh, Chuck Yeager and Amelia Earhart in the shrine.
Established in 1966, the exhibit honors those who have accomplished outstanding ``firsts'' in aviation.
Bush, the nation's 41st president, became the first pilot elected to the country's highest office.
Bush was 18 in 1943 when he received his wings and commission, making him the youngest pilot in the Navy at that time.
Bush was represented at the ceremony by former Ambassador to Micronesia Fred M. Zeder II. Zeder is a member of the board of trustees of the George Bush Presidential Library to be located at Texas A&M University.
``The President said that of all the honors that have been bestowed on him, this is one of the nicest,'' Zeder said. ``It is an emotional thing for him to be included with such an outstanding group.''
Zeder also praised the First Flight Society.
``The First Flight Society is doing something similar to what we want to do at the George Bush Presidential Library,'' Zeder said.
``Just as the First Flight Society wants to perpetuate interest in the history of flight, we hope to perpetuate an interest in public service.''
Bush served in the Pacific theater during World War II, flying torpedo bombers off the aircraft carrier San Jacinto.
His Grumman TBF ``Avenger'' plane was shot down in September 1944 over the island of Chichi Jimi, 600 miles south of Japan. Bush was the sole survivor in a three-man crew, and was rescued by the Navy submarine Finback. Bush was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and three Air Medals for his service.
Bush's achievements as a pilot were made possible by the aviation pioneer Eugene Barton Ely, who was also inducted Saturday.
A civilian pilot from Davenport, Iowa, Ely was the first to fly a plane off from the deck of a ship. On Nov. 14, 1910, he flew a Curtiss Model D biplane from a platform on the bow of the Birmingham, which was anchored in the James River in Hampton Roads.
Through rain and fog, witnesses saw the aviator coast down the platform, hit the bay, rise again, and continue 2 1/2 miles before landing safely on Willoughby Spit.
Two months later, he executed the first successful airplane landing on a ship.
On Jan. 18, 1911, Ely took off from Tanforan Field near San Francisco, wearing a football helmet and a bicycle tube for a survival vest. He landed on a special platform at a speed of about 40 miles an hour.
After a leisurely lunch, Ely took off again from the deck of the ship.
He was killed in a crash at the Georgia State Fair on Oct. 19, 1911. In 1933, President Hoover posthumously awarded Ely the Distinguished Flying Cross.
Stephen Durr, Ely's grand nephew from Iowa, attended the Saturday ceremony.
``It's an overwhelming feeling,'' Durr said.
``I don't know how to really describe it. But this is a great honor for him and for our family.''
Wilkinson Wright, the grand nephew of Orville and Wilbur Wright, called the newest First Flight Shrine inductees ``a special group.''
``It's quite a milestone when you have a pilot who becomes president of the United States,'' he said. ``It shows how far we've come.''
Wright said the city of Dayton, Ohio, is hard at work preparing for the centennial of flight in 2003. The new Dayton Aviation Heritage National Park is being developed. Wright said Dayton still has much work to do to catch up with North Carolina in preparation for the centennial.
``We don't have the state funding in place for the centennial celebration,'' Wright said.
``But we're pleased to have the new national park.''
In brief remarks to the crowd, Wright said Dayton, the birthplace of the Wrights, seeks to form a ``strong and lasting bond'' between the city and the Outer Banks.
Despite overcast, rainy skies that led to the cancellation of a planned flyover by jets from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, the spirit of flight was all around. Huey and Apache helicopters and other aircraft drew the curious long after the ceremonies concluded. For Will Plentl, director of the North Carolina Department of Aviation, there is something more than flight here.
``Every time you step on this sacred ground, it makes a difference,'' he said. ``Every time an aircraft takes off or lands from this place, it makes the aura shine a little bit brighter.'' by CNB