First Flight Society to Celebrate Wilbur Wright Day 2024

PRESS RELEASE

The First Flight Society (FFS) will celebrate the third annual Wilbur Wright Day with a luncheon at the Hilton Garden Inn Outer Banks-Kitty Hawk Hotel in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on April 13th 2024. The event runs from 11 am to 2 pm and features Christopher Moore, Museum Specialist at the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum (NASM).

Wilbur Wright Day is a yearly event held by the FFS to commemorate Wright’s birth on April 16th, 1867, and to celebrate his life and achievements. Moore’s talk is titled The Wright Brothers in NASM’s New Early Flight Gallery. The luncheon is open to the public and there will be a fee for the lunch (all FFS members will get lunch at a discount). Sponsors and partners will be recognized as part of the event. An additional highlight will be a silent auction to raise money for FFS programs which includes signed items from FFS Honorary Members and sponsor donations.

Moore curates the NASM’s Early Flight and World War I aircraft collections, including some of the most significant artifacts of the first 20 years of powered flight. He also curates the museum’s aircraft armament and model aircraft collections. Prior to coming to the Smithsonian, he served as an officer in the United States Coast Guard specializing in aviation, navigation, and marine safety. He received his BA in European History from the University of California, San Diego, and his MA in American History, with a specialization in public history, from George Mason University.

As a member of the Aeronautics Department at the museum Moore has researched, written, and spoken about technical as well as social and cultural aspects of many eras of aviation history. He is the co-author of In the Cockpit II: Inside History-Making Aircraft of World War II and wrote articles for the publications The National Air and Space Museum: An Autobiography and Milestones of Flight: The Epic of Aviation with the National Air and Space Museum.

The emcee of the luncheon is Paul Carr as “The Spirit of Wilbur Wright” and FFS President Mike Fonseca will make a short presentation about the future of the Society. Moore will also be signing books after his presentation.

Additional information about Wilbur Wright Day can be found at https://www.wilburwrightday.org. For more on the First Flight Society visit their website at https://firstflight.org/.