John
R. Morrow Delivers State Flag To Wright Brothers Memorial
KILL
DEVIL HILLS, N.C. – August
15, 2003 – John R. Morrow, an EAA member pilot from Kingston, New York
officially represented the state in EAA’s “50 Flags to Kitty Hawk”
program Friday, August 15, when he landed at the Wright Brothers National
Memorial and presented the state flag to National Park Service officials.
Morrow was one of 50 EAA-member pilots chosen – one from each state – to participate in the “50 Flags to Kitty Hawk” program, a year-long effort that is part of EAA’s “Countdown to Kitty Hawk” initiative, presented by Ford Motor Company, celebrating the achievements of the Wright brothers and the 100th anniversary of powered flight in 2003.
Morrow was the 22nd EAA-member pilot to complete the journey to Kitty Hawk, where he also presented National Park Service officials with a signed proclamation from Governor George Pataki, declaring August 16th, 2003 as “50 Flags to Kitty Hawk Day” throughout the state. Following the presentation, the New York State flag was raised at the Wright Brothers National Memorial.
“A group of seven other New Yorkers are accompanying me on this adventure,” Morrow said. “We all want to spread the word about general aviation and grass roots aviation. Flying down through the Hudson Valley and down the New York City VFR Hudson River Corridor was breathtaking. It is exciting becoming a part of aviation history and honoring two of the greatest aviation pioneers, the Wright Brothers.”
Accompanying
Morrow were John Martino, Bruce Snow, Gary Mulligan, Juliette and Roger
Cosh, Louis Edwards and Joseph Hayes.
Morrow, a Master Certified Flight Instructor, is a Kingston security specialist with more than 2,000 hours of flight time. He’s been an EAA member since 1991. Morrow completed the 740-mile flight in fifteen hours flying a 1946 Aeronca Champ Model S7CCM. 1,000 pilots received their SES ratings on this aircraft while it was a seaplane trainer in Little Ferry, New Jersey, from 1946 through 1975. The aircraft has total time airframe (TTA) of over 14,000 hours.
EAA’s “Countdown to Kitty Hawk” program, which is also supported by Microsoft Flight Simulator and Eclipse Aviation, includes construction of an exact flying reproduction of the 1903 Wright flyer, and a six-stop national tour of EAA’s “Countdown to Kitty Hawk” pavilion exhibit, which features the Flyer, historic artifacts and Wright brothers correspondence from the Library of Congress, and numerous interactive aviation displays.
The tour will culminate at Kill Devil Hills, N.C., when as part of the Centennial of Flight Celebration, EAA’s Wright Flyer will fly again at 10:35 a.m. on Dec. 17, 2003 – precisely 100 years to the minute from when the Wrights made history.
For more information on EAA’s “Countdown to Kitty Hawk” program, visit www.countdowntokittyhawk.com.
