[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 51 (Monday, March 31, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H2494-H2497]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              {time}  1500
  HONORING FAYETTEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA, ON CENTENNIAL OF WILBUR AND 
                     ORVILLE WRIGHT'S FIRST FLIGHT

  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to 
the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 58) honoring the City of 
Fayetteville, North Carolina, and its many partners for the Festival of 
Flight, a celebration of the centennial of Wilbur and Orville Wright's 
first flight, the first controlled, powered flight in history.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                            H. Con. Res. 58

       Whereas on December 17, 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright 
     achieved history's first sustained and controlled flight with 
     a heavier-

[[Page H2495]]

     than-air, engine-powered aircraft at Kitty Hawk, North 
     Carolina;
       Whereas the Wright brothers' first flight lasted only 12 
     seconds and spanned approximately 120 feet, but ushered in 
     the era of modern aviation;
       Whereas the City of Fayetteville, North Carolina, will host 
     a series of aviation-related events worthy of the 100-year 
     anniversary of the Wright brothers' momentous achievement at 
     Kitty Hawk;
       Whereas the Fayetteville Festival of Flight will take place 
     May 16-26, 2003, and will be the largest public centennial 
     event in North Carolina celebrating the first flight and 1 of 
     only 4 events nationwide endorsed as a full partner by the 
     United States Centennial of Flight Commission;
       Whereas retired General Henry Hugh Shelton, former Chairman 
     of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Congressional Gold Medal 
     recipient, is the Honorary Event Chair;
       Whereas the Fayetteville Festival of Flight will feature a 
     weekend arts festival, a military air show at Pope Air Force 
     Base, a general aviation air show at Grannis Field and an 
     exposition with aviation displays and interactive exhibits 
     depicting the past, present, and future of flight;
       Whereas a year-long educational curriculum has also been 
     developed to encourage students' interest in aviation and 
     flight technology;
       Whereas this educational focus will culminate with 1,000 
     students being sponsored each day for exclusive access to the 
     Festival's Aviation Exposition; and
       Whereas the City of Fayetteville and a number of civic 
     groups, private businesses, government agencies, and military 
     partners, are joining together to honor the Nation's 
     aerospace achievements: Now, therefore, be it
       Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate 
     concurring), That Congress honors the City of Fayetteville, 
     North Carolina, and its many partners, for the Festival of 
     Flight, a celebration of the centennial of Wilbur and Orville 
     Wright's first flight, the first controlled, powered flight 
     in history.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Petri). Pursuant to the rule, the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette) and the gentleman from California 
(Mr. Waxman) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette).


                             General Leave

  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks on the concurrent resolution under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Ohio?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, House Concurrent Resolution 58 introduced by our 
distinguished colleague from North Carolina (Mr. Etheridge) honors the 
City of Fayetteville, North Carolina, and its many partners for the 
Festival of Flight, a celebration of the centennial of Wilbur and 
Orville Wright's first flight, the first controlled, powered flight in 
history.
  Mr. Speaker, on December 17, 1903, a pair of Ohio bicycle shop owners 
and brothers named Orville and Wilbur Wright realized their lifelong 
dream of operating an engine-powered flight machine. On that historic 
day, they had traveled about 120 feet in the air for 12 seconds at the 
helm of the 1903 Flyer, a vehicle they had constructed after years of 
labor and research. The Wright brothers were pioneers in the truest 
sense of the term. Their strong desire to create a flying vehicle was 
frustrated only by the fact that there was so little aeronautical data 
that existed at the time on which to base their efforts. But the Wright 
brothers focused their ambition into building a wind tunnel from which 
they could generate their own empirical information on how to lift a 
vehicle into the air. They even designed and constructed their own 
lightweight gas-powered engine that produced only 12 horsepower, but 
was a massive innovation at the time.
  The brothers began large-scale testing of their ideas with the 
combination kite and glider in 1900. Their ideas tested on this 
aircraft were further refined into a glider they fashioned in 1901. 
Using the information generated from their glider along with the wind 
tunnel data, Orville and Wilbur constructed the Flyer in 1903. The 
plane featured the two-tiered wing design with two propellers that we 
have all seen in the photographs. The wings were 40 feet long and were 
separated 5 feet apart, one on top of the other. The plane weighed 
right around 700 pounds. Comparatively, a Boeing 747 today has an 
overall wing span of more than 231 feet and weighs 875,000 pounds at 
takeoff.
  Mr. Speaker, this House ought to commemorate the Wright brothers' 
inspirational story. It is hard to argue against the notion that few 
events in the 20th century had greater social, cultural, or economic 
impacts on today's world than Orville and Wilbur Wright's first 
momentous flight. Therefore, I urge all Members to join Fayetteville, 
North Carolina, in the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the 
Wright brothers' first flight by supporting the adoption of House 
Concurrent Resolution 58.
  I want to thank and commend the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. 
Etheridge) for introducing this important measure.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself 2 minutes.
  In October, 1998, this body passed a bill to establish a 
commemoration of the centennial of powered flight and the achievements 
of the Wright brothers. The commemoration activities set forth in that 
bill will come to fruition this year with the Festival of Flight. The 
Festival of Flight will consist of four events that will be held 
nationwide to celebrate Wilbur and Orville Wright's first flight. 
Wilbur and Orville Wright manned the first successful controlled and 
sustained powered flight. The Wright brothers, originally bicycle store 
owners from Dayton, Ohio, moved to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, for the 
hills, strong and steady winds, and the soft-sanded ground, ingredients 
for a successful flight. They went back to Dayton and built a 6-foot 
wind tunnel to conduct experiments with over 200 different wing models. 
They developed the first reliable tables on the effects of air pressure 
on curved surfaces. The principles that we use today and that we see on 
every airplane were the very principles that they explored.
  In 1903 the Wright brothers completed the construction of a larger 
plane powered by their own lightweight gas-powered engine and returned 
to Kitty Hawk. On December 17, 1903, four men and a boy witnessed the 
first flight, a flight which dramatically changed the course of 
transportation, commerce, communication, and warfare throughout the 
world.
  I hope that the Festival of Flight will educate Americans to the 
achievements of the Wright brothers and their contributions to the 
development of this Nation. I urge my colleagues to support this 
legislation.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield 6 minutes to the author of the proposal before 
us, the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. Etheridge), to speak in 
support of the concurrent resolution before us.
  Mr. ETHERIDGE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me 
this time. Let me thank the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Tom Davis) and 
the majority leader and the majority whip for getting this piece of 
legislation to the floor.
  It is my great pleasure to rise today and speak on behalf of this 
legislation, having authored it, along with every member in our North 
Carolina delegation, in honoring the City of Fayetteville of North 
Carolina as they begin to celebrate the 2003 Festival of Flight. As 
many of the Members and has already been stated today, almost 100 years 
ago now two brothers took a chance, believed in a dream, and made 
history. In just 12 seconds the world was changed forever. Man took to 
the skies and the world became smaller. The boundaries were pushed 
outward, and the impossible became possible.
  Wilbur and Orville Wright, proud sons of the great State of Ohio, 
brought their dreams and flying machine to the windy beaches of Kitty 
Hawk, North Carolina, in the winter of 1903. The Wright brothers came 
to Kitty Hawk well prepared for their great achievement. They had been 
experimenting with aeronautics for years; and by the time they came to 
North Carolina in December of 1903, the men had completed more than 
1,000 flights in gliders of their own design. Their diligence and 
perseverance paid off that year.
  On a cold and windy morning on December 17, 1903, Orville Wright 
climbed aboard the Kitty Hawk, started the engine, and flew. Orville 
Wright described the experience as follows: ``The first flight lasted 
only 12 seconds, a flight

[[Page H2496]]

very modest compared with that of birds, but it was, nevertheless, the 
first in the history of the world in which a machine carrying a man had 
raised itself by its own power into the air in free flight, had sailed 
forward on a level course without reduction of speed, and finally 
landed without being wrecked.''
  What many people did not realize is that the brothers completed a 
total of four flights that day, the longest covering 852 feet in 59 
seconds. The Wright brothers' achievement stunned the world and began 
one of the most active periods of scientific research and 
experimentation in our history. However, despite all of our successes 
and improvements to flying machines, their basic design remains very 
familiar to that of the Wright brothers.
  In honor of the centennial of flight, the people of Fayetteville, 
North Carolina, in my congressional district, and the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. McIntyre) and the gentleman from North Carolina 
(Mr. Hayes) have planned a celebration worthy of their achievement.
  The Festival of Flight will be, as the Members have heard, one of 
four in the United States sanctioned by the United States Centennial of 
Flight Commission. The 11-day festival will feature a 2-day military 
air show at Pope Air Force base and a general aviation show at the 
Fayetteville regional airport. The event will also present aviation 
displays and programs, educational exhibits, and an art festival. There 
will also be special exhibits on space flight and technology including 
1 day devoted to space exploration and the Shuttle with NASA. The 
Festival of Flight will also feature a detailed replica of the 1903 
Wright flight developed by the American Institute of Aeronautics and 
Aerospace.
  The festival will culminate on Memorial Day, May 26, where 
participants will honor the brave men and women who have served in our 
Nation's military and those who are currently defending our Nation 
around the world. Fayetteville is home to Pope Air Force base and Fort 
Bragg's XVIII Airborne Corps, the Army's largest war-fighting 
organization. The XVIII Corps is the world's premier power projection 
force with tens of thousands of soldiers currently serving in Operation 
Iraqi Freedom.
  In addition to celebrating man's first powered flight, the 
Fayetteville Festival of Flight will have a special emphasis on 
aviation education. This focus is especially fitting as education 
played a major role in the Wright brothers' success.
  Even though Orville and Wilbur Wright had little formal education, 
they never graduated from high school, but their parents held education 
in high esteem. Orville Wright once said: ``We were lucky enough to 
grow up in an environment where there was always much encouragement to 
children to pursue intellectual interests, to investigate whatever 
aroused curiosity.''
  It is our hope that the Fayetteville Festival of Flight will 
stimulate similar interests and curiosity in the thousands of school 
children scheduled to attend this event. In order to promote interest 
in aviation education and the Wright brothers' achievements, the State 
of North Carolina has developed a special curriculum on aviation 
history and technology that schools across the State have been using 
this whole year. The curriculum includes art, science, and essay 
competitions. Winners will be guests of the festival, which is also 
scheduled to host 1,000 students and 100 teachers every day of the 
festival.
  In closing, let me thank all of the members of the North Carolina 
congressional delegation for joining me in sponsoring this resolution. 
I also want to thank the people of Fayetteville, Fort Bragg, and Pope 
Air Force Base for their enthusiastic support of the Festival of 
Flight. I also wish to invite all Members of Congress and their 
families and their staffs to come to Fayetteville, North Carolina, to 
help us kick off and celebrate one of the world's most monumental 
achievements: flight.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. McIntyre), one of the co-sponsors of this 
legislation.
  Mr. McINTYRE. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to join my colleagues today 
from North Carolina here on the floor for the consideration of H. Con. 
Res. 58. I appreciate the leadership of the gentleman from North 
Carolina (Mr. Etheridge) in introducing this resolution, all of my 
fellow delegates from North Carolina, and the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
LaTourette), the gentleman from California (Mr. Waxman) in their 
support of this.
  Mr. Speaker, Charles Kettering once said, ``The Wright brothers flew 
right through the smoke screen of impossibility.'' On December 17, 
1903, at Kill Devils Hill near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, the Wright 
brothers manned the first-ever controlled, powered flight; and their 
optimism of achieving the impossible became our reality and the reality 
that has truly opened the world for all to see and enjoy.
  As North Carolinians, we are immensely grateful for this historic 
feat and look forward to the 100-year celebration of this great event. 
The Wright brothers were men of vision and vigor whose dream of flight 
resulted in victory, not only for them but for all people, for all 
time, in all places.
  The largest of the celebrations that has been sanctioned for this 
event is the Festival of Flight to be held in the Fayetteville/Fort 
Bragg/Pope Air Force Base region of North Carolina from May 16 through 
26. Among the many activities planned are air shows, of course, 
emphasizing both civilian and military aviation technology, cultural 
events including the region's schools adapting and implementing a 
curriculum of aviation history and technology for the fourth, eighth, 
and 11th grades. In addition, there will be a huge parade on Memorial 
Day itself on May 26 honoring those who have given their very lives in 
the quest of flight.
  Mr. Speaker, this is a once-in-a-lifetime event, and we are here 
today to honor and to celebrate the all-American city of Fayetteville 
and its many partners for this fabulous Festival of Flight celebration. 
So many people in organizations have contributed time, energy and 
resources to plan for this special 11-day event. We hope that each of 
the Members and all Americans can join to look back and honor the work 
of the Wright brothers and also look forward to another 100 years of 
progress in flight. I urge the passage of this matter.
  Mr. HAYES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of honoring 
the City of Fayetteville, North Carolina, and the many public and 
private partners for their participation in organizing the Festival of 
Flight. The Festival of Flight will be the largest public centennial 
event in North Carolina and one of only four events nationwide endorsed 
as a full partner by the United States Centennial of Flight Commission.
  On December 17, 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright launched mankind's 
first sustained and controlled flight in a heavier-than-air, engine 
powered aircraft at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Although the flight 
only lasted 12 seconds, and covered approximately 120 feet, this 
achievement fundamentally changed the world.
  The invention of powered air travel altered the way we fight wars, 
revolutionized travel and commerce, and fueled technological and 
scientific innovation. Fayetteville is blessed to be the home of the 
XVIII Airborne Corps stationed at Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base. 
These bases are home to some of the most advanced and successful 
aircraft the world has ever seen. From the A-10 Warthog to C-130 cargo 
planes, aviation in Fayetteville is an interregnal part of the United 
States armed forces.
  The Festival of Flight will highlight both civilian and military 
aircraft and the continuing evolution in technology. From an arts 
festival to military and general aviation air shows, the past, present, 
and future of aviation will be on display to educate the public of the 
continued importance of aviation.
  I commend the outstanding work of local leaders and volunteers in the 
Fayetteville community for their hard work and effort to honor this 
historic moment in human history.
  I urge my colleagues to join with me in honoring the Fayetteville, 
North Carolina, Festival of Flight by supporting H. Con. Res. 58.
  Mr. WAXMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Ohio (Mr. LaTourette) that the House suspend the rules 
and agree to the concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 58.
  The question was taken.

[[Page H2497]]

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of 
those present have voted in the affirmative.
  Mr. LaTOURETTE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The yeas and nays were ordered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the 
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be 
postponed.

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