March Membership Drive

*2024 Membership Drive!*

How would you like to win a 120th Anniversary Silver Coin?

First Flight Society merch

Starting immediately and ending April 6th, the member gaining the most new membership points receives a 120th Anniversary Silver Coin and the runner-up receives the Brass proof version.

The winner wil be recognized at the April 13th Wilbur Wright Day Luncheon.

Scoring will be:

  • 1 point for a new or renewed one-year member
  • 3 points for a 3-year member
  • 10 points for a 3-year Life member
  • 30 points for full Life member

Points will be registered by Admin based on the member’s referral included with the new member or made by the FFS member.

Introducing The 2024 First Flight Society Board

The First Flight Society announces its Board of Directors for 2024. Most of the directors are from North Carolina.

The newly elected Executive Committee consists of:

President-Mike Fonseca

Vice President-Paul Wright Jameson

Finance Committee Chair- Erica Paynter

Marketing/Membership Committee Chair-William “Bill” Douglas

Education Committee Chair-Judith Fearing

The rest of the 2024 board consists of:

Paul Carr, Sara Lou Copeland, Danny Couch, M. Roy Daniels, III, Dr Charles Davidson, Mark Flynn, Orestes Gooden, Penny Leary Smith, William Nelson, Mike Smith, K Lynn Tadlock. Erica Paynter is new to the board this year.

The FFS plans an annual celebration at the Wright Brothers National Memorial on Wright Brothers Day, December 17th to memorialize the work of the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk, NC. First Flight Society also celebrates Wilbur Wright Day on April 16th and National Aviation Day on August 19th which is also Orville Wright’s birthday. December 17, 2024 is the 121st anniversary of the Wright Brothers first flight.

They created the Paul E Garber Shrine in 1966 to honor individuals and groups for achieving significant “firsts” in aviation development since 1903: Charles Lindbergh, General Chuck Yeager, Mary Feik, John Glenn, Katherine Johnson (Hidden Figures) and most recently Walter & Olive Ann Beech among others. The 2024 Inductee will be announced on April 16th.

Without the First Flight Society there would not be a Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. The Kill Devil Hills Memorial Association, later named First Flight Society, began as a group of local businessmen who successfully petitioned the US Congress to fund and build a monument to the Wright Brothers’ 1903 achievement. The FFS celebrates its 97th year in 2024.

First Flight Society has the Vision that One day people everywhere will be inspired by the dauntless resolution and tireless work of the Wright Brothers. Their Mission is that We tell the story of the Wright Brothers through community events, education, and the commemoration of the world’s very first powered flight, in Kitty Hawk, NC


More information about the First Flight Society can be found at https://firstflight.org  or https://wrightbrothersday.org.

Link to Press release:

Introducing the 2024 First Flight Society Board of Directors

Today is Giving Tuesday

Today is GivingTuesday




It’s go time! TODAY is #GivingTuesday, and First Flight Society has set a goal to raise $5000 in just 24 hours. Those funds will allow us to fulfill our mission to tell the story of the Wright Brothers through community events, education, and the commemoration of the world’s very first powered flight, in Kitty Hawk, NC. It truly takes a village to make real change, and we’re so lucky to have such a dedicated community of supporters. Together, we can do this. 

If you haven’t done so already, please tell your friends and family about our campaign. Spreading the word gets our voices heard and the donations rolling in!

Ways to Contribute:
1.        Make a direct contribution to support our cause.
2.        Become a recurring donor and provide sustained help.
3.        Give your time and skills to make a hands-on impact.
4.        Share our mission on social media and raise awareness.
5.        Donate in memory or celebration of a loved one.

How to stay connected with us:

Social Media: www.Facebook.com/FirstFlightSociety
Company Website: www.Firstflight.org
Contribute Directly: www.Firsftflight.org/donate

From, 
First Flight Society Team

Today is #GIVINGTUESDAY
I want to donate for Giving Tuesday



Thank you! Every gift regardless of size helps us fulfill our mission. 

Mike Fonseca
President
First Flight Society

  Donate

First Flight Society Announces 2023 Class of Honorary Members

KITTY HAWK, N.C. – November 19, 2023 – The First Flight Society announces two new Honorary Lifetime Members: Record holder Mack Rutherford, and pilot Erik Lindbergh.

Mack Rutherford became the youngest person to fly solo around the world and the youngest person to fly a microlight aircraft solo around the globe. Now 18, Mack started his 5-month journey at age 17. Mack landed in Sofia, Bulgaria on August 24, 2022, completing a trip that took him across 52 countries. Mack was born to British parents but has grown up in Belgium. He joins his older sister Zara Rutherford as a First Flight Society Honorary Lifetime member.

Erik Lindbergh is a pilot, adventurer, artist and entrepreneur. He is the Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of VerdeGo Aero which provides Powertrain Systems and Engineering Services to the electric aircraft industry. Erik is the Co-Host of The Lindberghs podcast and serves as Chairman of the Board of the Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh Foundation. He is also on the board of trustees of the XPRIZE Foundation. His grandfather, Charles Lindbergh was inducted into the Paul E Garber First Flight Shrine in 1967.

Mack Rutherford
Erik Lindbergh

“The First Flight Society is proud to honor both Mack Rutherford and Erik Lindbergh with lifetime honorary memberships. They are both great individuals who are currently influencing the field of aviation,” said Mike Fonseca, president of the First Flight Society.

Previous FFS Honorary Members include General Charles McGee, Colonel Gail Halvorsen, Patty Wagstaff, Rob Holland, Sean D Tucker, Zara Rutherford and Nicole Malachowski.

The Honorary Member program launched in 2020 to enhance the public visibility of luminaries like these who have achieved national recognition in aviation. First Flight Society will recognize them in Society Media during their lifetime. In turn, FFS offers them the chance to attend the December 17th Luncheon in Kitty Hawk, NC and be honored along with that year’s Honoree.

This year’s honorees are Walter and Olive Ann Beech, founders of Beechcraft. They will be inducted into the Paul E. Garber First Flight Shrine at Wright Brothers National Memorial on December 17, 2023.

More information about the event can be found at https://www.wrightbrothersday.org/.

More information about the First Flight Society can be found at https://www.firstflight.org/

This Wright Brothers Day Is The 120th Anniversary of the Wright Brothers’ First Flight

Wright Brothers Day: December 17, 2023 – 120th Anniversary of the Wright Brothers’ First Powered Flight

First Flight Society 12-17-22

This year’s event will honor Walter and Olive Ann Beech, American aviators and early aviation entrepreneurs who co-founded the Beech Aircraft Company—now called Beechcraft—in 1932.  The festivities will feature speakers from the National Park Service as well as a flyover, among other activities. For more information about Wright Brothers Day 2023, please click the button below.

Wright Brothers Day Luncheon

FFS Annual Luncheon Celebrating The Wright Brothers Legacy and Honoring Walter and Olive Ann Beech 2023 Paul E Garber Shrine Inductee. We will also have speakers and a delicious buffet lunch December 17th, 2023 at 12:00 noon at the Hilton Garden Inn Kitty Hawk.

Call For Nominations

Call for Nominations for the 2024 Paul E Garber First Flight Shrine.

Honorees for the Paul E. Garber First Flight Shrine are selected annually by a National Advisory Committee from a list of nominees submitted to the First Flight Society and public that is passed to the Committee for consideration.  The committee accepts a letter of nomination accompanied by supporting documentation. 

The nominee(s) may but does not have to be a “first” but rather “…a person, living or dead, who since December 17, 1903, either personally or with the assistance of others, have made such outstanding accomplishments in support of flight operations that they are generally recognized nationally and internationally for their achievements and contributions to aerospace activities.” 

Enclosed is the Nomination Form for the Paul E. Garber First Flight Shrine, which should be mailed with any supporting documents to:  First Flight Society, Post Office Box 1903, Kitty Hawk, NC 27949.   Nominations may also be emailed to: [email protected].

Nominations are due May 31st. Questions can be addressed to the NAC Chair, Charlie Davidson at [email protected]

Please help us save postage expense by providing an email address we can use to communicate important and membership information to you.

Win a Stallion 51 WWII Flight Experience!

Enter today for your chance to experience a WWII Flight Experience in both a T-6 Texan trainer and P-51 Mustang Fighter!

This is your chance to experience flight in both the trainer and operational aircraft as some of our First Flight Society Honorees such as the “Red Tail” Tuskegee Airmen General Benjamin O. Davis, Jr., USAF and Brig. Gen. Charles McGee, USAF, did as well as such other famous First Flight Society Honorees as Col. Jacqueline Cochran, USAF (Former WASP), Maj. Gen. Robert White, USAF, and Brig. Gen. Charles Yeager, USAF! The Stallion 51 Corporation offers a rare and exhilarating hands-on flight experience in both the T-6 Texan and P-51 Mustang. The winner can schedule the experience up to 12 months after winning and the prize award includes $800 towards your expenses to travel to the Orlando, Florida area for the experience.

Introducing the 2023 First Flight Society Board of Directors

The First Flight Society announces its Board of Directors for 2023. Most of the directors are from North Carolina.

The newly elected Executive Committee consists of:

President-Mike Fonseca

Vice President-Paul Wright Jameson

Finance Committee Chair- H Taylor Sugg

Marketing/Membership Committee Chair-William “Bill” Douglas

Education Committee Chair-Judith Fearing

Events Committee Chair-Tony Bruno

The rest of the 2023 board consists of:

Peter Bruemmer, Paul Carr, Sara Lou Copeland, Danny Couch, M. Roy Daniels, III, Dr Charles Davidson, Orestes Gooden, Todd Huvard, Penny Leary Smith, William Nelson, Doug Seay, Mike Smith, K Lynn Tadlock and Peregrine White. Lynn Tadlock is new to the board this year.

The FFS plans an annual celebration at the Wright Brothers National Memorial on Wright Brothers Day, December 17th to memorialize the work of the Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk, NC. First Flight Society also celebrates Wilbur Wright Day on April 16th and National Aviation Day on August 19th which is also Orville Wright’s birthday.

Without the First Flight Society there would not be a Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. The Kill Devil Hills Memorial Association, later named First Flight Society, began as a group of local businessmen who successfully petitioned the US Congress to fund and build a monument to the Wright Brothers’ 1903 achievement. The FFS celebrates its 96th year in 2023.

First Flight Society has the Vision that One day people everywhere will be inspired by the dauntless resolution and tireless work of the Wright Brothers. Their Mission is that We tell the story of the Wright Brothers through community events, education, and the commemoration of the world’s very first powered flight, in Kitty Hawk, NC