Wright Brothers’ Centennial Events Set to Take Off

The celebration is a year away, but ticket sales have already begun for a festival in Dayton, Ohio, marking the centennial of the Wright brothers’ historic first manned flight in Kitty Hawk, N.C.

The festival is among dozens of aviation events across the nation in 2003 that will climax Dec. 17 with a planned re-creation of the 1903 flight in a reproduction of the original plane.

Dayton, where Orville and Wilbur Wright lived and worked, will offer an expanded version of its annual air show July 17 to 20. (It usually lasts two days.) There will be more vintage aircraft and possibly aerial stunt teams from foreign countries as well as the U.S., said Madeline Iseli, executive director of the city’s Inventing Flight celebration. Related events are scheduled in Dayton throughout July. Ticket packages, which include several events, are $66 for adults, $47 for children age 12 and younger. (888) 359-2003, www .inventingflight.com.

Information on other centennial activities nationwide can be found at the Internet site of the Centennial of Flight Commission, created by Congress three years ago, www.centennialofflight.gov. Among key events, by location:

* Wright Brothers National Memorial, Kill Devil Hills, N.C.: The highlight of a five-day First Flight Centennial Celebration Dec. 13 to 17, 2003, will be a reenactment Dec. 17 of the Wright brothers’ flight in a reproduction of their plane. A company in Warrenton, Va., commissioned by the Experimental Aircraft Assn., is building the plane, using authentic materials and methods, including hand-carved propellers, said Randal Dietrich, project director. Festival ticket plans were pending as of last week, a spokeswoman said.

* Fayetteville, N.C.: An 11-day Festival of Flight May 16 to 26 will include hot-air balloons; an air show; flight demonstrations; and exhibits from the Smithsonian, NASA and other organizations. A highlight will be a 100-foot-long aerial kinetic sculpture incorporating solar panels and other technology. Tickets were not yet on sale.

* Oshkosh, Wis.: The EAA’s 51st annual fly-in here, known as the EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, July 29 to Aug. 4, will include a 24,000-square-foot pavilion where participants can view the Wright brothers’ reproduction plane and use a flight simulator, among other activities. No advance ticket sales are planned. Admission at the door is expected to be $18 per day for EAA members, $29 for nonmembers, a spokeswoman said.