As the aviation industry gears up for the most significant celebration in the history of flight, The First Flight Centennial Celebration, Dec. 12-17, 2003, the National Park Service and Cirrus Design join forces to enhance the celebration. The First Flight Centennial and the National Park Service, Outer Banks Group announced on August 1 an exciting new addition to this historic event called the "Technology of Flight" exhibit created by Cirrus Design. The "Technology of Flight" exhibit is a mobile museum that features visual, tactile and textual information regarding advancements in aviation beginning with early fabric-covered aircraft to today's advanced composite aircraft with "glass cockpits."
Lisbeth Evans of the North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources announced the new exhibit at AirVenture 2003 in Oshkosh, WI. She then went on to announce the naming of the Cirrus SR22 airplane as the "Official Aircraft of the First Flight Centennial Celebration."
Speaking to the upcoming First Flight Celebration, Stephen W. Merritt, aviation officer for the NCDOT, Division of Aviation, points out, "The technology made possible by the Wright brothers' experimentation changed our world. Today's advanced-technology personal aircraft, aptly represented by the Cirrus SR22, represents the advancement in aviation as we look forward to the next 100 years. These innovations represent the type of spectacular human achievement we are celebrating at the First Flight Centennial Celebration."
Thousands of people, including an anticipated trip by President George W. Bush, will visit the Wright Brothers Memorial this December and tour the new Technology of Flight exhibit that will become a permanent addition to the national park near Kitty Hawk.
Visitors to the new exhibit will be able to see a technology-based cockpit not available in other personal aircraft. Cirrus is the first fleet of personal aircraft to feature, as standard equipment, an all "glass cockpit" -- advanced avionics that fundamentally change the way pilots obtain and process information.
As the Cirrus SR22 aircraft today carves its own historic path in the First Flight Celebration, its founder reflects on the contribution the plane has already made to aviation history. In October 2002, a Dallas pilot became the first person during an in-flight emergency to safely land by deploying the ballistic parachute in his Cirrus SR22, also a standard feature on all Cirrus aircraft. The Cirrus Airframe Parachute System that saved the pilot's life was the vision of Cirrus Co-Founders Alan and Dale Klapmeier who began Cirrus Design with a mission of making flying safer and easier.
"As we step with both feet into the next century, Cirrus could not be more proud to make a contribution to this historic and remarkable celebration," says Klapmeier. "My brother and I began Cirrus with a singular vision to take flying to the next generation of personal aircraft. As all aircraft designers and manufacturers continue to make advancements in personal aviation, we will continue to look back to the vision of early pioneers for inspiration. They helped get us where we are today; it's up to us to take aviation to the next generation."
