Media are invited to speak with NASA Langley leadership and technical personnel, and view a NASA static display aircraft, immediately following the 115th anniversary of powered flight celebration, Monday, Dec. 17, at the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

Langley’s director, Dave Bowles, will serve as the keynote speaker during the event, sponsored by the First Flight Society, the oldest organization honoring the Wright Brothers in partnership with the National Park Service.

Katherine G. Johnson, retired NASA Langley mathematician and human computer, will also be honored during this year’s ceremony through induction into the Paul E. Garber First Flight Society Shrine.

Weather permitting, NASA will honor the Wright Brothers with a flyover at 10:35 a.m. using these Langley research planes: the Cirrus SR-22, B200/UC12 Super King Air, HU-25C Guardian and the Cessna Columbia 300. NASA uses these aircraft to support a variety of important missions, from global data collection in support of different Earth Science missions, to serving as technology testbeds to advance the future of human flight.

Following the flyover, the Cirrus SR-22 will land at First Flight Field and be on display at the aircraft parking area west of the monument. This aircraft is an unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) technology testbed that can be flown remotely from the ground, is testing technologies to help safely integrate unmanned aircraft into the national airspace. Reliable, safe technology systems could allow UAS to be used more widely for surveillance of utilities, small package deliveries, search and rescue, traffic monitoring, fire spotting, precision agriculture, videography and other uses we haven’t even imagined yet.

Chief pilot Rick Yasky and electronics/integration engineer Kevin Shelton will be available to answer questions.

Media wishing to attend the aircraft static display or speak with its crew must contact Eric Gillard of NASA Langley Research Center’s communications office at 757-864-7423 or eric.s.gillard@nasa.gov:eric.s.gillard@nasa.gov>.

For questions about the First Flight Anniversary event or to attend the event, please contact Michael Barber of the National Park at 252-475-9032 or michael_barber@nps.govmichael_barber@nps.gov>.

For more information about Johnson, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/content/katherine-johnson-biography

For more information on Langley’s Aeronautics Directorate, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/langley/aeronautics

For more information of the Cirrus SR-22, visit:

https://airbornescience.nasa.gov/aircraft/Cirrus_Design_SR22_-_LaRC

https://www.nasa.gov/centers/langley/aeronautics/uat.html