Wright Brothers' flight, and the industry it spawned, to be honored

Emily M. Smith
ASME NEWS

ASME will mark the centennial anniversary of the Wright Brothers' first airborne experience with two special events that will take place during the 2003 ASME International Mechanical Engineering Congress and RD&D Expo in November — a month before the 100th anniversary of the Wright Flyer's flight on Dec. 17, 1903.

"Celebration of Flight" is a plenary session scheduled for Sunday, Nov. 16, from 5:45 to 7 p.m. at the Washington Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, D.C. The event will be open to everyone who is attending the Congress and the RD&D Expo.

The session will feature a panel of aviation experts who will discuss significant achievements in the industry.

The panelists will include Mal O'Neill, vice president and chief technical officer at Lockheed Martin, and Hank Queen, vice president of Engineering and Product Integrity at Boeing Commercial Airplanes. J. Victor Lebacqz, deputy associate administrator for Aerospace Technology at NASA, will also take part in the panel session.

The session will be moderated by John Falcioni, editor-in-chief of Mechanical Engineering magazine.

The second special event will follow immediately — a reception during which an honorary Spirit of St. Louis Medal will be presented to Amanda Wright-Lane, the great-grandniece of Wilbur and Orville. The award is presented annually by ASME for meritorious service in
the advancement of aeronautics and astronautics.

At that time, Mechanical Engineering magazine will unveil its commemorative issue "100 Years of Flight."

Until then, go to www.asme.org/events/flight/, which offers access
to articles, historical references and other links related to flight.

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