Evening star., 1928-12-09

Kill Devil pilgrimage will be taken by
a number of officials representing aero
nautical and civic organizations.
A point of interest in this trip VIII be
the presence of the guest of honor,
Orvilie Wright. Mr. Wright and his late
brother, Wilbur, revisited the Kill Devil
country several times following their
first successful flight in 1908. They
tested powered planes on the sand dunes
in 1908 and 1911. But this Forthcoming
trip will be the first In II years that
Mr.. Wrights friends in and near Kitty
Hawk will have a chance to see the
aeronaut. Many people who knew the
brothers in their less famous days are
still alive there and recall wildly many
personal anecdotes relative to early ex-
periments in mechanical flight.
Although no formal treaty will accrue
from this conference, experts are OF the
opinion that views expressed here VIII
indicate the general trend and develop
ment of aeronautics, which can be sub
scribed to or rejected, as various coun-
tries desire. Hence, from this point OF
view that the conference VIII serve
practical ends of great Importance, as
we'll as lay before the co-founderS OF
aviation, Orville Wright, and his late
brother, the worlds gratitude for hav-
ing equipped man with wings.
Genesis of the idea Tor an inter-
national civil conference on aeronautics
dates back one year, during the annual
Civil Aeronautics Conference, when
President Coolidge sent greetings to
delegates and offered the suggestion
that:
Next December will witness the
twenty-fifth anniversary of the first
.wI@k l.x, ia ErsiNv f4An
ier-than-air machine. 1t was made by
Mr.. Orville Wright. one of our fellow
citizens, who is still living and actively
interested in its further application to
commercial purposes. I have had in
mind that this important anniversary
might be properly celebrated by hold
ing here in Washington an internation-
al civil aviation conference and eXfibi-
ton in conjunction with your annual
meeting Should this be found prac-
ticable its success would in large meas
ure depend upon your cooperation.
which I am confident can be relied
upon"
Facilitating business of the confer
ence, a message center has been estab-
lished at headquarters. Here. confer
ence reports. invitations. information
circulars and mail will be distributed
to delegates Special telephone service
will be available. The" United States
Post Office Department will establish
sub-station to accommodate visitors.
Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sat-
urday delegates will be served lunch
con gratis at the Carlton Hotel, 923
Sixteenth street The members con-
ference Identification cards will admit
them.
IN selecting IL Americans to COM
prise this country's delegation, Pres
ident Coolidge sought to serve invita-
tions on men who would represent every
phase of aeronautics. He designated
Orville Wright the guest of honor. Here
are summaries of their achievements:
The famous inventor was born in
Dayton, Ohio, August 10, 1871. He
began his career as bicycle mechanic
but early became interested in the
young science called aviation and has
continued his research until the present
time. Orville Wright actually is the
first man to fly power-driven heavier
than-air machine 1t was In game
of flip the coin between him and his
brother that fate appointed Orville the
first successful aviator.
AS early as 1899 the brothers ex-
perimented with model airplanes. using
wing warping for the first time for
lateral balance. In 1900 they tried
out a man-carrying glider Of their own
design on the Kill Devil sand dunes.
During the following year they de-
signed and built a unique wind tunnel
and made measurements of lift and
drift at angles from zero to IS degrees,