MANAGEMENT IN AVIATION HISTORY BENCH MARKS
Delegates to the ICAC pose on December 15, 1928 during their tour of the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory in Virginia. Orville Wright is in the front row, to the right of the woman wearing a coat with a wide white collar. Although not an off icial delegate, this woman may be Amelia Earhart who attended as a guest. Photo: National Archives
ORVILLE’S DECEMBERS AND NATIONAL AVIATION DAY
BY GIACINTA BRADLEY KOONTZ
For several decades, U.S. aviation-related organizations such as the American Aviation Historical Society and numerous aero clubs host a Wright Brothers Banquet on Dec. 17. Orville and Wilbur Wright made the fi rst powered, controlled fl ight at Kitty Hawk, NC, on that date in 1903. Wilbur died in 1912 due to an illness, but his younger brother, Orville, lived to see their aeroplane fl y into the jet age. Before Orville died in January 1948 at the age of 77, he had received every high honor accorded to the pioneers of fl ight in the U.S., many bestowed upon him on Dec. 17. In 1939, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt proclaimed National Aviation Day, which honored both Wrights but was celebrated annually on Orville’s birthday, Aug. 19. The presidential proclamation was renewed for the following nine years — but by August 1948, the tradition, like Orville, had faded away. One journalist at the time speculated that the reason National Aviation Day never caught on was due to the symbolism and universal awareness of Dec. 17, unoffi cially known as “Kitty Hawk Day.” Among the many December events which Orville attended in his honor, perhaps the most memorable and meaningful occurred during 1928. President Calvin Coolidge proposed an international conference for members of the aeronautical industry be held in the U.S. as a way to recognize the twenty fi fth anniversary of the Wrights’ fi rst fl ights.
Two US postage stamps were issued on December 12, 1928 to commemorate the International Civil Aeronautics Conference
(ICAC). The red stamp featured a Wright Flyer and the blue stamp depicted a 1928 aircraſt flying around a world globe. USPO
THE INTERNATIONAL CIVIL AERONAUTICS
CONFERENCE OF 1928 Once Coolidge sent his directive to the State Department and the Commerce Department, it took bureaucratic diplomacy and offi cial communications regarding a budget (~$25,000) to organize the International Civil Aeronautics Conference (ICAC) to be held in Washington, D.C. Notwithstanding the forthcoming busy holiday season and potentially uncertain winter weather which could limit attendance, the organizers scheduled the conference to coincide with Dec. 17. From the beginning a few key factors were set in stone: Coolidge would be the honorary chairman and give the opening addres, the host hotel would be close to the White House, and “something special” would be planned for Dec. 17. Most importantly, the conference had no offi cial charter to create any type of aviation rules or regulations. It was conceived as a workshop among peers in the aviation industry with no resulting expectations other than networking and having a good time while honoring their hero, Orville. It was left to the State Department to decide which
countries could send guests, delegates or other offi cial representatives. (The Soviet Union was among those not invited). Eventually, 12 offi cial American delegates were among more than 400 attendees from several foreign countries. Among the most famous attendees were
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DOMmagazine.com | dec 2016 jan 2017
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