Remarks Prepared for Delivery By
The Honorable Gale Norton
Secretary of the Interior
Wright Flyer - Smithsonian
October 10, 2002
It was back in February when we began to plan for this event. At that time, it was my great good fortune to meet astronaut Neil Armstrong-the first man to walk on the moon. And we are honored today to have another dignitary from the annals of flight, the first man to break the sound barrier, Chuck Yeager.
Pilots, baloonists, astronauts, flyers like Armstrong [and Yeager], have always been daredevils, dreamers and visionaries. It is good to know that they also put so much value on documenting the history of flight. That is part of our mission today.
To fly is to conquer the heavens, the air, the universe. In mankind's collective imagination we have filled that air with winged demons and dragons, angels and devils, flying carpets and winged horses.
The folklore of early civilization is replete with flying heroes. Some four thousand years ago in China, according to legend, the Emperor Shun escaped from captivity as a boy by "donning the work clothes of a bird."
In Africa, a great folklore warrior, Kibaga, flew invisibly over his enemies and dropped rocks on them.
From fiction and folklore, we progressed to hopes for real flight. Leonardo da vinci drew detailed designs for a helicopter and parachute back in 1500, along with 150 intricate sketches of flying machines.
We are grateful for the history of flight, and stories like these, that are so available in this wonderful National Air and Space Museum. I want to thank Donald Lopez for his hospitality today.
To leave the comfort of earth on fragile wings demanded a blend of courage and curiosity, of daring and dedication.
The Wright's dream may have taken root back back in 1878 when their father brought home a toy helicopter when Wilbur was 11 and Orville was seven. That toy lasted only a short time after Christmas, but it held the seeds of the brothers' fascination with flight.
Another young man was just 13 when he flew in his first airplane. His name was Harry Combs. It inspired him to take a $99 flying lesson at age 15. He still couldn't drive a car legally but he could pilot a biplane after three hours of instruction.
Harry Combs is a legend in flying history and is enshrined in the National Aviation Hall of Fame. I'm enjoying his book entitled, Kill Devil Hill.
On a personal note, my father, Dale Norton, who is here today, has known Harry Combs since 1955 and worked for him starting in 1960 as a service manager for Combs Aircraft. In 1970 Harry became President of Gates LearJet. By 1994, my Dad was vice-president of product support with the company and ran the maintenance program on the C21A, which are Lear jets used by the Air Force and the Air National Guard. I grew up hearing about aircraft-it was a big thrill to visit a Combs hangar.
Today, I am pleased to accept this generous offer from Harry Combs of a replica of the Wright Flyer on behalf of the National Park Service and the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. It is a gift from the heart from a life-long aviator. We are extraordinarily grateful to Mr. Combs for this generous gift. The Wright Flyer serves as an important reminder of a remarkable benchmark in our nation's aviation history that inspires all Americans. It is only fitting that this marvelous undertaking will bring an historic model plane back to where it all began 100 years ago.
Instead of looking at the future, Ken Hyde has the job of resurrecting the past-piece by piece. We look forward to the result of the Wright Flyer back in North Carolina, a piece of history preserved for the ages. It is the perfect symbol for the celebration next year of the Centennial of Flight.
Today's event is a precursor to a year-long celebration of 100 years of flight. Think of the strides we have made along the way. You can walk through this museum and view machines that measure out a century. From the Wright Flyer to the space shuttle, from props to jets, from a walk on the moon to a probe of Mars, we have aimed for the stars and have reached them.
Next year, hundreds of events will commemorate the 100 years of flight. They will take place from Dayton, Ohio, to Austin, Texas, and back to Kitty Hawk for the celebration flight of the Wright Flyer on that fateful day of Dec. 17-exactly 100 years later.
On that day, the Wrights proved humans were able to control a powered flying machine in the air. They slipped "the surly bonds of earth" and we have been soaring ever since. If Orville and Wilbur were here with us today, they would be astonished to walk around this museum and see documentation of a space walk and a leap on the moon. They would be thrilled to meet Chuck Yeager and Neil Armstrong and to see this incredible museum.
But I also think they would be most pleased to know their work will be re-created and installed at their memorial- sort of the "Wright stuff" of history- on the sand dunes of North Carolina.
Thank you.