Airline Pilot and Engineering Professor to Re-create Roles of Orville and Wilbur Wright

Typical of the hype that is (often) Oshkosh, EAA is touting two flyers as the "Pilots of the Century," as those selected to recreate a Wright Flyer First Flight in a little over four months. Much ballyhooed as either an experienced commercial airline pilot or a mechanical engineering Prof, we're hoping their stick and rudder skills are up to the task of flying the reportedly "highly unstable and borderline divergent" Wright Flyer replica. While we're sure that they're fine flyers, the "Pilots of the Century" appellation brought some giggles from a number of media members who were getting ready to go watch Tuesday's airshow and some of the truly world-class precision stick and rudder flying that was a big part of the day's festivities. Terry Queijo (pronounced KAY-JO) and Dr. Kevin Kochersberger (pronounced COKE-ERS-BERGER) will take to the skies near Kitty Hawk (NC), as Orville and Wilbur Wright on December 17, 2003, 100 years after the brothers from Dayton (OH) flew the first powered flight.

"It's a great honor to be selected by EAA, Ford and The Wright Experience to pilot the 1903 Wright Flyer on the historic day," said Queijo. "I know on that morning the Wright brothers will be looking on with a smile on their faces."

"I've been studying the work of the Wright brothers for the past five years and now to have the chance to experience their first flight is unbelievable," said Kochersberger.

Queijo, of Trappe (MD), was co-pilot of the historic, first all-female flight crew for American Airlines in 1986 and is a captain of Boeing 767 and 757s out of D.C. Kochersberger, of Honeoye Falls (NY), is associate professor of mechanical engineering at the Rochester Institute of Technology and a pilot with more than 1,400 hours.

Edsel B. Ford II, great-grandson of auto and aviation pioneer Henry Ford, joined Tom Poberezny, EAA president, in announcing the pilots at EAA's annual AirVenture.

"Whether it's Terry or Kevin taking the controls of our flyer on December 17 will be determined by the flip of a coin, just as the Wrights did," said Poberezny. "Both are accomplished pilots who are well-qualified for this mission. One pilot will attempt to fly at 10:35 a.m. and the other attempt to fly at 2 p.m. Unlike the Wrights, who made four successful attempts before their flyer was damaged by a gust of wind, we will only go for two flights."

The alternate pilots are: Ken Hyde of Warrenton (VA), a retired American Airlines pilot and president and founder of The Wright Experience -- the organization with which EAA contracted to exactly reproduce the 1903 Wright flyer -- and Chris Johnson of Manassas (VA), an American Airlines pilot and a major in the U.S. Air Force Reserves.

Over the past year, all four pilots have undergone extensive training under the direction of renowned test pilot instructor and aviation legend Scott Crossfield, who made aeronautical history as the first person to reach Mach 2 and Mach 3. Under Crossfield's direction with training assistance from Northrop Grumman, testing has included practice in a 1902 glider much like the ones used by the Wrights, and also practice in virtual simulators. Crossfield, EAA officials and program sponsors selected the pilots based on skill and training results.

This announcement was made in the Countdown to Kitty Hawk pavilion on the first-day of Oshkosh 2003. The centerpiece of the pavilion is a 1903 Wright flyer reproduction, which EAA claims is the world's "most accurate thanks to its research, design and testing by The Wright Experience." After Oshkosh, the pavilion travels to Seattle from August 23 - Sept. 1 and Orlando from October 7-9 before the First Flight Centennial Celebration from December 13-17.

After the December re-enactment as part of the First Flight Centennial Celebration in North Carolina, EAA's flyer reproduction will be donated to The Henry Ford for its new "Heroes of the Sky" exhibit at the Henry Ford Museum, fulfilling Henry Ford's dream of putting the historic plane on public display at his museum. The history-making reproduction will join the Wright brothers' original Dayton home and bicycle shop in Dearborn (MI).

FMI: www.countdowntokittyhawk.org