The History Channel’s December 17 programs on the 100th Anniversary of the Wright Brothers’ first flight will include advertisements from the BE A PILOT program inviting the public to join in.

“BE A PILOT is making this extra effort – beyond our normal April-September TV campaign—to tell our story while national public attention is focused on flight,” said BE A PILOT President/CEO Drew Steketee.

“It’s an opportunity we couldn’t afford to miss.”

“Following national news coverage, even live broadcasts from ceremonies at Kill Devil Hills that day, we’ll remind the interested public that they, too, can be actively involved in one of mankind’s greatest achievements -- and not just a passive passenger in an airline seat.”

The national program to bring more people into flying purchased nearly $50,000 in additional advertising time for Wednesday, December 17. Six messages will be broadcast over five hours, including five in three hours of prime-time programing themed on the Wright Brothers’ December 17, 1903 triumph.

For extra relevance so close to the holidays, BE A PILOT’s free Introductory Flight Certificate will be suggested as a timely holiday “theme” gift and a great last-minute gift idea. (A similar campaign for print media coverage of the offer started months ago.) BE A PILOT’s “gift of flight” is especially convenient. The certificate can be printed out from a home or office computer, even at the last minute. The giver merely registers at www.beapilot.com in the name of the recipient, prints out the certificate, and presents it with $49 for the low-cost first flying lesson at one of 1,944 participating flight schools in the U.S. and Canada.

Three BE A PILOT messages will air during “The Wright Challenge,” The History Channel’s primary thematic program for the event. It airs from 8:00 to 10:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific time.

Two BE A PILOT messages will air between 10:00 and 11:00 p.m. the same night during The History Channel’s “Modern Marvels: Kitty Hawk.” Modern Marvels is one of the history network’s highest-rated series programs. An additional spot will air from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific time during “All American Wednesday” programing. Check local listings for times in the Central and Mountain time zones.

Ad Buy Caps 2003 Investment of Nearly $1 Million in TV alone

To help drive new people to aviation, even in a tough economy, BE A PILOT invested in extra TV advertising this year during the fall baseball playoff season and on the Wright Brothers 100th Anniversary.

“The BE A PILOT Board is confident that more industry leaders will help sponsor continuing promotion and education efforts to grow General Aviation’s customer base -- despite difficult market conditions this year,” said 2003/2004 BE A PILOT chairman Jack Olcott.

“Depite tougher times, we can’t depend on the now-depressed airline job market or admirable youth programs to generate the new pilots we need today for a strong aviation market tomorrow.

“BE A PILOT has won strong industry endorsement for its real effectiveness and hardcharging leadership in this task,” concluded Olcott. “We ask more organizations and companies to help assure that this work can continue unabated.” By year-end, BE A PILOT’s $1.6 million annual effort will have attracted 200,000 consumers to consider learning to fly. Tens of thousands have entered flight training through the program.

FMI: www.beapilot.com