OSHKOSH, WI
May 22, 2003

The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) of Oshkosh, WI, announced recently that Michael and Barbara Huffman of Cookson, OK, have been chosen as the Oklahoma representatives for EAA’s “50 Flags to Kitty Hawk” program, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Wright brothers first powered flight.

Under the program, a selected EAA-member pilot from each state will fly a private airplane to the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kitty Hawk, NC, carrying a flag from their home state and a proclamation from the state’s governor declaring the day of their flight as “50 Flags to Kitty Hawk Day.” On arrival at Kitty Hawk, each pilot will be welcomed in a National Park Service (NPS) ceremony. Following the ceremony, the flag brought by the pilot will be flown throughout the day at the National Memorial. The pilots and their state flags will be honored on the EAA’s Countdown to Kitty Hawk website (http://www.countdowntokittyhawk.org) and in Sport Aviation magazine. At the end of the year, the fifty flags will be used as part of a permanent EAA/NPS exhibit at the National Memorial site.

The Huffmans, publishers of The Oklahoma Aviator newspaper, are active in Centennial of Flight activities in Oklahoma and want to use the 50 Flags flight as an opportunity to celebrate and publicize Oklahoma’s rich aviation history.

“Oklahomans became involved in aviation a short time after the Wright brothers flight. Since then, aviation and aerospace activities have grown to the point of becoming the state’s number one industry. Besides the business aspects, Oklahomans have a unique, longstanding love of flying.

To celebrate that, we wanted to fly an airplane manufactured in Oklahoma, so we approached Luscombe Aircraft Company, manufacturers of the newly-type-certificated Luscombe Model 11E ‘Spartan’ and they graciously agreed,” said Michael Huffman.

Their Kitty Hawk flight is planned for the first week in June, beginning in Altus, the home of Luscombe Aircraft, with stops in Oklahoma City and Tulsa. Pilots wishing to fly along on one or more legs should contact The Oklahoma Aviator at 918-457-3330 or OklahomaAviator@earthlink.net. As final details of the flight are developed, they will be communicated to those wishing to join up.

The Experimental Aircraft Association, based in Oshkosh, WI, is an international organization of aviation enthusiasts who build and fly homebuilt airplanes, restored antique/classic airplanes, former military airplanes, and ultralights. Started in 1953 by Paul and Audrey Poberezny in the basement of their suburban Milwaukee home, the EAA has grown to a current membership of more than 170,000, with more than 900 chapters worldwide. The EAA’s annual AirVenture fly-in convention, held in Oshkosh each year in late July/early August, is the largest aviation event in the United States, attracting more than 10,000 airplanes and over 500,000 attendees. The EAA has many programs to foster aviation education education, aviation careers, and recreational flying. For more information, call EAA at 1-920-426-4800 or visit http://www.eaa.org.

Michael and Barbara Huffman live at the beautiful Tenkiller Airpark in Cookson, OK; their house and hangar are located on a wooded residential lot adjacent to the grass airstrip. Michael has been a pilot since the mid-1960s and now has over 2500 flight hours. He began building his first homebuilt airplane in 1968 and, since then, has built or restored more than 14 other airplanes. Barbara is an enthusiastic student pilot.

Luscombe Aircraft Company, headquartered in Altus, OK, completed all required FAA testing and received FAA approval to begin manufacturing the Model 11E Spartan in December, 2002. The four-place Spartan is an updated version of the classic Luscombe Model 11A “Sedan” originally manufactured in the late 1940s. With its wide cockpit, new tricycle landing gear and Continental IO-360-ES engine, the Luscombe Spartan is a fast, comfortable airplane, ideal for training or cross-country flights. Production is scheduled to begin in 2003, with deliveries beginning in early 2004. For more information, call Luscombe at 1-580-477-3355 or visit http://www.luscombeaircraft.com.

EDITORS: High-resolution photos of the Huffman’s and the Luscombe Spartan are available for emailing on request.

Contact:

The Oklahoma Aviator
918-457-3330
OklahomaAviator@earthlink.net