Darrell Collins, chief historian and interpreter at the Wright Brothers National Memorial in North Carolina, will tell the remarkable story of Wilbur and Orville Wright’s 1911 flight that lasted 9 minutes and 45 seconds and is regarded as the first soaring flight at next month’s U.S. Sport Aviation Expo in Sebring, Fla.
Collins is on the schedule to speak Friday, Jan. 20, from 2:30-3:30 pm and Saturday, Jan. 21 from 10:30 -11:30am in the AeroShell tent. There is no additional cost to attend this speaking engagement.
Collins has worked with the National Park Service in the division of interpretation and education for 32 years, serving the majority of his time at the Wright Brothers National Memorial. He is a popular speaker on the aviation/aerospace lecture circuit, and is widely recognized as one of the top five authorities in the world on early aviation history and the Wright brothers. He is the author on numerous articles and consulting editor for authors on early aviation and the Wright brothers. In 2003, the National Aeronautic Association awarded him the Paul Tissandier Diploma for his career of service to aeronautics and airports.
Collins resides in Manteo, on Roanoke Island. His family has lived on the Outer Banks of North Carolina for 149 years, his great-grandparents having been members of the black Freedmen Colony that settled on Roanoke Island in 1862 during the Civil War.
The LSA Expo features the best of the LSA community, and includes conventional aircraft, kit planes, powered parachutes, trikes, gyros, amphibians, and innovative designs such as electrically powered aircraft. More than 150 aircraft are expected to be on display.
For more information: Sport-Aviation-Expo.com
