NEW NASA AIRCRAFT TO HELP CELEBRATE HISTORIC FLIGHT One of
NASA's newest aircraft, housed at NASA's Langley Research Center
in Hampton, Va., will help commemorate the 99th anniversary of
the first successful powered flight. Depending on availability,
NASA 507 or NASA 504 will join more than 115 other planes that
will fly in 99 formations over Kill Devil Hills, N.C., on
December 17. It was there on December 17, 1903, that Orville and
Wilbur Wright made the historic flight that launched a new age
in transportation. NASA 507 is a Lancair Columbia 300. It is one
of a number of new-generation small planes that incorporate NASA
technology pioneered at Langley. Technologies range from
modified wing leading edges for spin resistance to energy-
absorbing composite airframes to state-of-the-art cockpit
systems inspired by the Langley-led Advanced General Aviation
Transport Experiments (AGATE) NASA 504 is a Cessna 206 and is
more typical of most of the planes flown by private pilots. It's
being used to develop and test n