Copyright Notice: This article is from the Encyclopedia of North Carolina edited by William S. Powell. Copyright © 2006 by the University of North Carolina Press. Used by permission of the publisher. For personal use and not for further distribution. Please submit permission requests for other use directly to the publisher.

Artwork for a patch made and sold by The Man Will Never Fly Society, circa 2008. Image from The Man Will Never Fly Society.
Artwork for a patch made and sold by The Man Will Never Fly Society, circa 2008. Image from The Man Will Never Fly Society.
The Man Will Never Fly Memorial Society was formed in 1959 with the motto, "Birds Fly-Men Drink." Each year the society holds a party beginning the afternoon of 16 December and ending at 10:45 a.m. on 17 December, the exact time of what the society refers to as "the Wright Brothers alleged first flight." During the evening program-which one writer described as the break between the cocktail party and the drinking that follows-the group has, on occasion, presented antiaviation awards to groups or individuals who the members feel have done the most to deter the advance of aviation. Many of the society members are pilots.

Reference:

Jack Aulis, "Never-Fly Group Proves Members Can Fly High," Raleigh News and Observer, 17 Dec. 1971.

Additional Resources:

United Press International. "Man Will Never Fly Memorial Society Meets." The Times-News [Hendersonville, N.C.].December 17, 1966. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5jxPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=VCMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5272%2C6126017  (accessed August 23, 2012).

Kozak, Catherine. "Tongue-in-cheek Man Will Never Fly society continues tradition." The Virginian-Pilot. December 16, 2007. http://hamptonroads.com/2007/12/tongue-cheek-man-will-never-fly-society-continues-tradition (accessed August 23, 2012).

Image Credits:

"MWNFMS logo." The Man Will Never Fly Memorial Society website. Circa 2008. http://manwillneverfly.com/images/sm_patch.gif  (accessed August 23, 2012).

Citation

Williford, Jo Ann. "Man Will Never Fly Memorial Society." NCpedia. Encyclopedia of North Carolina, University of North Carolina Press. Accessed on February 11th, 2025. https://www.ncpedia.org/man-will-never-fly-memorial-society.