U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds Headline Wings & Waves 2003 in Daytona Beach

NEWS RELEASE

Communications and Marketing Office
600 S. Clyde Morris Blvd.
Daytona Beach, FL 32114-3900

For more information, contact:
Phone: 386-226-6157
Fax: 386-226-6158

U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds Headline Wings & Waves 2003 in Daytona Beach

Daytona Beach, Fla., July 3, 2003 -- Wings & Waves: Embry-Riddle Celebrates the Centennial of Flight is expected to attract as many as 250,000 spectators to the giant Daytona Beach celebration, Nov. 8 and 9.

The spectacular air and sea show will feature the world's top aerobatic acts, a yet-to-be-named top musical attraction, and possibly a surprise appearance by a world-renowned performer.

"Wings & Waves is a celebration of a century of flight and of Embry-Riddle's 77 years of aviation education," said Dr. Irwin Price, chancellor of the Daytona Beach campus of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. "We are pleased to be able to offer this event as the university's gift to Central Florida in particular and the aviation community in general."

The aerial show will be led by the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds, whose breathtaking maneuvers have thrilled audiences for 50 years. Other featured performers include Patty Wagstaff, known for aggressive aerobatic routines that have resulted in three U.S. national aerobatic championships; Gene Soucy, a.k.a. "Mr. Air Show," who has won more awards than any other active air show pilot and has been a member of two world champion U.S. aerobatic teams; Teresa Stokes, the world's top stuntwoman wing-walker; Eric Beard in Russian Thunder, a Yak 54 airplane featuring an 8-foot propeller; the Misty Blues All Woman Skydiving Team, whose members boast 40,000 jumps and hold 33 world records; the 2002 U.S. national aerobatic champion, Kirby Chambliss; and two-time national aerobatic champion Michael Goulian.

Wings & Waves 2001, which celebrated Embry-Riddle's 75th anniversary, drew an estimated 200,000 people to Daytona Beach for a great aerial show and for a memorable Beach Boys appearance at the beachside band shell.

"Wings & Waves 2003 is shaping up to be larger and even more exciting than the inaugural event in 2001," said Darryl Niemeyer, Embry-Riddle's event chairman. "The celebration is being staged to coincide with the university's Homecoming and promises to be an exciting, fun-filled experience for all who attend."

For information, call (386) 323-5091 or go to www.embryriddle.edu and click on Wings & Waves.

Embry-Riddle, the world's largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, meets the needs of students and industry through its educational, training, research, and consulting activities. Embry-Riddle educates more than 25,000 students annually through the master's level at residential campuses in Daytona Beach, Fla., and Prescott, Ariz., at more than 130 teaching centers in the United States and Europe, and through distance learning.