Talk about a family affair! Boeing hosted a Hollywood-like affair earlier this week for descendants and close relatives of America’s visionary aviation leaders. Held in Washington, D.C., the gala evening was the first time “the first families of aviation” were ever gathered together in one place with names such as Boeing, Douglas, McDonnell, Kindelberger and Wright.
Guests gather at the Newseum in Washington, D.C. to view the documentary. A large screen overhead highlights key achievements in aviation history and banners commemorating each “founding family of aviation” donned the facility.
It was all to celebrate the premiere of an acclaimed PBS documentary series written and directed by William Winship and called “Pioneers in Aviation: The Race to the Moon.” A previous version of the Emmy-nominated series was recognized as being the definitive treatment of the rise of aviation in America. The all-new version, soon to air on more than 275 public television stations in the United States, is being released in high definition and includes unseen footage found in archives.
William Winship, writer and director of Pioneers in Aviation, speaks to the crowd.
The film spans the first flight of the Wright Brothers and the development of biplanes to the emergence of jets and the conquest of space. And the film served as the platform for gathering together the legendary aviation families who accomplished such feats. An evening to be remembered, for sure. In addition to the photos, we’ve also posted a video from this special night.
Descendants of Orville and Wilber Wright, William Boeing, James Kindelberger, James McDonnell, and Donald Douglas gathered for the first time. Among them were (all on front row) James and Malcolm Douglas (first and second from the left), Gretchen Boeing-Davidson (fifth from the left), Amanda Wright-Lane (seventh from the left), James Kindelberger Graham (eight from the left), and John McDonnell (11th from the left).