Bob Mccall and NASA Dryden Center Director Kevin Petersen in the artist's studio in Paradise Valley, Arizona.

Bob Mccall and NASA Dryden Director Kevin Petersen stand by "Celebrating One Hundred Years of Powered Flight, 1903-2003", in the artist's studio in Paradise Valley, Arizona. The mural was created to celebrate the achievements of Wilbur and Orville Wright and to commemorate a century of powered flight. Many of the epic flights represented in the painting took place in the skies over NASA Dryden Flight Research Center. An equally important goal of this celebration will be to encourage the values that have characterized 100 years of aviation history: ingenuity, inventiveness, persistence, creativity and courage. These values hold true not just for pioneers of flight, but also for all pioneers of invention and innovation, and they will remain an important part of America's future.

"Celebrating One Hundred Years of Powered Flight, 1903-2003", documents many significant achievements in aeronautics and space flight from the dawn of powered flight to the present.

Historic aircraft and spacecraft serve as the backdrop, highlighting six figures representing the human element that made these milestones possible. These figures stand, symbolically supported by the words of Wilbur Wright,
"It is my belief that flight is possible…"
The quote was taken from a letter written to his father on September 3rd, 1900, announcing Wilbur's intention to make "some experiments with a flying machine" at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

"This year, Bob is helping us commemorate the Centennial of Flight with a beautiful mural slated for placement in our Dryden Flight Research Center that documents the history of flight from the Wright Flyer to the International Space Station. We should all take note, I think, that in the grand scheme of things, one hundred years is a very short period of time. In that blink of an eye we've gone from Kitty Hawk to Tranquility Base and now look forward to our rovers traversing the surface of Mars. Despite the challenges we face, the future we envision, like the future depicted in the artwork of Bob Mccall, is a future of boundless possibility. "

NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe
April 10, 2003

Title: "Celebrating One Hundred Years of Powered Flight 1903-2003"
Artist:  Dr. Robert T. Mccall 2003
Medium: oil on canvas
Dimensions: 6 feet by 18 feet
Commissioned by: NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards California