OSHKOSH, WIS. – Aviation historian, Darrell Collins, had the audience at EAA’s annual Wright Brothers Memorial Banquet in Oshkosh, Wis., December 12, 2014, mesmerized as he described the flight controls of the Wright Flyer. Collins, a native of North Carolina’s Outer Banks, is a U.S. National Parks Ranger and historian at the Wright Brothers National Memorial, Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina,
Collins described how the Wrights made four flights from level ground near the base of the hill on December 17, 1903, following three years of gliding experiments from atop this and other nearby sand dunes.
Collins, who is ranked as one of the top five historians in the world on early aviation and the Wright brothers, has been on the aviation/aerospace lecture circuit for the past 23 years. Previous speaking engagements have included the Aero Club of Washington’s Wright Memorial Dinner, National Air Transportation Association’s 50th Anniversary Convention, and the Aerospace Industries of America and Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association annual conventions. Collins is a regular speaker at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh and the Australian International Airshow DownUnder.
In 1990, Collins was nominated for the Freeman Tilden Award, as the National Park Service’s top Interpretative Ranger. In 1999, he was nominated by the Department of the Interior to represent the National Park Service for the “Park Ranger Tour Program,” an outreach program for children in major U. S. cities. In 2003, the governor of North Carolina awarded Collins the “Order of the Long Leaf Pine,” the highest civilian recognition given by the State of North Carolina, for his outstanding and dedicated service to the Wright Brothers National Memorial. Also in 2003, the National Aeronautic Association presented him with the Paul Tissandier Diploma for his career of service to aeronautics and airports.
Collins and his wife, Tonya, have two grown sons and a grandson. Collins is not yet a pilot himself, but hopes to be one day.
