U.S. Census Bureau Daily Feature for December 17

WASHINGTON, Dec. 17 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Following is the daily "Profile
America" feature from the U.S. Census Bureau:

MONDAY, DECEMBER 17: FIRST FLIGHT

Profile America -- Monday, December 17th. A dream of the ages became reality
104 years ago today, on a windswept sand dune at North Carolina's Outer Banks,
as the Wright brothers made the world's first powered flight. With Orville at
the controls, the plane made four flights that day. The longest distance
covered was 852 feet in 59 seconds -- an average speed of 31 miles an hour.
In only a few years, the airplane became an important part of America's
economy and defense. Today in the U.S., there are nearly 20,000 airports.
These are used by some 619,000 pilots, flying almost 8,200 airliners and about
220,000 general aviation aircraft. You can find these and more facts about
America from the U.S. Census Bureau on the Web at http://www.census.gov.

Profile America is produced by the Public Information Office of the U.S.
Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments ready
to air on a monthly CD or on the Internet at http://www.census.gov (look under
the "Newsroom" button). For further information, contact Rick Reed at
+1-301-763-2812, fax at +1-301-457-3670, or e-mail at rreed(At)census.gov.

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau

Rick Reed of the U.S. Census Bureau, +1-301-763-2812