The festivities in celebration of Cayman's 50 years in aviation officially began with the unveiling of a display of photos detailing the countries aviation history. The Cayman Islands is celebrating the first landing at the airstrip in Grand Cayman, which happened on November 28th, 1952.

The historic display was unveiled at a reception hosted by His Excellency The Governor Mr. Bruce Dinwiddy and Mrs. Emma Dinwiddy at Government House on Wednesday evening. The reception was held as part of Cayman's hosting of the Directors Of Civil Aviation Of The Caribbean Conference, the first meeting to bring together all of the Directors of Civil Aviation in this Region in conjunction with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). His Excellency The Governor along with Dr. Kotaite, President of ICAO, performed the unveiling.

While announcing the unveiling, Mr. McLean stated "This is an extraordinary occasion for all of us to celebrate what this industry and for many - beloved past time - has meant to our country. Our 50 years of aviation have been anything but ordinary - from seaplanes to airbuses, from the small starts of Cayman Islands Airways, Caribbean International Airways and Cayman Brac Airlines to our very own National Flag Carrier Cayman Airways reaching its 35th Birthday. From old stories of boats hanging on to planes as they took off from the North Sound to a hijacking unfolding on our runway - we can say many things about our aviation history - but not that it has been ordinary or mundane."

"Milestones of this nature are sometimes forgotten and pass us by without pomp or ceremony - I for one am extremely pleased that the Civil Aviation Authority and the others involved in this celebration have not let that happen. I look forward to celebrating our first 50 years of aviation in these islands and even more forward to the next 50 years that I am sure will be even more far from ordinary," Mr. McLean concluded.

The display is a unique pictorial that provides a visual of the past 50 years. It will be placed at Owen Roberts International Airport for public viewing. "We will have two displays at the airport," explained Director of Civil Aviation Richard Smith, "There will be one in the arrivals area and also one in the main terminal so everyone will have an opportunity to see it."

One of the points Mr. Smith made very clear is that the displays are by no means complete. "We hope that people will come forward with photos of their aviation experiences in Cayman. We have room for many more photos on the displays and would like all of our history represented."