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Metal replica of Wright Flyer
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| Come fly with me |
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This is the monument to their flight
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On December 17 - 1903 - the Wright Brothers built and flew the first airplane at Kitty Hawk NC. After years of practicing with gliders - they officially flew the first heavy than air powered vehicle. They built everything from scratch including the 4 cylinder gasoline engine.
Kitty Hawk is on an island on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. They chose it for 3 reasons - steady winds - plenty of soft sand - and isolation. They hauled everything they needed by train and boat from their home in Dayton OH. They ran a successful bicycle factory there that funded their experiments.
Wilbur and Orville - the Wright Brothers - never married. They spent their lives single-mindedly inventing and promoting their aircrafts. For three years they designed and flew gliders. They corresponded with other great inventors of their time on designing aircraft.
Everyone thought they were silly - thinking they could fly - but this did not stop them. Later - they landed large contracts to build aircraft for the US Army.
Others flew in balloons - lighter than air aircraft - as early as the 1820s. Later in the 1870's - the French flew dirigibles - they had steam engines - but were still lighter than air. Today - the Wrights brothers are recognized for their Wright Flyer - a power and controlled heavier than air aircraft. They lived to tell about it and documented their flights.
Lulu loves the beach - so we drove to Kitty Hawk in our red electric car from Florida - about 800 miles each way. The Everhart 4 met us there and we spent 4 days together in an airbnb beach house. The ocean was only 70 degrees - so we did not do much swimming - mostly sunning. I kept thinking our pool at home was 88 degrees.
The Wright Brothers are near the top of my list of American heroes. This week we are flying to England - then taking the Queen Mary 2 to Norway - then flying to Paris. Every time we take off on a flight - I think back to Wilbur lying on the wing - holding onto the controls - and riding the first airplane like a bucking bronco. The two spinning propellers were just inches from his head. He was very brave - and was thrown off many times. But he just kept trying.
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This view from the monument shows their flight
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Genius is 1% inspiration - 99% perspiration
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Lulu and I visited here with the boys in 1983
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| The steady wind assisted take off |
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The plane launched off that rail -
lifted at that spot |
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| A wooden rail with a metal strip |
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| The first flight landed here |
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| The second of 4 flights that first day |
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| The third |
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| 852 feet - 3 football fields long |
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| They had a cameraman capture the flight |
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| They built this hangar - assembled the plane here |
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| Just pine boards - lots of sand blew in |
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| They lived in a second building |
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| A wood stove - a 55 gallon drum |
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| They slept in the rafters - hanging like bats |
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| Two buildings - the monument on the hill |
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| They picked NC for this reason |
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Real American Heroes
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| The Wright Flyer in the museum. |
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4 cylinder gasoline engine
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