Outer Banks, NC

April 4
The Wright Brothers Memorial National Park was at the top of our list. The park consists of a museum, memorial on top of the dune Kill Devil Hill, replicas of the two buildings they used for sleeping and working, and markers showing where they took off and how far each of the first four flight took off. The museum houses replicas of one of their gliders and, of course, the first aircraft along with displays illustrating the history taking them to their amazing flight. We listened to a great talk by a ranger and saw a well done film coming away with an understanding of what it took for these brothers to accomplish such an amazing task. These brilliant brothers had the vision along with the brain power that’s for sure. They opened a bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio in 1892 and by 1899 they were writing to the Smithsonian for literature on anything to do with flight. For the next four years they devoted their energies into developing their own theories. They built their own wind tunnel to do their own calculations, studied kites in flight, and devised their own wing pattern that is still what is used today. The propeller were designed from their wind tunnel data was one of their most original and purely scientific achievements. The motor they used needed to be cast out of aluminum since the motors that were used at the time were too heavy. They found an obscure location with plenty of wind, a flat sandy plain plus a hill for their earlier glider experiments south of Kitty Hawk at Red Devil Hill. After three years of coming to Kitty Hawk, their first manned, heavier than air machine left the ground by its own power on Dec. 17, 1903. They had been enlisting the help of men from the local lifesaving station and one of them caught the flight on camera. They made four flights that day, each one a little longer. The last flight of the day lasted for 59 seconds and traveled 852 feet. They had made themselves the first true pilots and figured out the three principles of flight: lift, thrust and control. Within two generations, people flew for routine flights, heard an aircraft break the sound barrier, and watched a man walk on the moon. Now we want to go to Dayton, OH to see what the bicycle shop and the museum there. Brilliance, energy, and drive can accomplish amazing things!

Replicas of the Buildings Built by the Writght Brothers
It was here that they put the aircraft together. The memorial is behind on
Kill Devil Hill.

The Hanger on the Right and the Cabin and Office on the Left

Famous Photo with the Aircraft Off the Ground

Another Momorial of the Scene with the Aircraft
Wilber and Orvile are there with the men from the
 Lifesaaving Staion. Chris and climbed up on it.

The Outer Banks has grown up since Chris and Norm were here almost twenty years ago. Large homes line the beaches for miles with strip malls lining the other side of the road. Most of the oceanfront homes have wooden walkways over the sand with decks out on the dunes overlooking the ocean. There was a party on one of the decks that looked like great fun, It’s a pretty busy place. It must be crazy in the summer. Thank goodness there are public walkways to the water with so many homes taking up the oceanfront. The Cape Hatteras National Seashore and wildlife preserves has saved much of the beach from development and is beautiful. We walked out on a pier at a cost of $1.50, first time for everything. Lots of people were on the beach but not many in the water, must still be a little chilly. A few surfers were catching some waves.

One of the Decks on the Dunes

Homes Lining the Beach