First in Flight

The brisk ocean breeze blowing over the sand dunes near Kitty Hawk, N.C., offers a hint of the weather Wilbur and Orville Wright might have faced on a blustery December day 100 years ago.

A 60-foot granite monument atop Kill Devil Hill marks the location where the Wright brothers flew into aviation history on Dec. 17, 1903. On that chilly morning, Orville piloted the brothers’ flying machine into a 27-mph wind, soaring 120 feet in 12 seconds—the first manned flight of a powered airplane.

“They mainly chose Kitty Hawk because of the wind,” says Darrel Collins, 48, a historian at the Wright Brothers National Memorial.

Collins, who grew up in nearby Manteo (pop. 1,052), fell in love with the Wright brothers’ story while working as a seasonal ranger at the national memorial in 1977. “This section of the beach was devoid of trees,” adds Collins, explaining why the brothers from Dayton, Ohio, chose Kill Devil Hill for their experimental flights. “There were high dunes and soft sand to land on.”

Today, Kitty Hawk (pop. 2,991) is a resort community that caters primarily to sun seekers who come to North Carolina’s Outer Banks seeking rest, relaxation, and recreation, including beachcombing, hang gliding, fishing, windsurfing—and to learn about local maritime history and the Wright brothers’ historic flight.

Townspeople take great pride in the fact that Kitty Hawk is known around the world as the site of the first successful airplane flight. The actual flight took place five miles away in the present-day Kill Devil Hills, but Kitty Hawk received the notoriety because the Wright brothers telegraphed the news to their father from the U.S. Weather Station in Kitty Hawk.

In November, state and local dignitaries dedicated a Monument to a Century of Flight in Kitty Hawk. The monument features 14 wing-shaped stainless steel pylons, ranging in height from 10 to 20 feet, arranged in a 120-foot orbit, signifying the distance traveled during the Wright brothers’ historic first flight.

The pylons are engraved with hundreds of the most significant aviation achievements over the past century, says artist Glenn Eure, who developed the concept for the $1 million monument a decade ago. “They stood up like troopers during the hurricane,” adds Eure, referring to Hurricane Isabel, which lashed the Outer Banks in September.

Winter is typically the slow season for visitors to Kitty Hawk, but that won’t be the case next week. More than 100,000 people from all over the world are expected to attend the 100th anniversary celebration of the Wright brothers’ first flight. The reservations-only event, scheduled Dec. 13 to 17 at the Wright Brothers National Memorial, will include a re-enactment of the brothers’ historic flight.

“I’ve been studying the work of the Wright brothers for the past five years and now to have the chance to experience their first flight is incredible,” says Kevin Kochersberger of Honeoye Falls, N.Y.

Kochersberger and Terry Queijo of Trappe, Md., are both scheduled to pilot a replica of the Wrights’ 1903 Flyer on Dec. 17. Which pilot takes the controls first will be determined by the flip of a coin, just as the Wright brothers did a century ago. If the Flyer survives the 10:35 a.m. attempt, the other pilot will try to fly the plane at 2 p.m.

The centennial celebration may be the most significant event in Kitty Hawk since the Wright brothers took to the skies there 100 years ago. Kochersberger and Queijo are depending on a stiff ocean breeze, their piloting skills, and the durability of the Flyer replica for two seamless flights and two soft, safe landings.

Stuart Englert is American Profile’s senior editor.

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