Wright Brothers National Memorial

Now that I've arrived at my undisclosed location in eastern North Carolina, I can report on where I stopped in on way my down here.  The first stop of two that I made is the Wright Brothers National Memorial, where Orville and Wilbur Wright first achieved powered flight with a heavier-than-air vehicle.  In other words, they flew the first airplane.  The visitors center includes this replica of the first Wright flyer.

Here's the area where the Wright brothers flew their plane.  Each stone marks where it landed on each respective attempt.  The fourth one is off in the distance to the right, by far the most successful.  Two modern water towers stand in the background behind the trees.

This large stone marks the place where the Wright airplane took off.

Here's a look down the flight path, with a plastic walkway.

The Wright brothers built two hangars on the site, of which these are reconstructions.  They first built the one on the right, and after living in tents for a while, built the one on the left and then converted the first one into living space.

This memorial stands on top of Big Kill Devil Hill, a walk and a climb from the visitors center.

The memorial resembles an airplane's rudder.  This view is from the east side.  The group of visitors gives some perspective on the memorial's size.

This inscription starts on the west side and continues around the memorial.

Standing on the hill next to the memorial, you can see the reconstructed hangars and the visitors center.  Modern beach houses and a power line stand in the background.

On the side of the hill away from the visitors center is this recreation of that first takeoff, seen here from the front.

This is the recreation from behind.  I think that Orville is flying the plane, while Wilbur gives him a little push.  The rail is a replica of one that the Wrights used, which fitted into a slot on the bottom of the plane.  The use of wheels as landing gear came later.

Finally, these statues are of some men who observed the flight.  A modern road and a building are in the background.

This was actually my second visit to the Wright Brothers National Memorial.  My first one was in 2001, before I had a digital camera.  To learn more, go to the National Park Service link above, and also to OuterBanks(dot)com, National Park Foundation and NCPedia.