First Flight | 2017-11

My coworker was talking about the outer banks so we brought up a map. The map made it clear that Kill Devil Hill is pretty close to me. Then I thought about flying there...closer and faster! And then I found out it's an uncontrolled, park yourself airport. So why not? Fly to the place of the first powered flight?  Yes, please.  It's like 78 nm (90 miles) as the crow flies.  A quick turn and a piece of history.

Crap...i just spend an hour + updating this page, and my browser told me the page was unresponsive.  So, minus my commentary, here are my pictures.  I'd drop an explicit comment, but it's not worth it. I can't resist...I'll add some commentary.

The ramp...after I tied down 733AG and the two airplanes which arrived before I did.

We all left together.  Beautiful parking area and a beautiful day for flying.

This.  This is what I love about general aviation in America.  It's unprecedented.

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The memorial - simple but elegant.  One had to list the names in some order.  This order could be said it was by birth, but also by longest/farthest flight.  But we all know Orville gets the "first".  Fist stone (keystone) was laid in 1928 - on the 25th anniversary.  Finished in 1932.

Also in 1928, this plaque was affixed to a bolder and placed at the first flight location.  The bolder was used because landscape continued to morph.  In fact, the hill with the memorial moved dozens of feet.  It wasn't grassy as it is now.  The vegetation was 'added' to stop the sand dunes from moving.  Hence the bolder.  They were pretty sure it would stay.  It's pretty cool that this plaque is 89 years old.  Almost to the day if i'd waited a month.  The plaque on the right is a bit annoying.  It was with about 2 or 3 others and is from the NOAA National Geodetic Survey.  The problem is they don't say what they're marking.

This was a good idea.  Four stones marking the four flights.  If you look closely in the picture

on the right, you can see all four.  The fourth skews the placement as it was significantly longer.

A couple 'big sky' shots of the memorial.  One from the flight area (left) and from the west (right).
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Side note - the airplane had to be supported while it rode on the track.  That person, the non-flyer, was the wingman.  And it's safe to say that is the origin of wingman which is pretty awesome.  It is immortalized in this picture of Wilbur being a good wingman...

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This was a bit disappointing.  The visitors center is being refurbished.  I'm glad it is, but would have loved to see it.  It's a cool building.  The above shot explains the project, below is a nice black & white before the work began.

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A nice graphic of the site - this is a sticker.

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The two busts of the innovators.

This was a great visit and I'm grateful I was able to fly there.  It was expensive, but worth it.  To land next to Kill Devil Hill is like a thing to do.  I think God the Cessna worked and for the fantastic weather.  The only thing I'd change is I would give myself a bit more time and revisit when the visitors center is re-opened.

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