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 In
1926, a group of forward-thinking North Carolina Outer Bankers began
an effort to preserve the original site of the Wright brothers' flights
of December 17, 1903. The group organized formally in 1927 as the
Kill Devil Hills Memorial Association and set about their task of
acquiring the sandy stretch of dunes where the Wrights made four historic
flights on that day. The high dunes, located in what was then Kitty
Hawk but has since become the town of Kill Devil Hills, were chosen
by the Wrights because of the windy conditions and relative isolation.
In 1928, the Kill Devil Hills Memorial Association initiated the construction
of the now-famous landmark monument. Just as the first powered flights
were no easy accomplishment, neither was the building of the massive
yet impressive stone monument. It took money, hard work and four years
to be erected. Its inscription is a reminder of what was accomplished
here by two of the most dedicated and persevering inventors in the
world: "In commemoration of the conquest of the air by the
brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright. Conceived by genius and achieved
by dauntless resolution and unconquerable faith."
By 1932, the land was deeded to the new U.S. Parks Service and became the Wright Brothers National Memorial. In addition to the monument itself, the site contains reproductions of the buildings erected by the brothers for their housing and hangars, markers of the four flights they made that day culminating in the longest (59 seconds), and a visitors center. The annual December 17th ceremony at the monument is always inspiring. Local and national dignitaries, military commanders, school children and others who are passionate about flight are in attendance. A spectacular aircraft fly-over is always held at precisely 10:35 am, the moment of the historic flight, with scores of military and civilian aircraft making low passes over the monument. In 1993, the First Flight Society undertook an ambitious 10-year effort to promote the 100th anniversary of powered flight in the year 2003. The site of the birth of powered flight will be the focal point of an international celebration of flight by man ‚ as achieved by the Wrights a century earlier. Today, just as the Kill Devil Hills Memorial Association was in 1926, the First Flight Society is headed by dedicated people who volunteer their time and expertise to meet the Society's goals. The members of the Board of Directors of the Society come from many walks of life but all have a devout interest in aviation. They meet regularly to raise funds for the Society's work, to plan the Society's annual events, to foster many aviation-related efforts, and to inspire children to learn about and respect the accomplishments exemplified by the Wrights. |
That flight was witnessed by only a handful of local Outer Bankers,
many of them lifeguards who had been helping the brothers at the
site all along. The now-famous photo of the first flight was taken
by John T. Daniels, who had probably never even snapped a picture
before. But under the tutelage of the brothers, the camera was set
up and, as luck would have it, the moment was indeed recorded for
posterity. The original glass plate negative is in the Library of
Congress and it has been reproduced countless times across the world.
In addition to memorializing the Wrights, the First Flight Society
created the Paul E. Garber Memorial Shrine (named after the first
curator of the Smithsonian's Air & Space Museum) to annually honor
other great accomplishments in the world of aviation. The first
honorees in the Shrine were, of course, Orville and Wilbur Wright,
inducted on December 17, 1966, at the annual ceremony. The Shrine
portrait gallery resides in the visitors center at the Wright Brothers
National Memorial. (You will find the complete list of honorees
and their achievements elsewhere in this website.)
P.O. Box 1903 | Kitty Hawk, NC | 27949 | 252.441.1903 | dec17@firstflight.org Copyright © 2008 First Flight Society. All Rights Reserved.  |