"First in flight"...but only because of the weather........

[poltr1]

Yesterday was the 100th anniversary of the first successful flight by the Wright Brothers. (And for you trivia buffs, it was Orville who piloted the first flight.) A reproduction -- or as faithful as they could get it, based on the limited amount of research material available -- of the 1903 Wright Flyer was present at the ceremonies at Kitty Hawk, NC. Built by a team called The Wright Experience, they tried to fly the craft yesterday. It flew, but only for a second. The wind and the rain were not condusive for a flight demonstration.

Speaking of weather.....it was the main reason why Wilbur Wright chose Kitty Hawk for the site of the early flight tests. If I remember the story correctly.......When Wilbur was starting to design the airplane, he wrote to the National Weather Bureau, asking what the windiest places in the country were. Their response listed several places, and near the top of the list was Kitty Hawk, NC. He visited the site, and found that both the wind and terrain were very suitable for flight testing.

Now, I've never been to the Outer Banks. I heard it's a very nice place, especially in the summer. Maybe someday, I'll go there.

But in the meantime, even though the first flight was in North Carolina, the Wright Brothers called Dayton, OH their home, and continued their flight tests on the Huffman Prairie, which is now part of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Before 9/11, I believe it was somewhat open to the public (after getting a special pass from the visitor center). Now, I don't know -- I haven't tried to go there since.

And I'm sure that North Carolina has many other things to claim for their history, besides "First In Flight".

(Card update: The Holiday cards were mailed this morning!)

Comments

[autographedcat.livejournal.com]

As a North Carolinian, I'm frequently amused by how...defensive and put-out Ohioans get about the whole First in Flight thing.

I grew up 90 miles from Kitty Hawk, and spent many hours roaming its dunes. I have walked down the path where those first four flights sailed over and touched down. This is hallowed ground.

The Wrights were from Ohio. Granted. But the first flights happened on the Outer Banks.

[poltr1]

The Wrights were from Ohio. Granted. But the first flights happened on the Outer Banks.

That is something I can agree with.

As for the ongoing tiff between the states of Ohio and North Carolina, it's all a matter of pride. As you said, Orville and Wilbur are from Ohio, and Ohioans -- native and non-native -- are fierecely proud of that. So when NC elected to use the "First In Flight" slogan on the license plate (and the coin), many Ohioans considered that as if something sacred had been stomped on, or that NC was trying to steal the Wright's legacy and declare them as their own.

In an effort to understand this feud, I asked, "Why Kitty Hawk? What drew the Wrights to that location?" This year, the answer came out. We're too far inland to enjoy those nice stiff ocean breezes.

Of course, there are other aviation pioneers from Ohio, most notably John Glenn (from Cambridge) and Neil Armstrong (from Wapakoneta). And we have a thriving aviation/aerospace industry in the state.

Hey, we gotta have something to talk about besides how much the corn grew today, and the old Ohio State vs. Michigan rivalry. :-)