Friday, October 21, 2016

Troll at Kitty Hawk

In 1900, brothers Orville and Wilbur Wright began researching locations to begin their flying experiments. Kitty Hawk, a tiny coastal fishing village on the Outer Banks of North Carolina met all of their needs - steady winds, high sand dunes from which to glide, few obstructions such as trees and buildings, and relative isolation to experiment with some secrecy.

On December 17, 1903, at 10:35am, with the motor running, Orville released the restraining wire holding back their flying machine. With Wilbur running alongside, the aircraft became airborne. Orville managed to keep it in the air at an altitude of 20 feet until it hit the sand about 120 feet away. Into the 27-mph headwind, the groundspeed had been 6.8 mph, for a total airspeed of 34 mph. The flight lasted only 12 seconds, but for the first time, a manned, heavier-than-air machine left the ground by its own power, moved forward under control without losing speed, and landed on a point as high as that from which it started.

Later that same day, Wilbur piloted the airplane for a flight of 59 seconds which covered 852 feet. The Wright brothers were then masters of the air and their accomplishment changed the world forever.

A few years after those historic flights, the land where those flights took place was acquired by the government as a national memorial site. In 1933, the Kill Devil Hills National Memorial Monument was turned over to the National Park Service. After World War II, the Park Service began building a museum/visitor center, adding exhibits, and making additional improvements such as clearing brush and upgrading roads. Today, the Wright Brothers National Memorial is recognized the world over as the site of the first successful human attempt at heavier-than-air, controlled, powered flight.

In 2015, Lil Dude Troll visited Kitty Hawk and the Kill Devil Hills memorial. He found it to be a very interesting excursion and highly recommends it for history lovers and especially for folks interested in aviation. He gives it 2 little troll thumbs up!