Lily Pad Travels: Bryans 60th Birthday Trip - Wright Brothers National Monument

November 30th, 2020 - Part 1

Our first stop today was to the Wright Brothers National Memorial. This has been on Bryan's wish list for a while. As a retired Air Force member it makes sense that he would be interested in the place where the first successful airplane flights took place.

We saw the memorial standing on the top of Big Kill Devil Hill and decided to walk up there before we walked around the visitor center.

Here we go, it was windy but we did manage to get to the top and walk around before it started to rain a little. Thankfully I think the wind held the rain off. I guess the wind is what made this the perfect place for the Wright Brothers to make the first airplane flight. They built gliders and used this hill to test and manipulate them. Between 1900 and 1902 they built and rebuilt gliders and flew over a 1000 times. Each time locals helped them carry the gliders up the hill. Returning home to Ohio at the end of 1902 they believed, and felt confident they were ready to achieve powered flight.

Getting closer!!!

We made it!!!

Sue taking a picture

Wilbur and Orville Wright are portrayed looking out over the hill, where they tested their hand built gliders, to the place where they made the " first manned, powered, controlled flight".

Wilbur

Orville

Looking out over the flightstrip.

Ok, here's Sue going on one of her deep thoughts about this place, and being here.....As I stood at the top of this hill, looking out in the distance, I couldn't help but think what a huge deal December 17th, 1903 was. We have so much to be thankful to the Wright Brothers for. I know there are many other important people in our history to be thankful to as well, but while I was here I was just transported back in time, much like when we went to the Chickamauga Civil War Battlefield and were there exactly 155 years to the day it happened.

Hmmm, yes I was in my own little world as I imagined them testing the gliders off of this hill and how determined they must have been. How they had impacted my life significantly by their perseverance, in that I probably wouldn't have met Bryan, as he wouldn't have been in the Air Force or in the UK. I wouldn't have been fortunate enough to be able to fly back and forth between the UK and USA to visit my family relatively easily.

I did mention to Bryan that he wouldn't have been in the Air Force if it wasn't for them and he just looked at me as if I was a little crazy. Yep, that's me, crazy and deep!!!!

Anyway, back to the present day and it started to rain. It was already windy so I sheltered in the doorway for a very short while. Fortunately the rain didn't last long. I think the wind won!! Another confirmation that this was the ideal place for the trials.

Bryan taking pictures

As you walked around the monument there was an inscription written on the sides. It started on the front:

IN COMMEMORATION OF THE CONQUEST OF THE AIR BY

THE BROTHERS WILBUR AND ORVILLE WRIGHT CONCEIVED BY

GENIUS

ACHIEVED BY DAUNTLESS RESOLUTION AND UNCONQUERABLE FAITH

We walked back down the hill and passed a couple on their way up. We had been on our own all the while we were up there.

We walked toward what is now a small airfield. There was a pilots building which was only accessible with a key code.

Loved this tree

There was a good informational board.

There were nature walks as well.

Looking back up at the memorial

We got back in the car and drove around the monument.

We had managed to keep a couple of Bryan's balloons as a souvenir of his birthday, however the number 6 had a mind of its own!!! When we got out of the car at the monument to look closer at the re-creation of the scene from the first flight, the number 6 "escaped"!! It proceeded to fly across this field toward the monument. We both looked at each other as this number 6 had already been a troublesome balloon. I looked at Bryan and asked him, "Do you want me to chase it over the field". He didn't answer, but I could tell from his look that he really did. Ha!!Ha!! I started to follow it. There was a row of bushes on the far side of the field with the hill to the monument behind it, so I knew it probably wouldn't get any further than that. I was right. We caught up with it as it stopped on a bush at the bottom of the hill. How it didn't burst I don't know, as the bush was full of thorns, but this balloon was a survivor for sure. I had to laugh as here was this balloon trying to take off at the very spot the Wright Brothers had first succeeded all those years ago. Back to the car we and the balloon went.

Balloon having a rest, we nearly caught it!!

Sue "captured" it

It actually "hooked" on a branch. What's the chances of that and it didn't pop!!!

Walking back with the balloon

I remembered that I didn't have a picture of Bryan for his 60th, so I got him to pose with the "6". He made a 0 with his hand. 👏６０

After we got back to the hotel, Bryan went to get something out of the car, the balloon flew out and he had to chase it across the car park. Managing to capture it for the second time. I have named it "Houdini".

Coincidentally I found this on Wikipedia. "In 1909, Houdini became fascinated with aviation. He purchased a French Voisin biplane for $5,000 (equivalent to $137,196 in 2019) and hired a full-time mechanic, Antonio Brassac. After crashing once, he made his first successful flight on November 26 in Hamburg, Germany. The following year, Houdini toured Australia. He brought along his Voisin biplane with the intention to be the first person in Australia to fly." Also according to Wikipedia, In 1910 he made three flights and claimed to be the first to fly in Australia although this was later disputed and that honor given to Colin DeFries who took off, albeit briefly, in 1909.

The things I find out while writing this blog.........This is why it takes me so long to write them, ha!!ha!!ha!!

Across the road was the "Recreation of Flight"

This recreation of the first flight was extremely well done. The metal sculptures so realistic.

Bryan recreating the photographers picture of the first flight.

Bryan's picture

The metal statues were so detailed and realistic

Our last stop was the Visitor Center. I wasn't sure we could improve on what we had already seen here, and nearly didn't go into the center. I'm glad we did. Again, it was very well organized and informative.

It covered the history from the beginning.

1899 - Kites

1900 - Gliders

1901 - Gliders, and the year that Wilbur told his brother Orville, that men would not fly for 50 years. Thanks to their perseverance it was only two more years.

1902 - More improved Gliders. They were getting closer.

December 14,1903 - The first try - The plane started to rise in the air, Wilbur pulled up too fast. This caused the engine to stall and it landed hard, causing damage that took 3 days to repair.

December 17, 1903 - Success - History is made.

There were model planes through the ages hanging from the ceiling. Concorde was one of them and I thought of my brother Ray, who won a trip on the first "Round the World Tour" on Concorde. He had never flown before. What a way to start. I still tease him as he didn't take me with him, ha!!ha!!. At the time it was far more important to him to "drink" his way around the world with one of his friends than be bored with his elder sister. I totally agree with him, as I didn't drink at the time and would have been a very boring partner for him on the trip, but boy, oh boy, it would have been great to have been on that flight. He says now that he regrets his choice because I would have kept him more sober, and he would probably have appreciated the flight and trip more!!!! It was an amazing trip for him though.

I took this picture of what I thought was the Concorde but looking at it I think I got the wrong plane!!!!

There is a full sized reproduction of the the flyer that made that first powered flight on display here.

We sat on a bench and looked at this plane and we could see Devil Hill and the monument in the distance through the window.

Out of the side window we could see the markers that showed where the original flights took place.

There were artifacts taken from the original plane.

Wing Fabric

Engine Crankcase from original plane

There was an interactive display that you could see how the plane was controlled. Unfortunately due to the coronavirus the display has been temporarily disabled.

Wow, we were learning a lot. We still had exhibits outside to look at. Again we wondered if we wanted to go right up and look at them, or just take pictures from a distance. We decided we needed to go up to them, and again we were happy that we did.

They Taught Us To Fly

The Wright Brothers tested and proved their flight theories in Dayton, Ohio but they needed ideal conditions for the actual flight. They found the Wind, Sand and Isolation they needed here at Kitty Hawk, in the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

In the distance we could see Marker Stones.

Some geese were enjoying the wet weather.

Orville Wright & Amelia Earhart were present at the unveiling of the first flight boulder on the 25th anniversary in 1928.

"The Wright brothers made four successful sustained powered flights the morning of December 17, 1903. The commemorative granite boulder and replica monorail mark the lift off point of those four flights, the numbered markers the terminating point."

There was a pathway that lead to the four stones that marked the 1st to the 4th flights. We walked to the first 3 together.

Orville piloted the 1st flight which was 120ft & took 12 seconds.

Wilbur piloted the 2nd flight which was about 175ft & took about 12 seconds

Orville piloted the 3rd flight which was about 200ft & took 15 seconds.

The fourth flight went quite a bit further. We were both tired as we had done a lot of walking and weren't sure if we could make it to the 4th stone. In the end I decided to do it.

The 4th stone in the distance

Bryan took a picture of me as I was walking toward the last stone.

As I walked there were two hawks flying overhead. They kept sweeping over that fourth stone and the trees in the distance. I thought there's Orville & Wilbur watching over their territory. I was incredibly happy that they had returned to welcome me. There's crazy Sue coming out again!!!!!!