On the last day of our vacation to the outer banks we stopped at the Wright Brothers memorial at Kill Devil Hills on the outer banks. Oh my god. It was amazing to stand on the very spot that mankind first flew barely a hundred years ago. We stood next to the rail that launched their airplane. We climbed the hill that they used to fly their gliders in the years preceding the historic first flights of a powered heavier than air craft. I was nearly overwhelmed with the significance of the achievement. Just down the road was Jockey's Ridge, which is nothing but some tall sand dunes that they still teach hang gliding at. After completing nearly fifty short hang gliding flights in California I really wished that I could have experienced some longer flights on these dunes, but there wasn't any time, money, or opportunity during this trip. Some day, though... I will be a competent hang glider pilot! The photos here include the historic hill, monument, the first - flight location is in the background of my picture, and there is a pic of the Flyer replica.
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