Kitty Hawk Journal
First Flight
Centennial - December 2003
Some pictures from our Knauth family trip to Kitty Hawk, NC.
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Front: William (4), Alexander (6); Back: Geoffrey, Robin
We walked the distance from the Wright Brothers' cabin and hangar and
starting stone down the path of their first four test flights several
times.
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We saw Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, John Glenn, Chuck Yeager and lots
of other pretty impressive people. Tuesday the 16th was a
gorgeous day.
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The kids loved these little Wright cycles. We met the guy from
Oshkosh who made not only these, but the other airplane cycles kids
enjoy at EAA Oshkosh each summer.
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Alexander flies one of four Wright Flyer simulators in the EAA tent,
courtesy of Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004.
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William gets his turn.
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This is the replica that will fly tomorrow!
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The airshows were terrific.
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Atop Kill Devil Hill, before the monument to Wilbur and Orville.
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Wednesday the 17th is rainy, with squalls. During a break in the
rain, to please the crowd, the makers of the replica decide to bring
out the flyer and give it a go. Wind ahead of the cold front is
from the south, and blocked somewhat by the hill. The flyer is
headed into a 10 knot wind. One hundred years ago, the Wright
Brothers started from a spot half a mile to the north and headed
northeast into a steady ~25 knot ocean breeze with no obstructions
blocking the wind.
Earlier in the morning, after the President had given his speech in the
rain and left on Marine One, we were told to stay put, "something
exciting" would take place in three minutes. Then, Air Force One
dropped out of the clouds and made a low pass over the First Flight
airport runway (just on the other side of those trees). It was
very cool to see that majestic ship pass by, and I hope the Wright
Brothers could see it from on high.
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Looking south, you can see the hill that blocked the wind on the day of
the anniversary. Before the hill is the large 800' diameter
circle created for the anniversary. The actual launch 100 years
ago was from about 50 yards behind the camera, headed northeast (8
o'clock).
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We stopped at the new Air & Space Museum annex near Dulles on the
way to Pennsylvania and Wisconsin. The kids thought the Blackbird
SR-71 was really cool.
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A real Space Shuttle!
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Concorde!
Copyright © Geoffrey S.
Knauth