Wright Brothers National Memorial

The Wrights came to the Outer Banks for the steady wind and the soft sand, and on 17 December 1903 they made four powered flights here - the first covered thirty-seven metres in twelve seconds, the last about two hundred and sixty metres in fifty-nine. Stone markers stand on the field at each of the four landing points, which is the most effective thing on the site: you can walk the whole first flight in under a minute and see how small it was. A granite pylon stands on Kill Devil Hill, the dune they used for glider work, now stabilised with grass because it was moving. The visitor centre holds a full-scale reproduction of the 1903 Flyer.

What you actually see

• Four stone markers - one at each landing point of the 1903 flights.
• The first flight distance on the ground - thirty-seven metres, walkable.
• The pylon on Kill Devil Hill - the glider dune, now grassed.
• A full-scale Flyer reproduction - in the visitor centre.

When to go

April to October. Two hours.

Honest expectations

The original Flyer is at the Smithsonian, not here. The site is open and exposed with little shade. Summer Outer Banks traffic is heavy. It is a short visit.

Nearby

Jockey's Ridge is south; Roanoke Island is west.