The Wright Brothers National Memorial

Experience the Birthplace of Aviation at The Wright Brothers National Memorial
From 1900 to 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright journeyed from their home in Dayton, Ohio to this spot on the beach in North Carolina, lured by the site’s privacy and reports of steady winds. The Wright brothers constructed heavier-than-air planes, and eventually succeeded in logging a successful, though short, powered flight.

You can walk the route of those early fights and learn about the early history of aviation at the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills. There are plenty of exhibits and features to explore here. Start your day at the visitor center, which is home to models and some of the actual tools and machines used by the Wright Brothers during their experiments – there is even a reproduction of the wind tunnel used to test wing shapes and part of the engine used in the first flight. Get close to a life-size replica of the 1903 Flyer and the 1902 glider. Outside, venture to Kill Devil Hill and the 90-foot tall Memorial Tower. Peer into a replica of the hanger used by the brothers as well as a reconstruction of their living quarters and walk along the actual routes of the four flights.