Last updated: February 4, 2025
Place
Four Powered Flights
NPS
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.Since soft sand prohibited launching with conventional wheels, the Wright Flyer was place on a 60-foot monorail with its landing skits resting on a wheeled truck. Once the engine started, the Flyer was released and slid down the rail until it gained enough speed to lift into the air.
In the exhibit panel, a photograph shows the 1903 Flyer in preparation for flight on the launching rail. A graphic shows each flight and its path and the path's elevation. The first flight lasted 12 seconds and traveled 120 feet, the second flight lasted 12 seconds and traveled 175 feet, and the third flight lasted 15 seconds and traveled 200 feet. The fourth and final flight path went the longest and farthest, lasting 59 seconds and traveling 852 feet.
In the exhibit panel, a photograph shows the 1903 Flyer in preparation for flight on the launching rail. A graphic shows each flight and its path and the path's elevation. The first flight lasted 12 seconds and traveled 120 feet, the second flight lasted 12 seconds and traveled 175 feet, and the third flight lasted 15 seconds and traveled 200 feet. The fourth and final flight path went the longest and farthest, lasting 59 seconds and traveling 852 feet.