Last updated: February 4, 2025
Place
Wind, Sand, & Isolation
NPS
“We came down here for wind and sand, and we have got them.” Orville Wright to his sister, 1900
Wilbur and Orville Wright tested and proved their flight theories in Dayton, Ohio. To test actual flight, however, they needed a special location to experiment. Using US Weather Bureau statistics, they looked for a place that was windy, sandy, and out of the public eye. They found Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on the Outer Banks to be the right area to test their gliders.
Wilbur and Orville Wright tested and proved their flight theories in Dayton, Ohio. To test actual flight, however, they needed a special location to experiment. Using US Weather Bureau statistics, they looked for a place that was windy, sandy, and out of the public eye. They found Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, on the Outer Banks to be the right area to test their gliders.