Landing in the Wright Brothers’ Wake:
North Carolina’s Outer Banks

In a domed, glass-walled auditorium in front of two replicas of a bi-wing glider and flyer, Joe Hardmon is explaining the principles of aerodynamics to a group of attentive adults and children.

"When you twist the wing by shifting your weight as they did, you create more lift on one side than the other. Today, every straight wing airplane uses that, but we call the wing twisting aileron control."

Joe is a docent at the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kitty Hawk, NC – the place where those two bicycling brothers from Dayton, Ohio invented the science of aeronautics back in 1903. The presentations describe the years of frustration and failure the brothers endured before finally proving that heavier-than-air flight was, indeed, possible.

Pilots on final into First Flight Airfield adjacent to the Memorial pass over the windswept field where the brothers launched. They don’t stay much longer than it takes to tour the visitors’ center. But that’s not the point. There’s a guest book to sign, to prove that their plane touched down at a spot as revered by aviators as Mecca is to a Moslem.

The walk to the visitor’s center passes the first landing strip. It’s a nondescript site; just a worn track in the scrubby sand dune, a runway that only an Alaskan bush pilot could love. It wouldn’t be there at all, if the Park Service hadn’t reinforced the dunes by planting grasses. A peek inside the shack the brothers used as their quarters shows just how dedicated they were. Just a couple of cots, a primitive kitchen, and some kerosene lamps. The humblest FBO has better amenities.

Most of the museum’s displays are about the Wright brothers’ experiments. There are replicas of the wind tunnel they designed and other equipment they created to test their ideas. Only when they left behind the conventional wisdom and ‘known’ facts about aviation were they able to design a machine that could actually fly. The rest of the displays recount aviation’s early years and the characters involved in the adventure of discovering flight.

While the Wright Brothers National Memorial is the biggest attraction for flyers, it’s only one reason to visit North Carolina’s Outer Banks. There are beaches and seafood and history; lighthouses and biking trails and a centuries’ old mystery. It’s a laid-back, year-round place – hopping in the summer and restful in the fall and winter.

It’s also easy to reach. The Outer Banks has four airports, but only one is really practical for tourists. First Flight has no transient services. Out on the barrier islands, there are Billy Mitchell Field and Ocracoke Island, which are unattended.

The main airport is Dare County Regional in Manteo. Some airports are practical; some are challenging, some are inconvenient. Dare County Regional is just plain pretty. Visual approaches are easy over the water. If the weather is uncooperative, the airport has GPS, VOR and NDB approaches. As of mid-September, av gas was $2.28 self-service; $2.49 from the truck. There’s a $5 nightly tie-down fee, sometimes waived with a large enough fuel purchase.

The term "Outer Banks" refers to a series of barrier islands that separate the Atlantic Ocean from the North Carolina mainland. There are a slew of small villages scattered along the islands: Kill Devil Hills, Kitty Hawk, Duck, Manteo, Hatteras, Nags Head.

Don’t get hung up on the geographic details, though. There are so many bridges and causeways that mainland, island, or outer banks soon become meaningless terms. There aren’t enough conflicting roads or directions for getting lost to be possible.

It’s fitting that the Wright Brothers worked here, since the Outer Banks has always been a magnet for travelers and explorers. The first residents were the Native Americans, of course. They knew a good spot when they saw it, and evidence is that they fished and camped along the shores for centuries.

Sir Walter Raleigh and his crew showed up in 1585. They’d heard stories about the gold and other riches in the New World that were as plentiful as a politician’s promises. To take part in the 16^th century version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire, they sailed on very small boats for a very long time. At Roanoke Festival Park, a model of a typical ship waits for visitors to climb aboard and spend some time with crewmen. The costumed re-enactors on the Elizabeth II tell great stories about their voyages, their acts of piracy against the hated Spanish, and their general disappointment at what they found when they reached land.

On shore, the soldiers play nine pins and ‘stabbing at the knot,’ and deal with daily chores while waiting for something to happen. Then, like now, the military was a lot of hurry up and wait.

The re-enactors have a fine ear for the Elizabethan dialect. It’s ‘s-word’ for ‘sword’ and ‘fair-lie’ for ‘fairly.’ This is what Shakespeare and QE the First heard and spoke.

The Park’s interactive museum is a must-see. No stale, staged displays or ‘don’t touch’ signs here. Kids (and parents) dress in period costumes, hoist sails, ring a ship’s bell, use ancient navigation tools – even more primitive than an ADF.

Blackbeard was just one of the notorious pirates who sailed these waters. In a room devoted to their history, an anamatronic scalawag greets people from atop the deck of his vessel and regales them with stories of the days when pirates took advantage of merchant vessels and unscrupulous islanders scavenged shipwrecks.

The most politically incorrect – and one of the most popular – exhibits is about waterfowl hunting. Visitors lie in a sink box (a type of boat used by hunters) and ‘shoot’ the ducks flying overhead with a laser gun.

When the soldiers sailed back to England, they left a handful of settlers. They figured they’d return to find a well-established community, a little London on the Atlantic. What they found was a deserted site with the word "Croatoan" carved into one tree. The mystery of what happened to the settlers has intrigued amateur historians and sleuths ever since. Carried off by Indians, decimated by disease and starvation, abducted by aliens?

The possibilities are considered in the outdoor drama "The Lost Colony." It runs nightly, except Sundays, from June through August. Over 200 cast members, all local residents, perform the drama, which is complete with special effects and a stunning backdrop – Roanoke Sound.

The symbol of the Outer Banks is the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. The spiral-painted tower is probably the most recognized lighthouse in the country. When its beachfront location was threatened by erosion, the massive, 4800-ton, 208-foot tall structure was hoisted onto rails and slowly slid a half mile inland to a more stable location. The project was expected to take several months, but the engineering was so well-planned that it took only 23 days.

For trivia buffs, engineers used 388 bars of Ivory Soap to literally grease the skids during the move. The lighthouse is open, and the public can climb the 268 steps to the top for a seagull-high view of the seashore and ocean.

Billy Mitchell Field is in Frisco, about five miles from Cape Hatteras. It’s unattended, so it’s either hike or thumb for a lift to reach the lighthouse or nearby villages. The 3000’ strip has a GPS approach. It’s about a 20-minute flight from Dare County.

To reach either Billy Mitchell Field or Ocracoke Island Field, a few more miles down the Banks, pilots must fly along the coastline. There are several Restricted Areas and MOAs inside the islands. There’s also a 2000-foot minimum altitude over the Outer Banks, except for landing and takeoff requirements. Ocracoke has no instrument approaches, nor is it attended.

The newly refurbished North Carolina Aquarium adjacent to Dare County Regional is another must-see. With a theme of "Waters of the Outer Banks," the aquarium also recognizes the region’s less attractive nickname, "Graveyard of the Atlantic." Hundreds of ships have wrecked in the tricky shoals off the coast. The centerpiece is an 180,000-gallon ocean tank where a replica of the USS Monitor shipwreck shelters a variety of reef fishes.

Most people come to the Outer Banks to enjoy the beach and the outdoors. Bicycling is a popular and practical way of getting around. The entire six-mile length of Roanoke Island is cut by a broad bike path which parallels the main road. Most of the other villages have bike paths, many of which link the towns together.

Sea kayaking is almost a requirement for visitors. Kitty Hawk Sports has a whole slew of tours for beginners and families in the protected marshes and tidal waters. The kayaks are simple to maneuver, and the guides take their small convoys in search of dolphins, otters, birds, beavers, and the occasional alligator. There’s even a moonlight tour. Just load up on the bug lotion before setting out. The mosquitoes are delighted to greet tourists with a friendly bite.

Like any tourist area, the Outer Banks has dozens of restaurants. The best are open year-round and are the places the locals frequent. Mako Mike’s is always crowded and for good reason. Great décor, great food, good service. Sam & Omie’s on Nag’s Head is the local spot for breakfast, with Jolly Roger coming in a close second. The Lone Cedar Café is the ‘neighborhood’ grown-ups’ dinner place. It’s owned by a state senator. It’s kind of fun when he’s waiting on tables and a constituent grabs him to discuss some burning issue. Year-rounders also swear by the woodfired pizza at the Black Pelican in Kitty Hawk. For elegance, 1587 Restaurant, the dining establishment at the equally elegant Tranquil House Inn, has serious Angus Beef steaks and a chic menu served by enthusiastic, friendly staff.

At least one evening should be spent at Ye Olde Pioneer Theater in Manteo. It’s the oldest continuously family-owned movie theater in the country. It’s a throwback to another time as far as entertainment is concerned. Admission is $3 for the nightly show at 8PM. Nothing over PG-13 makes it to the screen. Treats are as economical as the admission: 20¢ candy, 50¢ popcorn served by Miss Elizabeth, wife of owner H.A. Creef.

Accommodations in the Outer Banks cover everything. Many of the beachfront cottages are being replaced by big rental properties that can sleep several families, but there are still a lot of smaller places that a couple or a couple of couples can rent without taking a second lien against their Mooney. There are plenty of hotels and motels, both chain and independent, too.

And if all the other entertainment gets boring, spend the day on the beach at the approach end of Runway 5, watching the banner tow planes perform their aerial ballet of dropping and snagging banners.

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