Defining moments in history are few, and perhaps no single moment has so defined an era as that singular point in time—10:35 a.m., December 17, 1903—when the Wright Flyer, with Orville Wright at the controls, trundled down the tracks laid on the side of a hill and leaped into the air for a glorious 12 seconds of flight.

It was not only that the airplane flew—it was that it was controlled in flight and that it landed safely. And perhaps most remarkably, the Wright brothers were able to achieve this feat over and over again. It was those 12 seconds of flight and three subsequent flights made that day that has forever identified the Outer Banks with the Birth of Flight.

The Wright Brothers National Memorial, located in Kill Devil Hills, is at once a testament to the human spirit and a place where history comes alive. When Orville and Wilbur Wright first came to the Outer Banks, it was a desolate and windswept place—in fact, it was the winds that brought them here.

The location of that first flight is no longer the desolate strip of bare sand of 1903. By the 1920s, the significance of the Wright brothers’ achievement had become a source of national pride, and steps were taken to preserve the site.

The monument that crowns the stabilized Kill Devil Hill was dedicated on November 14, 1932 on a cold day highlighted by a driving rain. Designed by Rodgers and Poor, a New York architectural firm, the 60-foot tower is considered an outstanding example of art-deco commemorative architecture.

A highlight of any visit to the park is the replica of the 1903 Wright Flyer housed in the rotunda. Talks on the aircraft and how and why the Wright brothers were able to achieve flight on that famous day are delivered at regular intervals throughout the day. Given by park historians who are masters at engaging even the youngest children, these are lectures that adults will find fascinating and educational and are an important part of any Outer Banks vacation.