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The 2003 Kitty Hawk - Wright Brothers Reenactment

December 17, 2003


I got up at 3:30am EST and drove from Norfolk, Virginia down to Kitty Hawk. Upon arrival (at 5:50am) security was understandably tight.

The Wright Brothers Monument is visible on the hill at right. The lit tent at left housed the Wright Flyer replica. Buy Print

Climbing to the monument hill provided a great view of the area. We got front-row seats at the field near the yellow airplane at left. By 6:30am all of the front-row spaces were taken. Buy Print

Inside the tent the Flyer was on display, still undergoing last minute preparations. Buy Print

As we shivered in the cold, the rain, and the wind, they set up the launching track.

The media was all lined up to report on the event. I counted 18 satellite trucks and 13 media tents, with more cameras and big lenses than I could possibly count.

As President Bush arrived the crowd cheered. He was in the helicopter at right, in the distance. Buy Print

Actor John Travolta gave some introductory remarks. Buy Print

President Bush then delivered a speech in the pouring rain. Buy Print

By now the area was packed, no one wanted to miss the President's speech. There were rumors that he might lay out a new program of manned space exploration to the Moon and Mars, but that did not happen. Buy Print

After delivering the speech he reboarded Marine One and flew away. Buy Print

Four other large helicopters accompanied him.

The President transferred into Air Force One at a nearby air base and gave us a surprise, low alititude, slow speed flyover. Buy Print

This was a REAL treat, normally the Secret Service would not allow this type of flyover, especially with the President on board. Buy Print

The weather didn't cooperate, at 10:35am (the time of the Wright Brother's flight) the winds weren't quite right, so the reenactment was postponed. At 10:35 twelve seconds of silence were observed, along with a flyover of the "Spirit of Kitty Hawk" B-2 Stealth Bomber.

Finally, close to noon they rolled out the Flyer. Buy Print

The engine had to be started by hand cranking the propellers. It took many tries, it must have been hard work!

And he's off! Gathering speed the pilot tried to pull up the plane... Buy Print

But to no avail, the winds weren't strong enough and the plane plopped into the mud puddles.

Unfortunately they had to roll the plane back to the tent for inspections. The Flyer pilots are clearly disappointed.

I waited around to see if they would try again, but at 2:30pm I had to give in, I had been standing in the cold and rain for eight hours and could stand no more. I saw on the news that they tried again about an hour after I left, but again the winds weren't right.

I was very disappointed that the weather didn't cooperate. Among the planned flyovers was a U-2 spyplane and John Travolta's personal 707 jetliner, two aircraft that you rarely see flying.

Oh well, it was worth the trip, I got to see the President, Air Force One, Marine One, got to see the Flyer replica attempt to fly, and was in the same field where the first flight took place 100 years ago. Despite all of the weather problems I consider this trip to be a success!

Show Index | Camarillo | Chino | Edwards '02 '03 '05 | El Centro '04 '05 | Gillespie '03 '04 '05 '06 | Kitty Hawk | Los Angeles '03 '05 | March | Minter | Miramar '02 '03 '04 '05 '06 | Nellis | Oshkosh | Pt Mugu | Ramona '02 '04 | Riverside | Shuttle Launch STS-114 STS-116 | SpaceShipOne | Vandenberg | Whiteman | Yuma '04 '06
Fred's Air Show Journal Index/FAQ
Aircraft Index
Gillespie
Airplane
Whiteman
Airplane
Miramar
Airplane
STS-116 launch
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Next Show:
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