Last updated: November 7, 2021
Place
11 - Big Kill Devil Hill
NPS
WAYSIDE TITLE: Big Kill Devil Hill
WAYSIDE LAYOUT: Landscape-oriented rectangular panel featuring a black band across the top. The black band has text that reads, “Wright Brothers National Memorial” and “National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior.” The top half of the panel features a large black and white photograph that fills the whole background of the panel. The bottom half of the panel has 3 columns. The first column has text and the next two columns each have a black and white photograph with a caption.
VIEW FROM WAYSIDE: Behind this wayside is a flat, grassy area that leads up to a grass and shrub covered hill that the Wright Brothers Monument sits atop. To the right and left is a path that leads up to the top of the hill.
DESCRIPTION OF BACKGROUND IMAGE: A black and white photograph of 4 men carrying a glider up a sand dune. Two men are holding the gliders wings, while the other two are holding the front and read sections of the glider. A fifth man stands to the left of them in the image. He is wearing a dark suit and a hat. Waves are crashing into the shore in the distance behind the men.
CAPTION: Friends and surfmen from the nearby US Life-Saving Station helped the brothers carry their gliders up the dune.
TEXT: Big Kill Devil Hill. When the Wright Brothers were here, Big Kill Devil Hill – the hill in front of you- was a massive sand dune. Thousands of times, the brothers trekked up this and three nearby dunes to conduct glider experiments.Climbing the hill was strenuous. Deep, soft sand caused every step up the slope to slip part-way back down. The Wrights were also burdened with carrying their heavy gliders up the hill for each flight. Their tireless efforts paid off as they mastered their flying skills and refined their flight controls.
DESCRIPTION #1: Black and white photograph showing a glider with a pilot flying from the dune. The flyer is angled, as if turning. A big sand dune can be seen in the distance.
CAPTION: The Wrights mastered flight controls with their 1902 glider.
DESCRIPTION #2: A black and white photograph showing a man pushing a plow behind a donkey. They are working on a sand dune. In the foreground is bunches of grass ready to be planted.
CAPTION: Starting in 1929, workers planted grass to stabilize Big Kill Devil Hill so the Wright Brothers Monument could be built on top.
WAYSIDE LAYOUT: Landscape-oriented rectangular panel featuring a black band across the top. The black band has text that reads, “Wright Brothers National Memorial” and “National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior.” The top half of the panel features a large black and white photograph that fills the whole background of the panel. The bottom half of the panel has 3 columns. The first column has text and the next two columns each have a black and white photograph with a caption.
VIEW FROM WAYSIDE: Behind this wayside is a flat, grassy area that leads up to a grass and shrub covered hill that the Wright Brothers Monument sits atop. To the right and left is a path that leads up to the top of the hill.
DESCRIPTION OF BACKGROUND IMAGE: A black and white photograph of 4 men carrying a glider up a sand dune. Two men are holding the gliders wings, while the other two are holding the front and read sections of the glider. A fifth man stands to the left of them in the image. He is wearing a dark suit and a hat. Waves are crashing into the shore in the distance behind the men.
CAPTION: Friends and surfmen from the nearby US Life-Saving Station helped the brothers carry their gliders up the dune.
TEXT: Big Kill Devil Hill. When the Wright Brothers were here, Big Kill Devil Hill – the hill in front of you- was a massive sand dune. Thousands of times, the brothers trekked up this and three nearby dunes to conduct glider experiments.Climbing the hill was strenuous. Deep, soft sand caused every step up the slope to slip part-way back down. The Wrights were also burdened with carrying their heavy gliders up the hill for each flight. Their tireless efforts paid off as they mastered their flying skills and refined their flight controls.
DESCRIPTION #1: Black and white photograph showing a glider with a pilot flying from the dune. The flyer is angled, as if turning. A big sand dune can be seen in the distance.
CAPTION: The Wrights mastered flight controls with their 1902 glider.
DESCRIPTION #2: A black and white photograph showing a man pushing a plow behind a donkey. They are working on a sand dune. In the foreground is bunches of grass ready to be planted.
CAPTION: Starting in 1929, workers planted grass to stabilize Big Kill Devil Hill so the Wright Brothers Monument could be built on top.