Kitty Hawk

Kitty Hawk is a town in Dare County, North Carolina, and is a part of what is known as North Carolina's Outer Banks. The population was 3,272 at the 2010 Census. It was established in the early 18th century as Chickahawk.

Kitty Hawk became world-famous after the Wright brothers made the first controlled powered airplane flights at Kill Devil Hills, four miles south of the town, on December 17, 1903. After the four flights in their Wright Flyer, the brothers walked back to Kitty Hawk, where they sent a telegram from the Weather Bureau office to their father informing him of their success. Kitty Hawk is usually credited as the site of the powered flights because it was the nearest named settlement at the time of the flight; the modern town of Kill Devil Hills did not exist until 50 years after the flights. The Wrights chose the area because its frequent winds and soft sandy surfaces were suitable for their glider experiments, which they conducted over a three-year period prior to making the powered flights.

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