Carolina realize how important this 

 site is to the history of the state or 

 to the world." 



The centennial celebration in 

 2003 may change that by drawing 

 international attention to the 427-acre 

 park. The Park Service planning team 

 aims to upgrade the site by then, but 

 Sussman says it's not yet ready to go 

 public with recommendations. In the 

 spring, the team will pass some of its 



where the monument stands, was 100 

 feet tall when the Wrights used it to 

 launch 1,000 glider flights. It was 

 stabilized with grass after Congress 

 authorized the area as a national park 

 in 1927, and today it stands 90 feet. 

 West Hill, another launching point, 

 is covered with vegetation. Two 

 other 30-foot dunes blew away in a 

 1912 hurricane — the same year 

 Wilbur died. 



The First Flight Society celebrates the anniversary of flight with a host of 



including military flyovers. 



ideas before local constituents, from 

 town officials to the First Flight 

 Society, an educational organization 

 that commemorates the anniversary of 

 flight. The leading proposal will be 

 shaped by community response during 

 a series of public hearings and input 

 by the Department of Interior, which 

 administers the National Park Service. 



One change the Park Service will 

 not pursue is landscape restoration, 

 Sussman says. The Wright brothers 

 experimented among sand dunes and 

 barren stretches of beach. Today, 

 visitors see a very different memorial 

 landscape that has been stabilized with 

 grass and shrubs. Big Kill Devil Hill, 



"We cannot restore the landscape 

 to the way it was back in 1 903 

 because it would disappear soon 

 afterward," Sussman says. "So when 

 people look out at all the grass, all the 

 shrubs, (they should realize) that did 

 not exist at the time. But if it wasn't 

 for the existence of that vegetation, 

 the dunes would have moved out and 

 you'd have a fairly flat landscape." 



Depending on the extent of 

 proposed changes to the park, outside 

 funding might be needed to carry out 

 the team's ideas. But given the 

 magnitude of the upcoming 100th 

 anniversary, Sussman says, commit- 

 ments shouldn't be difficult to secure. 



"This particular site is looked on 

 by the aviation industry as a shrine," 

 he says. "I think there will be a 

 tremendous amount of interest to help 

 get it ready for the year 2003." 



Every year, the anniversary of the 

 Dec. 17 flight is observed by the 

 nonprofit First Flight Society with 

 military flyovers, bicycle races, art 

 contests, banquets and galas. The 

 society is gearing up for an interna- 

 tional event on Dec. 17, 

 2003, Wrenn says. 

 Among other activities, 

 it will reinduct the 

 Wright brothers into its 

 First Flight Shrine for 

 people who have 

 accomplished outstand- 

 ing firsts in aviation. It 

 has done so in the 

 brothers' honor every 

 year since 1966, and 

 the inductees' portraits 

 hang in the visitor 

 center. In 1994, former 

 President George Bush 

 was inducted as the 

 first rated military pilot 

 to become president of 

 the United States. 



The 2003 event is 

 expected to easily 

 eclipse the 90th 

 events, anniversary celebration, 



which was attended 

 by people from as far 

 away as Iceland. Over the years, 

 the memorial has also hosted avia- 

 tion dignitaries such as Charles 

 Lindbergh, the first pilot to make 

 a nonstop, solo flight across the 

 Atlantic Ocean, and Amelia Earhart. 

 the first woman to make that flight 

 alone. 



The visitor center is open year- 

 round, except Christmas Day, from 9 

 a.m. to 5 p.m. The price of admission 

 is $2 per person or $4 per carload, 

 whichever is cheaper. Admission is 

 free to anyone under 16 or over 62 

 with a Golden Age Passport. For 

 information, call the visitor center 

 at 919/441-7430. □ 



COASTWATCH 9 



