Reprinted from WNCN-TV
Updated: 4:15 p.m. ET Dec. 17, 20034:14 p.m. EST December 17, 2003 -
It's over, and they're not going to try again. At 3:50 p.m. Officials at Kill Devil Hills cranked the propellors in a second attempt to re-enact the Wright Brothers' historic 1903 flight.
But moments later, they decided nature was simply not cooperating. The replica will not fly today.
The $1.2 million-replica plane didn't make it into the air when officials tried to launch it just before 12:30 p.m. on the North Carolina coast.
The launch was originally scheduled for 10:35 a.m., the exact moment that Orville Wright lifted his aircraft off the ground 100 years ago. His flight had lasted 12 seconds.
Rain forced the first re-enactment attempt to be postponed. On the next try, the propellers spun and the plane rolled along a track before sputtering into a puddle.
After evaluating the first try, officials decided they would try again at 2 p.m. That effort was delayed because winds shifted to the west, an unfavorable direction for the flyer.
Officials say a second attempt at the re-enactment of the Wright brothers' historic flight will take place around 3:50 p.m. If the flyer doesn't go today, officials say they won't try again.
Thousands of people have gathered on the Outer Banks of North Carolina to be on hand for a re-creation of the event.
A crowd at the exhibit tent housing the flyer gathered in front of a clock that counted down the final seconds until the exact moment of the anniversary. They cheered when the clock reached zero.
The first of four flights began a century ago with Wilbur holding the right wing for balance. The 600-pound plane moved down a rail slowly, eased into the air under its own power and rose to an altitude of 10 feet. The first flight lasted just 12 seconds and covered about 120 feet. The brothers flew three more times that day, recording progressively longer flights -- 175 feet, 200 feet and 852 feet. The last flight at noon, with Wilbur Wright at the controls, ended with a crash landing. The sandy hill where the first flight took off has even been stripped of grass to make it look like it did back then.
The anniversary celebration is also a family reunion of sorts for relatives of the Wright brothers. The men never married or had children of their own, but a grandniece said family was important to both of them.
Bush On Hand For Ceremonies
President George W. Bush was in North Carolina this morning to be on hand for the ceremonies honoring the anniversary.
Speaking in a driving rain on the sandy North Carolina field where the Wrights first flew, Bush said the achievement will be remembered "as long as there is human flight." Bush noted the Wrights faced technical obstacles and widespread skepticism -- but persevered, showing uniquely American traits of persistence and optimism.
"We would not know their names today, if these men had been pessimists," said Bush.
Space enthusiasts had hoped that Bush would use the occasion to announce a major initiative for NASA -- like a manned flight to the moon or even Mars. But a White House spokesman says a NASA review is still under way.
The president left before the planned re-enactment of the first flight. However, Air Force One flew low over the field -- and dipped its wings in salute.
WNCN-TV
Updated: 4:15 p.m. ET Dec. 17, 20034:14 p.m. EST December 17, 2003
America's Lighthouse
73,000 Nights
Two Centuries of History
August 2003
Article by Cheryl Shelton-Roberts
Outer Banks Lighthouse Society
Cape Hatteras
On a fall evening in 1803, a new star appeared over Cape Hatteras that mariners had long awaited.
Cape Hatteras These two words perhaps produce more visual images than any other two words in the English language. For the visitor to Cape Hatteras National Seashore, the words conjure up memories of brawny waves to surf, seemingly infinite stretches of beaches to walk, pounding surf, and perhaps a special place to share with family and friends where salt air seasons our good humor. Fishermen dream of that big one just waiting out there at Cape Point, a fisherman's paradise where men and women draw back their poles, hurl lines into the dramatic waves, and wait patiently for a gift from the sea. There is an aura of mystique here with ghostly sounds of canvas slapping in the wind and metal clanging against the mast where old salts hauled in the day's catch with their time-worn hands and watched for foul weather. Nearby, a shipwreck lies silently on the cape, an ancient victim of these dangerous waters. In the distance, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse stands quiet vigil.
Two lights have stood vigil here
Diamond Shoals were marked on early 16th century maps. It was a place mariners didn't want to go, but if they were to reach northern Atlantic ports form southward or use the Gulf Stream and its 3-4 knot northerly flow from which to jump off toward European destinations, they had to pass Hatteras and Diamond Shoals, oozing mountains of sand that hid cleverly just below the ocean's surface.
Henry Dearborn, well known Massachusetts congressman for whom the Michigan city was named expressed interest in building the lights at Cape Hatteras and Ocracoke Inlet (Shell Castle Island). It's difficult to figure the exact cost of each tower since the Treasury Department made appropriations for both lighthouses for a total of $38,450. Since John McComb, experienced federal style lighthouse architect, had originally been offered $37,500 for Cape Hatteras alone, this seemed like a pretty good deal.
Facing delay upon delay, it was 1799 before Dearborn started work at Cape Hatteras. Materials had to be offloaded from boats and hand-hauled through the sand to the site and workers suffered from a mosquito-borne illness, likely malaria. Also, his crewmen were working on both Ocracoke and Cape Hatteras simultaneously as weather permitted. Finally, in 1802, the first Cape Hatteras Lighthouse rose 90 feet from the bare sand. It was the tenth early federal lighthouse built between 1792-1817 of cut stone or brick and its engineering was sound. Most of the early federals are still standing today including Old Cape Henry, Montauk, Sandy Hook, and Old Baldy. Our government realized the importance of aids to navigation and was not yet cutting corners on building funds as the U.S. Lighthouse Service did between 1820-1852. A reorganization in 1852 brought engineering excellence and craftsmanship to forefront again and the U.S. Lighthouse Service built some of America's finest light towers following the Civil War.
A two-story keepers quarters was erected and a vault with nine cedar cisterns completed that could hold 200 gallons of oil each. Adam Gaskins was on site as keeper and everything was ready to go. But, it would take another long year for 18 Sperm Whale oil lamps, arranged in 3 tiers on a revolving platform, to be installed. On a fall evening in 1803, a star appeared over Cape Hatteras that mariners had long awaited. It must have been a tremendous joy to see this light operational!
Report from Congress 1806:
"With the exception of Nantucket shoals, it is supposed there is no part of the American coast where vessels are more exposed to shipwreck, than they are in passing along the shores of North Carolina, in the neighborhood of these shoals. The Gulf Stream certainly approaches very near the American coast in this quarter; indeed, experienced navigators assert, that it touches Cape Hatteras shoals in its progress to the northeast, out of the Mexican gulf, and, as it turns with great rapidity hereabouts, they can place very little dependence on the ship's reckoning. Their estimated distance from land, therefore, is often found to be very erroneous and as no soundings are to be procured within a short distance from the outer part of the shoals, it too frequently happens that shipwrecks take place; and hardly a season passes that does not afford the melancholy spectacle of stranded ships, and a great destruction of property is sure to follow; and it is fortunate, indeed, if the friendless mariner escapes with his life."
A unique lighthouse
From its inception, the 1803 Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was unique among the other 27 existing American lighthouses in that it was to be a coastal light meant to warn mariners to stay away from the coast, not a harbor light bringing ships nearer. As an early federal octagonal tower, it was built of dressed brown stone (sandstone) and brick that reached skyward 90 feet. The tower measured 26 1/2 feet at the base which tapered toward the top, was equipped with wooden stairs, and was surmounted by a 12-foot-tall birdcage type lantern. Some considered it a homely edifice but surely it was a beautiful sight for passing mariners. Consider that at the turn of the nineteenth century that there were few reliable sailing charts and no dependable ship's chronometer to determine longitude. Most ship navigation was still done by "dead reckoning," a deserved term for "fatal guessing" when mariners were trying to figure out where in the world they were at any given moment. A light in the night could be a lifesaver.
For all its greatness, a dim debut
That night in 1803, the very best light that the government could provide was exhibited. Keeper Gaskins, appointed by President Thomas Jefferson, began a tradition of light that would surpass two centuries. But there were serious problems. Eroding sand around the foundation due to relentless wind as well as a dim light dominated the early history of this lighthouse. The light was so faint that it could not reach out over the shipping lanes and for years, would draw angry criticism from captains for its weak production of light. Likely the brightest light it produced was the one when it malfunctioned and burned the lantern room.
Destined for greatness
However, this humble light was destined for greatness. With a big boost, it grew to 140 feet in 1854 and was fitted with one of the prized first order Fesnel lenses that was part of the planned improvement for America's lighthouse system. It would stand until it was demolished when its companion, the new kid on the block, rose an impressive 198 feet into azure skies over Cape Hatteras in 1870. Continuing its history, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse took up the gauntlet and has beamed a light faithfully into the 21st century as "America's Lighthouse".
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