The boulder under the Osprey to the left marks the first flight takeoff, and the three stone markers under the right Osprey mark the first three landings. The fourth landing is marked by the white stone marker visible to the far right.

While the first flight happened here in North Carolina—at Kill Devil Hill near Kitty Hawk—due to favorable wind conditions and relatively soft sand, most of the work and final testing of a workable aircraft that could turn was done in Dayton. Inside the museum here you can see a full scale reproduction of the 1903 Flyer, and outside there’s a sculpture depicting the first flight. It’s a beautiful spot with a huge monument on the hill where they conducted gliding tests, and, yes, it’s still very windy.