Around the world men such as Otto Lillenthal, Samuel Langley and Octave Chanute were attempting to fly. Some were successful with unmanned machines but Lillenthal was killed when attempting a manned flight. They followed the stories with keen interest and acquired aeronautics publications from the Smithsonian Institution. Their own dreams fueled by the stories of others, the Wright brothers began working in earnest to build a successful, manned plane. They studied the works of Leonardo da Vinci, Otto Lillenthal, Samuel Langley, Octave Chanute, Sir George Cayley and the flight of birds, all the while running their bicycle company.

They used the money they earned through bicycles to buy the parts to build their flying dreams. By 1899 they were testing various forms of wings. In 1900 they were ready for their first test flight. They chose Kitty Hawk, North Carolina for its steady breezes and sandy landing pad. Initially they worked solely with gliders, perfecting the wing design, balance and other critical factors before graduating to a powered version.

It wasn't until 1903 that the gasoline engine was finally added and the Wright Flyer I was borne, taking flight at Kill Devil Hills in North Carolina. An employee of their bicycle shop, Charlie Taylor, helped them to build their first aircraft engine. This was the flight that later went down in history but at that moment in time, the flights were short and of little interest to the public or the press. In 1904 they built the Wright Flyer II and tested it in Huffman Prairie, Ohio. They suffered many setbacks all along their journey but stubborn determination and belief in their manned flying machine kept them working, refining the design and building the Wright Flyer III.

Even with successful, albeit short flights, they did not achieve fame as aviators. They shunned reporters and preferred privacy so there were few witnesses to their achievements. In 1906 an article appeared challenging their claims called "Flyers or Liars?" Their fear of competitor's stealing their ideas and lack of a patent turned them into recluses. When they eventually put their flying machines up for sale they demanded a written contract before even demonstrating that the machines actually flew.

Their first attempts at getting a patent failed and it took hiring an attorney to finally patent their Flying Machine. By 1908 they had been making short flights for years and in 1908, they finally achieved world fame and credibility after amazing demonstrations in France where Wilbur flew figure eights and tight circles. Orville had stayed in the U.S. to demonstrate their invention to the government. They began taking on passengers and training pilots, finally achieving flights up to an hour with a passenger on board.

Only once in all the years did the brothers fly together. That flight was in 1910 at Huffman Prairie, Ohio. Their father had forbade them to fly together to ensure that if a flight ended in tragedy at least one brother would be left to carry on the research.

In the years that followed, the Wright brothers filed several lawsuits over infringements of their patent. It was an uphill battle and their patent expired in 1917. Ironically, they later merged with one of their fiercest competitors Curtiss Aeroplane and became the Curtiss-Wright Corporation.

Wilbur died at the young age of 45 while Orville went on to retire from hands-on aviation to work as an advisor to NACA, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, predecessor to today's NASA.

The Wright Brothers National Memorial sponsored by the National Parks Service at Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina includes full scale reproductions of the 1902 glider and 1903 flying machine. A reconstruction of the 1903 camp buildings let's you see the workshop, living quarters, and airplane hangar as they existed for Orville and Wilbur Wright.

Dog Pirate Tshirts

Pirate Tshirts

Blackbeard's Blackjack Gold

The North Carolina Maritime Museum in Beaufort, North Carolina, exhibits artifacts recovered from the shipwreck believed to be Blackbeard's flagship, the QAR, discovered in 1996.

The museum has a branch on Roanoke Island, just north of Rodanthe, dedicated to maritime exhibits.

Graveyard of the Atlantic maritime museum, located in Hatteras, North Carolina, is dedicated to the myriad of shipwrecks on the coasts of the Outer Banks.

Teach's Hole Blackbeard exhibit and pirate shop on Okracoke Island offers over 1000 items relating to pirates, including pirate books, pirate toys, pirate flags, pirate t-shirts, pirate maps, and other pirate wares. The exhibit features a life-sized recreation of Blackbeard the Pirate in full battle dress.