Four Powered Flights

The Wright brothers made four successful sustained powered flights the morning of December 17, 1903. The commemorative granite boulder and replica monorail mark the lift-off point of those four flights, the numbered markers the terminating point.<br><br> Since soft sand prohibited launching with conventional wheels, the Wright Flyer was placed on a 60-foot monorail with its landing skids resting on a wheeled truck.<br><br> Once the engine started, the Flyer was released and slid down the rail until it gained enough speed to lift into the air.