OBX Airplanes proudly runs the gorgeous red Waco biplane over the beaches of the Outer Banks!  Our red biplane is like none other in breathtaking beauty & maintained to the top of its class.  In some of our previous posts you’ll see that our red biplane is a 1998 Waco YMF-5C designed using a lot of the designs of the older Wacos manufactured in the 30s & 40s without a lot of the flaws and with many upgrades to include a safer airframe with a phenomenal safety rating, higher horsepower engine and avionics that make each flight more capable & the pilot equipped with more options.  Powering our red biplane is a 275HP! Jacobs R755 Radial engine! You’ll hear the low rumble of the engine as we taxi out and the roar on takeoff. They are timeless, classic & contemporary with all the comforts of a newer plane.  
We often get a lot of questions about the radial engine on our biplane while loading passengers for rides on the Outer Banks.  Our pilots pull the propeller through by moving it counter clockwise facing the airplane and often people wonder if we are setting up to start the Waco by hand when we are doing this.  Oil collects at the bottom of the engine as the engine cools and we have to circulate the oil through the engine so as to not cause damage on start up caused by too much oil pressure in the bottom cylinders.  The radial engine is extremely reliable with 7 cylinders.  The radials were used on these planes when they were designed due to the ease of maintenance at the time, reliability and most importantly durability in times of combat.  They do however work just the same as any 4 stroke piston powered engine which makes them predictable & operationally easy to use.
When you see the red biplane flying biplanes rides over the beaches on the Outer Banks enjoy the low roar of the Jacobs soaring us along at 110 MPH against the big blue sky and over the sea below us and please don’t hesitate to enjoy a flight yourself in the big red biplane!

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Coming to an area that has always been remote and isolated, only accessed by boat or ferry until a wooden bridge was built in 1930, it is no wonder that what is now a popular tourist's retreat is a place also steeped in mystery and folklore.  So to shed some light on the intriguing town names here on the Outer Banks I am going to highlight the origins of a few.
   
Tucked away in the Northern beaches is a small town called Duck, N.C.  Because this is the halfway point for migrating waterfowl, it is no wonder that for hundreds of years this has been a popular spot for hunters and bird watchers alike.  It is said that the first Post Master in the area gave the town the name "Duck" due to the abundance of the migratory waterfowl and respectively, the ducks.
   
Working our way South, the next area is referred to as "Southern Shores."  Said to have been coined by Mr. Frank Stick, an artist that settled on Roanoke Island in 1929 and helped make Cape Hatteras Seashore part of our National Parks along with Fort Raleigh and the Wright Brother's Monument.  He thought Southern Shores sounded like a beautiful place for those seeking coastal real estate.
   
As we follow our birds eye view down the coast, the next town we come to is "Kitty Hawk."  Historians say this name derived from the Native American name for a village in the area called "Chicken Hauk" and evolve through the years and manipulation by our local brogue into Kitty Hawk.  The name Chicken Hauk has been seen on maps since the early 1700s and is recorded by the 1800s on local property deeds as Kitty Hawk, probably in accordance with what locals were calling it.  I enjoy the possibility that the name comes from a phrase locals used to describe hunting for geese, the would say they went out to "killy honk."
   
Next we travel to "Kill Devil Hills."  I've heard Old Timers say it was named such because the spirits they made were strong enough to "Kill the Devil."  It's been documented that a Land Surveyor from Virginia marking the line between his home state and North Carolina didn't like the area or people one bit.  William Byrd is said to have written The History of the Dividing Line Betwixt Virginia and North Carolina, though it was unpublished, and to have said the rum from our area "is so bad and unwholesome that it is not improperly called 'Kill-Devil'."  It certainly sounds like there are elements of truth to both accounts concerning the local distilling.
   
The next town we come to in our journey South is "Nags Head."  Fact diggers have said this name probably comes from Englishmen who settled in the area and it was common in England for places and taverns to have the name Nags Head.  Locals say it comes from hanging a lantern around a Nags Head and walking it up and over the sand dunes to give the appearance of a ship in deep water.  Luring those further out to sea into our shallows and shoals, grounding them, and "salvaging".

This blog was written by: Susan Wescott Overman 

On just our $15 Cessna airplane ride & on the shortest biplane ride that we offer for $99 for 2 people our air tour passengers can see 4 bridges which connect mainland Dare County to the Outer Banks.  Before the 1920s you needed to ride on a ferry to get to Manteo, Nags Head, Kill Devil Hills and more!

The closest bridges to the airport in Manteo are the bridges that connect mainland Dare County to Roanoke Island.  The oldest of these is the William B. Umstead Bridge is a steel stringer design bridge that is 2.8 miles long.  Dare County Bridge #9 was built in 1955  and dedicated to Mr. Umstead who was the 63rd Governor of the State of North Carolina.  It connects the north end of Roanoke Island to Manns Harbor.  The west end of the William B. Umstead Bridge is also the home to more than 100,000 Purple Martins during the months of July & August.  These small aerobatic birds choose to roost here on their way migrating to Brazil.  There are so many during dusk & dawn that the speed limit drops to 20MPH during these hours to protect them. It is also known as the “Old Manns Harbor Bridge” since it was replaced by a new more modern bridge that crosses over from Manns Harbor to Roanoke Island further south.   This bridge is called the Virginia Dare Memorial Bridge.

The Virginia Dare Memorial Bridge is a segmented girder bridge & is 5.2 miles long making it the longest bridge in the state of North Carolina.   It is 65 feet tall in the middle with pilings that reach 100 feet below it into the Croatan Sound and connects the south end of Manns Harbor by way of Highway 64 to Highway 264 & Highway 158 to the beach. The Virginia Dare Memorial Bridge is designed to last at least 100 years!  Finished in 2002, The Virginia Dare Memorial Bridge costs $90 million to complete.  This bridge is dedicated to Virginia Dare who was the first english child born in the new world in 1587.  

On just the $15 ride you will see a 3rd bridge!  To get to Nags Head from Roanoke Island you cross a concrete slab bridge called the Washington Baum Bridge at 82 feet high and just over 1 mile long.  It was completed and dedicated to Washington Baum in 1997 to replace the original bridge that Wanchese native & county commissioner Washington Baum influenced to build in the 1920s.  Driving over this bridge is exciting for visitors coming to the Outer Banks because for the first time during your travels you can see the beach & Jennette’s Pier!  Driving east if you look to the left you see Pirates Cove Marina with all of its beautiful yachts!  To the west & south side of the bridge is a very nice boat ramp.   Careful of high crosswinds driving over the bridge.

The 4th bridge seen on the $15 ride is the Melvin R Daniels bridge connects the Pirates Cove area to Nags Head through the Causeway.  This bridge is referred to as the “Little Bridge” and is a terrific place for 1000s of visitors & locals for fishing and crabbing off the sides.  The fishing platforms run on both sides of the bridge to make it enjoyable to fish off it’s low sides.  This bridge was dedicated to Melvin R. Daniels in 1997, Daniels  was a former NC State Senator. 

To get onto the Outer Banks from way of Currituck the Wright Memorial Bridge connects Point Harbor to Kitty Hawk, the east bound, concrete slab bridge was completed in 1966 & the west bound segmented girder bridge was completed in 1995.  Each of these bridges are just under 3 miles long.  They replaced what was originally a wooden 3 mile bridge that cost $1 toll to cross built in 1930 to replace a ferry service.  Many of our tour passengers will spend way too much time on this bridge as the enter onto the Outer Banks with traffic backed up for hours on Saturdays east bound.  You may see our banner planes running ads about events & even our $15 rides & biplane rides banner to the unfortunate traffic jam.  You might consider an alternative route to the Outer Banks through Elizabeth City, Edenton & Plymouth on highway 64 where you would instead cross the Virginia Dare Bridge onto Manteo & into Nags Head.

On our Inlet tours in both the biplane & the Cessna, our newest  and most exciting bridge is the Marc Basnight bridge spanning 2.8 miles long & cost $252 Million to complete & opened in February 2019.  Marc Basnight is currently a senator in North Carolina.  The Marc Basnight Bridge connects Bodie Island (South Nags Head) to Pea Island (Rodanthe & south).   It replaced the Herbert C Bonner Bridge that still stands but will be demolished.  Without a bridge to cross the Oregon Inlet, the visitors & residents of Rodanthe, Waves, Salvo, Avon, Buxton, Frisco & Hatteras Island are only able to get to their homes by boat or air.  The Bonner Bridge withstood many more years that its lifespan & allowed over 2 million cars across each year ranking only a 4 out of 100 as a safe bridge with 100 being the safest!  

On our hour long Cessna & biplane rides you can see the “New Inlet” Bridge & the construction of the Jug Handle bridge on the northern end of Rodanthe.   The New Inlet bridge was constructed after Hurricane Irene created a new inlet through Highway 12 on the Pea Island Wildlife Refuge.

The Jug Handle bridge will be 2.4 miles long & is considered phase 2 of the Bonner Bridge Replacement project.  It will leave out of the north end of Rodanthe and connect north to highway 12 standing over the Pamlico sound.  The budget to complete the Jug Handle is $145 Million.

To book a biplane ride or $15 air tour click here: ​https://www.obxairplanes.com/

“So may it be; let us hope that the advent of a successful flying machine, now only dimly foreseen and
nevertheless thought to be possible, will bring nothing but good into the world; that it shall abridge
distance, make all parts of the globe accessible, bring men into closer relation with each other, advance
civilization, and hasten the promised era in which there shall be nothing but peace and good-will among
all men.”

-From the Conclusion of Progress in Flying Machines by Octave Chanute

Octave Chanute: Aviation Pioneer

At his death, Octave Chanute was hailed as the “father of aviation and the heavier-than-air flying
machine.” Chanute was a French-born American civil engineer. He was widely considered brilliant and
innovative in the engineering profession. During his career he designed and constructed the United
States' two biggest stock yards, Chicago Stock Yards (1865) and Kansas City Stockyards (1871). He
designed and built the Hannibal Bridge which was the first bridge to cross the Missouri River in Kansas
City, Missouri, in 1869 and established Kansas City as the dominant city in the region. After retiring from
his career in railroad engineering, Chanute decided to devote his time to the advancement of aviation.
Chanute compiled all the data he could find from flight experiments around the world and published his
findings in a series of articles in The Railroad and Engineering Journal between 1891 and 1893. He then
compiled all his findings and published Progress in Flying Machines in 1894. His work was the most
systematic global survey of fixed-wing heavier-than-air aviation research published up to that time and
was influential on budding aviators across the world, including the Wright Brothers.

Although Chanute was too old to fly himself, he was able to partner with younger aviators to help them
with their experiments. In 1896 Chanute, Augustus M. Herring, and William Avery tested a design based
on the work of German aviation pioneer Otto Lilienthal, as well as hang gliders of their own design in the
dunes along the shore of Lake Michigan. These experiments convinced Chanute that the best way to
achieve extra lift without a prohibitive increase in weight was to stack several wings one above the
other. Chanute introduced the "strut-wire" braced wing structure that would be used in powered
biplanes of the future. Chanute based his "interplane" concept on the Pratt truss, which was
familiar to him from his bridge-building work. The Wright brothers based their glider designs on the
Chanute "double-decker" as they called it.

Chanute and the Wright Brothers

The Friendship between the Wright Brothers and Octave Chanute began in 1900 when Wilbur wrote to
Chanute after reading Progress in Flying Machines. Between 1900 and 1910, Chanute and the Wright
Brothers exchanged hundreds of letters. Chanute provided encouragement to the Wright Brothers
through his correspondence, visited their camp in Kitty Hawk in 1901, 1902, and 1903, and was
instrumental in publicizing their work.

Their friendship became strained when Chanute criticized the Wright Brothers’ patenting of their
‘warped-wing’ concept. Chanute did not believe that the Wright flying machine patent, premised on
wing warping, could be enforced and said so publicly, including a newspaper interview in which he said,

"I admire the Wrights. I feel friendly toward them for the marvels they have achieved; but you can easily
gauge how I feel concerning their attitude at present by the remark I made to Wilbur Wright recently. I
told him I was sorry to see they were suing other experimenters and abstaining from entering the
contests and competitions in which other men are brilliantly winning laurels. I told him that in my
opinion they are wasting valuable time over lawsuits which they ought to concentrate in their work.
Personally, I do not think that the courts will hold that the principle underlying the warping tips can be
patented."

The friction between the Wright Brothers and Octave Chanute lasted until Chanute’s death. However,
Wilbur did attend the memorial service at Chanute’s home and wrote a eulogy which he delivered at the
Aero Club meeting in January of 1911. Despite their different opinions, the Wright Brothers understood
the debt they owed to Octave Chanute and his work.

A Short History of Biplanes

A biplane is defined simply as a fixed wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The configuration of the biplane was derived from the box kite, an invention of the Australian explorer, inventor, engineer, and aeronautical pioneer, Laurence Hargrave.

By the mid-1890s there had been enough success with manned biplane gliders in the United States and Europe for Octave Chanute, “father of aviation and the heavier-than-air flying machine,” to conclude that the externally braced biplane provided the best prospects for manned powered flight. The first manned, powered flight, of course, occurred right here in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on the Wright Flyer biplane in 1903.

During the pioneer years of aviation biplanes were much more popular than monoplanes. With the low engine powers and air speeds available, the wings of a monoplane needed to be large in order to create enough lift while a biplane could have two smaller wings and so be made smaller and lighter. Just prior to World War I the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) implemented a “monoplane ban” and grounded all monoplanes after several structural failures occurred. By the end of the war, however, biplanes were reaching their limits of performance. Between World War I and World War II technological advances allowed a shift primarily to monoplane development.

The Experience of Flying a Biplane
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When you fly in an open cockpit biplane you feel like you are experiencing a part of aviation history. The premier issue of Air & Space/Smithsonian magazine featured a biplane for that specific reason. In May 2011, the editors of Air & Space/Smithsonian magazine justified putting an image of a biplane on their first issue:

“One reason is history. Dozens of biplane types stand out in the history of aviation—as military trainers for both world wars, corporate aircraft, barnstormers, transports, crop dusters, and show planes. Most of the biplane owners we’ve hopped rides with say they regard themselves as caretakers, preserving a bit of aviation heritage until the next owner can take over the job. In recent years, more and more airplane fans have been spending their money and time restoring vintage aircraft—biplanes among them—and reaping more financial reward for doing it. ‘There are more Classic restorations being completed, many for the second or third time on a particular airplane,’ says H.G. Frautschy, executive director of the Experimental Aircraft Association’s vintage group, referring to the EAA category of airplanes built before 1955. ‘I’m also seeing a trend that as their value increases, fewer aircraft are being discarded, and are being restored. The increase is not dramatic, but it’s heartening to see the numbers hold steady or climb’

“Biplanes are not only still being restored, they’re also still being manufactured. Since 1991, WACO Classic Aircraft Corporation of Battle Creek, Michigan, has been producing Waco YMF models under the original type certificate and has sold more than 125. The company recently announced that this year it will begin to manufacture the biplane that was on our cover 25 years ago, the Great Lakes. Even these newly manufactured biplanes teach their pilots and passengers something about flight in its youth. But anyone who has ever had the good fortune to look over the side from an open cockpit at the country gliding by below knows that history can’t fully explain why biplanes are treasured. And utility doesn’t explain it either. Though a biplane can get you from here to there, that seems to be just an excuse to fly it. The biplane’s real purpose is to entertain.”

OBX Airplanes is proud to own a beautiful red Waco biplane, and we think that flying in our open-cockpit biplane is the most exciting thing you can do on the Outer Banks! Call us today to book your biplane ride!

The Citabria is a light single-engine, two-seat airplane that was designed for utility, flight training, and
personal use. It is capable of sustaining aerobatic stresses of +5g to -2g. When the 7ECA Citabria was
first introduced in 1964 it was the only commercially produced aircraft in the United States that was
certified for aerobatic flight. The aircraft derives its name from its aerobatic abilities: Citabria spelled in
reverse is “Airbatic.”

The Design of the Citabria can be traced back to the Aeronca Model 7 Champion, more commonly
known as the “Champ.” In 1954, Champion Aircraft bought the Champ design from Aeronca Aircraft
Corporation and continued production of the more advanced models of the aircraft. Over the course of
the next decade, Champion Aircraft gradually modified these advanced Champ models into the
aerobatic Champion Citabria. Like the Champ, the Citabria features tandem seating, strut-braced wings,
and conventional landing gear. The Citabria does have some very noticeable external changes to the
design including the squared-off rudder surface, wingtips, and rear windows.

The first Citabria model was the 7ECA, which began production in 1964 and utilized a 100 horsepower
Continental O-200-A engine. At first, the 7ECA featured wood-spar wings and oleo-shock main gear.
Within a year of the start of production, the manufacturer began offering an upgrade to a 115
horsepower Lycoming O-235-C1 engine as an alternative to the Continental. The Lycoming engine
became the standard within two years, and in 1967, Champion Aircraft switched to spring steel main
gear legs on the Citabria.

In 1965, Champion Aircraft introduced the 7GCAA Citabria 150 which featured a 150 horsepower
Lycoming O-320-A2B engine. Another 150 horsepower model was introduced that same year: the
7GCBC Citabria 150S. The 150S carries the same Lycoming O-320-A2B engine as the Citabria 150 but has
a wingspan of 34.5 feet which is 1-foot wider than the wingspan of 7GCAA Citabria 150 and the 7ECA
Citabria. The wings of the Citabria 150S also feature flaps, unlike the Citabria 150 and 7ECA Citabria.
In 1970, Champion Aircraft was acquired by Bellanca Aircraft Corporation, which produced the Citabria
until 1980. The Citabria designs then changed hands multiple times during the 1980s before being
purchased by the current manufacturer, American Champion Aircraft Corporation.

American Champion Aircraft Corporation reintroduced the 7ECA as the Citabria “Aurora” in 1995. The
new Citabria Aurora featured metal spar wings, and, in 2004, changed to aluminum main gear legs.

OBX Airplanes Banner Towing

OBX Airplanes uses American Champion Citabria Aircraft for our arial advertising services. We have
found that the Citabria is the perfect airplane for banner towing.

Call OBX Airplanes today to see how we can help promote your local business by marketing to the
crowds of people that visit our beautiful Outer Banks beaches during the summer.

July 1 st marks the twentieth anniversary of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse move, and the National Park
service will be holding a special event in celebration. David Hallac, the Superintendent of National Parks
of Eastern North Carolina, invites the public to join in the free event commemorating the move.
The event will begin at 9:30 am on Monday July 1 st near the lighthouse and will include speeches, a
question and answer session with expert panelists, artifacts from the lighthouse move, expanded
interpretive ranger talks, activities for children, and free lighthouse climbing. The Outer Banks
Lighthouse Society and Outer Banks Forever are partnering with Cape Hatteras National Seashore to
make this event memorable for visitors and the local community.

History of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Move

When the second Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was completed in 1870 it was located approximately 1,500
feet from the Atlantic Ocean. By 1919, the gradual westward migration of the Outer Banks left the
lighthouse only 120 feet from the Atlantic’s dangerous waves. Several attempts, using the construction
of dykes and breakwaters were made to stop the erosion but they were unsuccessful.
In 1935, the waves finally reached the lighthouse. The light was replaced by a beacon on a four-legged
steel tower on top of a sand dune and out of reach of the ocean. The National Park Service took custody
of the abandoned brick tower.

In 1999, with the surf only 15 feet from the base of the tower, it was time to move the historic brick
lighthouse structure or risk losing it the ocean. International Chimney Corp. of Buffalo, New York was
awarded the contract to move the lighthouse, assisted by, among other contractors, Expert House
Movers of Maryland.

The Cape Hatteras Light House Station Relocation Project was an incredible undertaking. It became
known as "The Move of the Millennium" and International Chimney and Expert House Movers won the
40th Annual Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement Award from the American Society of Civil
Engineers in 1999. The National Park Service describes the preparation and move as follows:

“To accomplish this feat, the original foundation down to the pine timbers was replaced by temporary
shoring beams and supports. Then a steel beam mat was inserted over the timber mat with temporary
posts on top. As cross beams and main beams were set, the temporary shoring parts and beams were
removed. Hydraulic jacks built into the main beams were used to effect the 6 foot raise so that roll
beams and rollers could be introduced. After all jacks were shored, using oak cribbing, the system was
pressurized and the jacks began lifting. At each lift level, jacks were retracted and shored up in sequence
and the system lifted again to 6 feet. At this point it was ready to roll.

“After it was lifted, the tower moved along to its new location 2,900 feet to the southwest on steel mats
starting on June 17, 1999. Steel track beams became rails and roller dollies permitted the support frame
to move along the track. Three zones of hydraulic jacks kept the lighthouse aligned. Push jacks, clamped
to the track pulled the frame forward 5 feet at a time.”

Today, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse stands a safe distance of 1,600 feet from the ocean and continues
to protect mariners from the “Graveyard of the Atlantic.”

Fly Over the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

For us at OBX Airplanes, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is one of our favorite Outer Banks landmarks to
fly over during our Air Tours and Biplane Rides. We offer Biplane Rides and Air Tours that depart from
Manteo and can take you anywhere on the Outer Banks, but one of the best trips you can do is to fly
south to Cape Hatteras and circle the iconic lighthouse! Call OBX Airplanes today to book an Air Tour in
one of our Cessna Airplanes or a Biplane Ride in our beautiful Red Waco Biplane.

The Outer Banks will host two major kite festivals again this year: the 37 th Annual Rogallo Kite Festival at
Jockey’s Ridge State Park and the 41 st Annual Wright Kite Festival at the Wright Brothers National
Memorial. Both events are great for the entire family and OBX Airplanes encourages you to check them
out and share in the celebration of flight here on the Outer Banks. For those who are interested in
seeing 30 - 100 foot kites from a different perspective, OBX Airplanes would like to invite you to join us
for a Cessna Air Tour or Biplane Ride over the Kite Festivals!

37 th Annual Rogallo Kite Festival: June 14 – June 16, 2019

The 37 th Annual Rogallo Kite Festival will be held at Jockey’s Ridge State Park from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM
on June 14 through June 16, 2019. People are encouraged to bring their own kites or come and try out
kites for free (including free stunt kite lessons). There will be kite coloring for kids.

Francis Rogallo was an American aeronautical engineer whose invention of the Rogallo wing, or
“flexible” wing, was the precursor to the modern hang glider and paraglider. Francis Rogallo often flew
his own hang gliders at Jockeys Ridge State Park during the 1970s and 1980s and eventually moved to
the Outer Banks. He died at his home in Southern Shores in 2009. In honor of his accomplishments and
influence on modern gliding, members of the United States Hang Gliding and Paragliding Association are
known as “Rogallo” members. We hope that you will take part in the celebration of Francis Rogallo and
his accomplishments by coming to Jockey’s Ridge or flying over the Kite Festival with OBX Airplanes.

41 st Annual Wright Kite Festival: July 13 – July 14, 2019

The 41 st Annual Wright Kite Festival will be held at the Wright Brothers National Memorial from 10:00
AM to 4:00 PM on July 13 and July 14, 2019. You can bring your own kite or try one for free (including
free stunt and power kite lessons). There will be a kite building station for the kids.

​The Wright Kite Festival celebrates the accomplishments of the Wright Brothers on the same grounds
where Wilbur and Orville made their historic first flights in 1903. Bring the entire family and share in the
celebration of aviation on the Outer Banks.

See the Outer Banks Kite Festivals from Above: Fly with OBX Airplanes

OBX Airplanes offers a variety of Cessna Air Tours and Biplanes Rides. Why not take a flight during one
of the Outer Banks Kite Festivals and see the 30 - 100 foot kites from the sky? Our Air Tours and Biplane
Rides take off from Manteo and fly around Jockey’s ridge State Park and the Wright Brothers National
Memorial, so you will have a great view of all the kites. Flying with OBX Airplanes is perfect for the
whole family at any time, but taking an Air Tour or Biplane Ride during an Outer Banks Kite Festival will
be a truly amazing and memorable experience!