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!

OBX Airplanes hopes that everyone had a great Memorial Day Weekend and enjoyed the perfect beach
weather! If you did make it to the beach (and we hope you did, it was beautiful) you are sure to have
seen our airplanes towing banners along the coast.

Last weekend kicked off the busy summer season for OBX Airplanes. Now on any given day we can
expect to have over sixty departures from Dare County Regional Airport (MQI). These departures will
mainly include four types of flights: air tours, biplane rides, flight training, and aerial advertising / banner
towing.

Air Tours: Find the Perfect Flight for You and Your Family

OBX Airplanes offers a variety of different air tours so that we are sure to have something that everyone
will love. We have the perfect flight for everyone: $15 dollar flights, “discovery” flights, inlet tours,
sunrise and sunset tours, photography flights, and custom air tours. Our air tours are flown in Cessna
aircraft with high wings and panoramic windows so that you can have the best views of the Outer Banks
possible!

Biplane Rides: Fly in Our Open Cockpit Red Waco Biplane

We think our biplane ride is the coolest thing you can do while on the Outer Banks! Our beautiful red
Waco is amazing just to look at, wait until you are soaring high above the Outer Banks in its open
cockpit! As with our Cessna air tours we offer many biplane ride options. We have surprisingly cheap
flights that circle downtown Manteo, Festival Park, and the Queen Elizabeth II or take you across the
Roanoke Sound to fly over Jockey’s Ridge. We have biplane tours of Oregon Inlet, custom biplane tours,
and sunrise and sunset biplane tours.

Flight Training: Learn to Fly with OBX Airplanes

The Outer Banks is an amazing place to learn to fly. Not only is the OBX one of the most beautiful places
in the world, it is where the Wright Brothers showed the world that manned powered flight was
possible. What better place to learn to fly? OBX Airplanes has a team of certified flight instructors who
are passionate about teaching people to fly. They will help you along the way to getting your Private
Pilot’s License.

Banner Towing: One of the Most Effective forms of Marketing on the Beach

Thousands of people will be on the beaches of the Outer Banks on a summer day. These are thousands
of people who will see aerial banners towed by OBX Airplanes. Aerial advertising has a higher recall and
retention rate than other forms of advertising and OBX Airplanes offers competitive rates that are at
least 25 percent lower than nationwide banner towing companies. Call 252-489-8165 to see how
advertising with OBX Airplanes can help your local business.