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.

OBX Airplanes would like to wish everyone a Happy Memorial Day, especially those serving or who have
served in the United States Armed Forces. Memorial Day is first and foremost a time to remember and
honor those who have died serving in the United States Armed Forces.

The Town of Nags Head will be hosting a Memorial Day Ceremony on Monday, May 27, 2019 at the Nags
Head Town Hall. U.S. Air Force veteran Todd Krafft will be the keynote speaker at the ceremony, which
will be held in front of the Town’s Municipal Complex at 5401 S. Croatan Highway (Mile Post 14).
According to the Town of Nags Head website: “The public is invited and encouraged to attend to honor
and remember family members, friends, and fellow citizens who have given the ultimate sacrifice in
service to America.”

Memorial Day is also the official start of the summer season here on the Outer Banks, and it looks like
we are going to have great weather all weekend. The sun will be shining and the air will be warm, so we
hope that you will get outside and take advantage of all that the Outer Banks has to offer. This weekend
would be an ideal time to take to the sky above the Outer Banks by joining OBX Airplanes for an air tour
or a biplane ride!

OBX Business Owners: Take Advantage of Aerial Advertising to Reach Customers on the Beach

Aerial advertising has been shown to be highly effective where a large target audience is gathered near
the source of advertising (Smith, Ronald D. Strategic Planning For Public Relations). Studies have shown
that aerial billboards and banners have a high consumer recall and retention rate. Customers who see
the aerial advertisement tend to recall the message at a higher rate than with other forms of advertising.
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During the summer months the beaches on the Outer Banks are full of vacationers and locals enjoying
the sand and waves. This is exactly the type of large target audience that is inclined to see and
remember aerial advertisements.

Not only does aerial advertising have a high recall rate with potential customers, it is also cost effective.
OBX Airplanes offers rates that are at least 25% lower than nationwide banner towing companies. Our
stunning airplanes and crisp lettering are sure to draw the attention of future customers. Call OBX
Airplanes at 252-489-8165 to learn how we can help you reach more customers on the Outer Banks.

Do you have dreams of flying but are intimidated by the financial commitment of becoming a Pilot? OBX Airplanes can help you get your Private Pilot’s License for cheaper than you may think. As we discussed in last week’s blog, OBX Airplanes offers flight instruction with experienced and qualified flight instructors. This week, we thought we’d follow up with some more information about the cost of flight instruction and the FAA’s specific requirements for obtaining a Private Pilot’s License.

What are the FAA Requirements for Obtaining a Private Pilot’s License?

40 hours minimum flight training which consists of at least:

20 hours minimum of flight training with an instructor on the Private Pilot areas of operation including:

      3 hours of cross country flight training in a single engine airplane;

      3 hours of night flight training in a single engine airplane, that includes at least:

            1 cross country flight of over 100nm total distance; and

            10 Take-offs and 10 landings to a full stop with each involving a flight in the traffic pattern at an airport.

      3 hours of flight training by reference to instruments in a single engine airplane; and

      3 hours of flight training in a single engine airplane within the 60 days prior to the practical test.

10 hours minimum of solo flying in a single engine airplane on the Private Pilot areas of operation including:

    5 hours of solo cross country flying;

    1 solo cross country flight of at least 150nm total distance with full stop landings at 3 points and one segment of at least           50nm between take-offs and landings; and

    3 Take-offs and landings to a full stop at an airport with an operating control tower.

How much does it cost to get a Private Pilot’s License?

With OBX Airplanes, the average cost of obtaining a Private Pilot’s License is between $5000 and $6000. This is significantly less than the cost that you might find at other flight schools around the country.

Why is it less expensive to get my Pilot’s License with OBX Airplanes?

OBX Airplanes helps reduce the cost of getting your Private Pilot’s License by providing low rates on our aircraft rentals and providing discounts when you book your aircraft in 10-hour blocks. Our cost for a Cessna 150 rental is only $100/hr and only $90/hr when you book in blocks of 10 hours. Call OBX Airplanes today to find out how you can become a Pilot!

Summer weather is here to stay on the OBX! Today’s high temperature is 80 degrees, the wind is blowing out of the south, the sun is out. Even better, the sun will be up longer and longer each day. Today’s sunrise was at 6:09 am, and the sun won’t set until 7:50 pm this evening. That means more daylight to experience your favorite Outer Banks activities! More time for surfing and swimming, sunbathing and shell-hunting, fishing and sailing, kayaking and paddle boarding, and our favorite OBX
activity…flying!

OBX Airplanes offers air tours and biplane rides over the beautiful beaches of the Outer Banks. Our friendly, experienced pilots are knowledgeable about the local area and will be happy to answer any questions you have while up in the air. Our air tours are fully customizable; we create the perfect flying experience for you and your friends and family, whether that be a scenic sunset air tour in a Cessna or an exhilarating acrobatic flight in our Waco biplane.

Take advantage of these long days and this beautiful summer weather by flying with OBX Airplanes!

Nags Head Beach Nourishment

You will notice quite a bit of activity on the beach this summer in Nags Head. The town of Nags Head is conducting a beach nourishment project that will last the duration of the summer. The project has already begun south of the Limulus beach access in South Nags Head with the dredge Ellis Island pumping sand onto the beach. Work will continue south to the town / National Park Service line at Ramp 1. Operations will then pick up near Pelican Street and move north to the Outer Banks Fishing Pier and then on to Jennette’s Pier.

A second dredge, Liberty, will begin pumping sand through a second submerged pipeline that is installed between Conch Street and Hallowell Street. Nourishment is scheduled to progress north to milepost 11 and then return to the Conch / Hallowell area and move south to Jennette’s Pier.

It will be interesting to see this project underway from the point of view of an airplane! OBX Airplanes’ air tours and biplane rides can fly over the nourishment area to check out the dredges and heavy equipment moving tons of sand to protect our beaches from erosion. Again, our air tours are customizable, so where we fly is up to you!

​If you want to take a closer look at the nourishment project from the air, we will be happy to fly you over the beaches of Nags Head before heading on to the iconic landmarks of the Outer Banks like the Wright Brothers National Memorial and the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.

​OBX Airplanes: The #1 Outdoor Activity in Manteo on Trip Advisor

OBX Airplanes is happy to be ranked as the number one outdoor activity in Manteo according to Trip Advisor! We take pride in providing our customers with a fun, exciting and memorable flying experience. If you’ve ever thought of flying (whether you’re interested in a scenic air tour or thrilling biplane ride over the Outer Banks, or you want to take flight lessons with one of our experienced instructors) we encourage you to check out our page on Trip Advisor to see what other happy customers have to say.

​OBX Airplanes has a 5-star rating with over four hundred reviews. To give you an idea of what people thought of their flights with OBX Airplanes, here are some excerpts from our most recent Trip Advisor reviews:

“Affordable, fun, and exciting way to see the sights in Outer Banks
I went on the 30-40 minute Inlet tour with my brother and nephew last week when we were in Outer Banks. The pilot was very professional, friendly and accommodating. He dropped down to  a lower altitude when we got near the beach house we were renting so we could see our family who was out on the beach waving to us. He was also very knowledgeable about the area, and it was amazing seeing all of the sights from the air. The price was very fair since it & for up to 3 people. We all had a great time and would definitely do it again!”

“Bucket List Experience
A fabulous 30 minute adventure in an open air cockpit! The pilot was good natured and extremely pleasant. Time was made available for any who wanted to take pictures.”

“Excellent!
Great views and a phenomenal pilot. We had a great time up in the air and would definitely fly again”

“Wow! Easy and fun!
It was a spur of the moment decision- but worked out great. We saw the ad on a billboard driving to the OBX. It only took a few minutes and we were set! Our pilot, Luke, was awesome. He offered insight to becoming a pilot to our kids. An economical and fun adventure- well worth it!”

“Top Notch
I’m currently taking flight school at OBX and I’m having a great time. My instructor is very knowledgeable and very patient. I absolutely recommend OBX Airplanes!!!”

“Wonderful Experience
We did the 20 minute flight with the family. The pilot was very friendly and knowledgeable. It was very neat to see Nags Head and the ocean from the air. We will definitely do it again with a longer flight next time we are in the area.”

“Spectacular
As a very experienced student pilot, while vacationing with family at the Outer Banks, my wife and I inquired about renting a Cessna 172 and instructor for a couple hours to mix sightseeing with training. We were introduce[d] to John at OBX and had the most wonderful adventure of flying and sightseeing from Dare, to First Flight, to Hatteras, to Ocracoke and back. John couldn't have been more gracious and encouraging, while exhibiting is wealth of local history on our journey. What a magical sunset adventure, and unforgettable day. Perfect weather, good company, and my wife took many wonderful stills and videos that we can enjoy over and over
again. Thank You OBX, and staff, and John for helping us make our dreams come true! Jim and Nan.”

If these glowing reviews aren’t enough to convince you to come fly with us, there are literally hundreds more 5-star reviews of OBX Airplanes that you can read on Trip Advisor. Come fly with us and we’re sure to get one more!

Spring has arrived on the Outer Banks! The air and ocean are warming, and masses of vacationers are coming to visit our beautiful beaches. Now on any nice day, the beach access parking lots will be full, and thousands of people will be enjoying the sun, sand and water along the OBX coast. When they aren’t on the beach, these visitors will be dining and drinking at local Outer Banks restaurants and bars, shopping at local Outer Banks shops, and booking tours and activities with local Outer Banks companies.

Banner Towing: Reach Future Customers on the Beach

To attract the attention of vacationers, local businesses spend a substantial amount of money on various advertising and marketing methods: online ads, magazine ads, rack cards, billboards, radio advertisements. However, there is another approach to reaching future customers while they are actually sitting on the sand or floating in the ocean: aerial banner towing. OBX Airplanes offers commercial banner towing services at rates at least 25% lower than nationwide towing companies. We use crisp, highly visible lettering to ensure that your message is seen by the many people on the beach and in the ocean. Aerial banner towing may be a slightly outside-the-box approach to advertising, but when you consider the vast number of people that will be exposed to your message, the efficacy of the method is clear.

Looking for Exciting Activities on the Outer Banks? Take to the Sky with OBX Airplanes!
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While people love soaking up the sun on the beach and swimming in the ocean when they visit the Outer Banks, there are many other exciting activities to be enjoyed on your vacation. Most people will think of water activities like sailing, kayaking, paddle boarding, and surfing, but OBX Airplanes has another suggestion: take to the sky above the Outer Banks on an air tour or biplane ride!

Our air tours and biplane rides are the most exciting and memorable OBX adventure you can have while on your vacation. Our pilots are skilled, experienced, friendly and knowledgeable. Our air tours and biplane rides are an affordable activity for the whole family. You can take off in one of our Cessna airplanes for only $15 dollars a person!

Book online or call us at 252-473-2442 to book your air tour or biplane ride today!

This week’s OBX Airplanes blog will continue our series on the Wright Brothers. In the past weeks, we have written about how Wilbur and Orville Wright came to be fascinated with flight and started to experiment with aviation. If you haven’t seen them already, look back at these blog posts for an interesting read. 

Kitty Hawk

The Wright brothers first came to Kitty Hawk in the fall of 1900 to test their prototype glider. The first tests were unmanned; the brothers flew the glider like a kite and tested their patented wing-warping technique with chords attached to the wings. 

The Wright brothers conducted the manned flights that year (and for the next three years) on a group of 100-foot-tall sand dunes known as the Kill Devil Hills. The few flights that Wilbur made in 1900 showed the brothers that their glider needed some improvements. The glider had less lift than they had expected, but they were optimistic on their return to Ohio because they hadn’t had any accidents and their forward elevator seemed to work.

The next year they returned with a new and improved glider but were once again disappointed by its lack of lift. Although they were disheartened at first, the Wright brothers redoubled their efforts when they returned to Ohio. 

After their disappointing 1901 glider tests in Kitty Hawk the wright brothers began their thorough testing of airfoils. They built their wind tunnel in the bicycle shop and tested over 200 airfoils. The data they collected from these experiments led them to employ a higher aspect ratio on the wings of their next glider. In other words, the wings were longer and narrower, and this provided a much better lift-to-drag ratio. Another Improvement in the design of the 1902 glider was the addition of a vertical tail rudder.

All the testing paid off. From the start, the 1902 glider demonstrated much better lift and was able to fly far greater distances. Between September 19 and October 24, 1902, the Wright brothers made nearly 1,000 glides. During this time, they developed a moveable vertical rudder to replace the glider’s fixed vertical rudder. Their first flight with the moveable rudder was on October 8th. Using the new three-axis control, the Wright brothers made hundreds of well controlled flights and became convinced that they were ready to add power to their glider. 

The Wright Brothers “Flying Machine”

The Wright Brothers applied for a patent to their new “Flying Machine” on March 23, 1902. They built it out of spruce and muslin and hand carved the propellers themselves. Their bicycle shop mechanic, Charlie Taylor, built the engine in only six weeks. 
On December 17, 1903 the Wright Brothers made history in Kitty Hawk by flying the world’s first successful airplane. With these flights, the Outer Banks became forever tied to the history of aviation.

OBX Airplanes Air Tours

OBX Airplanes encourages visiting the Wright Brothers National Memorial to more fully appreciate the Wright Brothers’ achievements. We also suggest flying over the monument with OBX Airplanes in one of our air tours or biplane rides!
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​Here you can see the difference between the 1901 and 1902 gliders. Note the improved aspect ratio and the addition of a vertical tail rudder on the 1902 glider (right).

April is the perfect month to take to the air over the Outer Banks! The sun is out, the air is warmer, the days are longer. An air tour is one of the best ways to take advantage of the beautiful weather on the coast of North Carolina. OBX Airplanes provides a variety of air tours that will fly you over the most iconic and beautiful locations on the Outer Banks. 

We offer flights in our Cessna aircraft for groups of up to three passengers. With its high wings and panoramic windows, the Cessna is a great plane from which to view the sights along our coastline. Fly over lighthouses, bridges, and piers. See Jockey’s Ridge State Park and the Wright Brothers National Memorial from the air. If the water is clear, we can show you shipwrecks that were lost to the ‘Graveyard of the Atlantic.’  

We will customize your air tour to meet your needs and interests. If you are a photographer looking to capture images of the most iconic sights on the Outer Banks, we can circle The Wright Brothers National Memorial and then fly down to the Cape to shoot the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. If you are looking for ideal lighting, we can take off in time for a sunrise or sunset air tour.

Biplane Rides: A True OBX Adventure

For the ultimate Outer Banks adventure, take to the sky in our beautiful red Waco Biplane! Our Waco YMF-5C is a true classic. It does exactly what the manufacturer set out to do: “to revive the Golden Era’s open cockpit flying experience.”
 
A biplane ride is our most thrilling air tour option. While all of our air tours are exciting, taking off in our Waco biplane will be the start of a real Outer Banks adventure. You will feel the sun on your face and the wind in your hair; you will smell the salt air. You will feel the power of the Jacobs R-755 Radial Engine as you soar over the Atlantic Ocean. 
 
It is Springtime on the Outer Banks and we are excited to welcome visitors back to our beaches. If you are looking for something unique and exciting to do this Spring break or Easter vacation let OBX Airplanes take you on an air tour or biplane ride. We promise, it will be an unforgettable experience! 

The mid-1890s saw growing interest and excitement in the world of aviation. In Germany, Otto
Lilienthal, or the “flying man” as he was known around the world, was making repeated successful
flights with his gliders. His flights were well documented by reporters and photographers. Magazines
and newspapers world-wide published accounts and photographs of his feats. The Wright brothers saw
these articles and were encouraged by Lilienthal’s success. According to Wilbur, "Lilienthal was without
question the greatest of the precursors, and the world owes to him a great debt." Unfortunately,
Lilienthal was killed when his glider stalled and plummeted to the ground. The Wright brothers,
nevertheless, saw the potential for manned flight.

In 1896 (the same year as Otto Lilienthal’s death) Samuel Langley, Secretary of the Smithsonian
Institution, successfully flew a steam-powered, fixed-wing, unmanned model aircraft. Later that same
year several aviation enthusiasts, under the guidance of Chicago engineer Octave Chanute, gathered on
the sand dunes at the shore of Lake Michigan where they tested multiple gliders. In 1899, Wilbur wrote
to the Smithsonian to request information and publications about aeronautics.

After much experimentation, first with airfoils fixed to a bicycle and then with airfoils in their custom-
made wind tunnel, the Wright brothers took the next step towards their goal of manned, powered
flight: building and flying full sized gliders.

Learning from the Birds: Wing Warping and Pilot Control

One of the factors that set the Wright brothers apart from others who were also after the dream of
manned, powered flight was their focus on pilot control. Other aviation enthusiasts were of the mindset
that attaching powerful engines to stable aircraft was the way forward, but the Wright Brothers took a
different approach. Wilbur and Orville believed that the ability of the pilot to control the aircraft and to
make subtle adjustments was paramount to the success of their aircraft. With this mindset, Wilbur and
Orville decided to master the art of flying their gliders before they moved to powered flight.

The Wright brothers believed that pilot control would ultimately lead them to solve the three-pronged
problem that they called “the flying problem.” In their minds, there was sufficient knowledge about the
other two parts of the problem, wings and engines, but the ability to actually fly the aircraft was lacking.

Glider pilots before the Wright brothers had relied on shifting their own body weight to alter the course
of their aircraft. The brothers, however, did not think this provided adequate control. Instead they
developed a system based on their observation of the flight of birds. Birds, they noticed, changed the
angle of the ends of their wings in order to bank into a turn. The problem then became ‘how to
accomplish this with a man-made wing of wood and cloth.’

One day, according to biographer James Tobin, Wilbur was idly twisting an inner-tube at the bicycle
shop while thinking of “the flying problem.” In that moment he came up with the idea of ‘wing warping,’
which the Wright brothers patented and used in their aircraft. The idea was to twist the wings so that
one end created more lift and the other less lift. The aircraft would roll laterally and turn towards the
direction of the dipping wing.

To Kitty Hawk: The Wright Brothers Take Flight

The first experiment with wing warping was conducted using a biplane kite with a five-foot wing span.
Wilbur attached four lines to the kite and was able to control the twist of the wings. His theory proved
right. He was able to cause the kite to turn using his wing warping technique.

Wilbur wrote a letter to Octave Chanute to inquire about optimal locations for glider testing. One of
Chanute’s suggestions (in addition to Florida and California) was the mid-Atlantic coast with its often-
windy conditions and sandy, soft landings. Wilbur and Orville also looked at U.S. Weather Bureau data
and decided to come to the Outer Banks of North Carolina to test their gliders.

We will continue our series on the Wright brothers in the next OBX Airplanes blog. Remember, we offer
air tours that circle the famous site of the Wright brothers’ first flights. Call us today to book a flight
around the Wright Brothers National Memorial.