Wilbur Wright Day

05/05/2026

https://vintageaviationnews.com/aviation-museum-news/the-first-flight-society-marks-wilbur-wrights-birthday-raises-over-7000-for-educational-programs.html

The First Flight Society marked Wilbur Wright’s birthday with an event in Nags Head that raised over $7,000 for educational programs. The gathering highlighted ongoing efforts to preserve and share the history of early aviation.

05/01/2026

https://islandfreepress.org/hatteras-island-features/island-history-a-belated-birthday-tribute-to-wilbur-wright/

05/01/2026

We had a successful Wilbur Wright Day celebration! Thanks to everyone who joined us on April 16th.

The First Flight Society, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and sharing the legacy of the Wright Brothers, raised more than $7,000 during a celebration of Wilbur Wright's birthday April 16, 2026.

04/26/2026

https://www.outerbanksvoice.com/2026/04/24/first-flight-society-celebrates-wilbur-wrights-birthday-raises-over-7000/

The First Flight Society, a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving and sharing the legacy of the Wright Brothers, successfully hosted a vibrant celebration in honor of Wilbur Wright’s…

04/18/2026

04/18/2026

04/17/2026

Happy Birthday Wilbur!

04/17/2026

Wishing Wilbur Wright a Happy Birthday last night.

09/13/2025

In August 1901, Octave Chanute descended on Kitty Hawk to visit Wilbur and Orville Wright while they did glider experiments from Big Kill Devil Hill. Before Chanute arrived, the tests had been disappointing. The glider produced more drag and less lift than the brothers had calculated, so they began major changes to the glider. Octave Chanute arrived while the brothers were changing the spars and altering the leading edge of the glider, hoping it would meet their expectations.

With more responsive controls, Wilbur was able to pilot the glider over 389 feet- more than the length of a football field- an American record for a piloted glide. Chanute, as well as others with him, were impressed by the long glides the brothers were able to do. The brothers themselves were less enthusiastic. The glider still would not produce the lift they wanted, and at the time, they had no answer to the problem. Despite their record-setting time, they still had higher expectations for what they wished to accomplish. It would take them close to two more years of experiments to fully understand the dynamics of flight.

Image Description: Historic photo of four men standing in the shade of a wooden building at the Wright Brothers 1901 camp.

09/13/2025

“Regardless of any other recompense for our work… the fact that it had been the means of bringing us the friendship of several exceptionally congenial spirits was alone worth the effort.”

—Wilbur Wright to Griffith Brewer, 1908

Griffith Brewer did not believe in flight until he saw Wilbur Wright soar. A British balloonist and patent attorney, Brewer traveled to Le Mans, France in 1908 to see Wilbur in action.

From that moment forward, Brewer never stopped championing the Wright brothers. He crossed the Atlantic repeatedly to visit Dayton, corresponded with both Orville and Wilbur, and stood firm in the public debate over who truly achieved the first powered flight.

But Brewer’s defense went beyond words. In 1914, he traveled to Hammondsport, New York, where engineers were reconstructing Samuel Langley’s Aerodrome to challenge the Wrights’ claim. Like a careful investigator, Brewer documented modifications to the Aerodrome and exposed them in The New York Times. Later, during World War II, he arranged for the original 1903 Wright Flyer to be safeguarded at London’s Science Museum and helped secure its return to the United States in 1948.



Alt Text:

Orville Wright and Griffith Brewer pose in front of the Wright Brothers Memorial pylon on Kill Devil Hill in 1933. Orville, wearing a dark suit and light hat, stands to the left; Brewer, in a light pinstripe suit and dark hat, stands to the right.

Photo Credit:

Courtesy of Special Collections and Archives, Wright State University Libraries