First Flight Airport

First Flight Airport (IATA: FFA, ICAO: KFFA, FAA LID: FFA) is a public use airport located one nautical mile (2 km) west of the central business district of Kill Devil Hills, a town in Dare County, North Carolina, United States.[1] The airport is owned by the U.S. National Park Service.[1] It is included in the National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–2015, which categorized it as a general aviation facility.[2]

First Flight Airport
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerU.S. National Park Service
ServesKill Devil Hills, North Carolina
LocationWright Brothers National Memorial
Elevation AMSL13 ft / 4 m
Coordinates36°01′06″N 075°40′17″W
Map
FFA
Location of airport in North Carolina
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
3/21 3,000 914 Asphalt
Statistics (2009)
Aircraft operations38,120

The airport itself is famous for being the site of hundreds of pre-flight gliding experiments carried out by the Wright brothers. The Wright Brothers National Memorial, located atop nearby Kill Devil Hill, is a 60-foot granite pylon paying homage to the Wright Brothers and the first sustained heavier-than-air flight.[3] The U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission also chose the airport as one of the stops for the National Air Tour 2003.[4]

History

On December 17, 1903, the first successful powered heavier-than-air aircraft flight occurred here, conducted by the Wright brothers.

Facilities and aircraft

First Flight Airport covers an area of 40 acres (16 ha) at an elevation of 13 feet (4 m) above mean sea level. It has one runway designated 3/21 with an asphalt surface measuring 3,000 by 60 feet (914 x 18 m). For the 12-month period ending August 19, 2009, the airport had 38,120 aircraft operations, an average of 104 per day: 97% general aviation, 3% air taxi, and <1% military.[1]

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References
  1. FAA Airport Master Record for FFA (Form 5010 PDF). Federal Aviation Administration. Effective May 31, 2012.
  2. "2011–2015 NPIAS Report, Appendix A" (PDF). National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems. Federal Aviation Administration. October 4, 2010. Archived from the original (PDF, 2.03 MB) on September 27, 2012.
  3. "Wright Brothers National Memorial". U.S. National Park Service. 2006. Retrieved December 19, 2006.
  4. "The National Park Service and the National Air Tour 2003 Announce Plans for Stop at Wright Brothers National Memorial". U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission. 2003. Archived from the original on September 23, 2006. Retrieved December 19, 2006.


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