North Carolina Quarter Honors First Flight

This year's second state quarter - the 12th quarter in the State Quarters Program - will honor North Carolina. The coin, which will be issued this month, features an image of the historic first flight of the Wright Brother at Kitty Hawk; the words "First Flight;" and the date that North Carolina ratified the Constitution, November 21, 1789.

On December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Wilbur and Orville Wright first flew their airplane called the Flyer. With Orville as the pilot, and Wilbur running along side, the Flyer flew for 12 seconds, covering a distance of 120 feet. It was the first successful flight of a heavier-than-air, self-propelled flying machine. The brothers made three more flights that day. The longest flight lasted almost a minute and covered 950 feet.

Five other people witnessed the flight, including John T. Daniels who took a photograph with a camera that Orville Wright had set up on a tripod before the flight. The image on the North Carolina Quarter is based on this now famous photograph which shows the Flyer about two feet off the ground.

Earlier in 1903, a respected American scientist published proof that powered flight was impossible. The Wright Brothers had accomplished the "impossible," and a new era was born. The Flyer was damaged by wind that day and was never flown again. It is now on display at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.

The "First Flight" design was chosen for the coin by North Carolina Governor James Hunt, who chose it over two other designs which featured the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.

The North Carolina quarter is the second of five state quarters that will be issued this year. Earlier this year, the New York State quarter featuring an outline of the state and the Statue of Liberty was issued. Later this year, coins celebrating Rhode Island, Vermont, and Kentucky will be issued.