Kitty Hawk, North Carolina | ||
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Town | ||
Kitty Hawk Airfield in June 1998
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Motto: "First in Flight" | ||
Location in Dare County and the state of North Carolina. |
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Coordinates: 36°4′37″N 75°42′17″W / 36.07694°N 75.70472°WCoordinates: 36°4′37″N 75°42′17″W / 36.07694°N 75.70472°W | ||
Country | United States | |
State | North Carolina | |
County | Dare | |
Area | ||
• Total | 8.23 sq mi (21.3 km2) | |
• Land | 8.18 sq mi (21.2 km2) | |
• Water | 0.05 sq mi (0.1 km2) | |
Elevation | 7 ft (2 m) | |
Population (2010) | ||
• Total | 3,272 | |
• Density | 400/sq mi (150/km2) | |
Time zone | Eastern (EST) (UTC-5) | |
• Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) | |
ZIP code | 27949 | |
Area code(s) | 252 | |
FIPS code | 37-36060 | |
GNIS feature ID | 1021059 | |
Website | townofkittyhawk.org |
Kitty Hawk is a town in Dare County, North Carolina, and is a part of what is known as North Carolina's Outer Banks. The population was 3,272 at the 2010 Census. It was established in the early 18th century as Chickahawk.
Kitty Hawk became world-famous after the Wright brothers made the first controlled powered airplane flights at the Kill Devil Hills, four miles (6 km) south of the town, on December 17, 1903. After the flights, the brothers walked back to Kitty Hawk, where they sent a telegram from the Weather Bureau office to their father informing him of their success. Kitty Hawk is usually credited as the site of the powered flights because it was the nearest named settlement at the time of the flight; the modern town of Kill Devil Hills did not exist until 50 years after the flights. The Wrights chose the area because its frequent winds and soft sandy surfaces were suitable for their glider experiments, which they conducted over a three-year period prior to making the powered flights.
The aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk (CV-63), the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber AV-19 with an aircraft number of 93-1086, P-40D Kitty hawk fighter aircraft, the aircraft transport ship USS Kitty Hawk (AKV-1), and the Apollo 14 command module have been named for the town, which incorporated in 1981.
The Kitty Hawk Life-Saving Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.