{{Short description|Public use airport in North Carolina, U.S.}} {{Use American English|date=March 2025}} {{Use mdy dates|date=August 2020}} {{Infobox airport | name = First Flight Airport | IATA = FFA | ICAO = KFFA | FAA = FFA | type = Public | owner = [[U.S. National Park Service]] | operator = | city-served = [[Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina]] | location = [[Wright Brothers National Memorial]] | elevation-f = 13 | website = {{URL|https://www.nps.gov/places/000/first-flight-airstrip.htm}} | coordinates = {{coord|36|01|06|N|075|40|17|W|region:US-NC_scale:10000|display=inline,title}} | mapframe = yes | r1-number = 03/21 | r1-length-f = 3,000 | r1-surface = Asphalt | stat-year = 2018 | stat1-header = Aircraft operations | stat1-data = 37,500 | image_alt = Photo of First Flight Airport and Wright Brothers Monument | image = First Flight Airport.jpg | caption = First Flight Airport from {{convert|1,000|ft|abbr=off|sp=us|0}} | footnotes = Source: [[Federal Aviation Administration]]<ref name="FAA" /> }}
'''First Flight Airport''' {{airport codes|FFA|KFFA|FFA}} is a public-use airport located {{convert|1|nmi|spell=in}} west of the central business district of [[Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina|Kill Devil Hills]], a town in [[Dare County, North Carolina]], United States.<ref name="FAA" /> The airport is owned by the [[U.S. National Park Service]].<ref name="FAA" /> It was included in the [[National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems]] for 2011–2015, which [[FAA airport categories|categorized]] it as a ''[[general aviation]]'' facility.<ref> {{cite web |url=http://www.faa.gov/airports/planning_capacity/npias/reports/media/2011/npias_2011_appA.pdf |title=2011–2015 NPIAS Report, Appendix A |format=[[PDF]], 2.03 MB |work=National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems |publisher=Federal Aviation Administration |date=October 4, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120927084535/http://www.faa.gov/airports/planning_capacity/npias/reports/media/2011/npias_2011_appA.pdf |archive-date=September 27, 2012 }} </ref>
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 {{convert|60|ft|abbr=off|adj=on|sp=us|0}} [[granite]] pylon paying homage to the Wright Brothers and the first sustained heavier-than-air flight.<ref name="nps.gov-wrbr">{{Cite web|url=https://www.nps.gov/wrbr/index.htm|title=Wright Brothers National Memorial|access-date=December 19, 2006|publisher=U.S. National Park Service|year=2006}}</ref> The U.S. [[Centennial of Flight Commission]] also chose the airport as one of the stops for the [[Ford National Reliability Air Tour#2003 re-creation|National Air Tour 2003]].<ref name="cof.gov-press-nps3.htm">{{Cite web|url=http://www.centennialofflight.gov/user/news_releases/press-nps3.htm|title=The National Park Service and the National Air Tour 2003 Announce Plans for Stop at Wright Brothers National Memorial|access-date=December 19, 2006|publisher=U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission|year=2003|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060923080649/http://www.centennialofflight.gov/user/news_releases/press-nps3.htm|archive-date=September 23, 2006}}</ref>
==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 [[hectare|ha]]) at an elevation of 13 feet (4 m) above [[mean sea level]]. It has one [[runway]] designated 3/21 with an [[Asphalt concrete|asphalt]] surface measuring {{convert|3000|by|60|ft|m|0}}. For the 12-month period ending April 18, 2018, the airport had 37,500 aircraft operations, an average of about 103 per day: 99% general aviation and 1% [[military aviation|military]].<ref name="FAA">{{cite web|title=Airport Data and Information Portal |url=https://adip.faa.gov/agis/public/#/airportData/FFA |access-date=7 December 2020 }}</ref>
==See also== * [[List of airports in North Carolina]]
== References == {{reflist}}
== External links== {{Commons category}} * [https://www.nps.gov/wrbr/index.htm U.S. National Park Service: Wright Brothers National Memorial] * {{cite web|url= http://www.ncdot.gov/aviation/download/ncairports/AirportGuideFFA.pdf |title=First Flight Airport (FFA) }} at [[North Carolina DOT]] airport guide * [http://msrmaps.com/map.aspx?t=1&s=11&lat=36.0162&lon=-75.6723&w=700&h=900&lp=---+None+--- Aerial image as of March 1993] from [[USGS]] ''[[The National Map]]'' {{US-airport-ga|FFA|-}}
{{Outer Banks}}
[[Category:Airports in North Carolina]] [[Category:Airports established in 1903]] [[Category:Transportation in Dare County, North Carolina]] [[Category:Buildings and structures in Dare County, North Carolina]] [[Category:Outer Banks]] [[Category:National Park Service areas in North Carolina]] [[Category:1903 establishments in North Carolina]]