The impact of Kitty Hawk's U.S. Weather Bureau station and the two nearby lifesaving stations upon the obtainment of powered-flight is sometimes minimized. However, until Wilbur and Orville received the weather data from the U.S. Weather Bureau in Washington D.C., neither had heard of Kitty Hawk. But after viewing the sustained wind levels and receiving word from the station about the topography, the Wrights made a trip. While at Kitty Hawk the Wrights made frequent use of the weather station where among other things they calibrated their anemometers and sent telegraphs to the outside world, including the telegram of December 17, 1903. More important to the Wrights on a daily basis were the salty and courageous men of the Kill Devil Hill lifesaving station. Unknowingly caught in a moment of history, these lifesavers ironically hold several of the first accolades associated with flight. This includes the group recognition of being the "world's first flight crew," as well as individual titles by J.T. Daniels as "the first airplane casualty" and "the first photographer of flight."

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Kitty Hawk Weather Station	for Wind Velocity and Precipitation
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