Air Force Museum
First Flight Mural
More than 163,000 ceramic tiles form this large mural of the Wright brothers' first powered flight at Kitty Hawk on December 17, 1903. Designer Read Viemeister translated a few seconds of flight into a durable public artwork. The National Aviation Hall of Fame donated the mural to the museum in 1998.
In depth
History & service
This mural was designed by Read Viemeister, who used existing computer techniques for its creation in 1970. First, he converted the photograph into a grid pattern and isolated 20 basic shapes, or values, from the grid. Next he designed 20 symbols to match the isolated values. The symbols were applied to ceramic tiles, which were then assembled to make the mosaic mural as seen at the museum.
The original photograph used in developing the first flight mural was provided by Mrs. Ivonette Wright Miller, a niece of the Wright brothers. The print was made from the original glass negative, taken at Kitty Hawk, N.C., in 1903.
Details that tell the story
Composed of more than 163,000 ceramic tiles · Designed by Read Viemeister in 1970 · Depicts the first powered flight at Kitty Hawk
What survives after the mission
A museum object begins a second life when it stops performing its original job. An aircraft that once carried a crew becomes a place for public memory. A jacket, letter, medal, or small piece of equipment can preserve a much more intimate connection. The object is valuable both for what it reveals physically and for the documented story that gives it meaning.
Famous aircraft and individuals can make a complicated history approachable, but they are only part of it. Many people left no celebrated machine behind. Memorials, personal possessions, unit records, and photographs help recover the experiences of those whose service was less visible. They also preserve loss, separation, captivity, recovery, and the consequences of war for families and communities.
Preservation involves choices. Restoring an aircraft may make its design easier to understand, while retaining wear or damage may protect evidence of its use. A reproduction can explain how a machine worked, provided its identity remains clear. Linking objects across collections helps fill the gaps created when surviving material is dispersed. A uniform in one gallery, an aircraft in another, and a memorial elsewhere can illuminate the same history from different directions. The result is more than a record of machines: it is a way to keep the people, decisions, and experiences connected to them in view.
