| The Winds of Kitty Hawk | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Written by | William Kelley Jeb Rosebrook |
| Directed by | E.W. Swackhamer |
| Starring | Michael Moriarty David Huffman Tom Bower Scott Hylands |
| Music by | Charles Bernstein |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producer | Charles Fries |
| Producer | Lawrence Schiller |
| Cinematography | Dennis Dalzell |
| Editor | John A. Martinelli |
| Running time | 98 minutes |
| Production company | Charles Fries Productions |
| Original release | |
| Network | NBC |
| Release | December 17, 1978 |
The Winds of Kitty Hawk is a 1978 American made-for-television biographical film directed by E. W. Swackhamer about the Wright brothers and their invention of the first successful powered heavier-than-air flying machine, the Wright Flyer.[1] It's a tribute to the brothers and was broadcast on December 17, 1978, the 75th anniversary of their famous 1903 first aeroplane flight. It is one of several made-for-television films about historical people in aviation produced in the 1970s, including The Amazing Howard Hughes, Amelia Earhart, and The Lindbergh Kidnapping Case.
The film presents the brothers' lives in dramatic vignettes sometimes historically rearranged. The film makes a claimer at the beginning stating that dramatic license had been taken but for the most part their story is told chronologically.
In 2012, the film became available on DVD from MGM Limited Edition.[2]