J. D. “Dave” Driskill was one of the better accomplished of the USA's aviation pioneers. He was, among other things, America’s first licensed helicopter pilot. The fact that Driskill survived hundreds of flights in the Outer Banks, one of America’s windiest and stormiest regions, testifies to his considerable skills. Owing to his many exploits and numerous aviation firsts in the region, Driskill was dubbed the The Re-Discoverer of the Outer Banks. “The Wright Brothers brought aviation to the world, but Dave Driskill brought aviation to the Outer Banks.” There is a pictorial history of Dave Driskill’s career in the Ready Room at North Carolina’s Dare County regional Airport. Driskill went on to distinguish himself as a highly skilled test pilot. Although he had the Right Stuff, his luck finally ran out on October 3, 1949, when the Kellett XR-10 prototype helicopter he was flight testing suffered a catastrophic failure of its control system
