The Flight
Charles Lindbergh was working as an air mail pilot in the Midwest when he convinced a group of St. Louis businessmen to fund his attempt to make the trans-Atlantic flight. Lindbergh worked with a San Diego-based plane company to custom-build the plane according to the strict specifications needed to make the journey. Lindbergh christened his plane the Spirit of St. Louis, in honor of his generous backers.
Not only was Lindbergh attempting the flight in a single-engine plane but Lindbergh was going to try it alone, without a co-pilot. Convinced that Lindbergh's endeavor would surely end in his death, newspapers called him the flying fool.
The Spirit of St. Louis was filled with so much fuel to make the flight, one of Lindbergh's biggest challenges would be upon take off, people Wondered if his plane actually get airborne.
At 7:54 am on May 20, 1927, Lindbergh's plane raced down the runway on Roosevelt Field. The plane's greatest obstacle lay at the end of the runway - telephone lines strung from pole to pole. the Spirit of St. Louis cleared the wires With 20 feet to spare Lindbergh was on his way across the Atlantic Ocean.
A sleep-deprived Lindbergh battled drowsiness along the way, but managed to safely touch down at Le Bourget Field near Paris. Hundreds of thousands cheered Lindbergh's unprecedented achievement. Lindbergh's flight made headlines around the world. A trip which would have taken a week by boat, had been made in only 33 and a half hours.
When Lindbergh returned home, America greeted their new hero with unbridled enthusiasm. 4 million people lined the streets of New York City for a parade in his honor. Politicians and businessmen eager to promote air travel commissioned Lindbergh to fly the Spirit of St. Louis throughout the United States. Over the course of three months, Lindbergh visited 92 cities in 49 states, extolling the virtues of flight to a captivated American audience. When Lindbergh completed his national tour, he continued to publicize the benefits of aviation with trips to Central and South America. Lindbergh hoped that aviation might further connect different countries and foster greater understanding between cultures.
In the years following his famous trans-Atlantic flight, Lindbergh would remain a prominent figure in the world of aviation. Lindbergh was hired as an advisor to an airline, naming its new transcontinental route the "Lindbergh Line." He flew unchartered territories with his wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, plotting new air routes for Pan Am in the late 1920s and early 1930s.
Not only was Lindbergh attempting the flight in a single-engine plane but Lindbergh was going to try it alone, without a co-pilot. Convinced that Lindbergh's endeavor would surely end in his death, newspapers called him the flying fool.
The Spirit of St. Louis was filled with so much fuel to make the flight, one of Lindbergh's biggest challenges would be upon take off, people Wondered if his plane actually get airborne.
At 7:54 am on May 20, 1927, Lindbergh's plane raced down the runway on Roosevelt Field. The plane's greatest obstacle lay at the end of the runway - telephone lines strung from pole to pole. the Spirit of St. Louis cleared the wires With 20 feet to spare Lindbergh was on his way across the Atlantic Ocean.
A sleep-deprived Lindbergh battled drowsiness along the way, but managed to safely touch down at Le Bourget Field near Paris. Hundreds of thousands cheered Lindbergh's unprecedented achievement. Lindbergh's flight made headlines around the world. A trip which would have taken a week by boat, had been made in only 33 and a half hours.
When Lindbergh returned home, America greeted their new hero with unbridled enthusiasm. 4 million people lined the streets of New York City for a parade in his honor. Politicians and businessmen eager to promote air travel commissioned Lindbergh to fly the Spirit of St. Louis throughout the United States. Over the course of three months, Lindbergh visited 92 cities in 49 states, extolling the virtues of flight to a captivated American audience. When Lindbergh completed his national tour, he continued to publicize the benefits of aviation with trips to Central and South America. Lindbergh hoped that aviation might further connect different countries and foster greater understanding between cultures.
In the years following his famous trans-Atlantic flight, Lindbergh would remain a prominent figure in the world of aviation. Lindbergh was hired as an advisor to an airline, naming its new transcontinental route the "Lindbergh Line." He flew unchartered territories with his wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, plotting new air routes for Pan Am in the late 1920s and early 1930s.