Lindbergh Flies the Atlantic Alone
Minnesota native Charles A. Lindbergh landed at Le Bourget Airfield, France, to a hero’s welcome shortly after 10 p.m. on May 21, to become the first pilot to fly non-stop across the Atlantic. Lindbergh was 25 years old and had already survived four serious air crashes when he decided to compete for the $25,000 prize offered to the first pilot to complete the feat. Lindbergh’s single-engine monoplane, christened The Spirit of St. Louis, was capable of flying 4,000 miles on 425 gallons of fuel. Lindbergh took off from Roosevelt Field on Long Island, N.Y. on May 20, 1927. His greatest problems on the 33-hour, 30-minute flight were staying awake and keeping ice from forming on the airplane’s wings.
Photo: Library of Congress
