"Lindbergh’s plane on the runway", Roosevelt Field, 1927. Long Island Press
Charles Lindbergh made history when he triumphantly made the first
solo non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean on May 21, 1927.
solo non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean on May 21, 1927.
|
"No attempts at jokes today. A slim, tall bashful smiling American boy is somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean where no human being has ever ventured before. If (Charles) Lindbergh is lost it will be the most universally regretted single loss we ever had. But that kid ain't going to fail."
|
-Will Rogers, 1927
Small crowd gathered to see Lindbergh take off from Roosevelt Field, May 20, 1927, Cradle of Aviation
|
Charles Lindbergh in Spirit of St. Louis, 1927. National Air and Space Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution
|
Lindbergh takes off from Roosevelt Field, 1927, National Air and Space Museum Archives, Smithsonian Institution
|
|
"If anybody wasn't standing on tiptoes and holding their breath, they weren't human. It was a tossup - instant fame or flaming gasoline."
|
-John Frogge, New York Times reporter covering Lindbergh's attempt
Lindbergh's Flight Path. Pioneers of Fight, Smithsonian
|
Charles Lindbergh's takeoff and landing in Paris in 1927.
Boyd Kelly |
People greeting Lindbergh at Le Bourget Airport, 1927, National Air and Space Museum
|
"I first saw the lights of Paris a little before 10 P.M., or 5 P.M., New York time, and a few minutes later I was circling the Eiffel Tower at an attitude of about four thousand feet. The lights of Le Bourget were plainly visible, but appeared to be very close to Paris. I had understood that the field was farther from the city, so continued out to the northeast into the country for four or five miles to make sure that there was not another field farther out which might be Le Bourget.
Then I returned and spiralled (sic) down closer to the lights. Presently I could make out long lines of hangars, and the roads appeared to be jammed with cars. I flew low over the field once, then circled around into the wind and landed. I saw there was danger of killing people with my propeller and I quickly came to a stop." -Charles Lindbergh, upon his arrival in Paris
|
May 22, 1927. The New York Times
