On this day in aviation history, February 4, , famed pilot Charles Lindbergh was born. Known in history as the first pilot to complete a solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean from New York to Paris in the Spirit of St.
Louis , Lindbergh was at one point the most famous airman in the world, and one of its biggest celebrity figures. The scale of his fame from onward has, for many, eclipsed the multiple previous fliers who had crossed the Atlantic, setting previous, less exclusive records. Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr. Lindbergh Sr. Between and , Charles Sr. After attending several schools across the country, Lindbergh graduated from Little Falls High School on June 5, Though tall in build, the young Charles was often quiet around others but was very much mechanically adept.
Though he went to study mechanical engineering at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in , he dropped out during his sophomore year to pursue flying. Louis, Missouri. By , a total of 81 aviators had already flown across the Atlantic, but none directly from New York to Paris or vice versa. He had Ukrainian-born emigree Igor Sikorsky built him a huge trimotor sesquiplane called the Sikorsky S On September 21, , Fonck and his crew, consisting of copilot Lt.
Overloaded with fuel and luxury items ranging from a sofa to a refrigerator, the Sikorsky S crashed at the end of the grass airstrip and burst into flames. However, the year-old Midwestern airmail pilot was a virtual unknown compared to his rivals. These included the crew led by polar explorer and naval aviator Commander Richard E.
Lindbergh needed funding. He had made some connections among St. Lindbergh, at this stage, thought this was the best airplane for the record attempt. Eventually Levine decided to hire endurance flight record holder Clarence Chamberlin. No sooner did Lindbergh return to St. Louis empty-handed than his backers informed him of a company in San Diego, California Ryan Airlines that was willing to build a plane to his specifications in 90 days or less, and almost before he knew it, Lindbergh was on the next train to San Diego.
