Charles Lindbergh (1902–1974), the first
man to fly the
Atlantic solo. This
flight was a result of an
offer of $25,000 for the first
man to fly the
New York -
Paris route alone nonstop, and on the morning of May 20, 1927 Lindbergh took off in a modified monoplane (a
plane with just one pair of
wings) called the
Spirit of
St.
Louis. The
flight itself was
treacherous and lasted 33 1/2 hours, and Lindbergh had gone without sleep the 24 hours before he started. After covering 3,610 miles, Lindbergh touched down at Le Bouget airfield in
Paris. He was greeted by 20,000 enthusiastic fans who were there
ready to mob him. Lindbergh called the
experience with the crowd the most
dangerous part of his
flight.
—Class VIII №3, Approved November 1990