ChronoFive
Play today’s puzzle
Setting the scene
Charles Lindbergh completed the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight on May 20-21, 1927, flying from Roosevelt Field, New York, to Le Bourget Field, Paris, in 33.5 hours. Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S. Air Mail pilot, flew the Spirit of St. Louis, a custom-built single-engine Ryan monoplane designed for maximum range. He took off at 7:52 a.m. on May 20, carrying 450 gallons of fuel, no radio, no parachute, and only sandwiches for food, to save weight.
What happened
The flight was extraordinarily dangerous—Lindbergh flew through storms, icing, and fog, navigating by dead reckoning and staying awake by force of will. He had not slept for 24 hours before takeoff. He flew at low altitude over the Atlantic, at times just 10 feet above waves. He arrived over Ireland after 27 hours, then crossed England and France, landing at Le Bourget at 10:22 p.m. Paris time on May 21, to a crowd of 150,000. He had won the $25,000 Orteig Prize for the first nonstop New York-Paris flight.
Why it still matters
Lindbergh's flight made him the most famous person in the world and sparked an aviation boom—airplane production increased 400% in the U.S. within a year. 'Lucky Lindy' embodied American individualism, courage, and technological optimism. His achievement demonstrated the viability of long-distance air travel and accelerated the development of commercial aviation. Though later tarnished by his isolationism before World War II and Nazi sympathies, Lindbergh's 1927 flight remains an iconic moment of the Jazz Age, symbolizing humanity's conquest of distance and the heroism of the pioneer aviator.
Background
Aviation heroes captivated the public.