Looking back upon the decade, the 1920s has been filled with many individuals who have changed our society. But there is one person who stands out among this group of people, Charles Augustus Lindbergh. Charles Lindbergh was the first person to fly solo overseas, thus winning the Orteig Prize for his accomplishment. Nicknamed “The Lone Eagle”, Lindbergh has opened up the possibilities of overseas travels to us.
Lindbergh’s passion for mechanics didn’t come as a surprise to many. As a young boy, Charles seemed to be very interested in the family’s motorized vehicles, such as the Saxon Six automobile and Excelsior motorbike. But after starting college in the fall of 1920 as a mechanical engineer, his love for aviation started to bloom. Deciding that the field of aviation was more exciting, he dropped out within 2 years. He then decided to take lessons at the Nebraska Aircraft Corporation’s flying school and was up in the air for the first time on April 9, 1922 when he was in a two seat biplane as a passenger. But his solo flight would not be until May 1923 at the Souther Field in Americus, Georgia, an old flight training field where Lindbergh came to buy a World War I Curtiss JN-4 “Jenny” biplane. It only took half an hour to practice with another pilot at the field to decide that Lindbergh was ready to fly the plane himself. After a week of practicing, Lindbergh took off on his biplane on his first solo cross country flight and few weeks after that, achieving his first nighttime flight near Arkansas, both marking huge milestones for the young pilot.
In October 1925, Lindbergh was hired by the Robertson Aircraft Corporation to lay out, and then serve as the chief pilot for a 278 mile air mail route to provide services between St...
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...he flight to Paris, and a detailed account of the plane. Actually, this book was first written by a reporter, but Lindbergh hated it so much, he simply decided to rewrite it all by himself. The title of the book signified Lindbergh’s spiritual connection with the plane.
Lindbergh also inspired many people to create works based on him. For example, a documentary created 2 years ago showed Lindbergh’s famous flight to Paris, postage stamps were created to honor Lindbergh, Mickey Mouse imitates Lindbergh in a short film last year, a song called the Lindbergh was released after the flight, and a lot more. Charles Lindbergh has revolutionized the world to us today, opening up the possibility of air travel for average citizens, like us. As of now, Charles Augustus Lindbergh is Time’s youngest Person of the Decade. Thank you, Charles, and we will always be in your debt.
Canadian Air Force Office of Public Affairs. (1996). The Flying Career of William Avery Bishop. [WWW Document] Retrieved May 2nd, 2001 from the World Wide Web: http://www.ukans.edu/~kansite/ww_one/comment/bishop.html
New technology in the 1920s attributed to the change. Inventions such as the radio helped improve communication. Court trials, conventions, and meetings were broadcasted. Electrical appliances improved homes. In 1922, Sinclair Lewis wrote, "These standard advertised wares- toothpastes, socks, tires, cameras, instantaneous hot-water heaters were his symbols and proofs of excellence, at first the signs, then the substitutes, for joy and passion and wisdom" (Document A.) The invention of the motion picture was also very significant. The invention of the airplane was influential as well. Charles Lindbergh's nonstop, 33-hour flight from New York to Paris helped increase interest in planes. Afterwards, Lindbergh became almost a world hero. Mary B. Mullett stated in The American Magazine, "When, because of what we believe him to be, we gave Lindbergh the greatest ovation in history, we convicted ourselves of having told a lie about ourselves. For we proved that the "things of good report" are the same today as they were nineteen hundred years ago . . . to have shown us this truth about ourselves is the biggest thing that Lindbergh has done" (Document F.) Within two years, William E. Boeing had created the first commercial airplane and was flying people from San Francisco to Chicago in it. The automobile was the biggest invention of its time. The automobile helped the tourist industry, and created some new businesses, such as gas...
Charles Lindbergh had an impact to the 1930’s. Here’s a couple facts you didn’t know about him.
The preflight arrangements for Charles A. Lindbergh’s flight began in early 1927. Charles A. Lindbergh presented his proposal to Knight, Bixby, and other St. Louis businesspersons whom were impressed with Lindbergh’s confidence and agreed to sponsor his flight. Lindbergh had setup a $15,000 budget and $2,000 of which was Lindberghs. A name, the Spirit of St. Louis, was established. Lindbergh was to choose the plane and decide on all other aspects of the proposed flight. According to Lindbergh, a single-engine plane, rather than a multiengine plane increased the chance of success. His theory was the less weight, the more fuel, the greater range. The experts would say that a solo flight across the Atlantic was simply suicide. The burden on the pilot was considered too great—he would have to stay awake for over thirty hours, enduring constant stresses. Immediately, Lindbergh began searching for the right plane at the right price. He contacted a number of aircraft companies. Some did not respond and some turned him down. Things were not looking good for Lindbergh. In early February 1927, the Ryan Airlines Corporation of San Diego, California, had responded within twenty-four hours of receiving Lindbergh’s telegram regarding a plane for his proposed transatlantic flight. Yes, they could produce a plane that could fly nonstop from New York to Paris. It would cost $6,000 not including the engine, and would take three months to build. The Ryan workers worked on the Spirit of St. Louis morning, noon, and night, seven days a week. Voluntary overtime became a normal operating procedure, and work on most other planes had nearly stopped. After meeting with the company’s president, they decided to modify an existing Ryan model by outfitting the plane with extra fuel tanks and increasing the wing area, thus would give the plane a maximum range of 4,000 miles, more than enough to reach Paris. In the picture to the right, it shows how the main fuel tank in the fro...
When more and more people found out whom they were flying with Lindbergh knew he had to stop because the president would find out. When the president finally did find out he let Lindbergh in the air force as a pilot trainer and someone who could help them with aviation.
Charles Lindbergh helped shape the Jazz Age by his iconic solo flight from New York to Paris in May of 1927 (Gill 3) . In part due to the rapid growth of wealth and technology in the United State during the Jazz Age, when Lindbergh was born the airplane had not been invented by Wilbur and Orville Wright (Gill 13) . A typical example of the Jazz Age comes in the form of a wealthy man named Raymond Orteig. He found himself suddenly go from rags to riches and chose to spend some of his newfound wealth by offering a 25,000 dollar prize for the first person fly solo nonstop from New York to Paris (Gill 49). Lindbergh working as a mail pilot at the time saw the prize and decided to gather a team to build what would be known as The Spirit of St. Lois. When Lindbergh landed in Paris he instantly became famous and created an enormous interest in aviation (Gill 14). This helped contribute to the overall sense of growth, wealth, and new possibilities during the Jazz Age.
One afternoon the young teen took a trip to the county fair in Lawton, Oklahoma. The county fair was host to an aerial exhibition revealing to Wiley Post, his first glimpse of a manned aircraft. It was at that moment when he realized his destiny to become a pilot. Without delay he enrolled in aviation school in Kansas City, Missouri. Post had high hopes to fly for his country, but the war ended faster than he could sign the dotted line.
Charles Lindbergh, an American aviator, flew solo over the Atlantic Ocean, fought in WWII, received many awards, and had been happily married to Anne Morrow Lindbergh for 45 years when he died in 1974 (Ferrara). Through his accomplishments as both a pilot and a soldier, Charles Lindbergh became an American legacy.
During Wilbur Wright’s childhood, he expressed an unusual interest in human flight through playing with models of aircrafts that his father brought home, and studying the bird’s flight outside with his equally as interested brother, Orville Wright. But it was not until Orville was struck with a deadly illness that had no known cure that “Wilbur had begun reading about a German glider… aloud to Orville” which had interested them so much that they began attempting their own aircraft once Orville had made a full recovery on top of managing their own bicycle shop (McCullough 28). It was at this point, when they began to put more of their time
Charles Lindbergh was an escape. He was known for the being the first person to ever fly from one country to another in 2 days, non-stop. Halliday praises Lindbergh, as he was a symbol of heroism, an escape from the depression Halliday experienced in his youth. He also comments the political side of Lindbergh, labeling him as the “appeaser”, as he became politically involved in the anti-war movement by the end of the 1930’s
Wilbur and Orville Wright spent their lives building and working with mechanical devices. They began with little toys as children and then grew up and began working with bicycles. These works lead them towards their work with airplanes. The Wright Brothers tried for many years to build a successful flying machine and succeeded. The Wright Brothers laid the foundation for aviation when they made history by being the first to create a successful flying machine.
What would the world be like without flight? Today we take aircraft for granted but for centuries man could only dream of flight. It was not until the late nineteenth century that human flight started to become a reality. During this time people started to see flight as a possibility, and enthusiastic inventors began working on and experimenting with many different types of flying machines. Although there were many determined people trying to develop an airplane, the Wrights were the first because of their good methods of testing, and their focus on understanding and developing lift and control.
Both Christopher Columbus and Charles Lindbergh are considered American heros. Each overcame great challenges and distinct threats to accomplish their goals. The pair were tenacious for particular reasons and produced varying results. Both men added to American history and culture and inspired adventurers for many years to
Can you imagine a world without airplanes? There would be no fast and convenient way to travel around the world. In fact, the modern airplane is so integrated into our modern and faced-paced society, we would face detrimental problems without them. Thanks to Orville and Wilbur Wright, the invention of the airplane has immensely changed the world as we know it today. The contribution of the airplane makes the Wright brothers two of the most influential people in all of history. In the book The 100: A Ranking of Most Influential People in History, Michael Hart ranked the Wright brothers the 28th most influential people of all time. This ranking is very accurate because Orville and Wilbur Wright have dramatically changed the world in a plethora of different ways. First of all, Orville and Wilbur Wrights development of the airplane has affected the way the world travels around the globe. Next, modern airplanes and fighter jets have remarkably changed the way wars are fought. Also, today’s society has been affected through the massive airplane and air freight industry which adds billions of dollars every year to the world’s economy. Overall, the Wright brothers have irrevocably changed the world in a way that will forever be regarded as one of the most consummate and influential achievements of the 20th Century and all of time.
To best begin the explanation of the airplane’s timeframe, we must first understand what life without the airplane was like. Prior to 1903, Americans relied solely on boats, trains and cars to get them to their desired destination. The method used by most Americans, during the