Why Is Charles Lindbergh Important In Aviation

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The most interesting man in aviation is Charles Lindbergh. Charles Lindbergh was a man of many talents. He was an inventor, a military officer, an author, and one the best-known aviators in history. He flew as an airmail pilot, barnstormer, a solo pilot, and flew in the Pacific theater. Lindbergh is most-known for his solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean in The Spirit of St. Louis.
According to Biography.com Editors (n.d.), “Charles Lindbergh made his first solo flight in 1923.” These flights consisted of “barnstorming”. “Barnstormers” were known to do daredevil type stunts with airplanes. He was known to do parachute jumps and wing-walking stunts using his CurtissJN-4. “He enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1924 and trained as an Army Air …show more content…

“A twenty-five thousand dollar reward was offered by Raymond Orteig to anyone who could fly non-stop between New York and Paris, France (Charles Lindbergh Biography, (n.d.).” Originally the offer was only valid for five years, but no aviator was able to accomplish the task. Orteig decide he would extend the offer for another five years. At this point aviation and aviation technology had both grown and developed to where this feat seemed to become a more realistic idea. Whether it was the reward or the risk, which he was known to take risk, Lindbergh decided this was an event he wanted to partake in. “With money put up by several St. Louis businessmen, Lindbergh had a plane called the Spirit of St. Louis built (Encyclopedia.com, n.d.). After he received his backing from the businessmen, Lindbergh set out to find the perfect airplane to endure this long journey across the Atlantic Ocean. He thought that a single engine airplane that could only seat one pilot would be the perfect airplane. He thought the more engines the plane had the higher the risk of failure was. He figured a plane that seated only one pilot would be more efficient than two. His reasoning was, the less weight he had on the plane meant that he could carry more fuel. According to Charles Lindbergh: An American Aviator (n.d.), “In February, 1927, Lindbergh's luck improved. Less than 24 hours after hearing of