Charles Lindbergh and His Contribution to Aviation Industry

Charles Lindbergh and His Contribution to Aviation Industry

Charles Augustus Lindbergh was born on Feb. 4, 1902, in Detroit. He was the son of Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Sr., a lawyer, who also served later as a U.S. congressman from Minnesota from 1907 to 1917, which would have opened a lot of doors for him, but he decided to follow his own path.

In early age he showed interest in mechanics and machines, which guided him to study engineering. In 1922 he quit the school, bought his own airplane and became a stunt pilot. In April 1923, Lindbergh made his first ever nighttime flight over Lake Village and Lake Chicot. In 1924 he started training as a pilot with Army Air Service. During later years he flew the mail between St. Louis and Chicago, and he earned a reputation as a cautious and capable pilot.

In 1927 Lindbergh decided to go after the Orteig prize. He helped design a special airplane, which he named “The spirit of Saint Louis”. He tested this plane on May 10-11th, by flying from San Diego to New York City, with an overnight stop in St. Louis. The flight took 20 hours, 21 minutes, a transcontinental record. On May 20-21, he went after the prize, and flew his plane from New York to Paris. The non-stop flight took 33.5 hours to complete. He won