Believe it or Not!

[WebbPA]

On May 21, 1927, Charles "Lucky" Lindbergh landed his single engine aircraft, "The Spirit of St. Louis" in Paris, winning the $25,000 Orteig Prize offered to the first allied aviator(s) to fly non-stop from New York City to Paris or vice-versa.

Two years later a little known Robert "Believe it or Not!" Ripley established his own claim to fame by publishing the fact that, contrary to popular perception, Lindbergh was the 67th man to make a non-stop flight over the Atlantic.  Unknown to most of the world, a two man British airplane made the Atlantic crossing in 1919. and that same year, an English dirigible flew it with a crew of 31 men. In 1924 a German dirigible repeated the Atlantic flight with its crew of 33. Link

The first non-stop flight in a heavier than air craft was accomplished by Alcock and Brown (Newfoundland to Ireland) in 1919, winning a

[dcunning30]

Also, Lindberg flew secret missions in the Pacific in P-38's.  His purpose was to go over there as technical advisor.  He ended up teaching P38 pilots how to get the best performance and fuel efficiency out of the aircraft for long range missions.

http://www.charleslindbergh.com/history/b24.asp

[murjax]

[quote]On May 21, 1927, Charles "Lucky" Lindbergh landed his single engine aircraft, "The Spirit of St. Louis" in Paris, winning the $25,000 Orteig Prize offered to the first allied aviator(s) to fly non-stop from New York City to Paris or vice-versa.

Two years later a little known Robert "Believe it or Not!" Ripley established his own claim to fame by publishing the fact that, contrary to popular perception, Lindbergh was the 67th man to make a non-stop flight over the Atlantic.

[Hagar]

[quote]The first non-stop flight in a heavier than air craft was accomplished by Alcock and Brown (Newfoundland to Ireland) in 1919, winning a

[expat]

[quote][quote]On May 21, 1927, Charles "Lucky" Lindbergh landed his single engine aircraft, "The Spirit of St. Louis" in Paris, winning the $25,000 Orteig Prize offered to the first allied aviator(s) to fly non-stop from New York City to Paris or vice-versa.

Two years later a little known Robert "Believe it or Not!" Ripley established his own claim to fame by publishing the fact that, contrary to popular perception, Lindbergh was the 67th man to make a non-stop flight over the Atlantic.  Unknown to most of the world, a two man British airplane made the Atlantic crossing in 1919. and that same year, an English dirigible flew it with a crew of 31 men. In 1924 a German dirigible repeated the Atlantic flight with its crew of 33. Link

The first non-stop flight in a heavier than air craft was accomplished by Alcock and Brown (Newfoundland to Ireland) in 1919, winning a

[H]

Robert "Believe it or Not!" Ripley must have been was an American.

Robert Leroy Ripley was born on the 25th of December, 1893, in Santa Rosa, California. Merry Christmas.

8-)

[WebbPA]

Robert "Believe it or Not!" Ripley must have been an American. Alcock & Brown were famous throughout the world except perhaps in the USA. It takes nothing away from Lindbergh's achievement.

Surely you know by now that Americans see nothing that happens outside of America.  If Alcock and Brown had landed in the US instead of Newfoundland Americans would have been yawning over Lindbergh.  Maybe.  But Lindbergh was American and Alcock & Brown were English.

If you need further proof ask the average American which name sounds more familiar - Yuri Gagarin, Alan Shepard or John Glenn.

It's always nice to find someone else that shares my December 25 birthday.

[Hagar]

Robert "Believe it or Not!" Ripley must have been an American. Alcock & Brown were famous throughout the world except perhaps in the USA. It takes nothing away from Lindbergh's achievement.

Surely you know by now that Americans see nothing that happens outside of America.

[expat]

To be fair I'd never heard the name Charles Lindbergh until I saw the film "The Spirit of St. Louis" in the late 1950s. I imagine everyone with the slightest interest in aviation must have seen that film at least once.

Bugger, I thought James Stewart did it first

Matt

[H]

Doesn't change your point but Alcock & Brown took of from St. John's, Newfoundland. They landed in a boggy field near the small town of Clifden, Ireland.

No wonder it was no big deal: Newfoundland was part of the U.K. at the time -- they only made it across the border. Sorry, got carried away by that "The border relations between Mexico and Canada have never been better," quote by Bush.

8-)

[expat]

Doesn't change your point but Alcock & Brown took of from St. John's, Newfoundland. They landed in a boggy field near the small town of Clifden, Ireland.

No wonder it was no big deal: Newfoundland was part of the U.K. at the time -- they only made it across the border. Sorry, got carried away by that "The border relations between Mexico and Canada have never been better," quote by Bush.

8-)

A 1500 mile buffer zone, South Korea could only dream of that

Matt

[Arnimon]

Ask a German and they will say the first person to fly was Otto Linenthal.

Matt

Hey Matt,as a german Citizen you should know now that the Name of this Aircraft Pioneer was Otto Lilienthal.  ::)  ;)

[expat]

Ask a German and they will say the first person to fly was Otto Linenthal.

Matt

Hey Matt,as a german Citizen you should know now that the Name of this Aircraft Pioneer was Otto Lilienthal.  ::)  ;)

Ah, but Arni, I said that if you asked a German. I am English, but as we used to say in a previous life, it was close enough for government work  :D

Matt

[ATI_7500]

(Actually, it was Gustav Weisskopf (Whitehead)).

[expat]

You will be telling us Frank Whittle did not invent the jet engine next

Matt