1927 – First Trans-Atlantic Flight

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Innovation:  First Trans-Atlantic Flight

Location: New York and Paris
Year:  1927
By: Charles Lindbergh

In 1927, at 7:52 a.m. on May 20^th “a pilot named Charles Lindbergh set out on a historic flight across the Atlantic Ocean, from New York to Paris.” [1] This was the first trans-Atlantic non-stop flight on an airplane. Lindbergh became an American hero, as well as, attracting millions of private investment dollars nearly overnight with the support of millions of Americans. Lindbergh decided that he wanted to go alone on this flight without a navigator in order to carry more fuel. The plane he flew was 28 feet in length, with a wingspan of 46 feet, carrying 450 gallons of gasoline. The trip took 33 hours, 29 minutes and 30 seconds, with fatigue as his main problem. He divided maps from his local library into thirty-three 100-mile segments to make sure that he was on the right path. He arrived in Paris on May 21 at 10:24 p.m. with 80 gallons of fuel to spare.

Air-transport opened up opportunity for people, information and goods to travel long-distance more quickly.  Trans-atlantic and Trans-pacific commercial airlines began services in the late 1930’s

Source: [1]

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