04
Lindbergh, Pioneer Air Scout
For hundreds of years men have wished that they could fly like the birds. Men first made balloons, but they could only drift with the winds. Then, just a few years ago, Orville and Wilbur Wright made an airplane. When they first tried it, they could keep it up only about a minute. It could fly only a quarter of a mile. But that was only the beginning. We shall now see what a strong carrier of men and messages the airplane has become.
OFF TO PARIS
It was a few minutes before eight o'clock on the morning of May 20, 1927. On most days the sun is up and shining in the city of New York long before that hour, but on that morning the sun was not shining. The sky was overcast
with clouds, and there was a mist hanging over the city.
A tall slim young man stepped out of an automobile at the aviation runway on Roosevelt Field. A beautiful new airplane, with the name Spirit of St. Louis, stood near by. The tall young man stood still a moment. He looked up into the sky toward the east and northeast. The weather was bad around New York. What was the weather out on the ocean over which he was to travel? What would it be later in the day? What might it be that night after darkness had set in?
This young man had planned to fly from New York to Paris! Such a flight had never been made before. It was a very dangerous undertaking. One might not have been surprised if there had been fear upon the man's face, but there was no fear. This man was ready to go.
Into the cockpit of the airplane the youth climbed hastily. He started the motor.
"How does it sound?" he asked a man who stood near. The man was the field engineer for the Wright Company, which had built the motor.
"She sounds mighty good to me," the man replied.
The tall youth listened a moment longer.
"Don't you think I might as well go?" he asked.
"Yes, I guess you had better," was the answer.
The roar from the motor filled the air. The tall young man waved his hand to the people who had gathered about the field, and started on the long journey.
It seemed hard for the plane to rise from the ground because it was so heavily loaded. People held their breath for fear the great undertaking might end even before it was well under way. Once off the ground, the airplane barely passed over some trees near by. It flew dangerously near some electric wires. Up—up—higher and still higher it went! Yes, it was really off at last. Charles Lindbergh was on his way to Paris!
People all over the world were hoping and wishing and praying that the brave young man would reach his journey's end safely."Will his engine prove strong and steady enough to make the 3610 miles that lie between New York and Paris?" they asked one another.
"Will the young man be able to remain awake until he reaches the city toward which he is headed?" It might be thirty-five hours. It might be as long as forty hours!
"He will become so tired that he cannot control the ship properly," some predicted. "The steady roar of the motor may cause him to fall asleep," others said.
Then there was the weather about which to wonder. "What was going on out over the ocean?" "Were there many storms?""Would ice gather upon the wings of the airplane and force it down?" This had happened many times before, and had been the cause of the death of more than one brave man of the air.
And while people talked, Charles Lindbergh proceeded on his way. Up along the northeastern coast of the United States the great air-bird was seen from time to time during the day. At 9:05 o'clock it passed over East Greenwich, Rhode Island. At 9:40 o'clock it was sighted at Halifax, Massachusetts. At 12:25 P. M. it flew over Meteghan, Nova Scotia. At 1:05 o'clock in the afternoon Springfield, Nova Scotia, was passed. Finally at 7:45 P.M., just before dark, Lindbergh guided the Spirit of St. Louis like a messenger from another world over the Atlantic Ocean, and on into the great adventure.
CROSSING THE ATLANTIC
No sooner had Lindbergh left Newfoundland than he ran into a cold fog. He was prepared for this, however, for he had put on a warm fur-lined coat. His enclosed cockpit helped to protect him from the cold as well as from the strong wind and rain. Lindbergh pointed the nose of his airplane upward until he had reached a height of ten thousand feet, or about two miles. Below him was a low light fog through which tall icebergs could be seen. This fog kept growing thicker and higher until it reached the very edge of the area through which he was flying. There was no moon at first. It was very dark. People wonder just what Charles Lindbergh's thoughts were as he flew alone above the tossing waves of the Atlantic Ocean all through that long dark night. Perhaps he had in mind just one thought—"To Paris!"And on—on—Lindbergh flew.
The moon came out after a while, and the flying was easier than it had been. But the storm clouds and fog areas were present most of the time.
While making his way through one thick storm cloud, ice formed upon the wings of his airplane. He had to turn back to a clear region and then fly around the cloud. Then other storm clouds appeared. Each time Lindbergh flew around or over them.
At 1 A. M. New York time, the first signs of dawn appeared. With the coming of the day there was perhaps a little more hope than before. The air was warmer for a time, and the small amount of ice which had begun to gather upon the plane melted away.
After a time the sun came up, and all the while the Spirit of St. Louis was roaring on and on toward its distant goal!
There was more fog, there were more storm clouds to pass through or get around, but much of the traveling was in clear weather now. A part of the time Lindbergh found a place not more than ten feet above the water. At this distance there is a cushion of air through which an airplane can travel most easily.
At one time during the morning flight Lindbergh had to direct his plane up fifteen hundred feet to get away from heavy fogs. Even then he ran into storm clouds again, through which he had to travel because he could not get away from them. To tell which way to go, Lindbergh had to watch his compass. Without this he might have gone many miles out of his way.
Some fishing vessels upon the water gave Lindbergh the first sign of land. He lowered his plane until he was down very close to one of the vessels, but he could see no men aboard. In the window of a second fishing boat a man's head appeared. Lindbergh lowered his plane again and quieted his motor as much as he could when just a few feet from the man in the boat.
"Ahoy, there!" he called. "Which way to Ireland?"
Perhaps the fisherman could not understand English. Perhaps he was too surprised to answer. At any rate he did not reply, and Lindbergh directed his plane upward again and continued on his way.
After traveling several hours more, he could see a rough coast line that was partly mountainous. He thought that this must surely be the southeastern coast of Ireland, and soon found that he was really this far on his way toward Paris.
How hopeful he must have been at this time, and how thankful!
PARIS AT LAST—MESSAGES OF GOOD-WILL
In a little over two hours the coast of England appeared. Then across the English Channel the brave flier made his way. At last Cherbourg on the French coast was reached, and not long after, the beacons of the Paris-London airway could be seen. It was dark again—almost 10 P. M. (5 P. M. New York time). Flares had been lighted at the landing field of Le Bourget to attract Lindbergh's notice as he neared Paris. He saw these flares, but traveled a few miles farther to make sure this really was the right landing place, and then he turned back again. He noticed lines of autos crowding the roads near the field, and he could make out the long lines of hangars.
At last Lindbergh brought his plane down upon the aviation field at Le Bourget. He had arrived at the very place for which he had set out just thirty-three and a half hours before!
A great shout went up from the crowd of people which had gathered. Lindbergh had to get out of his plane quickly in order to save it from being damaged by the vast throng which was pressing upon it. For half an hour Lindbergh was carried about upon the shoulders of different men of the crowd. No one carried him very far or seemed to want to take him away. He was just carried around and around within a very small area. Every one shouted and hurrahed, and there was such an uproar it was impossible to hear anyone speak.
At last the French military fliers took charge. One of them quickly removed Lindbergh's helmet and placed it upon the head of an American newspaper reporter who happened to be near.
"Here is Lindbergh!" the Frenchman cried.
At once the reporter was lifted up and carried away, followed by great crowds of people. The reporter did not like this at all, and tried to explain, but it was no use! What he said could not be heard. In the meantime the real Lindbergh, without any helmet upon his head, escaped from the crowd and was taken away by our American ambassador, Myron T. Herrick, in order that he might have a good night's rest.
When Lindbergh arose the next day, the streets of Paris were crowded with people eager to welcome him and do him honor. And from that day on, gifts and honors of all kinds, such as the world had never given to one person, were heaped upon him. Almost every noon there was a dinner with important persons present, and almost every night there was a banquet.
He seemed greatly pleased with it all. He smiled in a way that made people like him even better than ever, and spoke in a way that made friends for himself and for his country as well. Lindbergh extended the friendship of his country, the United States, to the country of France first, and later to the English and Belgian governments. "We want to be your friends," was his message to each country.
AMERICA HONORS THE HERO
By this time the people of the United States were beginning to be eager to see their own American hero. The President and all the people were proud of what Lindbergh had done. They were delighted because of the message of good-will which he had taken to the foreign countries across the water. The President showed what he thought of Lindbergh by sending the United States warship,Memphis,to bring him back home to America. The Spirit of St. Louis could be carried back on the same boat, Lindbergh was told.
Thus in a short time Lindbergh was home again in the United States—and what a welcome awaited him! As in Europe, he was awarded medals of all kinds. The President of the United States presented him with the Distinguished Flying Cross on the first day of his arrival in the city of Washington. Mrs. Evangeline Lindbergh, his mother, was present at this ceremony, and a very happy and proud woman she must have been.
When the city of Washington had conferred all its honors upon Lindbergh, he went to visit New York City, where they planned the biggest celebration ever given any visiting hero!
When the festivities were over in New York, Lindbergh was invited to St. Louis. This was his home city—the city for which his monoplane, the Spirit of St. Louis, had been named. It was also the city in which money had been raised to pay for the making of the airplane and for other expenses of the trip. St. Louis could not turn out so many millions of people to see Lindbergh as did New York City. But there was a hearty welcome and a spirit of pride for what Charles Lindbergh had been able to do.
Paris, Brussels, London, Washington, New York, St. Louis, Chicago! Why did so many cities do their best to honor Lindbergh? This is easy to answer. Charles Lindbergh was brave; he had skill and good health; he was friendly and kind to other people and knew how to make them friendly toward him. Charles Lindbergh was ready to do a great work, and when the time came, the great work was done.
NOTES AND QUESTIONS
1. How far did Lindbergh fly?
2. How many hours was he in the air?
3. Was he in the air about one day, a day and a half, or two days?
4. Give four dangers that Lindbergh faced on his flight.
5. How is a compass helpful in guiding a person?
6. What land across the ocean did he first see?
7. What message did Lindbergh carry to the people of Europe?
8. Here is a list of nine words, and nine sentences with letters in them. Write the letters (a) to (i) on your paper. After each letter write the word that belongs where that letter is in the sentence.
overcast
hangars
uproar
cockpit
airway
throng
beacons
flares
skill
___(a)___ means being able to do something very well.
When the sky is cloudy, we say it is __(b)___.
Airplanes are kept in ___(c)___.
Lights to guide people at night are called ___(d)___ or ___(e)___.
A crowd of people is called a ___(f)___
The route over which airplanes travel is called an ___(g)___.
An aviator sits in the ___(h)___ of his plane.
A mixture of many loud noises is called an ___(i)___.
9. On a map of the world find New York, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Ireland, England, the English Channel, Cherbourg, and Paris. Be ready to show on a wall map just where Lindbergh flew.