May 21, 1927 | Charles Lindbergh Flies Solo Across the Atlantic

Visit the Hartness Airport – With Sandy

Learn about key events in history and their connections to today.

On May 21, 1927, the aviator Charles A. Lindbergh landed his Spirit of St. Louis near Paris, completing the first solo airplane flight across the Atlantic Ocean.

Lindbergh was just 25 years old when he completed the trip. He learned to fly while serving in the Army and was serving as a United States Mail pilot when the New York hotelier Raymond Orteig announced a $25,000 prize for the first pilot to fly nonstop from New York to Paris, or Paris to New York. Lindbergh received financial support from a group of St. Louis businessmen to build a single-engine plane to make the journey. He tested the plane, called the Spirit of St. Louis, with a record-setting flight from San Diego to New York.