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Natalie Grosso
Mrs. Grasso
6th grade D.I.T, period 2
November 28, 2012
The lindberghh Flight
Nearly a thousand persons cross the Atlantic Ocean every day in
warm, modern planes. Riding as though in a luxury bus, these persons
eat, sleep, and read as they fly above the clouds. Weather stations guide
the course of each flight. A trained crew gets the plane to Europe in a
few hours.
Seven decades ago, however, there was only one plane in the skies between New York
and Paris. It was the Spirit of St. Louis, a small single-engine craft for one pilot. He was trying
to make the long flight without stopping once.
The pilot of this plane was Charles lindberghh. At the age of 25, he had designed the
plane, the engine, and the equipment needed for this trip. He had very little money; so, a group
of St. Louis businessmen raised $15,000 to help him out. The plane was named in honor of these
men.
In May, 1927, lindbergh had his plane ready and loaded in New York. Day after day, the
weather stayed bad; so, he went over his engine and studied his maps.
On May 19, the weather turned good. Early the next morning, with five sandwiches, five
quarts of water, some maps, and a passport, lindbergh took his heavy, loaded plane down the
runway in New York and headed for Paris.

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Far out over the ocean, lindbergh braced himself for his great struggle. He coaxed his
plane higher and higher. Then ice began to form on the wings, and he had to twist off course to
escape the storm. At dawn he was only halfway across the ocean.
His need for sleep was great. To keep awake, he moved from side to side, slapped his
face, stamped his feet. He ate his first sandwich, the only one he ate during the whole trip.
Finally and luckily he picked up a strong tail wind.
By the afternoon he saw some fishing boats in the water- land was near! Then he saw it,
the southern tip of Ireland; he was on course. He crossed England, and it was dark. Then onto
Paris! He had made it! He had come more than 3,600 miles in a little over 33 hours, by himself!
He landed in Paris!
All through his flight, the world had paused in its work to eat up each bit of news about
him. The world knew he had passed a ship, had reached Ireland, and was over England. By the
time he landed in Paris, a great crowd was waiting for him.
The crowd rushed forward and swept lindbergh to their shoulders, singing and
shouting in their admiration for what he had done - the first to fly so far, and alone. Truly, al the
world, and especially America, was proud of him.