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On May 21, 1927, Charles A. Lindbergh completed the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight in history, flying his Ryan NYP "Spirit of St. Louis" 5,810 kilometers (3,610 miles) between Roosevelt Field on Long Island, New York, and Paris, France, in 33 hours, 30 minutes. With this flight, Lindbergh won the $25,000 prize offered by New York hotel owner Raymond Orteig to the first aviator to fly an aircraft directly across the Atlantic between New York and Paris. When he landed at Le Bourget Field in Paris, Lindbergh became a world hero who would remain in the public eye for decades.
The aftermath of the flight was the "Lindbergh boom" in aviation: aircraft industry stocks rose in value and interest in flying skyrocketed. Lindbergh's subsequent U.S. tour in the "Spirit of St. Louis" demonstrated the potential of the airplane as a safe, reliable mode of transportation. Following the U.S. tour, Lindbergh took the aircraft on a goodwill flight to Central and South America, where flags of the countries he visited were painted on the cowling.
"Spirit of St. Louis" was named in honor of Lindbergh's supporters in St. Louis, Missouri, who paid for the aircraft. "NYP" is an acronym for "New York-Paris," the object of the flight.
Lindbergh's plane was a Ryan Aeronautical Company model NYP manufactured in San Diego, CA. At the time it was the longest distance Aircraft built any where in the world and San Diego was a world leader in Aircraft manufacturing. The avian industry valued the 350 day per year clear skies and open flying conditions available in San Diego and so the city became a major leader in Aircraft manufacturing. This lead continued from 1922 until 1991 when the local factory producing F015 Eagles was shut down.
Along the way such notable air planes as the Ryan NYP, the Consolidated PBY-61 Catalina (called the work horse of the Pacific and to this day the most widely produced float plane), the F-14, the F-15, and the Saturn 5 rocket used to land on the moon. There were several dozen more but I will save that for other threads.
The aftermath of the flight was the "Lindbergh boom" in aviation: aircraft industry stocks rose in value and interest in flying skyrocketed. Lindbergh's subsequent U.S. tour in the "Spirit of St. Louis" demonstrated the potential of the airplane as a safe, reliable mode of transportation. Following the U.S. tour, Lindbergh took the aircraft on a goodwill flight to Central and South America, where flags of the countries he visited were painted on the cowling.
"Spirit of St. Louis" was named in honor of Lindbergh's supporters in St. Louis, Missouri, who paid for the aircraft. "NYP" is an acronym for "New York-Paris," the object of the flight.
Lindbergh's plane was a Ryan Aeronautical Company model NYP manufactured in San Diego, CA. At the time it was the longest distance Aircraft built any where in the world and San Diego was a world leader in Aircraft manufacturing. The avian industry valued the 350 day per year clear skies and open flying conditions available in San Diego and so the city became a major leader in Aircraft manufacturing. This lead continued from 1922 until 1991 when the local factory producing F015 Eagles was shut down.
Along the way such notable air planes as the Ryan NYP, the Consolidated PBY-61 Catalina (called the work horse of the Pacific and to this day the most widely produced float plane), the F-14, the F-15, and the Saturn 5 rocket used to land on the moon. There were several dozen more but I will save that for other threads.
No wonder she set down on the first land she saw: Ireland. 
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