Charles Lindbergh and His Contribution to Aviation Industry

Charles Augustus Lindbergh was born on Feb. 4, 1902, in Detroit. He was the son of Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Sr., a lawyer, who also served later as a U.S. congressman from Minnesota from 1907 to 1917, which would have opened a lot of doors for him, but he decided to follow his own path.

In early age he showed interest in mechanics and machines, which guided him to study engineering. In 1922 he quit the school, bought his own airplane and became a stunt pilot. In April 1923, Lindbergh made his first ever nighttime flight over Lake Village and Lake Chicot. In 1924 he started training as a pilot with Army Air Service. During later years he flew the mail between St. Louis and Chicago, and he earned a reputation as a cautious and capable pilot.

In 1927 Lindbergh decided to go after the Orteig prize. He helped design a special airplane, which he named "The spirit of Saint Louis". He tested this plane on May 10-11th, by flying from San Diego to New York City, with an overnight stop in St. Louis. The flight took 20 hours, 21 minutes, a transcontinental record. On May 20-21, he went after the prize, and flew his plane from New York to Paris. The non-stop flight took 33.5 hours to complete. He won the Orteig Prize of $25,000. Later on, he published "We", a book about this flight. As "We" he meant himself and his plane.

Between 1931 and 1935 Charles Lindbergh developed an artificial heart for Alexis Carrel, French surgeon and biologist. In 1935 Lindbergh and his family moved to Europe, and while he was there, in 1938 he was presented a German Medal of Honor, by a high Nazi official-Hermann Goering.

In April 1944, Charles Lindbergh became an advisor for US Army and Navy. He started flying combat missions as a civilian, and flew about 50. In the meantime, he developed a cruise control techniques that increased the capabilities of fighter planes.

Lindbergh died of cancer on Aug. 26, 1974, in his home on the Hawaiian island of Maui.