10/5/13 Charles Lindbergh is an exceptional and very successful fellow, in the world of Aero-space. He also to overcome some very horrific events in his personal life. Charles Lindbergh was born in Detroit. He is aeronautically famous for flying solo across the Atlantic ocean, he took off on the Spirit Of St. Louis and landed in Europe on May 20th, 1927. In 1919 Raymond Orteig wanted to give 25,000 dollars to the first pilot to fly nonstop from New York to Paris. Raymond Orteig was a New York city hotel owner, he obviously didn't care about the madness men went through to make a buck in that time. With several pilots injured, and some even killed competing for the prize, it took a young man with an amazing spirit to win the prize. But he knew he needed the right airplane for the daunting flights. Airplanes were costly at that time (one of the reasons the army stopped the production) especially the one he would need, so he would need to get a loan from Ryan Aeronautical Company of San Diego. They manufactured a specialized plane which he even helped design. Having flown over 3,600 miles, for 33 and a half hours nonstop, they did a good job. He landed at Le Bourget field near Paris. Over 100,000 people were awaiting him. He received several medals including flying cross medal, which was personally given to him by president Coolidge. In 1924 he wanted to be trained as an Army Air Service Reserve Pilot so he enlisted in the U.S. military. He graduated in 1925 as the "best pilot in his class"(Lindbergh Bio). Before his military service, he studied mechanical engineering at the university of Wisconsin, undoubtedly aiding his ability to design the Spirit
