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National Geographic Adventures Charles Lindbergh The Lone Eagle
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In 1927, an unknown air mail pilot |
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enters a race against |
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He will fly from New York to Paris, |
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Charles Lindbergh is a dark horse |
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He risks his life |
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and he lands as |
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The story is an American legend: |
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Lindbergh's dream to prove |
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A Lone Eagle, who inspires the world |
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Early in the 20th century, |
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Few people dare to fly, and those |
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The heavens beckon, and then destroy. |
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The most lethal challenge is |
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A feat so hazardous that, in 1919, |
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a New York millionaire |
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to the first plane to fly non-stop |
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No one dares. Planes are too slow, |
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Three years pass. |
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Then, at a remote airfield |
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a twenty-year old from rural Minnesota |
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in the uncertain world of flight. |
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Charles Lindbergh |
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after just one year |
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Lindbergh wants to be a pilot. |
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When a daredevil named Erold Bahl |
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the young Lindbergh sees a way |
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Bahl admires |
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and decides to take him |
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Lindbergh is self-reliant, |
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He is shy and modest, but determined. |
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Lindbergh knows aviation is his future. |
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He is electrified by the perils |
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"Trees become bushes; barns, toys; |
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I lose all conscious connection |
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I live only in the moment |
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crowded with beauty, |
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In the air, Lindbergh shows no fear, |
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perfecting the most perilous |
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Wingwalking... |
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Then skydiving, |
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He makes hundreds of jumps. |
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With each leap, he risks his life, |
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"Of course there's danger; |
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but a certain amount of danger |
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I don't believe in |
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but nothing can be accomplished |
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What civilization was not founded |
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and how long could one |
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What justifies the risk of life?" |
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Lindbergh masters the single-engine |
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Over the next year, |
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performing stunts |
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Then, Charles Lindbergh decides |
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to his flying infatuation. |
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In 1924, he enlists in the US Army |
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Lindbergh wants to hone his skills |
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and the Air Corps owns some of |
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Flying in formation |
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and about the dangers of carelessness. |
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On a routine flight, Lindbergh |
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Both pilots narrowly escape |
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Lindbergh is back in the air |
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Nothing can keep him out of the skies. |
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Of the hundred and four men |
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only nineteen pass. |
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Lindbergh, once a first-year |
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now graduates at the top of his class. |
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When his one-year army tour is over, |
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Lieutenant Lindbergh goes to |
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of the burgeoning aviation industry, |
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St. Louis has ambitions |
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Lindbergh's experience |
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but most dangerous job on the field: |
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chief pilot of the Air Mail |
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Air mail pilots live short lives. |
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Thirty one of forty are killed |
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in the first five years of service. |
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The planes are World War One surplus. |
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Pilots call them "flaming coffins." |
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But Lindbergh ignores the terrifying |
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He believes the skies must be tamed. |
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What a future aviation has; |
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Somehow they must be made to |
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It is 1926. |
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Seven years have passed |
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since the 25,000 dollar prize was |
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Not one aviator has stepped forward. |
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But Charles Lindbergh |
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Throughout the year, |
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Lindbergh carries the mail through |
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With little more than a compass and |
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Twice, in the dead of the night, |
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he is forced to parachute |
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He dutifully runs his fuel tanks dry |
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to prevent letters |
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He breaks the nation's record for |
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and earns a new nickname from |
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The crashes shake the public's opinion |
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Charles Lindbergh makes it |
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"Whether the mail compartment |
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contains ten letters or ten thousand |
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We have faith in the future. |
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Some day we know the sacks will fill." |
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Lindbergh can only dream of |
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while another pilot flies to fame. |
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On May 9, 1926, US Navy |
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flies his three-engined Fokker |
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The achievement sums up Byrd himself: |
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part science, part adventure, |
| 00:11:16 |
Richard Byrd is acclaimed |
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With the Arctic defeated, Byrd now |
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and the seven-year-old challenge |
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Byrd plans a mission for a crew of |
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most expensive planes ever built. |
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But another pilot beats him |
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On September 15, 1926, |
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French war ace Renee Fonck sets off |
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But Fonck's huge, overloaded plane |
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Two crewmen are killed in the wreck. |
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Fonck survives, his dream in ruins. |
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But Charles Lindbergh takes inspiration |
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It is the first time he has heard of |
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Lindbergh decides to enter the race. |
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But his plan is different. |
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He will fly with just one engine. |
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And, he will do it alone. |
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It would be a thirty-six hour, |
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But first, he needs a decent plane. |
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Lindbergh approaches eight of |
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Inspired by the young man's boldness, |
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they stake Lindbergh |
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gambling that the publicity |
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the aviation hub of the Midwest. |
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Lindbergh offers his own life savings, |
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In February, 1927, |
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the only manufacturer that will build |
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His destination is |
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and a company he has never heard of |
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But no one has ever heard of |
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On February 25th, 1927, Lindbergh |
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First impressions are discouraging: |
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a dilapidated hangar, with no runway, |
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Ryan's owner is barely a year |
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Benjamin Franklin Mahoney, |
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who bought the company |
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He shares Lindbergh's passion |
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and his desire to win |
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Donald Hall is Ryan's only engineer. |
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He's also young, just twenty-seven. |
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Hall is astounded by Lindbergh's |
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sleepless flight to Paris. |
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But a crew of one would mean |
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He begins sketches at once for |
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Lindbergh wires his sponsors |
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"Believe Ryan capable of building plane |
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Delivery within sixty days. |
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Recommend closing deal. |
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Lindbergh." |
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Lindbergh has his team. |
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Now, it's time to get to work. |
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The aircraft will be an extension of |
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"Every part of it can be designed |
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every line fashioned to |
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I can inspect each detail before |
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I can build my own experience |
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The young men who plan a leap |
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need to know precisely |
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Lindbergh has a primitive solution. |
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The bit of white grocery |
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stretches taut along |
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bends down over a faded blue ocean, |
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It's 3600 statute miles. |
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It will be twenty-eight hours to |
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Lindbergh will use a simple compass to |
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then across two thousand miles |
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with no hope of surviving |
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As Lindbergh's work gets under way, |
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On March 2, in New York, |
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Richard Byrd announces that his plan |
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Byrd has built a 100,000 dollar, |
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gigantic aircraft named "America," |
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Just two weeks later, in Virginia, |
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American Navy pilots Noel Davis |
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unveil their own contender: |
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But Lindbergh holds to his plan |
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He is certain that |
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the bigger the chance of |
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Then, on March 26, a new challenger |
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Ace Charles Nungesser and his |
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are ready for a westbound |
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the "White Bird." |
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The Ryan team works around the clock, |
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a race against the world's |
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all for a twenty-five year old with |
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Then comes a stunning blow. |
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In mid-April, American pilot |
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he has stayed aloft |
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fifty-one hours in skies |
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His powerful plane Columbia |
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Four planes are ready to go, |
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waiting only for clear skies |
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while Charles Lindbergh is |
| 00:19:02 |
still waiting for his aircraft |
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Suddenly, the odds begin to change. |
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A test flight of Byrd's America |
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Byrd and two of his crewmen |
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and the America needs weeks |
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Eight days later, |
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Clarence Chamberlin takes off |
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He crash lands the Columbia. |
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Chamberlin walks away, |
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Noel Davis and Stanton Wooster |
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On April 26, both men are killed |
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when their overloaded plane |
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Lindbergh's prediction has come |
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Loaded down multi engine giants are |
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Two Americans and four Frenchmen |
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in the race to link their nations. |
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April 28, 1927. |
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Two months after Charles Lindbergh |
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his dream plane is born |
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Named in honor of his backers |
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the Spirit is just over |
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with a forty-six foot wing span. |
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The plane is trucked to a local |
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For Lindbergh, Mahoney, and Hall, |
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The Spirit of St. Louis is all |
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"I've never felt a plane |
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There's a huge reserve of power." |
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There are no front windows. |
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A gas tank blocks Lindbergh's |
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Visibility and comfort have been |
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Weighing just over a ton empty, |
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the Spirit is a tiny challenger to |
| 00:23:02 |
The first test is a stunning success. |
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Every possible ounce of weight |
| 00:23:14 |
Lindbergh will confront the Atlantic |
| 00:23:17 |
without navigational instruments, |
| 00:23:21 |
He has thought through everything |
| 00:23:30 |
He makes two dozen test flights, |
| 00:23:34 |
The time has come to leave for |
| 00:23:42 |
But he may be too late. |
| 00:23:43 |
On May 8, French aviators Nungesser |
| 00:23:54 |
The next day, |
| 00:23:55 |
newspapers report the French aces |
| 00:24:01 |
So close to fulfilling his dream. |
| 00:24:05 |
Lindbergh despairs he has lost the race. |
| 00:24:16 |
But Nungesser and Coli |
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Their aircraft mysteriously disappear. |
| 00:24:22 |
It is never found. |
| 00:24:25 |
Six Men have now been sacrificed. |
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But Lindbergh has been granted |
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May 10, 1927. |
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Lindbergh says goodbye to |
| 00:24:39 |
Donald Hall, |
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They have built the Spirit, |
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it is now up to Charles Lindbergh |
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before any other pilot |
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But first, he must stop in St. Louis |
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He flies all night, testing the Spirit, |
| 00:25:10 |
He calculates fuel consumption |
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his planned airspeed over the Atlantic. |
| 00:25:17 |
And he practices holding his course |
| 00:25:21 |
It is dry run, over land, |
| 00:25:33 |
Fourteen hours and twenty-five minutes |
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Charles Lindbergh lands the Spirit of |
| 00:25:42 |
He has broken the world speed record |
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"No man has ever traveled so fast |
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Lindbergh's sponsors want to show off |
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but the great race to Paris will not |
| 00:26:01 |
They urge him on to New York. |
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Seven and a half hours later, |
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"Manhattan Island lies below me |
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millions of people, |
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each one surrounded by a little aura |
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hardly conscious of |
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What a contrast to the western spaces |
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I feel cooped up just looking at it" |
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At 4:31 PM, on May 12, 1927, |
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the tiny Spirit of St. Louis touches |
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Charles Lindbergh has crossed |
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more quickly than any man in history. |
| 00:27:08 |
Suddenly, the race to Paris |
| 00:27:11 |
A young daredevil |
| 00:27:14 |
with the fastest plane in the sky. |
| 00:27:21 |
In the Spring of 1927, three aircraft |
| 00:27:25 |
are lined up in the race to be |
| 00:27:32 |
Charles Lindbergh's |
| 00:27:37 |
Richard Byrd's rebuilt America, |
| 00:27:41 |
and Clarence Chamberlin's |
| 00:27:46 |
All three are ready to go, but bad |
| 00:27:55 |
The fliers maintain a link of |
| 00:27:58 |
The national hero Byrd is courteous |
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and the young outsider Lindbergh. |
| 00:28:08 |
Each understands that the best man |
| 00:28:13 |
And that any, or all of them |
| 00:28:21 |
Charles Lindbergh gives the press |
| 00:28:27 |
The underdog, |
| 00:28:29 |
the farm boy, |
| 00:28:32 |
the Flyin' Fool. |
| 00:28:39 |
Lindbergh is besieged. |
| 00:28:40 |
On one day alone, |
| 00:28:42 |
30,000 people come to catch a glimpse |
| 00:28:51 |
Publicity is good for the cause of |
| 00:28:57 |
"The journalistic atmosphere |
| 00:29:00 |
The moment I step outside the hangar |
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The attention of the entire country |
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We've helped focus everybody's eyes |
| 00:29:15 |
His mother arrives in New York |
| 00:29:18 |
Cameras turn as the two |
| 00:29:22 |
a moment they both know may be |
| 00:29:34 |
Commander Byrd admires Lindbergh, |
| 00:29:41 |
But he is certain that a single engine, |
| 00:29:44 |
cannot possibly endure |
| 00:29:54 |
Seven days pass and the weather |
| 00:30:02 |
"The sky is overcast. |
| 00:30:04 |
Rain is falling. |
| 00:30:06 |
It may be another week or two |
| 00:30:10 |
I feel depressed at the thought". |
| 00:30:15 |
May 19, 1927. |
| 00:30:18 |
Bored and restless, Lindbergh accepts |
| 00:30:24 |
Before reaching the show, |
| 00:30:25 |
he receives a forecast of |
| 00:30:29 |
He races back to his hotel, hoping to |
| 00:30:37 |
But Lindbergh is far too excited |
| 00:30:40 |
At 2:30 AM, already awake |
| 00:30:43 |
he begins preparing for |
| 00:30:51 |
At dawn, the Spirit of St. Louis |
| 00:30:56 |
Five hundred soaked spectators gather, |
| 00:30:59 |
eager to be witnesses to history, |
| 00:31:03 |
"My plane lurches backward |
| 00:31:07 |
It looks awkward and clumsy. |
| 00:31:09 |
It appears completely incapable of |
| 00:31:14 |
It's more like a funeral procession |
| 00:31:16 |
than the beginning of |
| 00:31:19 |
7:30 AM, May 20, 1927. |
| 00:31:28 |
Fully fueled, the plane weighs |
| 00:31:32 |
Lindbergh has never attempted |
| 00:31:42 |
The commotion has awakened |
| 00:31:47 |
Byrd himself would not dare attempt |
| 00:31:54 |
But the pilot nicknamed "Lucky" |
| 00:32:11 |
A reporter asks Lindbergh |
| 00:32:12 |
if he has brought enough supplies to |
| 00:32:29 |
He has packed just five sandwiches |
| 00:32:33 |
He answers with a grim joke. |
| 00:32:37 |
"If I get to Paris |
| 00:32:40 |
and if I don't get to Paris |
| 00:32:44 |
Loaded with explosive fuel, on a |
| 00:32:49 |
the Spirit lumbers into position. |
| 00:32:56 |
It is a vital moment in the history of |
| 00:33:04 |
A tiny silver plane, straining |
| 00:33:09 |
who has passed the point |
| 00:33:12 |
He will take off, or he will crash. |
| 00:33:27 |
Lindbergh clears wires at the end of |
| 00:33:39 |
And Lindbergh is gone. |
| 00:33:46 |
As the Spirit of St. Louis disappears |
| 00:33:50 |
Commander Richard Byrd |
| 00:33:52 |
the odds against Lindbergh's survival |
| 00:34:00 |
As his thirty-six hour odyssey begins, |
| 00:34:10 |
50-cent highway maps guide him |
| 00:34:21 |
He alternates fuel tanks every hour |
| 00:34:25 |
and keeps a careful log of speed, |
| 00:34:33 |
The Spirit's engine is the most |
| 00:34:36 |
223 horsepower of aluminum and steel. |
| 00:34:40 |
It must perform perfectly for almost |
| 00:34:45 |
fourteen million explosions in |
| 00:35:00 |
As he leaves Massachusetts behind, |
| 00:35:02 |
Lindbergh heads over open ocean |
| 00:35:06 |
250 miles from Cape Cod |
| 00:35:10 |
a preview of the 2,000 mile ordeal |
| 00:35:14 |
He flies low, and faces the sea. |
| 00:35:24 |
"I come down to meet the ocean, |
| 00:35:31 |
the right to pass for thousands of |
| 00:35:42 |
The earth released me on Long Island; |
| 00:36:02 |
The skies clear. |
| 00:36:03 |
But in the sun, Lindbergh begins |
| 00:36:08 |
He already regrets staying awake |
| 00:36:18 |
New York is just five hours |
| 00:36:21 |
As he soars over Nova Scotia, |
| 00:36:33 |
Navigating by a simple compass heading, |
| 00:36:35 |
he is only six miles off |
| 00:36:46 |
But as each hour passes, |
| 00:36:49 |
and the monotony of the waves, |
| 00:36:52 |
Urging surrender, demanding sleep. |
| 00:37:06 |
Twelve hours after takeoff, |
| 00:37:07 |
still a day away from a seemingly |
| 00:37:11 |
he is over Newfoundland. |
| 00:37:13 |
One quick wingover, |
| 00:37:27 |
"North America and its islands |
| 00:37:30 |
Ireland is two thousand miles ahead." |
| 00:37:38 |
Now, Lindbergh has only his compass |
| 00:37:43 |
Caught between sky and sea, |
| 00:37:45 |
no traveler in history |
| 00:37:53 |
The first night of his journey begins. |
| 00:38:01 |
"I've given up a continent and taken on |
| 00:38:11 |
Over the North Atlantic, |
| 00:38:12 |
not far from where the Titanic sank |
| 00:38:16 |
Lindbergh spots icebergs. |
| 00:38:19 |
He dreams of landing and sleeping. |
| 00:38:22 |
If he drifts off, |
| 00:38:24 |
he will tumble into the waves and die. |
| 00:38:36 |
"Sleep is winning." |
| 00:38:42 |
At this moment, |
| 00:38:45 |
40,000 people gather at |
| 00:38:49 |
The announcer asks the audience |
| 00:38:53 |
All 40,000 join as one. |
| 00:39:05 |
Over the Atlantic, Lindbergh |
| 00:39:09 |
He climbs above them |
| 00:39:11 |
But at ten thousand feet, |
| 00:39:15 |
He has made a dangerous mistake. |
| 00:39:18 |
"I pull the flashlight from my pocket |
| 00:39:27 |
Ice!" |
| 00:39:30 |
His only hope is to dive for warmer air |
| 00:39:37 |
and pray the ice clears |
| 00:39:44 |
After ten perilous minutes, |
| 00:39:58 |
A nation flies with him, |
| 00:40:01 |
The New York Times receives 10,000 |
| 00:40:11 |
But there is no news to print. |
| 00:40:13 |
Lindbergh flies alone, without a radio, |
| 00:40:36 |
Nineteen hours out, he estimates that |
| 00:40:40 |
But his body is numb, |
| 00:40:45 |
"My greatest goal now is to stay alive |
| 00:40:48 |
and pointed eastward |
| 00:41:00 |
He abandons his log book, |
| 00:41:10 |
In New York, |
| 00:41:11 |
the newspapers can only repeat |
| 00:41:15 |
No one on earth knows where Lindbergh |
| 00:41:22 |
"This is the hour I've been dreading. |
| 00:41:30 |
I know it's the beginning |
| 00:41:34 |
This early hour of the second morning |
| 00:41:41 |
Just before dawn, Lindbergh believes |
| 00:41:48 |
"These phantoms speak with |
| 00:41:52 |
vapor like shapes, without substance. |
| 00:41:58 |
The feeling of flesh is gone. |
| 00:42:00 |
Am I now more man or spirit?" |
| 00:42:19 |
On the verge of defeat and death, |
| 00:42:25 |
"I'm gaining strength, |
| 00:42:29 |
I've finally broken the spell of sleep. |
| 00:42:32 |
The sight of death has drawn out |
| 00:42:41 |
His ghosts, and his fears, |
| 00:42:59 |
Suddenly he sees something |
| 00:43:03 |
The world has come alive again. |
| 00:43:10 |
Porpoises. |
| 00:43:19 |
Then a seagull. |
| 00:43:20 |
A certain sign that land must be near. |
| 00:43:25 |
Soon, a tiny dot |
| 00:43:32 |
Fishing boats. |
| 00:43:35 |
Where is he? |
| 00:43:36 |
Where are they from? |
| 00:43:42 |
Within half an hour, |
| 00:43:44 |
He refuses to believe his eyes. |
| 00:43:47 |
Land. |
| 00:43:48 |
He looks at the chart, |
| 00:43:55 |
It is Ireland. |
| 00:44:01 |
He is just three miles off |
| 00:44:04 |
and over two hours earlier |
| 00:44:16 |
When he is spotted over Dingle Bay, |
| 00:44:20 |
For Charles Lindbergh |
| 00:44:27 |
Only the British Isles remain, |
| 00:44:30 |
Then, France. |
| 00:44:39 |
Lindbergh will be the first man in |
| 00:44:45 |
and Paris the next. |
| 00:44:48 |
"Yesterday I walked on Roosevelt field, |
| 00:44:58 |
Five hours after reaching Ireland, |
| 00:45:02 |
Lindbergh is finally over Paris. |
| 00:45:05 |
But at this moment of triumph, |
| 00:45:11 |
He circles lower. |
| 00:45:13 |
He finally locates Le Bourget Airfield, |
| 00:45:18 |
Below him, a public hysteria unlike |
| 00:45:26 |
One hundred and fifty thousand people |
| 00:45:31 |
The lights are their automobiles. |
| 00:45:41 |
At 10:24 PM, after thirty-three |
| 00:45:45 |
the Spirit of St. Louis returns |
| 00:45:58 |
But his feet do not even touch |
| 00:46:01 |
The mob surges forward, carrying the |
| 00:46:06 |
They claw at the Spirit of St. Louis, |
| 00:46:15 |
A group of French aviators |
| 00:46:18 |
and carry him off to a waiting car. |
| 00:46:24 |
He is taken to the American embassy, |
| 00:46:30 |
And awakens the most famous man |
| 00:46:39 |
Lindbergh's shy grace |
| 00:46:43 |
The crowds hail not only the pilot, |
| 00:46:45 |
but the dawn of a new age of unity |
| 00:46:55 |
Paris is in a Lindbergh frenzy |
| 00:46:58 |
Then he flies on |
| 00:47:01 |
and is greeted with |
| 00:47:11 |
But Lindbergh is more than a hero. |
| 00:47:13 |
He is a 20th Century phenomenon, |
| 00:47:30 |
After two weeks of European adoration, |
| 00:47:32 |
President Calvin Coolidge orders |
| 00:47:39 |
A Navy cruiser brings the nation's |
| 00:47:42 |
and his now, famous plane |
| 00:47:47 |
When he arrives in Washington, |
| 00:47:55 |
An innocent twenty-five-year-old |
| 00:47:57 |
from the mid-West has become |
| 00:48:04 |
His next stop is New York, |
| 00:48:06 |
where four million people |
| 00:48:09 |
for the largest ticker-tape parade |
| 00:48:17 |
The public's rapture exhausts |
| 00:48:20 |
But he seizes the opportunity |
| 00:48:24 |
And now, people will listen. |
| 00:48:32 |
For the summer of 1927, |
| 00:48:34 |
he crisscrosses America in the Spirit |
| 00:48:37 |
on a crusade to convince the public |
| 00:48:50 |
30 million Americans in 82 cities |
| 00:48:54 |
new converts to the aviation |
| 00:48:59 |
Lindbergh heralds the dawn |
| 00:49:02 |
By 1928, the air mail service |
| 00:49:06 |
and the passenger business |
| 00:49:09 |
as many people than before |
| 00:49:12 |
His dream is fulfilled. |
| 00:49:19 |
Those who once soared above Lindbergh |
| 00:49:23 |
On June 29, Richard Byrd and his crew |
| 00:49:29 |
in their 100,000 dollar plane. |
| 00:49:35 |
Byrd force-lands off |
| 00:49:39 |
Few take notice of his clumsy flight. |
| 00:49:45 |
The contest to unite the continents |
| 00:49:49 |
by the graceful Lone Eagle. |
| 00:49:58 |
Charles Lindbergh spends the rest of |
| 00:50:01 |
promoting the cause of aviation. |
| 00:50:08 |
At the age of 27, Lindbergh marries. |
| 00:50:14 |
With his wife, author Anne Morrow, |
| 00:50:16 |
he maps new flight routes |
| 00:50:24 |
The young couple opens the skies |
| 00:50:33 |
Lindbergh would also endure |
| 00:50:41 |
The kidnapping and murder of |
| 00:50:48 |
And outrage following his speeches |
| 00:50:54 |
But Charles Lindbergh's legacy |
| 00:50:58 |
It is courage. |
| 00:51:02 |
The daring of a twenty-five-year old |
| 00:51:06 |
who believed he could |
| 00:51:23 |
"When the Spirit of St. Louis |
| 00:51:26 |
aviation was shouldering its way |
| 00:51:27 |
from the stage of invention |
| 00:51:36 |
I believed that aviation had |
| 00:51:44 |
Technically, we have accomplished |
| 00:51:49 |
We actually live today |
| 00:51:58 |
and living those dreams, |
