version française
At 7.52 AM, May 20th, 1927 a small single-engine aircraft took off from Roosevelt Field, Long Island. 33 ½ hours later, on May 21st, the same aircraft landed at Le Bourget Airport, Paris. At the controls of the Ryan monoplace named Spirit of St Louis, a 25-year-old mail pilot, Captain Charles Lindbergh. On August 31st, 1927 the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) ratified Lindbergh’s performance as the new World Record for non-stop flight. The FAI opens its archive files …
The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) - the World Air Sports Federation - is the sole organisation authorized to certify aeronautical and astronautical world records worlwide. 75 years after the first non-stop solo Transatlantic flight, the FAI opens its archives to celebrate the event that changed the course of aviation history.
As Raymond Orteig, a New York hotel owner, offered a $25,000 prize to the first aviator to fly an aircraft directly across the Atlantic Ocean between New York and Paris, Charles Lindbergh started to build a special plane. On May 20th, 1927 the heavy loaded Spirit of St Louis took off with 451 gallons of gas, two canteens of water and … 4 sandwiches ! After clearing the obstacles at the end of the runway, Charles Lindbergh continued his flight over Cape Cod and Nova Scotia. As darkness fell and low fog started to form over the sea, Lindbergh headed for the open Atlantic. After several hours fighting against nature, avoiding storm clouds and trying to find a way around the fog, the first indication of his approach to the European coast was a fishing boat. After flying over Ireland and England, he saw the French city of Cherbourg passing below his wings as the sun went down for the second time during the flight. He circled the Eiffel Tower, flew over the airfield and finally landed at Le Bourget at 10.22 PM. Charles Lindbergh had conquered the Atlantic alone, covering 3610 miles in 33 ½ hours and won the Orteig prize.
The certification of this flight required several documents to prove the performance. A sealed barograph, an instrument working with atmospheric pressure, was loaded on the aircraft; its six-hour cylinder recorded the altitudes flown and proved that the flight was uninterrupted. The start of the flight was attested by the US National Aeronautic Association and the Procès-verbal established by the Aéro-Club de France on Lindbergh’s arrival attested that the barograph was found sealed and reported that 322 litres of gas (85 gallons) remained in the sealed tanks. This Procès-verbal was signed by no less than 13 French officials, the US Ambassador Myron Herrick, the Belgian Air Attaché Willy Coppens and, of course Charles Lindbergh himself. Finally, the FAI General Secretary Paul Tissandier informed the National Aeronautic Association on August 31st, 1927, that Lindbergh’s flight was certified as the « Class-C World Record for non-stop flight over a distance of 5809 kilometres ».
Lausanne, May 17th, 2002
