On May 21, 1927, over 33 hours after departure and flying 5,790 km on a single-seat monoplane, Charles A. Lindbergh arrived at Le Bourget at 10.21 pm Paris time. Thousands welcomed him. A legend was born.

If there is one person who could claim to have made aviation commonplace, it is Charles Augustus Lindbergh. Today, in the era of space travel, one may be forgiven for wondering what all the fuss was about when Lindbergh flew solo across the Atlantic in 1927. At the time, it was as epochal as walking on the moon. Lindbergh was born in Detroit on February 4, 1902. A Swedish immigrant and lawyer, his father, Charles Augustus Lindbergh Sr, served as US Congressman from Minnesota.

The young Charles demonstrated exceptional mechanical ability and seemed destined to be an engineer. But his interest lay in flying. He left the University of Wisconsin midway through his engineering degree to become a barnstormer, performing daring aerial stunts. In 1924, he joined the Army Air Service and later took up a job delivering mail.

In 1919, Raymond Orteig a New York hotelier, offered $25,000 to the first person to fly non-stop from New York to Paris. Eight years later, the money lay unclaimed but several pilots died in the attempt at the feat. Lindbergh knew he could do it—if he had the resources. He persuaded St Louis businessmen to provide funds. Next, he secured the involvement of the Ryan Aeronautical Company of San Diego. As many others were in the race, time was of essence. So began Lindbergh’s project to modify one of Ryan’s existing designs.