The 20th of May is a date in early aviation that is filled with two great achievements!
20th of May 1927
It is on this day in aviation history that a 25-year-old American aviator set off on what was going to be a bookmark in the aviation history books. It was the date on which Charles Lindbergh (1902 - 1974) set of on his 3600 miles (5800km) non stop flight from New York to Paris. in his single-engined Ryan Monoplane, the Spirit of St. Louis he would be airborne for about 33 1/2 hours before touching down in Paris! It is often forgotten that this was not the first oceanic crossing, this was done 8 years earlier all ready. But this was the first solo flight across the Atlantic and the longest flight over the water of the Atlantic (2000 miles). And is largely considered to be a turning point in aviation.
20th of May 1932
Exactly 5 years after Charles Lindbergh his flight across the Atlantic Amelia Earhart made the first solo flight by a woman across the Atlantic.
It took her 13 hours and 30 minutes to fly from Harbor Grace, Newfoundland to Londonderry, Northern Ireland in the Lockheed Vega
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