[Leica] IMG: Lindbergh who?

[Douglas Barry]

All the others competing for the Orteig prize from NY to Paris were not 
flying solo, and Lindbergh considered his solo flight in a far more 
streamlined, efficient and modern aircraft with a better power to weight 
ratio than the older and much less aerodynamic Vickers Vimy flown by 
Alcock and Brown, made more sense in terms of winning the prize, opted 
for solo status. I know he later proved to be an "isolationist", but 
going solo was not a necessary requisite for winning the prize :-)

Lindbergh knew that the trip was very feasible, but Alcock and Brown, as 
the first fliers to ACTUALLY fly across the Atlantic ocean, were very 
much the true pioneers. Lindbergh while a brave man, just knew how to 
shout about it better, utilising the explosion of popular radio 
broadcasting in the 1920s, to a more receptive population, wrapped up in 
American exceptionalism.

In May 2027, the fanfare about Lindbergh's flight centenary will 
probably have nothing about the earlier pioneering flight by Alcock and 
Brown, but such is life.

Of course, in April 2028, the first East/West flight across the Atlantic 
by the "Bremen" will have its centenary. This almost forgotten 
achievement took off from the Irish Air Corps base at Baldonnel in 
Dublin and had to battle the prevailing winds to land on Greenly Island 
between Newfoundland and Labrador. It probably won't be remembered much 
either. Sixteen years later, my uncle took off from the same aerodrome 
and never returned. He was killed when he crashed his Miles M14 Magister 
into a tree about 7 miles away. His hero was James Fitzmaurice the 
co-pilot of the "Bremen" and an officer in the Irish Air Corps.

Douglas
who also took off from Baldonnel, but in a glider launched by car tow.



On 07/08/2021 21:26, RicCarter via LUG wrote:
> Lindbergh was first SOLO
>
> ric
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>> On Aug 7, 2021, at 4:06 PM, Nathan Wajsman <photo at frozenlight.eu> wrote:
>>
>> I had no idea that Lindbergh’s flight was a fake ;-) Just like Columbus’s “discovery” of America, 500 years after the Vikings had been there.
>>
>> Cheers,
>> Nathan
>>
>> Nathan Wajsman
>>
>> Alicante, Spain
>> http://www.frozenlight.eu <http://www.frozenlight.eu/>
>> http:// <http://www.greatpix.eu/>www.greatpix.eu
>> PICTURE OF THE WEEK: http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws <http://www.fotocycle.dk/paws>Blog: http://nathansmusings.wordpress.com/ <http://nathansmusings.wordpress.com/>
>>
>> Cycling: http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/belgiangator <http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/belgiangator>
>>
>> YNWA
>>
>> "I’m not arguing, I’m just explaining why I’m right"
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>>> On 5 Aug 2021, at 21:58, Douglas Barry <imra at iol.ie> wrote:
>>>
>>> Just back from a week down in Connemara in the west of Ireland.
>>>
>>> Here's a shot I took down there. It's a sort of homage to Herbert List's 1937 photograph.
>>>
>>> A honeysuckle slip in a bottle beside the outdoor eating area of Baidín restaurant in Clifden, Co. Galway overlooking the Atlantic. The Alcock & Brown 1919 landing site for the very first non-stop transatlantic flight is about 4km from this bottle. They flew eastwards across the ocean in a Vickers Vimy and saw what they thought was a verdant green landing strip beside the Marconi radio station. Unfortunately, it was a bog.  Luckily they weren't hurt.
>>>
>>> http://www.gallery.leica-users.org/v/DouglasBray/Honeysuckle+in+bottle.jpg.html
>>>
>>> Can be seen larger. Sony A7 and 55/1.8 Sonnar.
>>>
>>> Douglas
>>>
>>>
>>>
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