A World Hero

Explorers and heroes
                 The brand-new airline industry needed brave pilots to go where no one had gone before.  Smart, courageous people needed to test the equipment and figure out the routes.
                 Flying into unknown territory with untested equipment was dangerous.  The men and women who broke the records and explored the air routes were the superstars of the day.
Flying superhero
                 Charles Lindbergh was the first and most famous pilot hero.  He was the first person to fly across the Atlantic Ocean by himself.
                 Before that, he had several flying jobs.  He barnstormed, or flew from town to town, giving demonstrations of flying.  He was in the Army Air Service and was an airmail pilot.
                 On May 20, 1927, he took off from New York.  After flying for 33 1/2 hours, he landed safely in Paris.  He became an overnight celebrity.
Sharing the love of flying
                 Flying promoters sent Lindbergh on goodwill tours in the United States and Central America.  These trips were a huge awakening for the crowds.  Most people had never seen an airplane before.
                 Lindbergh made sure he took off and arrived when he said he would.  He was late only once or twice when fog grounded him for a while.  He was proving that airplanes could be a reliable means of transportation.
Meeting Anne
                When he was touring Mexico, he met his future wife, Anne Morrow.  She was the daughter of the American ambassador to Mexico.
                Lindbergh took Anne, her mother and sisters for rides in the plane.  Later, he taught Anne to fly.
               After they married, Anne flew with Charles on his trips for Pan American Airways to scout out airplane routes.  We are still using the routes they figured out and tested.