Featured Map for 20 May 2017:
Charles Lindbergh's Flight: 90th Anniversary

At 7:52 am on 20 May 1927, Charles A. Lindbergh departed Roosevelt Field near New York City in a single-engine monoplane made by Ryan Airlines Co. of San Diego named the "Spirit of St. Louis." 33 hours, 30 minutes, 29.8 seconds later, he landed at Le Bourget Field in Paris, winning the Orteig Prize for the first non-stop, trans-Atlantic flight from New York to Paris.

Today's Featured Map shows the geodesic ("great circle") path between the two airports. Lindbergh's flight approximated this path using 100-mile segments of constant heading.

References and additional information:

• Charles Augustus Lindbergh Home Page
  • Lindbergh's Transatlantic Flight: New York to Paris Timeline
  • The Spirit of St. Louis
  • Raymond Orteig–$25,000 prize
  • Charles Lindbergh–New York to Paris Flight Navigation Charts
  • Lindbergh Took Shortest Route to Paris; Geographers Explain Great Circle Puzzle