SAN DIEGO (voa) – The grandson of aviation pioneer, Charles A. Lindbergh, has celebrated the 75th anniversary of his grandad’s first-ever trans-Atlantic solo air flight by duplicating the route that made history.
Erik Lindbergh took off Sunday from the airport named after his grandfather in a state-of-the-art Lancair Columbia 300, made of glass and carbon composite material. His “New Spirit of St. Louis” aircraft comes with modern communications technology, including a satellite telephone and global positioning unit.
His flight will replicate that of his ancestor, starting in San Diego, California to Saint Louis, Missouri to New York, where he will fly across the Atlantic to Paris on April 20. The trans-Atlantic leg is expected to take about 20 hours, far less time than the grueling 33 and one-half hours it took his grandfather in 1927.
Erik Lindbergh says the flight is, among other things, a celebration of the past and a symbol of hope for the future. He also wants to raise awareness for those who suffer from arthritis, a debilitating disease of the joints. Mr. Lindbergh has rheumatoid arthritis but has been able to control it in recent years because of advanced medication.
To track Erik Lindbergh 75th Anniversary Flighthttp go to://www.aeroplanner.com/lindbergh/
