Lucky Lindy

80 years ago today, on May 21, 1927, Charles A. Lindbergh landed his single-engined Spirit of St. Louis near Paris, completing the first solo airplane flight across the Atlantic Ocean. In the ensuing deluge of notoriety, Lindbergh became the world's best-known aviator. Charles Lindbergh was also a recipient of the Medal of Honor. Despite his civilian status, Lindbergh flew WW2 combat missions in the Pacific Theater as a consultant, shooting down some Japanese opponents in his advisory capacity as an engine technical expert. Lindbergh's forte was in teaching pilots how to maximize range flying by getting maximum air nautical miles per gallon out of a tankful of gas. That was his pretext for accompanying operational sorties. Lindbergh is additionally recognized in airline aviation for demonstrating and charting polar air-routes, high altitude flying techniques and for giving aviators a "good time". Lindbergh wrote a letter to the director of Longines, describing in detail a watch which would make navigation easier for pilots. The watch was manufactured to his design and is still produced today.