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Lindbergh Transatlantic Flight Centennial
Event overview
Centennial of Charles Lindbergh's solo NY-to-Paris flight (May 20–21, 1927); Smithsonian Air & Space programming.
The 100th anniversary of Charles A. Lindbergh's solo non-stop transatlantic flight, observed across Friday 20 May and Saturday 21 May 2027 — exactly one century since the 25-year-old US Army Air Service Reserve captain and US Mail pilot took off from Roosevelt Field on Long Island in his Ryan NYP monoplane Spirit of St. Louis at 7:52 am Eastern Daylight Time on 20 May 1927 and landed at Le Bourget Aerodrome north of Paris at 10:22 pm Paris time on 21 May 1927, completing 3,610 miles (5,810 km) and 33 hours 30 minutes of solo flight.
The flight won Lindbergh the Orteig Prize of $25,000, offered in 1919 by New York hotelier Raymond Orteig for the first non-stop flight between New York and Paris. The achievement was not the first transatlantic crossing — Alcock and Brown crossed Newfoundland-to-Ireland in 1919 — but it was the first solo, non-stop New York-to-Paris crossing, and it electrified the world. Lindbergh was greeted by a crowd of approximately 150,000 at Le Bourget; he received the Distinguished Flying Cross from President Calvin Coolidge, the Medal of Honor by special act of Congress in 1928, the Légion d'honneur from France, the Royal Aero Club Gold Medal from the United Kingdom, and a ticker-tape parade in New York City attended by an estimated four million people.
The Spirit of St. Louis was a Ryan NYP (New York-Paris) custom-built single-engine, high-wing monoplane with a Wright J-5C "Whirlwind" radial engine of 220 horsepower, no radio, no parachute, no front windscreen (Lindbergh used a periscope and side windows), and 450 gallons of fuel in five tanks that filled the front of the cabin where the pilot would normally see forward. Lindbergh navigated by dead-reckoning over the open ocean, fighting fatigue, icing, and "phantoms" of sleep deprivation. The aircraft was donated to the Smithsonian Institution by Lindbergh in 1928 and is permanently displayed in the National Air and Space Museum's Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall in Washington, DC.
The Lindbergh flight catalysed the modern commercial-aviation industry: stock-market enthusiasm for aviation companies surged in 1927–1929; airline networks expanded across Europe and North America; the Air Commerce Act of 1926 was supplemented by the post-Lindbergh boom; and the public confidence in aviation as transportation was established. Lindbergh's later life — the kidnapping and murder of his son in 1932, his pre-WW2 isolationism with the America First Committee, his redemption flying combat missions in the Pacific in 1944, his role in conservation, and his death in Maui on 26 August 1974 — has been thoroughly re-examined by biographers including A. Scott Berg.
Expect commemorations at three principal sites: the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC where the Spirit of St. Louis hangs; Le Bourget where the Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace anchors the French observance; and Lindbergh Field at San Diego International Airport (named for Lindbergh, where the Spirit was built by Ryan Airlines). The EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh in late July 2027 typically programmes a major Lindbergh tribute. France's Direction Générale de l'Aviation Civile is expected to host a ceremonial flight; the US Naval Academy and the US Air Force Academy traditionally mark the date in their calendar. Replicas of the Spirit of St. Louis — including the EAA's airworthy reproduction — are likely to fly tribute flights. The Charles Lindbergh House and Museum in Little Falls, Minnesota, the National Aviation Hall of Fame in Dayton, Ohio, and the Cradle of Aviation Museum at Roosevelt Field on Long Island will all open special programming.
The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum (airandspace.si.edu) leads the principal US programming. France's Musée de l'Air et de l'Espace at Le Bourget (museeairespace.fr) and the Aéro-Club de France anchor the Paris commemoration. EAA (eaa.org), the National Aviation Hall of Fame, and the Cradle of Aviation Museum publish supporting programming. Documentary coverage typically runs on PBS, Smithsonian Channel and France 5. The Charles A. Lindbergh Foundation (lindberghfoundation.org) coordinates the centennial calendar.
The Lindbergh 100th sits in a wider 1927–1928 cluster of cultural and scientific centennials, including the 100th anniversary of the first talking picture The Jazz Singer on 6 October 2027 and the 100th anniversary of Mickey Mouse's debut in Steamboat Willie on 18 November 2028. Pair with NASA Roman Telescope launch for the broader aviation-and-space heritage thread. Other major historical commemorations to track include the Pearl Harbor 85th anniversary 2026 countdown and the Princess Diana 30th anniversary 2027 countdown.
When is the Lindbergh 100th anniversary? 20 May 2027 (takeoff) and 21 May 2027 (landing) — the centennial of the 33.5-hour flight. Where are the commemorations held? At the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum (Washington DC), Le Bourget (Paris), Lindbergh Field in San Diego, the Cradle of Aviation Museum on Long Island, and the Charles Lindbergh House and Museum in Little Falls, Minnesota. Why does the Lindbergh 100th matter? The flight catalysed the modern commercial-aviation industry and remains a defining moment of 20th-century technological optimism. Where is the Spirit of St. Louis today? Permanently displayed in the Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC, donated by Lindbergh in 1928.
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