NY to Paris flight / Lancair-Columbia / Rocket Racing

In the summer of 2000, while creating a sculpture of his grandfather's famous Spirit of St. Louis, Erik Lindbergh contemplated a startling notion. Could a former flight instructor sidelined by crippling Rheumatoid Arthritis, recreate the Spirit's famous flights from San Diego to Paris, including the 3,600 mile nonstop journey over the treacherous North Atlantic?

On May 2, 2002, Erik landed the New Spirit of St. Louis at Le Bourget Airport to mark the 75th anniversary of Charles Lindbergh's epic flights. Millions followed the flight via television and the Internet. Erik received worldwide congratulations from individuals ranging from students to the President of the United States.

---

"I once missed a Satellite Media Tour interview with CNN in 2002. I was in a dimly lit studio sitting in front of a blue screen (They said they would put the Eiffel Tower in the background) when President Bush called to congratulate me on my flight across the Atlantic. He said "This is just what our country needs after the tragedy of 911" (he said a lot of other stuff too, but that is what sticks out in my mind). Anyway the PR guy was freaking out because CNN was furious, but what was I going to do - not take the president's call?"

 – Erik R. Lindbergh

“Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men's blood.”

– Daniel H. Burnham