Lindbergh and his 1927 historic trans-Atlantic flight ..

The *Spirit of St. Louis* is the custom-built, single-engine, single-seat, high-wing monoplane that was flown by Charles Lindbergh on May 20–21, 1927, on the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight from Long Island, New York, to Paris, France, for which Lindbergh won the $25,000 Orteig Prize. At a max speed of 214 km/hr, Lindbergh flew non-stop for 33 hrs before landing in Paris. 

The present day $200 billion airline industry owes a lot to this single courageous flight by Lindbergh across the Atlantic ocean all alone ..