"vincent p. norris" wrote in message
...
...Beryl Markham, British dame, was the first person to fly SOLO
from London to New York, a more difficult feat because she was flying
against the prevailing winds. September 1936.

Her "West With the Night" is a good read. My sister lent it to me about ten
years ago. I really should return it one of these days.

The whole transatlantic flight mania was an interesting phenomenon......not
so much the competition, as the fact that people took it so
seriously.....and still do. By the time Lindbergh made his famous flight,
the state of aviation technology was such that nonstop flights (solo or
otherwise) between any two points on opposite shores of the Atlantic were
pretty much a foregone conclusion. It was only a question of who would do
it first and exactly when. An achievement, to be sure, but more so for the
aircraft designers and builders than for whatever pilot had to stay awake
and on course for a few hours. Dangerous, without a doubt, but considerably
less so than many another adventure....or stunt....of the era. I guess
flying an airplane is just sexier than pulling a sled, slogging through a
swamp, or chopping ice.

Wolfgang