Sir George Cayley

"JR" wrote in message ...

There wasn't no man 'mongst the men?

Or has the false riverman hijacked Wayne too?

No hijacking, just pointing out the quoted text was not exactly inaccurate
either. As you point out, there was a man amongst the men, but that man did
not fly across the pond before Lindbergh, the men might have but the man did
not, even if he was one of the men who did it first, sort of .If I recall
correctly, several men crossed the Atlantic in some flying contraption
before Lindbergh became the first only man to do it.

Besides dicking with Peter and his defense of all things Canadian/British is
a lot more fun and friendlier than debating racist intent by incompentent
*leaders*.

Wayne (the real one)

wait until the real riverman gets his first good typhon, some make atlantic
hurricanes look like sissies.

Wayne Knight wrote:
"JR" wrote

There wasn't no man 'mongst the men?

As you point out, there was a man amongst the men, but that man did
not fly across the pond before Lindbergh, the men might have but the man did
not, even if he was one of the men who did it first, sort of.

Uh, OK.

JR
(amazed to learn he's been speaking Canadian all this time.....) g

Wayne Knight wrote:

Wayne (the real one)

wait until the real riverman gets his first good typhon, some make atlantic
hurricanes look like sissies.

I've already seen what they refer to as an "Amber Rain", which was sort
of like standing in a shower with a hose over your head. The roads
flooded, rocks and trees came tumbling down the hills, and visibility
was about 2 feet. The splash on the ground generated a mist up to your
waist, and the wind whipped the rain sideways.

An "Amber Rain" is 3 on a scale of 1-10. Nothing closes down, but you
are advised to see if it goes to a 'red rain', which is when things
close and you are sent home. A 'Black Rain' is a 10, and you are locked
in to wherever you are at. Typhoons begin after a Black Rain.

I'm not sure I'm looking forward to one or not.

--riverman
(actually, I am.)

"Peter Charles" wrote in message
...


...Well, OK, not "aways" how about "a lot" then....


In a country in which the majority believes in angels......and a minority
elects the president......a bit of fuzziness about transatlantic flight
records is hardly surprising.....or particularly distressing. It does,
however, invite the question of how well, say.....oh....Zambians,
Ecuadorians and Canadians might do on a similar historical quiz.

Wolfgang
and our queen rocks......yours don't.

but yeah, I always thought the first solo flight across
the Atlantic was Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis
flight.

If I can get a word in edgewise here, the first flight across the
Atlantic was by the American NC-4 (Navy-Curtiss, 4th one) with
several stops along the way. Four a/c started, NC-1, 2, 3, and 4.
Only NC-4 made it all the way to Plymouth, England, in May 1919.

The first NONSTOP flight across the Atlantic was by Alcock and Brown,
Brits, flying a Vickers Vimy WW I bomber. From St. John's,
Newfoundland, to Clifden, Ireland. June, 1919. A replica Vimy made
the trip again a couple of months ago.

Lindbergh was competing for the Orteig Prize, offered for the first
flight FROM NEW YORK TO PARIS. (Or vice versa, IIRC.) It didn't have
to be solo, but Lindbergh prefered it that way. Admiral Byrd was
preparing for the trip in a Fokker Trimotor with a crew but was
delayed by an accident; he made the trip not long after, landing in
the Channel because Paris was fogged in.

And 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.

vince

"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

...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.

Yeah, I intended to mention the book, but forgot.

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.

An achievement, to be sure, but more so for the
aircraft designers and builders.....

Yes, crucially important was the Wright Cyclone engine, which woudl
run and run and run.

than for whatever pilot had to stay awake nd on course for a few hours.

I believe it was something like 34 hours. And he hadn't had much
sleep the night before, either. He had deliberately had the Spirit
designed to be unstable, so it would awaken him if he dozed off.

I guess flying an airplane is just sexier than pulling a sled, slogging through a
swamp, or chopping ice.

I like it. But it's not sexier than sex!

vince