Who was the first to fly across the Atlantic Ocean? First transatlantic flight. Disadvantages of connecting flights


A working model of the first Bird of Prey airplane in flight

In the center of Rio de Janeiro, on the embankment near the ultra-modern Museum of Tomorrow, a model of the world's first airplane, 14-bis or "Oiseau de proie" (on French"predatory bird").
Today, Brazil occupies one of the world's leading positions in the field of aircraft manufacturing. Brazil's Embraer (E-Jet) leads the world in the medium-haul (regional) aircraft market.
Thanks to the dominance of the American media in the world, there was a belief about the priority of the Wright brothers, who made the first flight on an airplane. In Brazil and France, undeniable primacy is given to a native of Brazil, holder of the Legion of Honor, aeronaut, pilot and inventor Albert Santos-Dumont(1873 - 1932), who lived for some time in France. The Brazilian was the first in the world to prove the possibility of regular, controlled flights. Santos-Dumont made a public airplane flight in Paris on October 23, 1906. It was the first heavier-than-air vehicle to take off, fly, and land and, unlike the Wright brothers, did not use catapults, strong winds, launch rails, or other external devices. The inventor was against the use aircraft for military purposes.

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The first transatlantic direct flight was made from Newfoundland (Canada) to Ireland by British pilots John Alkon and Arthur Brown on June 14 - 15, 1919 in 16 hours 28 minutes at an average speed of 190 km per hour. The effect of the jet air current in the Northern Hemisphere from west to east was used. IN reverse direction it would have taken more time, and there were no aircraft with the appropriate resource then. The first non-stop 36-hour flight across the Atlantic from Europe (Dublin) to North America took place only a decade later in April 1928.

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Today, flying across the Atlantic to South America is an everyday affair and requires only patience (up to a 14-hour flight from Paris to Santiago). I first saw the monument to the first airplane (seaplane) and crew that flew from Europe to South America many years ago in Lisbon.

On an English-made Fairey 17 seaplane, Portuguese pilots Gago Coutinho and Sakadura Cabral made the first dramatic flight from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, dedicated to the centenary of Brazilian independence. Aircraft of this type were produced from 1918 to 1941, and took an active part in the Second World War.

During the flight to South America, a new attitude indicator device was tested, allowing one to control the position of the aircraft beyond the visibility of the ground or sea surface.

On March 30, 1922, the pilots took off from the Lisbon naval base and reached Canary Islands(Las Palmas) for refueling. On April 5, another rush was made to the Cape Verde Islands (San Vicente), where engine repairs were required. On April 17, the pilots continued their journey to the rocky desert island Sao Paulo (St. Peter and St. Paul). Here, during splashdown in a stormy sea, the airplane lost one of its floats and sank. The aviators were rescued by the Portuguese cruiser Republic, which assisted in the flight. The cruiser delivered the pilots to the port of the Brazilian island of Fernando de Noronha.

But the epic did not end there. Enthusiastic Brazilians and Portuguese watching the flight forced the government in Lisbon to send another seaplane to the aviators.

The new plane was delivered to the island and on May 11 the pilots took off... to reverse side to Sao Paulo Island to resume flights from the crash site. However, an engine breakdown forced them to do it again. emergency landing in the ocean. The seaplane successfully sank again, and the pilots were picked up by a British cargo ship and taken back to Fernando de Noronha.

But this time, with the support of the Brazilian government, the brave aviators received a third plane, on which they were able to complete the flight with stops in Recife, Salvador da Bahia and Vitoria. Finally, on June 17, the flight was completed in Rio de Janeiro, where the seaplane landed in Guanabara Bay. Brazil greeted the aviators as heroes; at a rally of thousands on the embankment, aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont gave a welcoming speech. The journey lasted 79 days, of which the actual flight time was 62 hours and 26 minutes. The aviators covered a distance of 8,383 kilometers (5,209 miles) by air.

Flight map

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In 1930, a French pilot Jean Mermoz made the first in history non-stop flight across the South Atlantic. From Toulouse, France, he flew to Atlantic coast African port of Saint Louis (Senegal). From here, with 130 kg of mail on a converted aircraft in 21 hours, he completed transatlantic flight to Rio de Janeiro. In 1936, the pilot and the plane disappeared on a regular flight over the South Atlantic.

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Over time, regular passenger flights from Europe to South America began. On July 10, 1962, regular transatlantic flights of the Soviet Aeroflot began to Latin America to Cuba along the route Moscow - Conakry (technical landing) - Havana, and then through the North Pole with an intermediate landing in Murmansk. The specially modernized Tu-114 could accommodate only 60 passengers, but had a large fuel supply. The flight took over 20 hours.

On May 27, 1973, regular flights to Peru and Chile began on the route Moscow - Rabat - Havana - Lima (Peru) - Santiago (Chile). For that time, it was the longest passenger airline in the world (18,000 km), travel time was 23 hours. Today they fly from Moscow to South America connecting flights via Paris, Amsterdam, Istanbul and other aviation hubs.

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On the air route between Europe and South America On June 1, 2009, one of the largest aviation disasters occurred. Airbus airliner A330-203 airlines Air France operated flight AF447 on the route Rio de Janeiro - Paris, but 3 hours and 45 minutes after takeoff it crashed into the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and was completely destroyed. All 228 people on board (12 crew members and 216 passengers) were killed. This biggest disaster in the history of Air France and the largest disaster passenger plane from 2001 until the Boeing 777 crash in the Donetsk region (July 17, 2014, 298 dead).

The causes of the disaster are indicated as freezing of the pitot tubes, the subsequent disconnection of the autopilot and uncoordinated actions of the crew, which led to the stalling of the aircraft, from which the crew was unable to recover. Inconsistency of actions, poor preparation and panic of the crew (co-pilot and trainee who were in the cockpit during the commander's rest). The called commander made the right decision and at an altitude of about 600 meters the plane began to pick up speed, but it was not possible to stop the stall in time. Experts point to shortcomings in the design of modern aircraft and in crew training. Computer systems control the aircraft for the vast majority of the flight, depriving pilots of direct piloting experience and reducing their preparedness for emergency situations.

When going on a long journey, when you need to make a visit to the countries of America, you have a long journey ahead, where even an airplane needs a lot of time to cover such a distance. Flying across the ocean is always unusual, as it takes a lot of time and passengers get tired waiting for the end of the flight. A flight to any country in this region lasts from 13 to 16 hours.Which significantly tires passengers.

Flight over the ocean video

The most enterprising, especially those who do not like long stay in an enclosed space, tries to spend most of the flight having a good night's sleep, trying to immediately after eating, get comfortable and fall asleep. Yes, if nothing interferes, then this is one of the most reliable ways to spend time. After all, there is not much entertainment on the plane, and a long flight causes fatigue. The best part is still ahead, after landing, so it won’t hurt anyone to gain strength.

Flights of this complexity are carried out on special types of aircraft. Not everyone can travel such a distance without landing. More than one crew is also needed, because managing such a long flight is also difficult. This requires certain strength and energy. After all, making any flight is a very important moment for the crew.

Transatlantic flights are mainly carried out on Boeing 747 or 767 aircraft, and Airbus, as well as other types passenger aircraft cannot perform such long non-stop flights. This requires not only a special type of aircraft, but also special training. What is needed is an aircraft that can take on enough fuel, fill all the available seats with passengers, and provide food for everyone on board for an extended period of time.


Transatlantic flight– this is a difficult and long flight that exhausts everyone. Therefore, special safety precautions must also be observed in such challenging environments. Most of this flight takes place over the ocean, which causes many special feelings that are associated with increased anxiety. But you should not be afraid of this, since there is no particular danger; the aviation services have provided everything for any flight to be completed successfully.

So, takeoff, the planned provision of food to passengers, a sound, restful sleep, and here it is, America, which one could only dream of. The transatlantic flight is completed, and as always, thanks to the airline, successfully!

Finally entered the hotel. To be honest, the last time the flight seemed much easier to me. Apparently because we traveled in a group and drank all the whiskey on board that there was.

I got ready all weekend, but still forgot the USB cable to charge my phone. I left Yekaterinburg, which saw me off with rainy and chilly weather - to the money;)

I peed at the Yekaterinburg airport yesterday, but the Internet in my landing zone turned out to be so slow that I only managed to send it from Moscow. Like an intelligent person, he passed business registration and flew. 2 hour flight.

The seats next to me were empty, so I wasn’t able to communicate with anyone. I tried the kosher menu, which I learned about through a tip from one of my colleagues on Facebook. Unlike a standard ham sandwich, it includes several types of fish, chicken, hummis, jam, fruit drink, chocolate and also a tomato thing like leche (I don’t remember what it’s called). According to the flight attendant, this is the most expensive menu on board and is enviably different from the classic one. Moreover, you can get it absolutely free by specifying a kosher menu when booking a ticket.

Was in Moscow customs control, where a man in uniform with an iron face stamped my passport. About an hour of waiting and the iron faces of girls in uniform checking documents. For some reason, communicating with people like they are scum is in the order of things.

I sent a post via slow internet and also messaged Jay, a new friend of mine from San Francisco whom I met through couchsurfing. He asks if I need to be picked up from the airport and asks me to call. My old htc doesn’t want to work and doesn’t even get a connection, so calling is problematic - I’m writing a letter saying I’ve already booked a hotel. By the way, I’m simply fascinated by booking.com. I haven’t used it closely before, but just saw it from the outside. So there are so many interesting things like alerts and notifications that are really convenient and I’m sure that they really bring them a lot of traffic. Take their secrets directly and implement them!

We flew across the Atlantic. I love these intercontinental planes because they are large (we had an airbus-330), they have small monitors in the backs of the seats, with which you can watch movies and monitor the route. They serve free alcohol in the form of red and white wine, and you can also buy spirits like whiskey, which are very cheap. Good flight attendants and again a kosher menu. The composition is the same, so it starts to make me feel nauseous.

This time, the neighbor was the owner of a small packaging production company, who was flying to Boston on vacation. We had a good conversation. He is 52 years old and is for an active lifestyle. At the end of the flight I noticed that he was reading a large A4 notebook in which he wrote English words which he apparently teaches. I recommended Lingualeo and promised to definitely watch it ;). By the way, I have great respect for people who, regardless of their age, teach new language, open new companies, move - live life to the fullest!

Flight via Atlantic Ocean from Moscow to New York took 9:30 hours, including taxiing, all 10. If possible, take a seat at the exit so that you can walk around the cabin from time to time. For dinner I gave up the kosher menu and took the usual one - it’s true that there’s less of everything, but it’s more familiar.

Customs border in New York, a lot of people. Here they are active black American employees who, even directing the crowd into a separate lane, do this with their whole body, waving their arms. I can’t imagine such emotionality from a Russian person - we have other advantages.

I met Dmitry, who is also flying to San Francisco. He lives in Kharkov and with his team is working on a very large and famous project. It seems that only the two of us flew further to San Francisco, although I could have missed someone.

Very long distances for landing the Delta, on which we will fly to San Francisco. We have gate 37 and by the time we got there, it seemed to me that we had passed 10 Koltsovo. JFK what can I say. By the way, pay attention to the transfer window between New York and Delta, because there are a lot of people and there is a chance you won’t make it in time. We had a window of 3 hours, but the plane landed later and while we were going through all the registration, there was literally half an hour of free time left. To board Delta, you need to walk along the street and take an internal train from terminal 1 to 4. There is no free Internet here at all, but wifi from Skype works.

On Delta, as on other planes, I asked to hang my suit in their wardrobe. All flight attendants are easy to help you - do not carry bulky things with you under any circumstances. My wife, I don’t know how she figured it out before, is going to take the child on a scooter;) You can’t drag him with you to the salon :)

To my left is a decent-sized girl, to my right is a young man. Both have macbook air - I took out my pro so as not to seem like a sucker. One watches movies, the other checks email and reads Facebook. By the way, the girl was putting some kind of film on the monitor. At the same time, the image either becomes three-dimensional, or something else - you need to study it.

On Delta planes, food is served only for a fee and additionally. You can also buy alcohol. My neighbor drank, it seems, a bottle of whiskey, and my neighbor drank a whole large bottle of wine. By this point, I was already so tired that I simply didn’t have the strength to talk to anyone or get to know anyone. It seemed to me that this would be the most difficult flight, since it lasted a whole 6 hours, but in fact it turned out to be the easiest, because I slept the entire flight. Didn't even use Wi-Fi on the plane.

I caught a taxi for $50. I don’t know how to get cheaper from the airport to downtown without a phone with internet - please share if you know how. I reached the hotel around one in the morning. By the way, I specially rented a hotel for $100 next to the Apple Store, because without a phone you can’t make a call or drive a car without a navigator, and renting a navigator for $10 a day is a toad’s pressure. The Korean taxi driver remembered Russian vodka, which he most associates with Russians.

At 7 am Jay wants to pick me up, who promised to give me a car and shelter in San Francisco while I sort out all the details with the house and phone. Ivan Tsybaev is inviting me tomorrow to look at housing in his cool complex in San Jose, I’ll try to go there tomorrow.

This is such a busy and difficult day. I gladly took a shower at the hotel and experienced pleasure. Ideally, you should probably stop in each transfer city for 1-2 days so as not to get so tired. Look at New York, although the weather there is disgusting now - this is not California, which has 340 sunny days a year;)

It is now 3 am here and 3 pm in Moscow. I got enough sleep, so apparently I’ll work now;) While on the flight, another colleague who works and lives here sent an offer to chat - great! Another person asked me for a code for Lingualeo, which I give free to diligent students - the codes are starting to run out, I need to come up with something.

In total, taking into account all the expectations, the pellet took me 26 hours.

See you in the next episode :)

P.S. Smart VK thought that I was logging in from strange place and requires confirmation of an SMS from a phone that remains in Russia. So I’ll publish a post there tomorrow

The Wright brothers made their first airplane flight in December 1903. But it took another five years before airplanes actually began to fly. An important psychological barrier was overcome on July 25, 1909, when Louis Blériot crossed the English Channel for the first time. Conquering a significant water obstacle showed that the plane is capable of being not only a new circus attraction, but also a serious vehicle. Many private aviation schools provided flight training to everyone, and airplanes were continuously improved.

Bleriot's flight stimulated a further assault on the water area. On September 11, 1910, Robert Loraine flew the Irish Sea for the first time in a Farman airplane. True, due to problems with the engine, he did not reach the Irish coast 60 m. His work was completed by Denys Corbett Wilson in April 1912. A year later - September 23, 1913, Roland Garros on the company's monoplane Morane-Saulnier crossed the Mediterranean Sea for the first time, his journey was 730 km. Then it was Atlantic's turn.

However, several aviators from Great Britain, the USA, Denmark and other countries began to prepare for a transatlantic flight back in 1910 - 1912. After the failure of Wellman's airship, pilot Harry Grahame Carter decided to challenge the ocean. He set the launch date for March 19, 1911. On an airplane of his own design, Carter was going to fly from Sandy Hook, USA, to Queenstown (now Cove), Ireland. The aviator expected to cross the Atlantic in 49 hours.

According to the project, Carter's plane had an all-metal frame and a covering made of material, which the author called parchment. Two 30 hp engines were used as a power plant. unspecified model with two-blade metal propellers. The engine life was only 27 hours, but Carter hoped to increase it to 54 hours. He believed that 136 liters of gasoline would be enough for him to cover a distance of 3860 km.

Hollow tubular frame structures served as gas tanks. To build the car, Carter rented a garage in Jamaica Plain, a suburb of Boston. Even perhaps the most complete reference book on US aircraft knows nothing about what happened next, but the available description of the design makes us strongly doubt that Carter’s plane could fly long distances.

A more serious contender was Hugh Armstrong Robinson (1881-1963), a former chief pilot at Curtiss. He began preparing for the transatlantic expedition in September 1911. But having made preliminary calculations, Robinson came to the conclusion that existing technologies did not yet allow such a project to be implemented. In 1912, Robinson switched to developing the Benoist XIII flying boat, on the basis of which the Benoist XIV aircraft then emerged, which was the first in the world to begin regular passenger air transportation in January 1914.

Robinson's refusal to storm the Atlantic did not prevent his former boss Glenn Curtiss (Glenn Hammond Curtiss, 1878-1930) from completing the job. More precisely, almost to the end. In August 1913, he began building a twin-engine flying boat, the Curtiss N. The project was sponsored by Rodman Wanamaker, owner of a chain of department stores in New York and Philadelphia. The transatlantic flight was planned to take place in the summer of 1914.

The flying boat, named "America", was a wooden three-post biplane of the classical design. Ailerons were located only on the upper wing. The aircraft had two Curtiss OX 90 hp engines. between the wings with pushing two-blade propellers. The boat has a slight keel. The cockpit, designed for two pilots and a flight mechanic, was closed. The fuel supply allowed for a non-stop flight over a distance of 1770 km.

The Curtiss H-1 prototype was launched on June 22, 1914, with its first flight the next day. During intensive testing, a number of shortcomings were identified that required modification of the design. But even after this, the car could not raise the required fuel supply. Therefore, a third engine with a pulling propeller was installed on the upper wing.

Having solved the technical problems, the flight organizers scheduled the launch for August 5, 1914 (the sources also give the date August 15). The expedition was supposed to start from St. John's, Newfoundland. Further route passed through the islands of the Azores archipelago Faial and San Miguel, where intermediate landings were planned. From there, America was to fly to Portugal, then cross the Bay of Biscay, the English Channel and reach the British coast near the city of Plymouth.

The crew included the aircraft's designer and his friend, naval pilot John Henry Towers. But Curtiss’ flight was categorically opposed by his wife, and Towers’ flight by the command of the US Navy (five years later, he still took part in the transatlantic expedition).

Then Weinamaker appointed retired British Navy lieutenant John Cyrill Porte (1883-1919) as crew commander, and American George Hallett as co-pilot. But the First began World War, and the flight was cancelled. Port went to serve in the Royal Navy, and there he persuaded the Lords of the Admiralty to purchase the America and her backup. On the basis of these machines, more powerful flying boats were developed, which were built in large series, but that’s another story.

One of the incentives for the creation of the Curtiss H-1 "America" ​​aircraft was a prize established on April 1, 1913 by the British newspaper magnate Alfred Harmsworth, Lord Northcliffe. The owner of the Daily Mail promised to pay £10,000 to the first person to cross the Atlantic Ocean from anywhere in the US to anywhere in the UK or Ireland on any aircraft without landing in 72 hours. The winner of the prize could be either an Englishman or a foreigner. The high prize amount stimulated the work of many designers, most of whom turned out to be fellow countrymen of Lord Northcliffe.

Photo of Curtiss H-1 America.

One of the main contenders was Samuel Cody, creator of the first British actually flying aircraft. He developed a project for the float-mounted monoplane Cody monoplane No.VII with a gigantic wingspan of 36.58 m for that time and a cabin designed for three crew members. Such an aircraft required a 400 hp engine, which did not exist in nature at that time. Cody issued an order to an unnamed French company to develop the motor. But the death of an aviator on August 7, 1913 stopped work on the project. In the aviation press of 1913 - 1914 one can find reports about the construction of transatlantic aircraft by the British firms of the James Bros. and A. V. Roe and Co. (Avro), however, no details are provided.

Another applicant for the prize was Handley Page. In December 1913, the company's chief designer, George Rudolph Volkert (1891-1978), developed a design for a single-engine biplane L/200 - in the 1920s it was retrospectively designated HP.8, in which a woman first decided to conquer the Atlantic. Lady Anne Savile, married Princess of Lowenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg (Lady Anne Savile/ Anne Prinzessin zu Lowenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg, 1864-1927) was going to fly with William Rowland Ding (1885-1917). The pilot and air attendant were to be seated side by side in the cockpit. Power point— 14-cylinder liquid-cooled engine Salmson (Canton-Unne) 200 hp. with tension screw. The fuel supply is designed for a 23-hour flight. But before the outbreak of the First World War, the aircraft was never completed, and later the company was fully loaded with military orders.

Characteristics airplaneswho unsuccessfully tried to cross Atlantic by air

Model Curtiss H-1 Handley Page L-200 Martin-Handasyde Transatlantic
Engines, power, hp Curtiss OX-5 3×90 Salmson 1x200 Sunbeam 1×215
Upper wing span, m. 22,55 18,29 20,12
Lower wing span, m. 14
Length, m. 11,43 12,5 14,12
Height, m. 4,87 4,87
Wing area, sq.m. 83,6 71,5
Take-off weight, kg. 2268 2722 2177
Empty weight, kg. 1360 1270 1089
Speed ​​max., km/h 105 129 137
Ceiling, m. 1372
Flight range, km. 1770
Crew 3 2 2

The transatlantic aircraft was also created by the British company Martin-Handasyde Ltd.. The sponsor of this project was the Canadian financier Mackay Edgar. The wooden monoplane with a trapezoidal wing received the understandable name Martin-Handasyde Transatlantic. The flight across the Atlantic was planned to take place from Newfoundland to Ireland. The pilot was Gustav Hamel (1889-1914), who had previously completed the first official postal flight in Great Britain.

The Sunbeam 215 hp engine was chosen for the aircraft. — 12-cylinder V-shaped liquid-cooled engine with a Lang pulling 4-blade propeller with a diameter of 3.66 m.

Although Transatlantic had a wheeled chassis, the design allowed it to splash down safely on the ocean surface. The triangular fuselage had watertight bulkheads. In the front part of the fuselage there was a fuel tank 2.74 m long and 0.91 m in diameter. Behind it was a two-seat pilot's cabin with side-by-side seats. The landing gear was separated after takeoff, reducing the weight of the structure. A standard landing was planned on water.

Construction of the aircraft began in May 1914. Shortly thereafter, on May 23, 1914, Hamel disappeared without a trace while flying another airplane over the English Channel. Nevertheless, the construction of the aircraft and the search for a new pilot continued until the outbreak of the First World War.

The outbreak of war did not allow a number of projects to conquer the Atlantic to be realized. At the same time, it stimulated the development of aircraft designs. Strength and reliability have increased, the service life of engines and the speed of airplanes have increased. The flight range has increased, especially for bombers. The latter could already, with sufficient fuel reserves, cover a distance of more than 4000 km without landing. This was enough for a non-stop flight from Newfoundland to Ireland. The only obstacle to the implementation of the idea was the involvement of the main aviation powers in hostilities. But in industrialized countries that did not take part in the war, or remote from the theaters of war, flight attempts resumed already in 1917.

In August 1917, Italian pilot Silvio Resnati arrived in the United States. The main purpose of his visit was to prepare serial production in the USA and train American pilots to fly it. On the same machine, equipped with three Isotta-Fraschini engines, the Italian pilot planned to make a transatlantic flight in 1918. This was not destined to come true - on May 16, 1918, Resnati died in the crash of his Caproni Sa.3 near Hampstead, New York.

Two months later, on July 15, 1918, forty American military pilots immediately submitted a petition on command with a proposal to carry out a transatlantic flight on an American-made Caproni or Handley-Page bomber. The idea was supported by US Secretary of Defense Baker. At the military airfield in Elizabeth, New Jersey, preparations began for the expedition that was to take place that same year on the Handley-Page bomber. The expedition was prepared thoroughly. It was planned to station ships at intervals of 200 nautical miles along the entire route from Newfoundland to Ireland to quickly assist pilots in the event of an emergency. However, the land pilots were ahead of the sailors on the Curtiss NC flying boats.

Sources: V.O. Bykov. "The Conquest of the Northern Atlantic."

NOTES

In the 20s of the 20th century, the planet literally froze in anticipation of the first transatlantic flight. French aviators Charles E. J. M. Nungesser and Francois Coli also began to prepare for the flight. For the first time, it was decided to fly from Europe to America, from east to west, against the rotation of the Earth.

The commander was Nungesser. One of the best aces in France, at the end of the First World War he had 45 enemy aircraft shot down. The “trademark” on board his combat vehicle - an ace of hearts with a coffin and a skull with two crossed bones - terrified German pilots.


Preparing for the flight
The White Bird, the plane on which the pilots were going to fly, was, in the words of one French journalist, a “flying tank” - the ship weighed a total of five tons, four of which were fuel in the tanks. In order to make the car as light as possible, the pilots even abandoned the radio. In addition, immediately after takeoff it was necessary to get rid of the wheeled chassis. Which obliged the plane, not intended for landing on water, to land on the surface of the sea in New York Bay. And yet, despite all these tricks, fuel was running short.

Flight from Le Bourget to New York On May 8, 1927, an enthusiastic crowd gathered at Le Bourget airfield (a suburb of Paris). Everyone wanted to take part in the event of the century. At 5 o'clock in the morning, the "White Bird" with Nungesser's "trademark" on board began its takeoff run. The heavy machine did not want to obey the will of the pilots and rise into the sky. Finally, as if reluctantly, she took off from the ground and, escorted by several military aircraft, disappeared into the sky.

Sensation from the Press
Since there was no radio on board. Messages could only be expected from the ground. The “White Bird” was seen over the Ile de France, Normandy, and there the ocean began... The next message came a little more than a day after the start of the flight. Hurray, they are already in America! They telegraph from Boston: they have been seen, they have flown over, they are heading to New York! All of France held its breath. Only an hour later, at 17:15, the Parisians were able to catch their breath. Excited by the long wait, they literally snatched the new issue of the Press, still smelling of printing ink, from the hands of the newspaper delivery men. The front page was full of assorted headlines:

“Glory to the masters of French aviation!” “Nungesser and Koli took the gold!” “Incredible details of the perfect raid!” Then the newspaper reported the very details of the splashdown of French aviators in New York Bay. Nungesser's plane flew out to meet an entire squadron of fighters led by Major Foulois. Accompanied by American warplanes, the White Bird landed on the water. The ships in the bay raised welcoming flags and sirens blared. Some New Yorkers, in disbelief, got into their boats and went out into the bay. The sky is flooded civil aircraft, hired by various members of the press. The "White Bird" landed on the water incredibly easily, after which the ship was immediately surrounded by several large ships. Four seaplanes were allocated, which circled over the triumphant aircraft at the lowest possible altitude, acting as insurance. Having splashed down, Nungesser and Koli hesitated, as if their victory over the ocean was a trifle not worth the general rejoicing. But a few minutes later they emerged from the plane and hugged. To the applause of the spectators, the howl of engines and the howling of sirens, the pilots descended onto land. Yes, it was a great day of French glory!

"White Bird"


Tragic mistake
Clouds of enthusiastic telegrams flew after the White Bird overseas. And - not a word in response... No, two Frenchmen failed to become the first to cross the ocean by plane. They flew, they waved their wings to the Bostonians... but they did not show up to meet the New Yorkers who were waiting for them. They went missing, Nungesser and Koli. They were expected, they were looked for. When all the deadlines had already expired, it became clear that they had died. A few minutes, several kilometers before its triumph, the “White Bird” with the ace of hearts, a coffin and a skull fell into the waters of the ocean. This is probably the greatest disappointment, the most spectacular failure in the history of aviation. If they had landed near Boston, they would have become winners and gone down in history. But this was established in advance: a triumph in front of the multimillion-dollar New York City, from there it will be seen and heard throughout the world!

A whole squad of police held back crowds of offended Parisians who tried at any cost to break into the offices of the Press and smash it to smithereens. But the reason for this incomprehensible and senseless newspaper deception remained a mystery then. The whole world, despite the grief for the two pilots who almost accomplished the almost impossible, could not resist a sarcastic grin: they say, it all turned out too “French”. It was as if the poor guys themselves - Nungesser and Kolya - turned out to be boasters. Even grief for them was somehow tainted by this scandal. The greatness of a hero's death turned into a joke. All that's left More than 30 years have passed since the disappearance of the White Bird. On a cold winter morning, Cliff Iceland (American, lobster fisherman) went out to sea on a boat. While raising the anchor of my boat, I felt that it had caught some kind of thing from the bottom. When the anchor emerged from the water, there were some sheets hanging on it, similar to the skin of an airplane... This was all that remained of the proud and mighty “White Bird”, which once decided on an unprecedented feat.

"Eyes to See" And three years later, in 1964, the mystery of the newspaper deception, the most amazing in the entire history of the world press, was revealed. The famous French journalist Georges Raven published the book “Eyes to See,” in which he talked about how everything happened on that ill-fated day in the newspaper editorial office, since he himself was one of the main characters this ugly story. After it was reported that the pilots had been seen over Boston and, therefore, the main obstacle, the Atlantic Ocean, had been overcome, the editor-in-chief made a decision that led to the collapse of the Press. “We need our newspaper to be the first to report a safe flight across the Atlantic!” he told the staff. No one dared to voluntarily come up with the details of a feat that had not yet been accomplished, and then the editor-in-chief appointed Raven to this task, as the youngest.

“I need fifty live lines” - “Maybe we should wait for more specific news?” - the young employee tried to object. “To share profits with competitors and get only small crumbs from what they could get? You just don’t feel the situation, my dear! They won a victory over an entire ocean, which means we can win ours too!” This is such a sad story. In fact, the crew of the “White Bird” achieved success, they were the first to make a transatlantic flight, but died due to the tragic thirst for glory. And another vice of the human soul - greed - influenced the “Press”, which led to general indignation and hatred. Which “White Bird” did not deserve.

 

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