Someone just forwarded a fantastic historical presentation on Lindbergh's Altlantic flight to me. Any of you who truly love aviation history really need to see this. The amateur film maker compiled, edited and enhanced a bunch of historic footage that is usually not seen woven together like this. He apparently worked on the audio, with real recordings of the Spirit's engine. It is a very worthwhile set of four videos. Several of the photos and clips were ones that I've never seen before.

Click on the link below, then click on "contact" on the left main menu. On the little video screen in the main window you will get a menu of four choices, kinda like a modern DVD menu. Watch the videos in order. It starts with an homage to the aviators who did not survive their transatlantic flight attempts, such as Monsieurs Nungesser et Coli.

Hats off to Mr. Winn Perkins for doing a great job.

http://www.airportappraisals.com/contact/

Excellent film production

Excellent and historic stuff!!

I've read a fair bit about Lindbergh.
Extremely complex individual.
Although the money looks nice sometimes, being 'famous' is about as much fun as eating live hornets.

nealkas wrote:
I've read a fair bit about Lindbergh.
Extremely complex individual.
Although the money looks nice sometimes, being 'famous' is about as much fun as eating live hornets.

I've also learned a little about Lindbergh over the years, and in a previous lifetime I saw plenty of fame and fortune up close (both the good side and the bad).

Lindbergh was a brave, talented man who did the impossible and endured fame, and then great personal tragedy. He later developed an unfortunate character problem that tarnished his image, but before those events he served as the inspiration for an entire generation of giants in the aerospace business. The people who gave us victory in the air in WW2 were the kids who were awed by Lindbergh in 1927. The scientists who got us to the moon were the kids who built rubber powered models of the Spirit in the '30s. His impact on aviation, transportation and space cannot be overstated. He did for aviation (popular support) what Ford did for the automobile.

Handling fame properly, enjoying it the right way and not letting it get the better of you, is a lot harder than becoming famous... and that's hard enough already. The one who handled (that level of) fame the best, over the longest period of time without losing the battle with it, was Sinatra.

I think his WW2 views were terribly oversimplified.
He didn't love the Nazis.
He was asked to review the abilities of the Luftwaffe.
When he saw them, he was right in his assessment.
At that moment, we'd have gotten our kiesters handed to us airwise.
The level of equipment and training they had in the late 30's compared to ours was far superior.
Isolationism and some of his other views were not exactly unpopular stances, incorrect as I believe some of them were.
His later work and writings indicate he had certainly reconsidered some issues through the years.
His personal life is between him and those concerned. His wife was an equally complex individual.

I've worked closely in a variety of capacities with people who have a public life.
Like you said, there can be some quite lovely moments, when you can see lives touched.
But after the 18th city in 30 days, I didn't care how nice the suite was, the tourbus is still...a bus, it always feels like about 0315 in the morning, and you sure learn to keep one hand on your wallet pocket and check the other for your watch and wedding ring after shaking hands.

I think Neil Armstrong and Edmund Hillary probably have handled this sort of fame best of all.