The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1928-02-01
By Charles A. Lindbergh
CHAPTER XVIII.

19ke ~A@S AAe
A. New York we checked over
the ulane. engine and instruments
which required several short flgnts
over the field.
when the plane was completely
inspected and ready for the trans
atlantic flight, there were dense
fogs reported along the coast ana
over Nova Scotia and Newfound-
land. in addition to storm area
over the North Atlantic.
ON the morning of May 10, a
light rain was falling and the sky
was overcast. Weather reports
from land stations and ships along
the great circle course were I'M
favorable and there was apparent
w no prospect of taking OH Tor
Paris for several days at least.
In the morning visited the
Wright plane at Paterson, N. j., ana
had planned to attend theater per-
Torrance in New York that evening.
But at about o'clock l receiS-
ed a special report from the New
York Weather Bureau. A high
pressure area over the entire North
Atlantic and low pressure over
Nova Scotia and Newfoundland was
receding. It was apparent that the
prospects of the fog clearing up
were as good as might expect for
some time to come. The North At
lantic should be clear with only
local storms on the coast Of Europe.
No Advantage
The moon had just passed full
and the percentage Of days with
fog over Newfoundland and the
Grand Banks was increasing so
that there seemed to be no r al
vantage in waiting longer.
We went to Curtiss Field as
quickly as possible and made ar
rangements for the Paragraph to
be sealed and installed. and for
the plane to be serviced and
checked.
We decided partially to fill the
fuel tanks in the hanger before
towing the ship on q truck to
Roosevelt Field, which adjoins
Curtiss Field on the east. where
the servicing would be completed.
I left the responsibility for con-
ditioning the plane In the hands OF
the men on the field, while / went
into the hotel for about two and
one-half hours OF rest; but at the
hotel there were several more de-
tails which had to be completed,
and / was unable to get any sleep
that night.
I returned to the field before day.
break on the morning of the goth.
A light rain was falling. which
continued until almost dawn. Con-
seque ntly we did not move the ship
to Roosevelt Field until much later
than we had planned, and the take
off was delayed from daybreak
until nearly 8 o'clock.
At dawn she shower had passed.
although the sky was overcast, and
occasionally there would be some
slight precipitation. The tail of the
plane was dashed to a truck and
escorted by a number OF motorcycle
police. The slow trip from Curtiss
to Roosevelt Field was begun.
The ship was placed at the ex.
IRENE west end Of the field, heading
along the east and west runway. and
the final fueling commenced.
About 7.30 q: m. the motor was
started and at 7:S2 / took OFF on the
flight for Paris.
A Soft Field
The field was a little soft due to
the rain during the night and the
heavily loaded plane gathered speed
very slowly. After passing the half
way mark, however, it was apparent
that I would be able to clear the OBJ
structions at the end. passed over
a tractor by about Is feet and
telephone line by about 20, with a
fair reserve of flying speed. I be-
lieve that the ship would have taken
off from a hard field with at least
500 pounds more weight.
I turned slightly to the right to
avoid some high trees on hill di-
rectly ahead. but by the time had
gone q few hundred yards had
sufficient altitude to clear all OBJ
structions and throttle the engine
down TO 1850 r.. p. NJ.
I took up a compass course at
once and soon reached Long Island
Sound, where the Curtiss Oriole with
it's photographer, which had been
escorting me, turned back.
The haze soon cleared and from
Cape Cod through the southern half
of Nova Scotia the weather and Wis
Utility were excellent. I was flying
very low, sometimes as close as 10
feet from the trees and water.
On the 300.Ylfle stretch of water