This discussion piqued my interest so I just ordered Under a Wing and Lindbergh (Scott Berg's biography that is generally considered to be the definitive biography of him.)
Being a knife nut, I'm especially interested in Lindbergh's SAKs and other knives. Did you see the reference to him carrying a SAK Classic in Under a Wing?
In 2000, when I was on a round the country trip and went to the Lindberg house museum, seeing the little black classic hanging on his keyring in the ignition of the old VW bug was a strong clue that it was the little pen knife Reeve talked about him using to cut off the excess lacing of their moccasins after glueing the laces together. And the SAK laying on the floor with the sardine cans was his other SAK that Reeve talked about. The way she put it in the book was, that her dad liked Swiss Army knives, in the plural sense. So two of them were on display in the old VW he drove all over four continents. I know that Jon talked about his dad giving him a SAK, and his grandson not too long ago was going to fly a small plane across the Atlantic to commemorate his granddads flight, mentioned that he was carrying a SAK that his granddad had given him. Apparently he gifted SAK's to family members.
An article about Erik Lindberg. The last line of interesting.
[Grandson embarks on Lindbergh voyage
Tony Perry. Special to the Tribune. Tony Perry is a staff writer for the Los Angeles Times, a Tribune newspaperCHICAGO TRIBUNE
In hopes of replicating his grandfather's historic 1927 flight across the Atlantic and boosting interest in civilian aviation, Erik Lindbergh took off Sunday in a plane dubbed "The New Spirit of St. Louis."
Lindbergh, 37, an artist and executive with the St. Louis-based X Prize Foundation, taxied alone down the runway at an airport named for his grandfather in a state-of-the-art single-engine Lancair Columbia 300.
"This flight is all about celebration of the past and hope for the future," Lindbergh said.
Lindbergh landed Sunday evening at the Spirit of St. Louis Airport in Chesterfield, Mo., near St. Louis. He will take off later this week for Long Island and depart May 1 for Paris.
Lindbergh wants to drum up interest for the high-stakes competition being staged by the non-profit X Prize Foundation, dedicated to propagating science research and civilian space travel.
With heavy corporate sponsorship, the foundation is offering $10 million to the first group that can build an aircraft capable of sending three adults 62.5 miles into space and bringing them back safely, and then repeat the feat within two weeks.
"Charles Lindbergh's flight changed the public's mind-set about aviation," X Prize Foundation Chairman Peter Diamandis said. "We want the same from Erik--for people to say, `Hey, there's no reason space travel is just for government employees or wealthy millionaires.'"
Competitions have long been part of aviation. Charles Lindbergh was motivated by a $25,000 prize being offered for the first non-stop New York-France flight.
Erik Lindbergh has another reason for attempting the flight: to raise awareness about rheumatoid arthritis.
A star gymnast as a teenager, Lindbergh was diagnosed with arthritis in his early 20s and soon could barely walk without canes. But with medication and a devotion to exercise and diet, he shows few effects of the crippling condition.
"This mission is also about the future of medicine," he said. "It's about overcoming obstacles and [about] perseverance."
That the flight should start in San Diego is historically proper. Although the money to back Charles Lindbergh's flight came from St. Louis--hence the name of his plane--the expertise and determination came from San Diego.
A financially struggling company called Ryan Airlines built his single-engine monoplane on a shoestring budget and without blueprints.
Erik Lindbergh estimates that his 3,600-mile Long Island-to-Paris leg of the flight will take about 18 hours. His grandfather took 331/2 hours.
His all-composite, 219 m.p.h. Lancair has a satellite phone and Global Positioning System technology--a far cry from the submarine-like periscope that Ryan designers put in his grandfather's plane to overcome the fact that an oversize fuel tank blocked his view.
Lindbergh said he remembers little of his grandfather, who died in 1974, except that he was reluctant to talk about his famous flight.
"If anyone in the family asked him about the actual flight, he would say, `Read the book,'" his grandson said.
Although aviation has changed greatly in the 75 years since Charles Lindbergh made the first solo flight across the Atlantic, one factor remains as important as ever: luck.
Erik Lindbergh figures he has a good luck charm: a Swiss Army knife given to him by his grandfather.]