The Lindberghs' Summer Excursion Part I
By 1931 Charles Lindbergh had acquired the aura of the world's greatest aviator and hero. He had also acquired a young wife, and one year-old baby. Yet he longed for an adventure, one that would further the cause of air travel. Since his epic flight across the Atlantic in 1927, many other pilots had successfully tested new air routes. So, in the summer of 1931, Lindbergh decided to fly from New York to China via Canada, Alaska, Russia, and Japan, but not as the "Lone Eagle" of 1927; this time he would have a co-pilot-radio operator -- Anne Morrow Lindbergh. The following story of their summer excursion relies mainly on Anne Lindbergh's 1935 book North to the Orient.
On July 27, 1931, at College Point, New York, the Lockeed seaplane Sirius gently rocked on the waters of Long Island Sound. The plane's fuselage looked like a giant black cigar. At the hot tip was a powerful Wright 575 h.p. Cyclone engine; halfway down the fuselage a long glass canopy covered both the pilots compartment and, directly behind the pilot, the co-pilot's compartment; the fuselage tapered down to a point, but was topped by a large thumbnail- shaped tail section. The black fuselage sat in the middle of a single orange wing connected to two Duralumin pontoons, each containing 150 - gallon gas tanks. The tanks were full and the plane ready for take off.
A small crowd formed near the Movietone newsreel truck, and a dock side radio announcer reported the scene. After describing every heroic twitch of Charles Lindberg's face as he climbed into the cockpit, the announcer turned his attention to Anne Lindbergh: "Mrs. Lindbergh is wearing a leather flying helmet and leather coat, and high leather flying boots." Anne looked at herself and wondered who the announcer was describing; she wore a thin cotton blouse -- sticky from the heat -- a pair of rubber sneakers and she was bareheaded. With a knowing smile Anne suddenly realized her outfit fell short of the standard flyers regalia and of course "The Great Radio Public must not be disappointed!"
After Anne settled herself into the rear seat, the engine burst into life with a powerful roar and Charles slowly maneuvered the plane away from the dock. Anne described the take off: "The spray sluiced over the windshield as we started to take off.... I held my breath after each pounding spank as the pontoons skipped along from wave to wave. ...the plane felt clumsy, like a duck with clipped wings. It met the coming wave quivering after each effort to rise...quick, sharp jolts. I put my hand on the receiving set. It was shaking violently. Suddenly all vibrations smoothed out. Effortlessly we rose; we were off; a long curve upward."
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