The first transatlantic flight 

People are commenting on an omission of mine: Lindbergh's flight was the first *solo* non-stop flight across the Atlantic, which was a claim to fame. Another reason that Lindbergh was famous is that the whole of America followed the story of his kidnapped baby. Fame breeds fame. The more famous he was for one thing (baby), the more he would be remembered for another (flight). That he played a significant part in 'the war' is irrelevant, because his flight was in 1927, and he played no part in WW1. In WW2, he was a technical advisor to pilots in the Far East theatre of operations, and his advice made very significant differences to US aerial capabilities.

I'm waiting for Lindy to tell everybody that Americans weren't actually the first to land on the moon. "In 1873 a steam explosion blew an Englishman all the way to the moon, but no one counts it because he didn't make it back."

"Dear Alcock. I trust you are well, despite the difficult circumstances. I am just writing to you to let you know that I am having difficulty reading the fuel gauges, and I am thinking of taking a little walk out along the wings, just to stretch my legs for a bit. Back in a jiffy. Hoping this finds you as it leaves me, etcetera etcetera. Yours, Brown."

On a related theme On the 25 July 1909 Louis Bleriot completed the first flight from France to Britain, on the 26th July 1909 Britain built the worlds first Anti Aircraft Gun ;)

*Speaking of unfortunately-named businesses, I was once in the Southern United States on business when I passed by the Challenger Academy Day Care. "Challenger" as in the space shuttle. The one that famously exploded on launch. Complete with a logo featuring smiling children riding in a space shuttle.*

The Wright brothers were the first to successfully do heavier than air powered *controlled* (pitch, roll, and yaw) flight. There were gliders that flew in Germany in the 1800s.

America: We did something first the field of aviation Britain: No we did that same thing way before you did, you just got all the media attention. France: YOU'RE BOTH WRONG! We French did this when you British fops were hiding behind Victoria's skirts. Germans: No no no, It was Count Alfired Von Scklebkeberghahauremerger in 1803 who did it with nothing more than a piece of paper and a comb. Middle East: Nope fake news it was Abbas Bin Ali Fasel Rakhamanan Mohammed who flew in 927 A. D. in Mesopotamia China: You are ALL WRONG! China did it in the Zhou Dynasty in 2150 B.C. India: China you stole that from us because it was Singh Nosuaureanmatkantoknoanonwamonakakan in 2218 B.C.

Lindy did three things that were different. He flew from a planned point to a planned point, planned the flight and flew the plan. He did it solo and the plane was still usable after his flight.

I offer £25 to the first person who can cross the Atlantic on a pogo stick. I believe this can be achieved through the use of a series of strategically placed cork mats.

Kingsford-Smiths flight from Sydney to Auckland is one of the craziest ever, on a 3 engine plane the right engine failed 2 hrs after take off. 4 hrs later the left engine began to overheat and needed more oil to keep working. One of the crew had to climb out on the wing and fill his coffee thermos full of oil from the defunct right engine, pass it back into the cabin to be poured into a suitcase, and then transferred using his thermos into the struggling left engine.

29:48 I like the idea that Lloyd had those flags just sat there ready to wave the entire video

Lindbergh was famous for the first SOLO flight over the Atlantic

And another first for Britain. The world's first crash into a bog as the end of a transatlantic flight.

30 minutes of aviation history on a Friday night? Sounds like a party to me!

Specifically, Lindbergh won the $25,000 prize offered by French born New York hotelier Raymond Orteig for the first non-stop flight from New York to Paris. Which was also the first non-stop flight from a city in the continental US to a city in continental Europe. Six years later he surveyed the routes for the first transatlantic passenger services, which led to the flying boat stations at Foynes in Ireland and Botwood in Newfoundland being established, and services commenced in 1937.

Imprisoned by hope and blinded by aspiration.

"aspiration Blinds" reminds me of a sign I saw once that was advertising "Invisible Burglar Bars" and the only thing I could think of was "Looks like someone been having a problem with Hobbits".

There's nothing like a good war to give technology a boost.

As I remember it, Lindbergh's challenge wasn't to fly the Atlantic, but non-stop New York to Paris (Orteig Prize). If it was just the Atlantic he could have taken off and landed a lot closer than he did.

the logo would work an engine warning, as in "don't look into the carburetor! aspiration blinds!"

Choo-choo planes? In the 1840s? British Humor just never gets old :)

Just had the strangest moment of my whole life. I fell asleep about an hour ago and woke up just now thinking it was 10 Saturday morning, made myself a full fried English breakfast and a cup of tea and give my cat it’s breakfast and let it out...came on my phone to see what’s uploaded and just noticed the actual time watching this video. I needed to share this because I truly believe the matrix has just glitched in me and now I feel surreal.

No one seems to want to mention the R34 Airship that in July 1919 did the FIRST transatlantic return flight across the Atlantic. But despite this I have just discovered Lindybeige and I think you are brilliant, cant get enough of your stuff.

Love the Churchill impression.

I crossed the Atlantic with a bicycle and some Irish friends

Man, youre a great story teller Lindy, you paint a great picture.

Amazing that they were able to fly in the clouds with no gyroscopic instruments. During instrument flight training a flight instructor has you put your head down and close your eyes and you try to fly by the seat of your pants. You may feel like you’re straight and level but when you look up suddenly you’re in a steep bank and in a steep dive or something. This gets a lot of pilots killed even if they have a well equipped airplane. Scary stuff. Badass story, thanks Lindy!

The first flight across the Atlantic was by the NC-4, an American flying boat, in May of 1919. Alcott and Brown made the first NONSTOP flight in June of that same year.

and this Vickers Vimy plane is on display at the Science Museum in London.

Lindy's a wonderful story-teller. I could listen to him all day long. Truth be told: right up until the end, I was positive that any moment, he was going to tell us that the plane dove into the sea and was lost forever (or something like that). But no, he got us through to the very end. Well done, Lindy! And he is just SO British! Not "brave", but "flipping brave". And that flag waving at the end -- priceless!

You can see Alcock and Brown's Vimy in the Science Museum, London. The fuselage covering is cut back so you can see that it was just _stuffed_ with fuel tanks.

Thanks as always a very entertaining production. My experience of "White outs" or total loss of orientation, is that they are very hard to cope with. Many people will say it was a total Whiteout up there, my experience of thousands of hours of climbing, skiing, running, is that I have only really experienced a Whiteout 3 times, when you are in one you know about it, most people have never experienced how difficult it is. If you are skiing it is difficult to tell whether you are moving or stopped, there is no horizon, there is no feedback about movement, you cannot even see your feet. So well done A&B for coping with this, with very primitive kit.

Lindenbergh was the first confirmed flight for a single person in a plane, also known as solo flight, and at the same time a non-stop direct flight between North America and Europe. There was no confirmed flight before Lindenbergh's crossing that was both a SOLO flight and a NON-STOP flight. There were plenty of multicrew flights across the Atlantic that were non-stop, and plenty of solo flights that were with stops along the way on islands. There was never a confirmed flight before Lindenbergh (there were claims for the feat as far back as 1923) for both solo and non-stop across the Atlantic.

Not to pick too fine a point, but the Wright brothers were the first to demonstrate controlled flight. As in, they were actually in control of their craft, they knew why their design flew, and they understood the principles that enabled it to do so.The same cannot be said of ANY of their predecessors or contemporaries. They had experimented for years with scale models and manned gliders before designing and building their own engine. Also, they weren't exactly 'filmed', there was a fellow there with a camera who took a picture, and it was quite some time before anyone who hasn't witnessed the feat believed them.

In his excellent book "A Short History of nearly Everything" Bill Bryson explains that although the Wright brother's Kitty Hawk flight had predecessors, theirs was the first machine capable of sustained controlled flight. Their acheivement was much more than just tinkering in a shop, getting lucky and good publicity. Being English born in 1952, of course I knew that Alcock and Brown first flew the Atlantic! But great video, thanks.

your brief account of these brave brits harrowing journey is actually better than the lindy movie

Fantastic video, Lindy! Really enjoyed this thrilling story. Any chance of a follow-up episode about the first westbound journey across the Atlantic by the British rigid airship R.34?

Dear LindyBeige, Very enjoyable and articulate presentation- as usual; thank you. When you visit the landing site from Clifden, it is really quite dramatic and calls to mind the sheer extent of what had been achieved. It is remote, and if they had missed by a fraction of a degree they were in for an icey grave.They would probably survive for no more than 20 minutes in the ocean, assuming that they could “ditch” without serious injury. No radio beacons, no radar, no GPS- they were heroes. It would be nice if you could visit the site and give some local context. I have to discount a lot of the discussion regarding Lindberg. Every year yielded tremendous advances in technology, so that 1927 was far removed from 1919. I acknowledge the great achievement of a single engined solo flight, but it was 8 years later. One must not forget the first East to West flight of the Bremen from Baldonnel, (now Casement airfield) in 1928. An extreme challenge, but perhaps to your regret, not one with a British flight crew. Come visit Ireland and see some of these places for yourself- The achievement is something to be remembered as we strap ourselves in and await the snacks- Every success,

Glad you noticed Alcock and Brown, I authored a school project on the way back in the 60s when we made airfix kits & balsa and tissue models!

I like seeing signs in the chip shop window 'Try our pies, you'll never get better!'. I've got too much to live for, I'm not risking it.

I can't believe a guy running a channel called "Lindybeige", who teaches Lindy Hop, made a video talking about how the guy who is supposedly the source of the term "Lindy Hop" wasn't actually as great as people seem to think

The first Trans Atlantic flight and they're still waiting for the luggage at the carousel.

As a Brit and aviation enthusiast I would argue Lloyd that the reason that we are so enamored by the flights at Kitty Hawk was that they flew a controlled aircraft that they continually developed with different models, as you say the aerial steam carriage flew short hops and then they gave up with it. Other than that your storytelling as always was excellent.

Very informative and well presented. I'm from New Jersey and was visiting the west of Ireland in the early 1980s. I forget exactly where it was, but there was an exhibit of photos and text near where Alcock and Brown landed. I guess it was near Galway. It was a real revelation, never having heard of them before. What great and brave men.

Seaplanes seem to be ideal for flying over huge oceans and resupplying at islands

Hi Lindy, I don't normally comment on youtube videos but I kind of can't help myself this time. I just wanted to point out that St. John's itself isn't an island, it's a town on the island of Newfoundland.

RU-vidrs go I come and go, I get hooked to one and watch them non stop and then get bored but you, Lindy, ypu i stick to through thick and thin, I guess it’s the learning you empart on me, however it’s not just the learning it’s the true facts of the deep research you do that I care for most. You truly outdo yourself with that specific research you do and that makes your videos. I would love you to do more poetic stuff but i appreciate your in-depth knowledge non the less. Keep going beigey

I just realized that mail was the first real world application of air planes. You can create a lot of value by transporting small quantities of matter fast. Also the mail services of the day didn't necessarily have to make a profit.

Love the flag waving!

Can you make a video on the Welsh ;) just the welsh in general...we need any publicity we can get...

I thought everyone knew this. We've just celebrated the centenary of Alcock & Brown's famous flight.

I heard about this story in a mustard video and had to lookup a video of it. Now I’ve found you and I’m very happy to be subscribed :)

Love this video Lloyd, however i have one small correction... You mention that aAlcock and Brown were “trained by the RAF”. Alcock was actually a Royal Naval pilot first, though he learnt to fly before the War, and Brown was trained in the Royal Flying Corps, and hence an Army Officer.

One of the examples of publicity overshadowing real achievements is the case of stratosphere jumps. In 2012 Austrian extreme sports star Felix Baumgartner got to perform a jump from the highest altitude in history - 24 mi / 39 km. The whole thing was also a gigantic publicity stunt for his sponsor - Red Bull. They poured enormous amount of cash to film and broadcast the whole event through the internet and TV and radio around the globe. Red Bull also made shure that their logos were allvover the place making the whole affair one giant advertisement. Whole world saw this or was informed about this in the news. Many people today belive that it was Baumgartner who performed the longest leap in history and that his record was never beaten. But that's not true at all. Merely two years later a member of Google's higher management - an unremarkably looking middle-aged man by the name Alan Eustace beat Baumgartner by two miles or three kilometres. He just got the sponsors, paid his share for the equipment and work neaded to make the whole thing work and jumped. With almost no publicity at all compared to the well-cherished Red Bull media campaign from two years prior. And so almost nobody heard about this feat. So I don't blame people for not knowing the first men who flew across the Atlantic and other heroes and daredevils of early aviation. Many remarkable people were lost and will be lost to history. In 21st century those types of things still happen.

It's not surprising they met at Brooklands racing circuit. It was, after all, an aerodrome too.

I really enjoyed this one, thanks lindybeige.

The problem with facts is that your brain has a limited capacity to absorb them. Just like when you go to a party and you are introduced to 10 people in 30 seconds. You will remember maybe 3 or 4 of their names. So when you read that "the American Charles Lindbergh was the first to fly solo across the Atlantic in 1927 in the Spirit of St-Louis", that is a lot of facts all at once. One fact that is easily missed is expressed with 4 little letters: "solo". He is also famous for winning the Orteig Prize, which was a 25 000$ prize offered to the first aviator to fly from New-York to Paris non-stop. So that is probably why he got a lot of press. You will get much more publicity if you leave from New-York and land in Paris than if you leave from middle of nowhere Newfoundland and land in Ireland.

I giggled through about 85% of this 😂

As someone who plays Rise of Flight (WW1 combat flight sim) I can say that flying through a cloud is raaaaather precarious.

Lindybeige is living proof that story telling is an art form and something that should never be lost.

Can you imagine how exciting that would be? 2000 miles over patches of ice and ocean, sound of the engine only thing in your ear, and your natural senses guiding you through the way.

This video had my attention from start to finish. Well done on another great video. Keep up the great work.

The Wright Brothers were the first for being catapulted across a cow pasture in a powered glider. The first real airplane that could take-off, maintain altitude, gain and lower altitude, turn corners, and then actually land was the Silver Dart of Scottish Canadian Alexander Graham Bell.

I enjoy listening to your stories, you're one hell of a storyteller, carry on Loyd!.

Who claims that Lindbergh was the first to fly across the Atlantic? I thought it was well established that he was the first to fly SOLO across the Atlantic.

Someone needs to make that flag waving into a gif

I remember reading about Alcock and Brown in one of those small format comic books we had in the UK when I was young they used to have stories about commando raids and explorers and stuff in them.

For several months before lockdown I shared a workspace with the actual RR Eagle Engine from the Vimmy used in the first transatlantic flight. It's now on display in the Silk Mill in Derby

Perhaps Lindbergh was the "First to fly to France using a periscope"?

Even the commercial by Lindy is so funny to listen that you don't skip forward xD You're great, sir!

that was an amazing story! even for lindybeige!

I thought this was well known . As a kid in the '70s we were taught this . Later we moved to Swansea where there is a plaque to A W Brown who lived there in the Uplands till his death in 1948

I wish I didn't have to do this, but as this is a history channel I feel it necessary to point out Llloyd's errors. Lindbergh is famous not because he was filmed, but rather because he was the first to fly non-stop from New York to Paris(The Orteig Prize), and he did it solo to boot, which many found even more extraordinary. Henson's Aerial Steam Carriage could be considered the first manned heavier than air flight. It flew about 40m, indoors, without controls. It wasn't an airplane because it couldn't control it's pitch, yaw, or roll. The Wright Brothers are famous not for being filmed, but for the first airplane(or if you're British, aeroplane). You'll find the information about Lindbergh and Henson on Wikipedia. For an explanation on way many primitive flying machines weren't airplanes, watch this video: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-EZcuJN0Yyi0.html It's a shame that Lloyd so often makes these kind of errors, because he is an entertaining speaker and many people see him as a reliable source for history on RU-vid.

92nd comment reporting

He was the first guy to fly non stop and actually end up where he said he would. Most planes that flew across the Atlantic would stop to refuel along the way and their pilots usually ended up lost and landed in some other city. Also a lot of people who flew across the Atlantic never reached their destinations alive. Lindbergh managed the New York - Paris route that won him the Orteig Prize and the hearts of the American and French public. The fact that he did it solo made the feat all the more heroic. Most pilots who tried what he achieved were famous and decorated individuals who also had a dedicated navigator and still ended up lost and there he was, an air mail pilot on a fabric airplane made by an unknown aircraft company reaching Paris on his first try. While his Orteig Prize victory was still fresh, the Americans paraded him all across the U.S. promoting aviation. He was the poster child of the American Dream. The hero that rose to glory with a feat of courage. He toured all around the country, wrote books and him being a reserved and antisocial person only made people love him even more thinking of him as humble. He advised the U.S. army and fought a little as a civilian. He even worked along scientists on a bunch of different fields. Surely the abduction of his son that shocked the nation did help bring him back to the public eye but he would have been remembered for his flying feat anyway. No civilian pilot has been loved as much by the American public or has been promoted as much so that he could in turn promote aviation. Even so, the public eye did not follow him around forever. He was a very private man after all. So much so that his illicit affairs never became known during his life and even remained a secret for years after his death. His views on eugenics didn't sit well with the public either but that came about much later. At the height of his glory he overshadowed every other pilot (save for those that were war heroes) and sadly he overshadowed them enough that most are largely forgotten nowadays. I believe it was him winning the Orteig Prize after so many others died or were injured that made him so famous and him doing it solo. At the very same year records for longer flights than Lindbergh's have been set and right after Lindbergh's successful flight Chamberlain succesfully flew to Germany and Byrd attempted to replicate the flight to Paris. Both flew longer than Lindbergh but both ended up in different cities than what they planned so even though Lindbergh might not have been the best pilot of his generation, he surely was a great navigator and lucky enough to have his competition fail to reach Paris. Every other transatlantic fight at the time was full of drama, people died, people got lost etc. He made it look easy and that was exactly what people needed to see. That flying to Paris in one go was something a 25 years old air mail pilot could do on his own and that commercial flights to Paris could soon become a reality. At the time, interest in transatlantic commercial flights had plummeted. Or interest in commercial flights in general. Sad as it is that Alcock and Brown are not as famous as Lindbergh, he did help promote aviation and became a public figure.

30 minute take, one of the reasons why i love you lindy.

It was me, I did it

a paper bag in the jet stream flow across first :)

The town of Gander Newfoundland has named two crescents for the pilots. Alcock Crescent and Brown Crescent. The story of the flight was one of the more stirring history lessons we had in Canada (1960s). This was no surprise for me.

Long time viewer of your videos and I love what you do. Keep it up sah!

Almost first

I absolutely love how Lindy just does these entire storytime videos in one big take, feel like my fun uncle is telling me a story over dinner haha

I didn't realise it was an open cockpit. That's extraordinary.

You are the only video maker who can speak about the sponsor in an enjoyable way. I never skip your ad bits. (Neebs Gaming does good ads - one of only two video makers who advertise well) :)

Am I the only one who wants Lindy to make an episode where he just rambles about random things? Its too fascinating to listen to.

Iceberg infested waters

Great video. Beautiful story telling. thank you.

Nice job. As a Canadian schoolboy I grew up on the story of Alcock & Brown (despite the fact that Newfoundland wasn't part of Canada in 1919). Two minor quibbles. One, the St. John's they took off from is not an island (although Newfoundland is); it's the capital city. Two, "Newfoundland" is correctly pronounced by those who live there with the stress on the last syllable (and a lot of Canadians get this wrong).

Lindbergh was the first to fly non-stop from the U.S. to continental Europe, and he did this solo. This should not diminish what Brown and Alcock's did in their harrowing journey seven years earlier. Lindy opines that Lindbergh's fame eclipses Alcock and Brown mostly because it was filmed. This is easily disproved because when Lindbergh landed in France, he was greeted by 150,000 cheering Frenchmen who obviously did not see this movie.

"Aspiration blinds, so don't even try" the real Spirit of Britain.

Outstanding video again!

Always informative and interesting :)

Dear Mr. Beige, Please stop calling us "american". Thank you. - Canada.

Just three years after the Lindbergh hop, a young English girl Amy Johnson, flow solo from London to Australia. Flying solo for a girl is even more challenging as there is no one to chat to.

I'm likely one of the few of your watcher that knew of the Vimy flight across the Atlantic. Lindbergh was the first to fly across the Atlantic SOLO as I understand... SOLO is what most people forget about his Atlantic flight. I got a chance to see a replica of a Vickers Vimy some years ago, at our local airport here in Friday Harbor Washington... When you see what the pilots had to work with on that flight in 1919 it becomes very impressing... I have more instrumentation on my Ultralight than they did.

Great job as always Lindy, my wife just bought me a copy of 'The life and correspondence of Admiral Sir Sidney Smith' and I'll probably be calling my twin boys Jack and Author. Keep up the good work and I look forward to your next video.

Alcock is part of my "acting" name.

Lloyd literally made a video called "Only the First First Counts". Then he talks for half an hour about how the first(but not seaplane) transatlantic flight is the one that *actually counts*.

Amazing to see an aviation video. Didn’t think it was your cup of tea, but I quite like aviation, but I am hoping for some more in the future!

Bloody hell! The advert for audible is incredible! Respect, Lindy!