First non-stop transatlantic flight. First transatlantic flight

The Wright brothers made their first airplane flight in December 1903. But it took another five years before airplanes began to fly for real. An important psychological barrier was overcome on July 25, 1909, when Louis Blériot crossed the English Channel for the first time. The conquest of a significant water barrier showed that the plane is capable of being not only a new circus attraction, but also a serious one. vehicle. Flight training for everyone was carried out by many private aviation schools, airplanes were continuously improved.

Blériot's flight stimulated a further assault on the waters. On September 11, 1910, Robert Loraine flew over the Irish Sea for the first time in a Farman airplane. True, due to engine problems, he did not reach the Irish coast 60 m. His business was completed by Corbett Wilson in April 1912. Morane-Saulnier crossed the Mediterranean for the first time, his journey was 730 km. Then it was the turn of the Atlantic.

However, several aviators from Great Britain, the USA, Denmark and other countries began to prepare for a transatlantic flight as early as 1910-1912. After the failure of Wellman's airship, the challenge to the ocean was decided by pilot Harry Carter (Harry Grahame Carter). He set the launch date for March 19, 1911. On a plane of his own design, Carter was going to fly from Sandy Hook, USA, to Queenstown (now Cove), Ireland. The aviator expected to cross the Atlantic in 49 hours.

According to the project, Carter's aircraft had an all-metal frame and sheathing made of a material that the author called parchment. Two 30 hp engines were used as a power plant. unspecified model with two-bladed metal propellers. The engine life was only 27 hours, but Carter hoped to bring it up to 54 hours. He believed that 136 liters of gasoline would be enough for him to overcome the distance of 3860 km.

The gas tanks were hollow tubular frame structures. To build the car, Carter rented a garage in Jamaica Plain, a suburb of Boston. What happened next is unknown even to perhaps the most complete guide to US aircraft, but the available design description makes it highly doubtful that Carter's plane could fly long distances.

A more serious contender was Hugh Robinson (Hugh Armstrong Robinson, 1881-1963), a former chief pilot at Curtiss. He began preparing for a transatlantic expedition in September 1911. But after making preliminary calculations, Robinson came to the conclusion that the available technologies did not yet allow such a project to be implemented. In 1912, Robinson switched to the development of the Benoist XIII flying boat, on the basis of which the Benoist XIV aircraft later arose, the first in the world to start regular passenger air transportation in January 1914.

Robinson's refusal to storm the Atlantic did not prevent his former boss Glenn Curtiss (Glenn Hammond Curtiss, 1878-1930) from completing the job. More precisely, almost to the end. In August 1913, he began building the Curtiss H twin-engine flying boat. The project was sponsored by Rodman Wanamaker, owner of a chain of department stores in New York and Philadelphia. The transatlantic flight was planned to be carried out in the summer of 1914.

The flying boat, which received the name "America", was a wooden tricycle biplane of the classical design. Ailerons were located only on the upper wing. The aircraft had two Curtiss OH 90 hp engines. between the wings with two-bladed pusher propellers. The boat is weak. The cockpit, designed for two pilots and a flight mechanic, was closed. The fuel supply allowed to make a non-stop flight over a distance of 1770 km.

The Curtiss H-1 prototype was launched on 22 June 1914 and first flew the following day. In the process of intensive testing, a number of shortcomings were identified that required refinement of the design. But even after that, the car could not raise the required fuel supply. Therefore, a third engine with a pulling propeller was installed on the upper wing.

Deciding technical problems, the organizers of the flight scheduled the launch for August 5, 1914 (the sources also give the date August 15). The expedition was supposed to start from St. John's, Newfoundland. The further route passed through the islands of the Azores Faial and San Miguel, where intermediate landings were planned. From there, "America" ​​was supposed to fly to Portugal, then cross the Bay of Biscay, the English Channel and reach the coast of Britain near the city of Plymouth.

The crew included the aircraft designer and his friend, naval pilot John Henry Towers. But Curtiss's flight was categorically opposed by his wife, and Towers' flight by the command of the US Navy (five years later, he nevertheless took part in the transatlantic expedition).

Then the commander of the crew Weinamaker appointed a retired lieutenant of the British Navy John Porte (John Cyrill Porte, 1883-1919), and the co-pilot of the American George Hallet (George Hallett). But the first began World War and the flight was cancelled. Port went to serve in the Royal Navy, and there he persuaded the Lords of the Admiralty to purchase the America and her understudy. On the basis of these machines, more powerful flying boats were developed, which were built in a large series, but that's another story.

One of the incentives for the creation of the Curtiss H-1 "America" ​​aircraft was a prize established on April 1, 1913 by the British newspaper magnate Alfred Harmsworth, Lord Northcliffe. The owner of the Daily Mail promised to pay £10,000 to the first person to cross Atlantic Ocean from anywhere in the US to anywhere in the UK or Ireland on any aircraft without landing in 72 hours. Both an Englishman and a foreigner could become the owner of the prize. The high prize amount has intensified the work of many designers, most of whom turned out to be fellow countrymen of Lord Northcliffe.

Photo by Curtiss H-1 America.

One of the main contenders was Samuel Cody (Samuel Franklin Cody), the creator of the first British actually flying aircraft. He designed the float monoplane Cody monoplane No.VII with a gigantic wingspan of 36.58 m for that time and a cabin designed for three crew members. Such an aircraft required a 400 hp engine, which then did not exist in nature. Cody issued an order to an unnamed French firm to develop the motor. But the death of the aviator on August 7, 1913 stopped work on the project. In the aviation press of 1913-1914, one can also find reports about the construction of transatlantic aircraft by the British firms of the James brothers (James Bros.) and A. V. Roe and Co. (Avro), however, no details are given.

Another contender for the prize was Handley Page. In December 1913, the chief designer of the company, George Volkert (George Rudolph Volkert, 1891-1978), developed a project for a single-engine biplane L / 200 - in the 1920s it was retrospectively designated HP.8, on which a woman first decided to conquer the Atlantic. Lady Anne Seivil, married Princess Lövinstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg (Lady Anne Savile / Anne Prinzessin zu Lowenstein-Wertheim-Freudenberg, 1864-1927) was going to fly with Roland Ding (William Rowland Ding, 1885-1917). The pilot and airwoman had to be placed side by side in the cockpit. The power plant is a 14-cylinder Salmson (Canton-Unne) liquid-cooled engine with 200 hp. with pull screw. The fuel reserve is designed for a 23-hour flight. But before the start of the First World War, the aircraft was never completed, and later the company was fully loaded with military orders.

Characteristics aircraftwho unsuccessfully tried to cross Atlantic by air

The transatlantic aircraft was also created by the British company Martin-Handasyde Ltd. The sponsor of this project was the Canadian financier Mackay Edgar (E. Mackay Edgar). The wooden monoplane with a trapezoidal wing received the quite understandable name Martin-Handasyde Transatlantic. The flight across the Atlantic was planned to be carried out from Newfoundland to Ireland. The pilot was appointed Gustav Hamel (Gustav Hamel, 1889-1914), who had previously made the first official postal flight in the UK.

The Sunbeam 215 hp engine was chosen for the aircraft. - 12-cylinder V-shaped liquid-cooled with a pulling 4-blade propeller Lang with a diameter of 3.66 m.

Although the Transatlantic had a wheeled undercarriage, the design made it possible to safely splash down on the surface of the ocean. The trihedral fuselage had watertight bulkheads. In front of the fuselage was a fuel tank with a length of 2.74 m and a diameter of 0.91 m. Behind him was a double cockpit with seats side by side. The landing gear was separated after takeoff, reducing the weight of the structure. Regular landing was provided for on the water.

The construction of the aircraft began in May 1914. Shortly thereafter, on May 23, 1914, Hamel disappeared without a trace while flying on another airplane over the English Channel. Nevertheless, the construction of the aircraft and the search for a new pilot continued until the outbreak of the First World War.

The outbreak of war did not allow a number of projects to conquer the Atlantic to be realized. At the same time, it stimulated the development of aircraft designs. Strength and reliability have increased, engine life has increased, and the speed of airplanes has increased. Increased flight range, especially for bombers. The latter could already, in the presence of sufficient fuel reserves, cover a distance of more than 4000 km without landing. This was enough for a non-stop flight from Newfoundland to Ireland. The only obstacle to the implementation of the idea was the involvement of the main aviation powers in hostilities. But in industrialized countries that did not take part in the war, or remote from the theaters of military operations, flight attempts resumed as early as 1917.

In August 1917, the Italian pilot Silvio Resnati arrived in the USA. The main purpose of his visit was the preparation of serial production in the United States and the training of American pilots to fly on it. On the same machine, equipped with three Isotta-Fraschini engines, the Italian pilot planned to make a transatlantic flight in 1918. This was not destined to come true - on May 16, 1918, Resnati died in the crash of his Caproni Ca.3 near Hampstead, New York.

Two months later, on July 15, 1918, forty American military pilots at once filed a petition on command with a proposal to carry out a transatlantic flight in an American-made Caproni or Handley-Page bomber. The idea was supported by US Secretary of Defense Baker. At a military airfield in the city of Elizabeth, New Jersey, preparations began for the expedition, which was to take place in the same year on the Handley-Page bomber. The expedition was well prepared. It was planned to place ships along the entire route from Newfoundland to Ireland at intervals of 200 nautical miles in order to promptly provide assistance to pilots in the event of an accident. However, the land pilots were outpaced by sailors in Curtiss NC flying boats.

Sources: V.O. Bykov. "The Conquest of the North Atlantic".

NON-STOP ATLANTIC FLIGHT

Turning to historical events, who glorified the beginning of the last century with legendary air travel, the question naturally arises: who was the first to make a non-stop flight across the Atlantic alone?

One hundred years ago (in 1913) a popular English newspaper announced a reward of £10,000 for a flight across the Atlantic Ocean. The Daily Mail newspaper prophesied glory to that crew of an airplane or a lone pilot who would be the first in 72 hours to make a non-stop flight across the Atlantic in any direction from America to the shores of Ireland or Great Britain.

At that time, flights over such long distances seemed fantastic, because the planes were just beginning to master the sky, and their structural elements were often destroyed even when trying to get off the ground.

Attempts to conquer the sky of the Atlantic

The Martinsyd Raymore crew was preparing to conquer the three thousandth distance, but the plane did not take off. The reason for the failure was the failure of the landing gear, in which the nose of the aircraft was buried in the ground.

In the same way, during takeoff, another plane broke its nose (“Handley Page”).

The attempt by the crew of the Sopwith Atlantic aircraft was almost successful - they did not have the strength to overcome the last 850 miles to the coast.

The first pilots who made a non-stop flight across the Atlantic (they had not yet flown alone) were the British crew of the Vickers Vimi winged car. The pilot, John Alcock, and navigator, Arthur Witten Brown, received a well-deserved cash prize in 1919.
Much more famous is another pilot, namely the one who first made a non-stop flight across the Atlantic alone. But this flight took place already in 1927.

Flight by Charles Lindbergh

In 1926, a wealthy New York hotel owner, Raymond Orteig, offered a $25,000 prize for a non-stop flight from New York to Paris.

Charles Lindbergh was 25 years old, he served as a pilot in an airmail company. Lindbergh decided that existing models were not suitable for such flights and a special aircraft was needed. According to his calculations, such an aircraft should be a monoplane containing the required amount of kerosene. Maybe someone would have doubted, but Charles Lindbergh decided to fly alone and a year later he was the first to make a non-stop flight across the Atlantic.

The plane ("Spirit of St. Louis" - Spirit of St.Louis), named after St. Louis, was fully loaded, with all 1700 liters of fuel, and with difficulty overcame the takeoff on May 19, 1927. They say that when climbing, telegraph wires were cut off, this flight began so low above the ground.


The pilot had to determine the course, performing calculations in his mind, based on the time of flight in any direction, and he estimated the wind speed from the waves! To do this, Lindbergh had to descend to get out of the clouds and fog. On top of that, the plane became heavily iced over and became much heavier. Flying in these conditions, struggling with sleep, was incredibly difficult and dangerous.

However, luck accompanied the brave pilot, and after 28 hours, Charles Lindbergh's plane was next to Valentine Island, which is located near Ireland. It is simply amazing that the deviation from the chosen course was within 5 km!

And six hours later, Lindbergh was received by the Paris Bourget airport. In Paris, over 200,000 French people hailed him as a hero, and about 4 million compatriots awaited his return to New York. We can compare this event with the meeting of the first cosmonauts by our countrymen.

There was no end to the enthusiastic reviews of contemporaries: someone admired the courage and courage of the first solo pilot who made a non-stop flight across the Atlantic; someone carefully analyzed the modernization of the aircraft commissioned by Lindbergh.

Lindbergh's innovation was that he preferred a single-engine aircraft, although multi-engine aircraft were considered safer. He also requested that the wingspan be increased and that the aircraft be fitted with additional fuel tanks. It was important for him to reduce weight as much as possible. aircraft, so he fought for every gram. Eyewitnesses claimed that Lindbergh refused to take a parachute and a walkie-talkie on board, he replaced the massive leather seat with a wicker seat, special light boots were made to order, and even the map lost its “unnecessary” part.

The flight of Charles Lindbergh forever made him a legendary pilot, and for society marked a breakthrough into previously inaccessible areas. He gave aviation strategic importance, bringing closer the distance between the European and American continents.

THE FIRST ATLANTIC FLIGHT MADE BY A CREW

The first flight across the Atlantic Ocean was made by a brave British crew. The first non-stop flight across the Atlantic on June 14, 1919 was performed by the crew members of the Vickers Vimi aircraft of the British Air Force. Their names are Captain John Alcock (pilot) and Lieutenant Arthur Whitten Brown (navigator).

There were other daredevils who flew over the Atlantic Ocean. Eight years after the British flight, everyone was talking about the American pilot Charles Lindbergh, the one who first made a solo non-stop flight across the Atlantic. People liked Lindbergh's youth and courage. In 1927, the public was already able to appreciate such a flight. However, pilots Alcock and Brown were ahead of everyone.

Overcoming obstacles and difficulties

It was decided to fly from Canada to the shores of Ireland. At first it took a long time to find appropriate place for takeoff. The choice of site was approached carefully - after the accident of other British (the crew of the Martinsayd Raymore), it was clear what they had to risk by raising a bomber overloaded with fuel into the sky.

When an airstrip near the Canadian city of St. John's was found, Alcock named it the first transatlantic airfield. They waited for the right weather to come and were very nervous because they were afraid that others might be able to get ahead of them.

One day, on the first fine day, a military plane flew right over them towards the ocean. John and Arthur only found out later that it was a test flight. And at first it seemed to them that they were seeing a terrible dream - another plane had already taken off first to fly across the Atlantic before anyone else.

The pilots were nervous, as everything was ready for the flight, but they had to postpone the start due to heavy winds. The unrest was added by a telegram from England with accusations of indecision.

Finally, on June 13, a favorable weather situation was established. At the command of Captain Alcock, refueling of the aircraft began. First, the fuel was filtered through a sieve, and then it was pumped with a manual pump into aircraft tanks. It was a tedious and lengthy process. Closer to noon, a shock absorber failure of one of the chassis was discovered. He could not withstand such a large load, and the plane began to roll on its side.

To eliminate the defect, it was necessary to raise the aircraft, and for this it was necessary to drain all the previously filled fuel. People worked for the rest of the day until midnight, then refilled the tanks, working non-stop with car headlights on and illuminating the site with paraffin lamps.

The weather report received on the morning of June 14 promised a strong westerly wind that would intensify in the coming hours. The pilots who arrived at the airfield decided that if they did not take off now, then they would have to give the championship to someone else who would fly across the Atlantic Ocean before they did.

Brown and Alcock climbed into the cockpit, warmed up the engines, brought them to full power, and Alcock signaled to the mechanics to let go of the plane's wings. The bomber rolled slowly along runway, without gaining sufficient speed and not looking up from the ground. The long-awaited start came at the end of the strip, when the plane with great difficulty climbed over the fence and trees, and then disappeared from view behind the hills.

All observers decided that there was an accident and ran in the direction of the alleged plane crash. People were worried, and the doctor screamed most of all, asking to make way for him to provide first aid. The panic subsided when the silhouette of the plane was again visible in the sky, gradually gaining altitude.

The crew experienced excruciatingly tense moments, it seemed that the car would fall down, it was so hard to climb. But now St. John's is left behind. The ships horned the retreating plane, which with a roar overcame the four hundred meter mark and left the coastline. The navigator took a course in the direction of Ireland.

Incredibly difficult flight

They walked in solid clouds, and barely visible accumulations of ice floated below. It became incredibly cold, even special heated suits could not save from the low temperature. At first, Brown's radio messages were received on the ground about following the route, but then the wind generator broke down and they were left with a useless radio station.


For about seven hours, the pilot flew the bomber blindly. Of course, they had to fly in dense clouds before, but not for such a long time, and besides, problems began with the right engine. At first, frequent claps were heard, the sounds of which resembled machine-gun bursts, and then the unit “spit out” some part of its structure. The exhaust pipe quickly became hot: first it turned red, then turned white and was torn off by a stream of air. The exhaust flame of a running engine reached a stretch wire, which heated up, but withstood the temperature and did not change its shape.

At seven o'clock the pilots decided to have a snack, their dinner consisted of sandwiches and coffee. Now they could navigate by the starry sky, so Brown wrote a note to Captain Alcock about the need to see the stars. The pilot brought the plane out of the clouds only at an altitude of 1800 meters. The navigator was able to determine their location: after eight hours of flight, the Vickers Vimi retired from the coast of Newfoundland by almost one and a half thousand kilometers. The first half of the journey has been completed. It turned out that their ground speed was slightly higher than the calculated one. It was decided to descend and continue to go under the edge of the clouds at an altitude of 1200 meters.

At about three o'clock in the morning, strong gusts of wind began to throw their car, a thunderstorm front appeared on the way of the plane. In conditions of poor visibility, orientation was lost, and the speed of the aircraft dropped sharply. The bomber went into a tailspin. Lightning flashes prevented the pilot from determining the position of the car in the raging space and leveling the plane. Alcock tried to put the rudders in the neutral position - nothing worked. The only thing he could see was the readings of the altimeter, which showed less and less distance to the ground: first 900, then 600, 300, now 150 ...

There was still nothing to be seen, but Alcock heard the sound of the raging ocean below them, and at the same moment the low sky cleared around the plane. They flew up wheels, incredibly close to the surface of the ocean, huge shafts rolled over their heads. There were fractions of a second to make decisions.

In this critical situation, the pilot talent of Captain John Alcock passed the most severe test. The experienced pilot immediately restored the spatial orientation and in the last seconds leveled the plane, giving the engines full throttle. It seemed to both aviators that from their cockpit they could reach the foam ridges. Moving away from the ocean waves, which were at a distance of some fifteen meters, the car picked up a saving speed.

It continued to rain heavily, and as we climbed, it began to snow. The weight of the aircraft increased rapidly - dangerous icing began, which caused interruptions in the operation of the right engine. Its carburetor was clogged with snow, and the aircraft began to lose altitude due to lack of power when one engine was running. The situation became critical.

Alcock looked back at his navigator, but he was gone. It turned out that Brown went on the wing to the failed engine. He clung to the racks with all his might and cleared the ice with a knife. In their situation, this was the only saving solution. After a while, the left engine began to fail. Brown had to repeat his feat on the left wing. His courageous actions saved the engines and saved the lives of both pilots. In total, Lieutenant Brown made 5 such exits.

On June 15, the Vickers Vimi jumped out of the cloud layer in the morning, and after another half an hour the crew saw two small islands, behind which the Irish coast was already guessed. They flew along the coast and found a green field to land on. Not far from this place was the Clifden radio station. People noticed them and began to wave their hands, showing that it was impossible to sit on the field - it was swampy.

However, the pilots seemed to be welcomed, they waved back and continued landing. As a result, the plane buried its nose in a swamp and got stuck in the ground, but the guys were lucky: the damage to the plane was minor, and they themselves were not injured (except for Brown's scratched nose).

Their legendary flight lasted 16 hours and 28 minutes. Captain John Alcock and Lieutenant Arthur Witten Brown were the first to conquer the sky of the Atlantic, having traveled 3040 kilometers. The average speed of the aircraft "Vickers Vimi" was about 190 km / h. Interestingly, after landing, the fuel supply in the tanks remained quite impressive, they could reach the English coast.

In the 1920s, the planet literally froze in anticipation of the first transatlantic flight. The French aviators Charles E. J. M. Nangesser and Francois Coli also began to prepare for the flight. For the first time, it was decided to fly from Europe to America, from east to west, against the rotation of the Earth.

The commander was Nangesser. One of the best aces of France, according to the results of the First World War, he had 45 enemy aircraft shot down. The "brand name" on board his combat vehicle - an ace of hearts with a coffin and a skull with two crossbones - horrified the German pilots.

Flight preparation
The "White Bird", the plane on which the pilots were going to fly, was, in the words of one French journalist, a "flying tank" - the ship weighed a total of five tons, four of which were fuel in the tanks. In order to make the car as light as possible, the pilots even abandoned the radio. In addition, immediately after takeoff, the wheeled landing gear had to be removed. What obliged the plane, not intended for landing on water, to land on the sea surface in New York Bay. And, nevertheless, despite all these tricks, the fuel was barely enough.

Flight from Le Bourget to New York On May 8, 1927, an enthusiastic crowd gathered at the Le Bourget airfield (a suburb of Paris). Everyone wanted to take part in the event of the century. At 5 o'clock in the morning, the "White Bird" with Nangesser's "brand name" on board began to take off. The heavy machine did not want to obey the will of the pilots and take to the skies. Finally, as if reluctantly, she lifted off the ground and, under the escort of several military aircraft, disappeared into the sky.

Sensation from the "Press"
Since there was no radio on board. Messages could only be expected from the ground. The “White Bird” was seen over Ile de France, Normandy, and the ocean began there ... The next message came a little more than a day after the start of the flight. Hooray, they are already in America! They are telegraphing from Boston: they have been seen, they have flown by, they are on their way to New York! All of France held its breath. Only an hour later, at 17:15, the Parisians were able to take a breath. Excited by the long wait, they literally snatched from the hands of the newspaper peddlers a new issue of the Press, still smelling of printing ink. The first page was full of various headlines:

"Glory to the masters of French aviation!" "Nangesser and Kolya took the gold!" "Incredible details of a perfect raid!" Then the newspaper reported the very details of the splashdown of French aviators in New York Bay. Nangesser's plane flew out to meet a whole squadron of fighters led by Major Fulua. Accompanied by American combat aircraft, the White Bird landed on the water. The ships in the bay raised salutatory flags, sirens howled. Some New Yorkers, in disbelief, got into their boats and went out into the bay. The sky is flooded civil aircraft employed by various members of the press. The "White Bird" landed on the water incredibly easily, after which the ship was immediately surrounded by several large ships. Four seaplanes were allocated, which circled over the victor at the lowest possible height, acting as insurance. Having splashed down, Nangesser and Kolya hesitated, as if their victory over the ocean was a trifle, not worthy of universal rejoicing. But a few minutes later they emerged from the plane and hugged. To the applause of the audience, the howling of engines and the howling of sirens, the pilots landed. Yes, it was a great day of French glory!

"White Bird"

tragic mistake
Clouds of enthusiastic telegrams flew across the ocean after the White Bird. And - not a word in response ... No, the two Frenchmen failed to become the first to cross the ocean by plane. They flew, they waved their wings to the Bostonians... but they did not show up to meet the New Yorkers who were waiting for them. They are missing, Nangesser and Kolya. They were waiting, they were looking for. When all the terms had already expired, it became clear that they had died. A few minutes, a few kilometers before its triumph, the "White Bird" with an ace of hearts, a coffin and a skull fell into the waters of the ocean. This is probably the greatest disappointment, the most impressive failure in the history of aviation. They would have sat down near Boston - and they would have become winners, they would have gone down in history. But this was predetermined: a triumph before the eyes of the multi-million dollar New York, from there it will be seen and heard by the whole world!

A whole detachment of police held back crowds of offended Parisians who tried at any cost to break into the offices of the Press and smash it to smithereens. But the reason for this incomprehensible and senseless newspaper deception then remained a mystery. The whole world, despite the grief over the two pilots who almost accomplished the almost impossible, could not help but sarcastically smile: it all turned out too, they say, “in French”. As if the poor guys themselves turned out to be boasters - Nangesser and Kolya. Even grief for them was somehow stained by this scandal. The greatness of heroic death turned into a laughing stock. All that's left More than 30 years have passed since the disappearance of the "White Bird". On a cold winter morning, Cliff Iceland (an American, a lobster fisher) went out on a boat to the sea. Raising the anchor of his boat, I felt that he had hooked some contraption from the bottom. When the anchor emerged from the water, some sheets were hanging on it, similar to the skin of an aircraft ... This was all that was left of the proud and mighty "White Bird", which once decided on an unprecedented feat.

"Eyes to See" And three years later, in 1964, the riddle of newspaper fraud, the most amazing in the history of the world press, was also revealed. The famous French journalist Georges Raven published the book Eyes to See, in which he told about how everything happened on that ill-fated day in the newspaper office, since he himself was one of the main characters in this ugly story. After it was reported that the pilots were seen over Boston and, therefore, the main barrier, the Atlantic Ocean, was overcome, the editor-in-chief made a decision that led to the collapse of the Press. “We need our newspaper to be the first to report a safe flight across the Atlantic!” he told employees. Nobody dared to voluntarily come up with the details of a feat that had not yet been completed, and then the editor-in-chief appointed Raven, as the youngest, to this case.

“I need fifty live lines” - “Maybe we should wait for more specific news?” - the young employee tried to object. “To share profits with competitors and get only a few crumbs from what you could get? Yes, you just do not feel the situation, my dear! They won the victory over the whole ocean, so we can win our victory!” This is such a sad story. In fact, the crew of the "White Bird" was successful, the first to make a transatlantic flight, but because of the tragic thirst for glory, he died. And another vice of the human soul - greed - influenced the "Press", which led to general indignation and hatred. Which the "White Bird" did not deserve.

This happened about 5.5 years ago, in May 2008. I was finishing my second year at university and preparing for what was probably the most life-changing vacation of my life.
Having barely got rid of the early delivery of the session, I and my girlfriends were preparing to fly towards our American summer.

Having once again double-checked the availability of all the documents and said goodbye to my father, who accompanied me to Sheremetyevo, I wandered with my girlfriends to the customs control zone. First we got our boarding passes and checked in our luggage. We were supposed to fly with a change in Paris, but we said goodbye to our luggage to our final destination, which was New York.

But it was all ahead, and we still had to go passport control and security control. Either a lot of planes took off, or the airport staff worked unproductively, but we got stuck in the passport control zone for a couple of hours, as a result of which we were already running to security control, along with other passengers flying our flight. Here we were already let in without a queue, and we passed it very quickly and successfully.

It so happened that we were separated from my girlfriends on a flight to Paris, and I had to sit with a rather sullen-looking Frenchman about 50 years old. In general, the flight to Paris turned out to be rather boring, and the dinner served on the plane was cold and tasteless. The stewardesses were refined in French fashion, but also not very smiling.
It was already dark when we arrived in Paris, and all that was visible through the window was the airport lights.
On the plane, besides us, other students from Russia flew, but with the same goal: to spend the summer in America under the Work and Travel program. In a large group, we approached the first available counters at the airport. Charles de Gaulle, because we had absolutely no idea what to do next. We were told that as the night approached, everything was closed at the airport, and all that remained for us was to wait for the morning and our flight. We had at our disposal a small piece of the terminal with hard chairs and a toilet. At first we tried to sleep on hard chairs, but after a couple of hours we realized that this idea was not the best.

Apparently, other students from Russia also had similar thoughts, so soon we all got to know each other and, in order to kill time, we started playing a game that different places It is called differently: somewhere "Crocodile", somewhere "American student", well, or simply "Charades". The deserted corridors of the Paris airport were constantly torn by the laughter of about 20 people ..

By 4-5 in the morning we were already almost completely exhausted, but then the airport began to come to life little by little. Soon our flight, departing at 9 am (or something like that), appeared on the scoreboard. First we had to move to another terminal. Which we did in the company of about 5-6 more students, leaving the rest to wait for their later flights. The train took us to the desired terminal in just a minute. We were one of the first at the security control, so here everything went quickly and painlessly. There were still about 2-3 hours left before boarding, so we first walked around the terminal, looking at the shiny shop windows of duty-free shops, but without buying anything, since there was only $ 650 in our pocket, which we needed to survive the first 2-3, and then all 4 weeks in America.

In the end, we settled into chairs at our exit to the plane and swam in patient anticipation. What I really learned on that trip was the ability to wait. As we waited, we enjoyed the view of the runway and the line of planes taking off. I think that's when I fell in love with airports.

After some time, boarding began on our plane. Here we were met not by strict French women, but by smiling American stewardesses and stewards. Here, by the way, my stereotype that flight attendants are always very young, up to 30 years old, broke down. These were clearly older.

And now, finally, the long-awaited takeoff. After which we accidentally remembered that we were terribly hungry, because we had not eaten anything since yesterday's evening flight to Paris. Breakfast was very timely. I don’t remember what they gave, but I remember that we “destroyed” it rather quickly. In this plane, we were already sitting in a row by the window, so we could chat / joke / laugh to our heart's content. But we were terribly tired by that time, and not the most comfortable economy class seats were much more comfortable than the hard seats of the airport, so we just slept through most of the flight. Except for those moments when we were fed (and for airplane food they fed us to slaughter and in the American way: either pizza or ice cream ....), or the moment when we had to fill out a declaration and an i-94 form (something something like our immigration card) - we, in my opinion, spoiled 5 cards each and got the questions of our steward in order (to this day, it’s a pity for him, poor :)).

Our last awakening on board took place shortly before landing. Almost lying on top of each other, we clung to the porthole, fascinated looking at the place where the shore meets the ocean. At some point, the city itself appeared. It was just an indescribable feeling: alluring uncertainty, excitement, delight (Oh God, do I really see all this with my own eyes ???). And now the turrets of the airport are already growing in front of us, the plane touches the ground, and there is one unpassed stage in front of us and the United States: passport control. Usually in NY it can take a lot of time, but we were lucky that day, everything went very quickly. The immigration officers practiced with us their knowledge of the Russian language (minimal, but still), and very soon, having heard the coveted "Welcome to the USA", we went to collect our luggage. Having picked up the luggage and handed over the declarations to the customs officers, we passed the last frontier.

Very soon we were already in a taxi on the way to Manhattan. The roads were greeted with green signs, like in the movies, the city greeted bright sun, the rays of which played on the windows of skyscrapers that towered over the city. At that moment, there was a feeling of peace and confidence that everything would be fine.

We had no idea what summer would bring us. That we learn a lot of new things, learn a lot and change a lot. And I certainly did not know that already 3 years after the first arrival in this country, I would move here to live. And, despite the fact that this city is not my home, it is not mine in character, in spirit ... Despite the fact that my "one-story America" ​​is much closer to me, and now, when I arrive in New York, I feel that the same feeling of peace and confidence that everything will be fine ...