Engineering News

It wasn't the first non stop transatlantic flight. That honour went to Alcock and Brown in June 1919. It was however the first solo non stop flight and the first non stop flight from New York to Paris.

Well, it's true that Alcock and Brown's flight was a smashing success:

They, er, landed near Clifden, Ireland.

(Humor aside, it was a dangerous feat, and anyone attempting the crossing back then deserves credit.)

_{Wikipedia photo.}

A little unfortunate that they mistook a green bog for a landing strip. I think the rules say that the pilots have to survive a record breaking flight by 24 hours for the record to be valid, not that the plane survives intact. The plane was repaired and still exists in the Science Museum.

They were ahead of the game though. The only flight across the Atlantic prior to theirs (by 2 weeks) took 23 days, 20+ warships in support and only 1 out of the original 4 seaplanes completed the journey.