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Thank you. It's morning, May 20th, 1927, on a muddy runway in Long Island, New York.

Aviator Charles Lindberg stands next to his plane, the spirit of St. Louis.

He flashes a smile at the crowd of spectators and reporters who come to watch and begin his latest feat.

Charles has flown countless missions

and has almost 2,000 hours of experience in the air.

But today, he's about to attempt something no one has successfully done before,

a solo flight across the Atlantic.

After waving to the crowd, Charles climbs inside the belly of his plane and takes a seat in the cockpit.

As he checks the controls, Charles braces himself for what he knows will be a challenging takeoff.

His plane is heavy, weighed down by hundreds of gallons of gasoline.

At the far end of the short, muddy runway, there are telephone lines that his bulky plane

will have to clear. But Charles lives for these sorts of adventures, and he's ready to pull off

his most daring mission yet. Charles starts the engine and brings the plane to life.

Then he pulls back on the throttle, causing the spirit of St. Louis to pick up speed,

begin tearing down the runway.

But just as the wheels begin to lead the ground, the heavy plane comes bouncing back down.

Charles tries again, pulling back on the yoke.

On his second attempt, the vessel lifts off into the air, but he hasn't yet cleared the telephone wires.

...