Have you ever just been browsing the internet, reading a book, a magazine or simply watching TV and some character has just grabbed your attention, theres something fascinating about them and you just feel compelled to read more about them, their life and their beliefs?

Well on the 33rd anniversary of his death I thought it might be a good occasion to break a blogging dry spell and talk a bit about one such person who's fascinated me; and this person is Charles Lindbergh.

The first person to fly solo from New York to Paris in a single engine plane custom built back in 1927.

Not least did he succeed in flying solo in a single engine plane that cost ~$11,000 to build when competitors using multi-engined planes costing upwards of $100,000 had failed; he saw through the prevailing opinion that twin engine planes were safer because in the event of engine failure you still had a backup because he reasoned that in the event of engine failure above the atlantic you were as good as dead anyway, and with 2 engines your chances of engine failure were effectively twice as high. 

An interesting character, he was the first person to make mass celebrity status, much to his unwillingness he was revered, followed and stalked by countless followers in a gloomy period of american history, particularly around the depression he was the hero the people badly needed.

What makes Lindbergh so fascinating is his clear thinking and innovativeness despite popular sentiments, he opposed American involvement in 2nd world war because it wasn't americans business and it wasn't a threat to them, because america could quite easily defend itself with its geographic position, almost makes you think of Iraq / Iran now doesn't it? Whether history agrees with this or not, he reasoned that Russia was the bigger threat than germany, something that he later in life commented later on in his life had proven to be true.

He helped secure funding and supported the early development of rockets despite no one in establishment understanding their importance, he was involved in significant developments of the first artificial heart, campaigned for protecting the environment in a period where this was unheard of and above all else, was a pioneer of aviation. 

Despite his flaws he was himself, he thought and reasoned for himself and that's something that I admire and value in a person, I wish we had more Charles Lindbergh's and less 'fake' people trying to be or pretend to be something they're not.

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