opened his mouth. This time Lindbergh did the talking.
Why hadn���t he taken a radio? Because, given the limited
range and the cumbersome dimensions of the apparatus
of those times, he had judged the added element of
security insuf���cient to justify the expenditure of fuel
required to transport its weight. Why did he alone dare
���y solo? In a way, for the same reason: a copilot wasn���t
worth the gasoline it would take to carry him. What,
after all, were the functions of a second man? First, to
spell the ���rst pilot when he became tired; second, by
his presence to bolster the other���s morale. Lindbergh
judged he could keep awake long enough and maintain
his morale without help from anyone else. Why, most
important of all, had he taken off over the Atlantic on
only one motor when all his rivals planned to use two?
���Because,��� he said, ���two engines meant twice as much
chance of engine failure.���
In case of trouble, a second engine might have saved
his life, but it could not have carried him to Paris. His
preoccupation was not with safety, but with success.
And so he succeeded. During the next three years other
pilots (with more men and more motors) would try to
duplicate his feat but all of them failed. The ���rst ���ight
had been the perfect ���ight, and it has not been bettered
since. H
HYLAND
21
