First transatlantic flight. First transatlantic flight Transatlantic flight routes
Our main destination in the United States was Atlanta, Georgia. It is clear that there is no direct flight from Ukraine, it was necessary to choose the optimal transit. Fortunately, in 2008 there was still a direct flight Kyiv - New York with Delta airlines. Now they have canceled the flight, tentatively until the summer. Well, from New York on local airlines to Georgia. The conference organizers themselves found a travel agency that not only found a convenient flight for us, but also gave us discounts.
It was planned to stay in Atlanta for 6 days and another 2 days in New York (an excursion program was organized for us). But Andrey and I decided to extend our stay in New York for another 2 days so that we could wander around the city ourselves.
Therefore, at the preparation stage, we changed the date of the return flight and extended our hotel reservation in New York.
We took off at lunchtime on January 27th. Flight to New York 10 hours. Then transfer to local airlines and another 3 hours to Atlanta. I was very worried about how I would cope with such a long flight. In the last 3-4 years, I have become somewhat afraid of flying by plane. I don’t know why all of a sudden, but the dream was worth such a sacrifice.
Since Delta cannot have its own terminal in Kyiv, and the check-in procedure for flights to the USA is different from all others, a special zone has been allocated for them in Kiev Borispol. Those. Immediately at check-in, we went through a separate window with the snake so beloved by Americans - a corridor made of fencing tapes. Registration and inspection were carried out only by Delta employees, and some of them were Americans. They even put stickers on our passports indicating that we had passed the inspection.
There was no flight delay, and we boarded the Boeing 747. It was the first time in my life that I flew on such a huge plane. Andrey and I got the side seats near the window. We had to ask at check-in not to be seated in the middle row. Otherwise, there are 4 rows of seats and getting into the center would not be at all comfortable.
After takeoff, I was nervous for probably three hours, when all the passengers, having already eaten, were sleeping peacefully. But the plane flew smoothly, without turbulence, and gradually the fear and anxiety began to go away, since nothing was happening at all! Only slight floor vibration. This is the advantage of such a large aircraft - its stability.
Flying Delta turned out to be very convenient. Nice staff, American women with difficulty, but they speak Russian. We fed him 2 times, which was quite good. Of course, individual packages with socks, pastes, creams and headphones. They gave out more blankets, because... it was cool in the cabin. The monitors under the ceiling reflected all the information about the flight, altitude, temperature, wind and speed, and there was also a map and our trace in real time, i.e. at any moment you can know exactly where we are flying.
And we flew to the northwest through Europe, then England. Then in a wide arc across the Atlantic Ocean. We crossed it closer to the North Pole at its narrowest point. Then along the east coast of first Canada, and then the USA. As I understand it, the flight path is designed to fly over land as much as possible. Although, when we flew across the ocean, there was slight turbulence. It was very interesting to watch the huge ice blocks below from above. Such harsh beauty.
Most of the people were asleep. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t sleep. I entertained myself with everything: I read, played the handheld, and watched videos. By the way, the entertainment on the plane was also great. In the back of the seat in front of each passenger there is an individual monitor, on which films were broadcast non-stop throughout the entire flight, all fresh from recent film releases. All you had to do was plug the headphones into the jack and select the channel with the desired translation. Russian, of course, was. And also on other channels you could listen to various music or news, but this was in English.
In a word, if I had slept more, then the flight could be considered easy, although not fast. I would rather say - boring.
Along the way, I was tormented by the question that if I myself am so needed on the road, then if I fly with children, what should I do with Christina? She'll harass everyone if she doesn't fall asleep!
Since we were flying west, the sun was above us all the time, although at home it was already night and the next day, we still had January 27th.
Approaching New York, for some reason I thought that we would be landing from Manhattan, and I would be able to look at the Statue of Liberty. Which one is it! Naive...
But still the view below was quite interesting. Cities, large and small, highways, residential areas and some enterprises. Fields and lakes, rivers, bays... And on them are yachts and boats.
View from the porthole. Below is the US coast and New York.
The sun was already quite low and the photos, already cloudy due to the plane windows, turned out to be pale.
We landed at Kennedy Airport. Delta has its own terminal here. Although the terminal is an understatement. A full-fledged, separate airport, much larger in size than our Boryspil. Later, upon arrival from Atlanta, when we were driving into the city by car, I saw the full scope of the international airport in New York! This is just a colossus that stretches for kilometers and kilometers. Each major airline has its own terminal the size of a standard airport in a capital city. I don’t even know how many of these terminals there are, we drove and drove, and they alternated with huge parking lots. How do people navigate here?!
We were supposed to fly to Atlanta using the same Delta, but since these were already domestic lines, we first had to go through customs and border guards in order to move to another block.
We walked through long gray corridors to passport control. Long queues. I envied the owners of blue passports with an eagle; there was a separate corridor for them, and they walked through it quickly.
And on one of our carry-on suitcases, a wheel came loose, and every time we moved in line, it squeaked disgustingly.
When our turn came, we got an officer of Asian appearance, either Chinese or Vietnamese, a typical nerd with glasses.
I didn’t even realize then that it depended on this guy whether we would be allowed into America or sent on the next flight home. They have such power, despite having a visa.
We were sure that this was just one of the officials who was incredibly bored. He questioned us for a long time about our lives. What kind of business are we doing, how many employees are there, what are the salaries of builders today, and everything in the same spirit. We thought that he was just entertaining himself, but it turns out that this was the final test of our intentions to return to our historical homeland.
Having once again specified how long we planned to stay in the States, he gave us a mark that we could stay in the USA for exactly that number of days and not a day more. So there is no need to confuse the validity period of the visa and the permitted period of stay. If we had violated this deadline by staying an extra few days, the visa could have been cancelled.
And here’s another thing: in films, after they check your passport and visa, they always say “Welcome to America!”
But this uncle didn’t tell us anything, he just gave us our passports and that’s it...
Then again long corridors, a suitcase carousel, our things and customs.
We went through customs quickly, since we did not have anything prohibited, and all the vials, bottles and jars, as well as piercing and cutting objects in the form of a manicure set, were transferred to the main luggage in Kyiv. In hand luggage only the most valuable things, documents, equipment and laptop.
By the way, at the Boryspil airport, when we passed through the frame, they forced us to take off our shoes, but there were shoe covers. But in New York we had to stomp along with Indians and Arabs from parallel flights. Not much pleasant. And yet, we have never taken off our shoes during security checks anywhere else, only in the States.
It turns out that switching from external to domestic airlines is not so easy, much less quick. We had people with us who had flown to the States more than once; they confidently guided us through the labyrinths of this large airport. To cross, we had to use the underground train and go through a number of stops.
One of the long corridors - transitions, on the sides there are conveyors for those who are no longer able to walk.
The wait for the flight to Atlanta was about 30 minutes. We had enough time to look around and have a coffee at the famous Starbucks. Fatigue was already showing, because it was already late at home. Andrey went for a walk, and I looked at the people around.
These Americans are strange, just like from another planet. I'll probably never understand them.
For example, this is the situation. In terms of toilets at the airport, and everywhere else in America, everything is excellent. At the airport they are located every 10-20 meters. Everything is organized so that you don’t touch anything with your hands again. Everything is LED, water taps and soap dishes, paper towel unwinder also works automatically, even flushing the toilet. Those. hygiene at the highest level. And at the same time, having come out of the toilet so clean and sterile, they easily sit on the floor on the carpet (in the waiting area), while leaning on the garbage bins. Well, how can we take them seriously?!
Registration began, but Andrei was not there. I began to actively look out for him, naturally getting nervous. For some reason this alarmed the young ladies at the control. Therefore, when it was my turn to register, I was taken aside and examined. Well, welcome to America, as they say.
Before Atlanta, the plane was no longer so big and the third person sitting with us was a very overweight American. The TV no longer showed Russian films, but I still couldn’t fall asleep. So the three hours to Atlanta was harder than the ten to New York.
When we flew, it was already dark. I looked out the window all the way. We flew along the coast to the south. I was amazed that all of America at night from the height of an airplane looks like a luminous continuous grid with nodes of brightly lit populated areas. Those. the ground below was illuminated all the time. There is probably a high population density in this area.
Atlanta airport is also not small. It was also well modernized for the Olympic Games. Having quickly gone through all the procedures, we received our luggage, which arrived safely, and nothing was lost.
After such a long and tiring flight, it was so nice to be back in the air, standing on solid ground and breathing the warm night air. I hadn’t slept for almost a day, but emotions overwhelmed everyone who found themselves on American soil for the first time. Behind the airport doors was not just another country, it was like another planet. Everything, absolutely everything is different!
A working model of the first Bird of Prey airplane in flight
In the center of Rio de Janeiro, on the waterfront near the ultra-modern Museum of Tomorrow, there is a model of the world's first airplane, the 14-bis or "Oiseau de proie" (in French, "bird of prey").
Today, Brazil occupies one of the world's leading positions in the field of aircraft manufacturing. Brazil's Embraer (E-Jet) leads the world in the medium-haul (regional) aircraft market.
Thanks to the dominance of the American media in the world, there was a belief about the priority of the Wright brothers, who made the first flight on an airplane. In Brazil and France, undeniable primacy is given to a native of Brazil, holder of the Legion of Honor, aeronaut, pilot and inventor Albert Santos-Dumont(1873 - 1932), who lived for some time in France. The Brazilian was the first in the world to prove the possibility of regular, controlled flights. Santos-Dumont made a public airplane flight in Paris on October 23, 1906. It was the first heavier-than-air vehicle to take off, fly, and land and, unlike the Wright brothers, did not use catapults, high winds, launch rails, or other external devices. The inventor was against the use of aircraft for military purposes.
***
The first transatlantic direct flight was made from Newfoundland (Canada) to Ireland by British pilots John Alkon and Arthur Brown on June 14 - 15, 1919 in 16 hours 28 minutes at an average speed of 190 km per hour. The effect of the jet air current in the Northern Hemisphere from west to east was used. In the opposite direction it would have taken more time, and there were no aircraft with the appropriate resource at that time. The first non-stop 36-hour flight across the Atlantic from Europe (Dublin) to North America took place only a decade later in April 1928.
***
Today, flying across the Atlantic to South America is an everyday affair and requires only patience (up to a 14-hour flight from Paris to Santiago). I first saw the monument to the first airplane (seaplane) and crew that flew from Europe to South America many years ago in Lisbon.
On an English-made Fairey 17 seaplane, Portuguese pilots Gago Coutinho and Sakadura Cabral made the first dramatic flight from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, dedicated to the centenary of Brazilian independence. Aircraft of this type were produced from 1918 to 1941, and took an active part in the Second World War.
During the flight to South America, a new attitude indicator device was tested, allowing one to control the position of the aircraft beyond the visibility of the ground or sea surface.
On March 30, 1922, the pilots took off from the Lisbon naval base and reached the Canary Islands (Las Palmas) late in the evening to refuel. On April 5, another rush was made to the Cape Verde Islands (San Vicente), where engine repairs were required. On April 17, the pilots continued their journey to the rocky uninhabited island of Sao Paulo (St. Peter and Paul). Here, during splashdown in a stormy sea, the airplane lost one of its floats and sank. The aviators were rescued by the Portuguese cruiser Republic, which assisted in the flight. The cruiser delivered the pilots to the port of the Brazilian island of Fernando de Noronha.
But the epic did not end there. Enthusiastic Brazilians and Portuguese watching the flight forced the government in Lisbon to send another seaplane to the aviators.
The new plane was delivered to the island and on May 11, the pilots took off... in the opposite direction to the island of Sao Paulo to resume the flight from the crash site. However, engine failure forced them to make an emergency landing in the ocean again. The seaplane successfully sank again, and the pilots were picked up by a British cargo ship and taken back to Fernando de Noronha.
But this time, with the support of the Brazilian government, the brave aviators received a third plane, on which they were able to complete the flight with stops in Recife, Salvador da Bahia and Vitoria. Finally, on June 17, the flight was completed in Rio de Janeiro, where the seaplane landed in Guanabara Bay. Brazil greeted the aviators as heroes; at a rally of thousands on the embankment, aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont gave a welcoming speech. The journey lasted 79 days, of which the actual flight time was 62 hours and 26 minutes. The aviators covered a distance of 8,383 kilometers (5,209 miles) by air.
Flight map 
***
In 1930, a French pilot Jean Mermoz made the first non-stop flight in history across the South Atlantic.
From Toulouse, France, he flew to the African port of Saint Louis (Senegal) located on the Atlantic coast. From here, with 130 kg of mail on a converted plane, he completed a transatlantic flight to Rio de Janeiro in 21 hours. In 1936, the pilot and the plane disappeared on a regular flight over the South Atlantic.
***
Over time, regular passenger flights from Europe to South America began. On July 10, 1962, regular transatlantic flights of the Soviet Aeroflot began to Latin America to Cuba along the route Moscow - Conakry (technical landing) - Havana, and then through the North Pole with an intermediate landing in Murmansk. The specially modernized Tu-114 could accommodate only 60 passengers, but had a large fuel supply. The flight took over 20 hours.
On May 27, 1973, regular flights to Peru and Chile began on the route Moscow - Rabat - Havana - Lima (Peru) - Santiago (Chile). For that time, it was the longest passenger airline in the world (18,000 km), travel time was 23 hours. Today, people fly from Moscow to South America with connecting flights through Paris, Amsterdam, Istanbul and other aviation hubs.
***
One of the largest aviation disasters occurred on the air route between Europe and South America on June 1, 2009. The Air France airliner Airbus A330-203 operated flight AF447 on the route Rio de Janeiro - Paris, but 3 hours and 45 minutes after takeoff it crashed into the waters of the Atlantic Ocean and was completely destroyed. All 228 people on board (12 crew members and 216 passengers) were killed. This is the largest disaster in the history of Air France and the largest crash of a passenger plane since 2001 until the Boeing 777 crash in the Donetsk region (July 17, 2014, 298 dead).
The causes of the disaster are indicated as freezing of the pitot tubes, the subsequent disconnection of the autopilot and uncoordinated actions of the crew, which led to the stalling of the aircraft, from which the crew was unable to recover. Inconsistency of actions, poor preparation and panic of the crew (co-pilot and trainee who were in the cockpit during the commander's rest). The called commander made the right decision and at an altitude of about 600 meters the plane began to pick up speed, but it was not possible to stop the stall in time. Experts point to shortcomings in the design of modern aircraft and in crew training. Computer systems control the aircraft for the vast majority of the flight, depriving pilots of direct piloting experience and reducing their preparedness for emergency situations.
Across the English Channel
On July 25, 1909, French aviator Louis Bleriot became the first person to fly across the English Channel and received a prize of one thousand pounds sterling from the British newspaper "Daily Mail". Blériot made the historic flight in a small monoplane with a 24 horsepower engine. He did not take a compass with him; a safe landing place near Dover was indicated to him by a French journalist, who began waving the French tricolor as soon as Blériot crossed the British coastline.
A week earlier, on July 19, 1909, Hubert Latham (England-France) attempted to fly across the English Channel, but was forced to splash down after covering only 11 km. A week later he was preparing to try again, but Louis Bleriot beat him to it.
Just 10 years after Blériot's 49.8 km flight, English pilot John W. Alcock and navigator Arthur Whitten Brown (a son of Americans born in Scotland) traveled 60 times longer and three times faster to complete the very first non-stop transatlantic flight. flight. This time the prize offered by the Daily Mail increased tenfold to £10,000. On June 14, 1919, Alcock and Brown took off from Newfoundland, Canada, in a Vickers-Vimy biplane, and 16 hours and 27 minutes later made an emergency landing in a swamp near Clifden, Ireland, having traveled 3,057 km to claim the prize.
Soon after, both participants in the flight were knighted, but Alcock, a test pilot for Vickers Aircraft, was rather indifferent about his achievement and said that the flight, which took place in bad weather, was “terrible.” By the way, poor Alcock died in a plane crash in France the same year he flew across the Atlantic Ocean.
In 1919, the airship R-34 flew across the Atlantic
By the way, in 1919, the airship R-34 flew across the Atlantic; upon arrival in New York, one of the crew members had to jump with a parachute to help anchor the airship.
Another goal in the field of transatlantic flights was achieved by the American aviator Charles Lindbergh, who made a solo flight, received a prize of 25 thousand dollars and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Congressional Medal of Honor. On May 20, 1927, Lindbergh took off from New York in the now legendary Ryan monoplane, called the Spirit of Saint Louis, and landed in Paris 33 hours and 39 minutes later, covering 5,792 km on a course plotted by dead reckoning.
On May 21, 1932, American Amelia Earhart landed in Londonderry and became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean.
Dmitry Demyanov, Samogo.Net (
NONSTOP FLIGHT AROSS THE ATLANTIC
Turning to the historical events that glorified the beginning of the last century with legendary air flights, the question naturally arises: who was the first to make a non-stop flight across the Atlantic alone?
A hundred years ago (in 1913), a popular English publication announced a reward of 10,000 pounds for a flight across the Atlantic Ocean. The Daily Mail predicted glory for the first aircrew or solo pilot to fly non-stop across the Atlantic in any direction from America to the shores of Ireland or Great Britain in 72 hours.
At that time, flights over such long distances seemed fantastic, because airplanes were just beginning to master the skies, and their structural elements were often destroyed even when trying to get off the ground.
Attempts to conquer the Atlantic sky
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 a failure of the landing gear, in which the nose of the aircraft buried itself in the ground.
In the same way, during takeoff, another plane broke its nose (“Handley Page”).
The attempt of the Sopwith Atlantic crew was almost successful - they did not have enough strength to overcome the last 850 miles to the shore.
The first pilots to fly non-stop across the Atlantic (they had not yet flown alone at that time) were the British crew of the Vickers Vimi winged aircraft. The pilot, John Alcock, and the navigator, Arthur Whitten Brown, received a well-deserved cash prize in 1919.
Another pilot is much more famous, namely the one who was the first to make a non-stop flight across the Atlantic alone. But this flight took place already in 1927.
Charles Lindbergh's flight
In 1926, a wealthy New York hotel owner, Raymond Orteig, offered a $25,000 prize for a nonstop flight from New York to Paris.
Charles Lindbergh was 25 years old and a pilot for an air mail 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 that can accommodate the required amount of kerosene. Maybe someone would have doubted it, 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"), named after St. Louis, was fully loaded with all 1,700 liters of fuel, and barely managed to take off on May 19, 1927. They say that during the climb the telegraph wires were cut off, so low above the ground this flight began. 
The pilot had to determine the course by performing mental calculations based on the time of flight in any direction, and he estimated the wind speed from the waves! To do this, Lindbergh needed to descend to get out of the clouds and fog. On top of that, the plane became heavily icy and became much heavier. Flying in these conditions, fighting sleep, was incredibly difficult and dangerous.
However, luck favored the brave pilot, and after 28 hours, Charles Lindbergh's plane ended up near Valentine Island, which is located near Ireland. It’s simply amazing that the deviation from the chosen course was within 5 km!
And six hours later Lindbergh was received at Paris Bourget Airport. In Paris, over 200,000 French people greeted him as a hero, and some 4 million of his countrymen awaited his return to New York. We can compare this event with the meeting of the first cosmonauts by our fellow countrymen.
There was no end to the enthusiastic reviews of contemporaries: some 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 demanded that the wingspan be increased and the aircraft be equipped with additional fuel tanks. It was important for him to reduce the weight of the aircraft as much as possible, 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 one, special lightweight boots were made to order, and even the map lost an “unnecessary” part.
Charles Lindbergh's flight forever made him a legendary pilot, and for society it marked a breakthrough into previously inaccessible areas. He gave aviation strategic importance, bringing the distance between the European and American continents closer.
THE FIRST FLIGHT THROUGH THE ATLANTIC BY AN AIRCRAFT CREW
The first flight across the Atlantic Ocean was made by a brave British crew. The first non-stop flight across the Atlantic was carried out on June 14, 1919 by members of the crew 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 across the Atlantic Ocean. Eight years after the British flight, everyone was talking about the American pilot Charles Lindbergh, the one who was the first to make a non-stop flight across the Atlantic alone. 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 a suitable place to take off. The choice of site was approached carefully - after the accident of other British (the crew of the Martinsayd Raymore), it was clear what had to be risked by lifting a bomber overloaded with fuel into the sky.
When an airfield near the Canadian city of St. John's was found, Alcock called it the first transatlantic airfield. They were waiting for the right weather to arrive and were very nervous because they were afraid that others would be able to get ahead of them.
One day, on the first fine day, a military plane flew right above them towards the ocean. John and Arthur only later learned 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 in order to fly across the Atlantic before everyone else.
The pilots were nervous because everything was ready for the flight, but they had to postpone the start due to heavy winds. A telegram arriving from England accusing him of indecisiveness also added to the excitement.
Finally, on June 13, favorable weather conditions emerged. At the command of Captain Alcock, refueling of the aircraft began. First, the fuel was filtered through a sieve, and then it was pumped using a hand pump into the aircraft tanks. It was a tedious and lengthy process. Closer to noon, a breakdown of the shock absorber of one of the chassis was discovered. He could not withstand such a heavy load, and the plane began to roll to one side.
To eliminate the defect, it was necessary to raise the plane, and for this it was necessary to drain all the previously filled fuel. People worked the rest of the day until midnight, then refilled the tanks with fuel, working without a break 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, they would have to give primacy to someone else who would fly across the Atlantic Ocean before them.
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 slowly rolled along the runway, not picking up enough speed and not getting off the ground. The long-awaited start came at the end of the runway, when the plane with great difficulty rose above the fence and trees, and then disappeared from view behind the hills.
All those watching decided that an accident had occurred and ran towards the supposed plane crash. People were worried, and the loudest scream was from the doctor, who asked to give way to him to provide first aid. The panic subsided when the silhouette of the plane, gradually gaining altitude, became visible in the sky again.
The crew experienced painfully tense moments; it seemed that the car would fall down, it was so difficult to gain altitude. But now St. John's is left behind. The ships sounded their horns to see off the retreating plane, which roared past the four-hundred-meter mark and was moving away from the coastline. The navigator set course in the direction of Ireland.
Incredibly difficult flight
They walked in continuous clouds, and barely visible accumulations of ice floated below. It became incredibly cold; even special heated suits could not save us from the low temperature. At first, Brown's radio messages about following the route were received on the ground, 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 blind. Of course, they had to fly in dense clouds before, but not for such a long time, and problems began with the right engine. At first, frequent bangs were heard, the sounds of which were reminiscent of machine gun fire, 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 the air flow. The exhaust flame of a running engine reached the tension wire, which became heated, 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 the starry sky, so Brown wrote a note to Captain Alcock about the need to see the stars. The pilot took 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 moved almost one and a half thousand kilometers from the coast of Newfoundland. The first half of the journey was completed. It turned out that their ground speed was slightly higher than calculated. It was decided to descend and continue walking under the edge of the clouds at an altitude of 1200 meters.
At about three o'clock in the morning, their car began to be tossed around by strong gusts of wind, and a thunderstorm front appeared in the path of the plane. In poor visibility conditions, orientation was lost and the aircraft's speed dropped sharply. The bomber went into a tailspin. Flashes of lightning prevented the pilot from determining the position of the machine in the stormy space and leveling the plane. Alcock tried to put the rudders in a neutral position - nothing worked. The only thing he could see was the altimeter readings, which showed an increasingly smaller distance to the ground: first 900, then 600, 300, now 150...
Nothing was visible yet, but Alcock heard the sound of the ocean raging below them, and at the same moment the low sky around the plane cleared. They flew upside down, incredibly close to the surface of the ocean, huge waves rolling over their heads. There were split seconds left to make decisions.
In this critical situation, Captain John Alcock's piloting talent passed the most severe test. The experienced pilot instantly restored spatial orientation and in the last seconds leveled the plane, giving the engines full throttle. Both aviators felt that from their cockpit they could reach the foam ridges. Moving away from the ocean waves, which were only fifteen meters away, the car picked up life-saving speed.
It continued to rain heavily, and as we gained altitude it began to snow. The weight of the plane quickly increased - dangerous icing began, which led to interruptions in the operation of the right engine. Its carburetor was clogged with snow, and the plane began to lose altitude due to a lack of power when one engine was running. The situation was becoming critical.
Alcock looked back at his navigator, but he was not there. It turned out that Brown went along the wing to the failed engine. He clung to the racks with all his might and scraped the ice with a knife. In their situation, this was the only saving solution. After some time, the left engine began to fail. Brown had to repeat his feat on the left wing. His brave actions saved the engines and saved the lives of both pilots. In total, Lieutenant Brown made 5 such trips.
On June 15, the Vickers Vimi jumped out of a layer of clouds in the morning, and half an hour later the crew saw two small islands, behind which they could already guess the Irish coast. They flew along the shore and found a green field to land. Not far from this place was the Clifden radio station. People noticed them and began to wave their hands, indicating that it was impossible to sit on the field - it was swampy.
However, the pilots seemed to be greeted, 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 Whitten Brown were the first to conquer the skies of the Atlantic, having covered 3040 kilometers. The average speed of the Vickers Vimi aircraft was about 190 km/h. Interestingly, after landing, the fuel supply in the tanks remained quite impressive; they could reach the English shores.