In 1927 a young man whose name was known only to his friends sprang into world-wide fame when he entered and won a competition for a prize of $25,000 offered for the first nonstop flight from New York to Paris. The aviator was Charles A. Lindbergh and the plane in which he made the flight, on May 20, was a Ryan monoplane. The distance, 3610 miles, was covered in 33 1/2 hours. The famous plane was The Spirit of St Louis.