The Flight audiobook

As someone who has been an aviation fan since I was 10, "THE FLIGHT: Charles Lindbergh's Daring and Immortal 1927 Transatlantic Crossing" was a book that commanded my immediate attention. So I bought it and read it avidly. The strengths of the book are in the way Hampton, himself a retired U.S. Air Force combat pilot, conveys vividly to the reader, the joys and thrills of flight as well as the challenges Lindbergh faced in making his solo flight across the Atlantic from New York to Paris in May 1927. Several aviators since 1919 (when the Orteig Prize was initially offered for any aviator(s) who were able to successfully fly non-stop across the Atlantic from New York to Paris or Paris to New York) had tried to fly the Atlantic non-stop, and failed. Many of them dying horrible deaths. And in the case of the celebrated First World War French aviators Charles Nungesser and François Coli, disappeared in an attempt to fly from Paris to New York several weeks before Lindbergh's flight from Roosevelt Field. Reading this book deepened my appreciation of Lindbergh's singular accomplishment. Imagine yourself flying alone in a small, upper-winged monoplane across 3,000 miles of ocean to Europe, not always sure of your position in the sky (even with the benefit of charts, compass, and other navigational aides) for roughly 33.5 hours straight without having slept for close to 3 days? Many people in the early to mid-1920s looked upon aviation as little more than a sport or a fool's hobby. What Lindbergh and his plane, The Spirit of St. Louis, managed to do showed aviation's potential and made possible the further development of commercial aviation and technology for aerospace travel and exploration over the next 50 years. Hampton also shares with the reader how much Lindbergh's life was changed as a result of the flight - good and not-so-good, for Fame often exacts a high cost from anyone who becomes a public celebrity - which was sobering to me. This is a book I would highly recommend to ANYONE who loves stories of how seemingly ordinary, humble people can --- in spite of heavy odds --- accomplish great things and so inspire the world.

Hampton brings Lindberg's historical flight to life. This is the first story dedicated to the flight itself. Using Lindberg's notes and quotes and extensive research, we feel the story is as close to what actually happened as we can get. We are in the cockpit with Lindberg seeing what he sees and feeling what he feels. Some early biography and contemporary aviation history is provided, but it helps clarify rather than detract. As a pilot himself, Hampton understands and can explain the inner workings of " The Spirit of St Louis" and what is necessary to be a great pilot. My only criticism is the constant us of "Slim" referring to Lindberg. Having read other Lindberg books and those of his wife Anne Morrow Lindberg, that nickname for Lindberg is not familiar to me and was distracting until I got used to it.

Just finished "The Flight" by Dan Hampton.Wow! You know the outcome already but I found myself cheering Lindbergh on to the finish. I was concerned for his every action and if it would impact the result.I found myself smiling and telling myself that he'll be fine.As a pilot or just an aviation enthusiast or even a history buff, you will be amazed at this journey through the eyes of another pilot. Perspective and views of aviation not thought about before during this historic "Flight" come alive.Hampton brings this sensationalized event down to aviation basics...needle, ball, and airspeed...for 33 hours+ and includes many historical events to interest the reader.Definitely recommend!

What an excellent book! Thinking about how the first person to do this flew by site in a little plane without any sleep for a few days is just remarkable. Our pioneers aren’t always stellar in every area of their lives, but his contribution to aviation is remarkable and cannot be overlooked. I love that he was at Cape Canaveral to watch the first flight to the moon.

“THE FLIGHT” by Dan Hampton, 2017. (317 pages that includes ACKNOWLEDGMENTS, a GLOSSARY, SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY, NOTES AND SOURCES, and an INDEX.)Robert HuddlestonAnother book about Lindbergh's 1927 solo flight from New York to Paris! Overkill, was my initial reaction. As an nonagenarian born before “Lucky Lindy's” historic flight: Who read “WE,” his personal account of the experience, as soon as the craft of reading was managed. And who came to worship aviation and aviators. What could author Hampton possibly tell me that I didn't already know? The answer: A lot!Three key elements make THE FLIGHT an excellent addition to the Lindbergh story;One: The author's subject -matter expertise;Two: His prodigious research, and;Three: The ability to meld One and Two into excellent proseOn the first page of his AUTHOR'S NOTE that follows the CONTENTS, Don Hampton, a retired Air Force fighter pilot, informs readers of what is to come: “My purpose in these pages,” he writes, “is to put the reader into the cockpit of the Spirit of St. Louis during those thirty-three and a half hours on May 20 and 21, 1927, and to fly along with him.” Not to second-guess Lindbergh the pilot, but to clarify for the reader what Lindbergh had to know and what he had do to achieve his goal. In preparing the Spirit for the flight,, as an example, Lindbergh assisted Don Hall, who designed and build the aircraft, in modifying it Hampton quotes Hall about Lindbergh: “The presence of Charles Lindbergh, with his keen knowledge of flying, his understanding of engineering problems, his implicit faith in the proposed flight, and his constant application to it, was a most important factor in welding the entire factory organization into one smoothly running team.” Yes, Lindbergh was a brilliant pilot, but he was also informed and effective in dealing with all facets of the flight including the unexpected: A solo flight that many considered impossible. Alone, he was the navigator. Drifting off-course early in the flight would cost fuel leaving the aircraft short of the goal. Hampton explains in detail how Lindbergh mastered the navigation.Enhancing the value of THE FLIGHT is the author's prodigious research, not only about Lindbergh, but about the decade in which the historic flight was achieved. The “Roaring Twenties,” separated from the “Victorian Age” by the Great War of 1914-1918, produced jazz, flappers, speakeasies (illegal watering holes), motion pictures and automobiles conducive to “petting,” and more. Also, women's right to vote. It was a world that F. Scott Fitzgerald lived and wrote about and author Hampton describes in detail.Is this important to “The Flight” ? Hampton's makes the case of Lindbergh becoming an international hero, not only for what he accomplished, but for his being a needed hero for what Fitzgerald called the “lost generation.” His exalted celebrity status, something not matched even in this age of celebrities, lends credence to Hampton's interpretation.The third factor important to the book is Dan Hampton's literary talent. Simply put, the guy can write! “The dying light,” he writes as the aircraft reaches the open sea, “catches the little silver plane, and for a long moment the Spirit of St. Louis is perfectly framed by the rocky pillars, feathery salt spray, and angry gray water. Then suddenly it's gone. One machine, one man—swallowed up by the darkness filling the eastern sky.”While I recommend “THE FLIGHT without any reservation, I suggest that readers lacking knowledge of Lindbergh precede the book with a good introduction, one being LINDBERGH ALONE by Brendan Gill. 1977. It includes excellent vintage photographs.. More detailed is Lindbergh's 1954 Pulitzer Award winning memoir, the Spirit of St. Louis, and the biography LINDBERGH by A. Scott Berg, 1998. Berg, however, includes limited details about the flight leaving an opening for Dan Hampton. ----------(Note to readers: THE FLIGHT does not end with Lindbergh achieving his historic flight by landing in Paris on May 21, 1927. It ends with his death at his home in the Hawaiian Islands on August 26, 1974 at the age of seventy-two.)Robert Huddleston, a WW II combat fighter pilot, is the author of a novella, “AN AMERICAN PILOT WITH THE LUFTWAFFE, 2014 and other stories of the Second World War.

Gripping! Hampton puts you in the seat as Lindbergh, with details to keep you in the agony of not knowing what's coming. Though I've read several biographies of Lindbergh, none had details that Hampton covered.So it's a great biography, but more importantly, it is a gripping first person account of an epic flight. Exactly what I was hoping for, and counting on Dan Hampton's excellent writing skills that I previously enjoyed in his prior books.As an aside, my grandmother was born two years before Lindy. She hadn't seen an airplane until she was in her mid-twenties. She grew up in the mountains of Tennessee, where there was not much demand for aircraft service. She told me about the mania around Lindy's flight when it happened. She felt that the mania was as great, if not greater than the Apollo 11 moon landing. She attributed that to the steps that were taken to get to Apollo 11. In the book, Hampton includes a photo of the Apollo 7 and the Apollo 8 crews with Lindbergh, right before Apollo 8 took off and circled the moon at Christmas time. So though Neil & Buzz were made famous by their amazing journey, we had just experienced Apollo 8 circling the moon. I can't comment on the validity of her opinion, but suspect that she was right. I never had the opportunity to meet Lindy, something that I regret. I did meet Neil and Buzz, as well as the original seven astronauts due to my father's role as a quality exec in aerospace. I'm buying this book for him as thanks for those opportunities. He's an 87 yr old airborne Korean War veteran. Thank you Dad! You're going to love this book!

I thoroughly enjoyed Dan Hampton's "The Flight", which tells the incredible story of Charles Lindbergh's heroic 1927 flight from New York to Paris. I didn't know much information about Lindbergh prior to reading this book (and most of my knowledge was unrelated to his Transatlantic crossing), but I really gained a lot of insight from Hampton's well researched book.Hampton is very effective at putting us "in the cockpit" with Lindbergh while he attempts something no man has done before him. I was on the edge of my seat and couldn't imagine the feelings that Lindbergh would have experienced the night he flew over open ocean for the first time. Hampton, an experienced pilot, is also quite a concise and coherent writer. The book is well laid out and a very quick, easy read.I enjoyed his use of Lindbergh's actual quotes throughout the book - it gave me a better understanding of Lindbergh's own motivations and thoughts throughout his daring adventure. What a benefit that he felt the need to keep such well documented logs. It helped push the narrative forward.The only negative I found with the book was the technical jargon. While I understand its use within the context (and it wasn't overpowering by any means), I found my eyes glazing over every time he would begin to speak too technically... but, obviously that content could be quite interesting for some.Overall, I would recommend "The Flight" - a very well written, interesting and addictive read.

“The Flight: Charles Lindbergh’s daring and immortal 1927 transatlantic crossing,” by Dan Hampton (William Morrow, 2017). Hampton is a decorated fighter pilot, and this telling of the familiar story is presented from the cockpit. There are good, brief accounts of Lindbergh’s family history, of his development as a young flier, a bit about other transatlantic attempts. But the greatest value of this very clear recounting is Hampton’s explanation of how the flight actually was accomplished: the quality of the Wright Whirlwind J5-C engine which worked flawlessly; how Lindbergh carefully balanced his use of fuel from each of the tanks, to keep the plane on an even keel; how he tried to navigate through clouds with only the barest knowledge of what was happening with the weather. There is a brief recounting of his life afterward, with essentially an apologia for his visit to Hitler’s Germany (he was actually providing information to the US government, Hampton says). He desperately wanted to get into WWII combat, but he had angered FDR who refused to give him a chance. But he still managed to get to the Pacific, and actually flew several dozen combat missions and shot down at least one Japanese plane. By virtue of his one, short, tremendously heroic act, Lindbergh was forced for the rest of his life to be someone he wasn’t.

This is an account of the 18-or-so hours that Charles Lindbergh spent crossing the Pacific from New York to Paris, and it's a riveting one. Let's be clear that the author isn't about to defend the man's politics, or to go over the kidnapping of his son. It's strictly about the flight, and it's a good thing. The perilousness of his feat is well illustrated by the forward, which follows the attempt by two French aviators to make the crossing from Paris to New York two weeks before. After using the best plane, a concocting a solid game plan, and leaving nothing to chance - they disappear. Lindbergh's margin of error was small, and the story illustrates the many times it could have gone wrong. Using his own account of the flight and other contemporaneous accounts, you're in the cockpit with "Slim," and find yourself rooting for him, too. The story does correct and unearth some forgotten information, such as the fact that he flew combat missions during WWII, which, of course, he opposed. That opposition didn't, and doesn't, make him a Nazi or Nazi sympathizer, any more than those in the 2010s who oppose action in Iraq are automatically ISIS or ISIS sympathizers.This book lets you revel in the triumph of flight, when it was still a wonder, and marvel at the people who stretched the boundaries. I received this book for review from Goodreads.Read more of my reviews on Ralphsbooks.

I read this over a 3 day stretch at 1.5 speed and it kept my attention very well. It has a unique take on "Slim" and his flight in the "Spirit". Dan Hampton writes it from a mostly cockpit perspective of the 33hr 30min flight in 1927 instead of focusing all on the growing up and after flight of the man. There's one chapter towards the middle of the book where the author comments on his views of the 1920s that I could have done without, but I can appreciate how it helped set the context for the people of the world looking for a hero. I grew up in the St. Louis area so I always liked knowing that it was the Spirit of St. Louis that made such a heroic flight, so much so that Lindbergh Blvd in the area has his namesake. There is also a replica of the plane that hangs in Lambert International Airport that I remember seeing as a kid. What I never knew about was the flight, or the man, or his plane and how it functioned. Hampton is a master at weaving this tale with Slim's own words and all of the press that was available. Good read for sure.

Charles Lindbergh, in flying solo, nonstop from New York to Paris in 1927, was, of course unequaled in its daring, especially considering aviation and flight were fraught with danger and many unknowns. In this book, Dan Hampton presents a perspective I've not read previously. The majority of the book tells Charles Lindbergh's story from the perspective of his time in the air and what he experienced. The later part of the book explains, or tries to explain, Charles A. Lindbergh the man. This interested me very much. So much has been written about his political views for which he is often maligned. I think that is often done in a way which overshadows his character and humanity. I'm glad this book presents a more balanced portrayal, and I thought it a great read. One I will likely revisit.

Very focused, and nicely detailed, description of Charles Lindbergh's transformative solo flight across the Atlantic. Written from a pilot's perspective, the book highlights the flight itself, with interspersed historical context to fully develop the characters and story. Very little of Lindberg's (sometimes controversial) post-flight career is discussed, but it needn't be, as the flight itself is dramatic enough to carry weight of the narrative. The reader will return again and again to the photo of the cockpit, marveling at the technical and physical factors overcome during the 33 and a half hour flight. Being a map guy, larger maps would have been appreciated, but that small quibble aside, this is a very interesting read.

Don Hampton's book is the story of Charles Lindbergh and the historic flight in the cockpit of the Spirit of St Louis, May 20-21, 1927. The book is strictly about the famous 33+ hour flight and nothing more--the flight is an aviation first. Yes, there is some background; family, supporters, etc. I liken the effort to home building a Cessna 150 in San Diego and then flying it to Paris with little instrumentation. Crew rest, prior to the over-water flight, was interrupted by a night of partying at a Broadway show, so no sleep for three days by the time he reached Paris. This accomplishment very much launched aviation into the commercial and every day thing that it is today. The heroic and historic flight occurred 93 years ago, today...and tomorrow.

Many books written by Lindbergh and others of the first non-stop flight from New York to Paris. What sets this book apart was what Charles Lindbergh did in the So. Pacific during WW2. Often thought he was not allowed back into the military for his desire not to get into a war with Germany, it was a personal grudge by FDR. When FDR took the airmail service away from commercial airlines and had Army Pilots fly it, 12 AAC pilots died from lack of experience in the harrowing flights to get the mail thru. Lindbergh objected and FDR said "I'll get that guy". However Lindbergh fought as a civilian in various fighter planes under the guise of giving technical advice. He .made 50 missions

This was a very well researched and written recap of the famous transAtlantic solo flight by Charles Lindbergh on May 20-21, 1927. I felt that the story was most interesting when author Hampton put the adventure in context to major events happening just prior and eventually after the flight that helped the reader understand just how important this was to the moral of the global audience living through it. It helped you understand why this event made Lindbergh the most famous person in the world at that time.