![]() When asked about his change of heart, he allegedly told reporters that he finally understood what Orteig actually meant by "fly your plane over the Atlantic." By this point, there had already been several attempts by French war veteran pilots, most of which resulted in failure. It wasn't until 1927 that Lindbergh changed his mind and decided to accept the bet. ![]() Orteig was apparently oblivious to the misunderstanding, as he reportedly continued chasing after Lindbergh (an outspoken homophobe), yelling about "joysticks and undercarriages and spinning his propeller and such. Charles declined, asking Orteig if he was "coming on to" him and fleeing the scene. Plus, this was just what rich gentlemen did in the early 20th century. His reasons were simple since the war was over, he was looking for something to cure him of his boredom. He offered him $25,000 in " Civil War bucks" which, as we all know, was worth much more than the currency of the day, if he could fly a plane across the Atlantic ocean, from New York to Paris. Raymond Orteig, a filthy rich Frenchman who had made his fortune as a New York hotel entrepreneur, approached Lindbergh in 1919 with a wager. "Woo! That was sweet! Where's that Raymond bastard, did he just see that?" The dare He delivered mail to three major cities in Illinois, and was quickly recognized by his superiors as "the best damn mail pilot I ever saw." His perseverance and determination were evinced through his actions once, after crashing over Lake Michigan, Lindbergh rescued flaming bags of letters from his sinking airplane, extinguished them, dried them with his own breath, and carried them to a local telephone to ask his friend living nearby to "get over here, and bring a fucking truck!" What a guy. Lindbergh saw much action in his pre-fame years as an airmail pilot. As much as he enjoyed the attention associated with the job, Charles quit the circus and began training for an airmail position in 1924. It was here that a near-death experience in the sky convinced him that being a barnstormer just didn't pay nearly as much as a pilot of his caliber should be paid. The plane he bought was a Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny", which he flew in a local aerial circus. While his career as an all- American stud has no official beginning, Lucky Lindy first started flying for money in 1922 when he quit school and bought himself an airplane using money he had been saving since he was ten, as well as some liberty bonds which his grandparents had sent him every Christmas.
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