The 1933 flight arose from international interest in developing commercial air routes. Pan American Airways and four other airlines undertook a study of possible Atlantic routes. As Pan American’s technical advisor, Charles Lindbergh was sent to survey a route from Newfoundland to Europe.
The Lindberghs flew from New York to Newfoundland, then to Europe via Labrador, Greenland, and Iceland. After visiting several European cities as far east as Moscow, they flew down the coast of Africa and across the Atlantic to South America. They flew down the Amazon and then back north to New York. The trip covered 30,000 miles, four continents, and 21 countries.
Try saying the name of the Lindberghs’ plane: ting-miss-SAR-tock. It originally meant “one who flies like a big bird.” But Greenland’s language changed slightly in 1973. Today in Greenlandic, an airplane is called “timmisartoq”—so if you’re trying to catch a plane in Greenland, say tim-mi-SAR-torck.