 Charles Limburg, February 4, 1902 to August 26, 1974, was an American aviator, author, military officer, and social activist. As a 25-year-old U.S. airmail pilot, Limburg emerged suddenly from virtual obscurity to instantaneous world fame as a result of his solo non-stop flight on May 20 and 21, 1927, made from Gordon City, Long Island to Le Bourget Field in Paris, France, a distance of nearly 3,600 miles in the single-seat, single-engine Spirit of St. Louis. As a result of this flight, Limburg was the first person in history to be in New York one day and Paris the next. The record-setting flight took 33 hours and 33 minutes. I want to express my appreciation of the reception I've had in America and the welcome I've received here tonight. When I landed at Le Bourget a few weeks ago, I landed with the expectancy and the hope of being able to see Europe. It was the first time I'd ever been abroad. I'd seen a number of very interesting things as I flew over Southern England, the South Coast of Ireland, and France. I'd only been going from America for two days, a little less, and I wasn't in any hurry to get back. By the time I'd been in France a week and Belgium a day and in England two or three days, by that time, I'd opened several cables from America and I'd talked to three ambassadors in their tachés. And I found that it didn't make much difference whether I wanted to stay over there or not. Sample complete. Ready to continue?