Lindbergh's grandson resumes quest to repeat grandfather's flig

CHESTERFIELD, Mo. -- With a wave of his plane's wings for the cheering crowd, Charles Lindbergh's grandson took off in fog Saturday and flew to New York, closing out the second leg of his bid to match his famed grandfather's historic 1927 solo crossing of the Atlantic.

Erik Lindbergh, 36, reached Long Island's Republic Airport in Farmingdale, N.Y. The landing spot -- a state-run field for private planes -- was a stand-in for Roosevelt Field, which Charles Lindbergh used 75 years ago. Roosevelt Field is now a shopping mall.

Once in New York, Erik Lindbergh taxied past reporters and well-wishers, waving along the way in easing his state-of-the-art Lancair Columbia 300 -- the New Spirit of St. Louis -- to a private hangar. He did not speak publicly about his trip.

Hours earlier, Erik Lindbergh's takeoff from Missouri was cheered and applauded by a couple hundred well-wishers at the Spirit of St. Louis Airport, where a celebration of his quest included a marching band from an area high school named after his grandfather.

The departure of the commercial pilot and artist from the Seattle area was nearly two hours behind schedule, given concerns about thunderstorms that had pushed into his flight path.

The flight re-creation is part of the 75th anniversary celebration of Charles Lindbergh's cross-Atlantic flight, which began in San Diego, where the original Spirit of St. Louis was built. Erik Lindbergh flew in to St. Louis on April 14 from San Diego's Lindbergh Field, retracing the first leg of his grandfather's trek.

The young Lindbergh plans to begin the 17- to 21-hour crossing of the Atlantic on May 1, a feat that took his grandfather 33 1/2 hours.

Erik Lindbergh's quest, being filmed by the History Channel for an eventual documentary, will be monitored by his mission control center at the St. Louis Science Center.

At the send-off here, Betty Young and her husband, John, each clutched cameras as two aviation buffs who drove about 600 miles to St. Louis from Findlay, Ohio, to see history revisited.

"This is the spirit of America," Betty Young said. "I absolutely wouldn't miss this. When we go back to Ohio, we'll put these pictures under a glass table."

Erik Lindbergh's new aircraft was built in Bend, Ore., for $289,000. Its average cruise speed is 184 mph, compared with the 108 mph of the original Spirit of St. Louis, which was built for $10,580.