“and a worse navigator”
Her navigator was as good as they come. Pioneered the routes for the Pan Am clippers. Even that said, extreme range overwater flights were a very dangerous undertaking back then. Many things could go wrong, and apparently one did for those two.
In many flights of that nature, in that era, a picket line of destroyers was deployed along the route to assist navigation and provide rescue. That’s how much success was anticipated.
Whatever we think of her skills, that was a brave thing to try. An inch or two on the map or the pacific can take on terrifying proportions in reality.
Lindbergh was a genius in the cockpit. I read a story about his exploits in the Pacific. As a tech rep, he taught our guys how to extend the range of Corsairs and P-38s farther than anyone ever dreamed was possible. He flew numerous unofficial combat missions. He was basically exiled to the pacific because of his political mistakes.
Howard Hughes was another amazing flyer. His later mental degeneration is sad,, but he was another pioneer.
So many of those early fliers were basically loners who had extremely poor social skills. I guess it kind of fits, if you think about it for a minute.
Little bit of trivia on Charles Lindbergh. His father changed the family name when they moved from Germany so it would sound more American. IF his father hadn’t changed the family name, his name would have been Charles Manson.