The cumulative effect on people’s perceptions was profound. By the end of the summer, America was a nation ready to fly—quite a turnaround from four months earlier, when aviation for most people simply meant barnstormers at county fairs and the like, and the United States seemed unlikely ever to catch up with Europe. Whether Lindbergh knew it or not, his tour of America did far more to transform the future of aviation than his daring dash to Paris ever could.
America ready to fly
