Erik Lindbergh

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article needs additional citations for verification.
Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2007)

Erik Lindbergh (born 1965) is an aviator, a promoter of space tourism and artist. Son of Jon Lindbergh and Barbara Robbins, he is the grandson of the pioneering aviator Charles Lindbergh.

A graduate of Emery Aviation College, he serves on the board of the X PRIZE Foundation, which administers the Ansari X Prize for the first non-governmental reusable crewed spacecraft. The X Prize is seen as a major boost for the cause of space tourism, and of private spaceflight in general. It is fashioned after the Orteig Prize, the aviation incentive prize won by Charles Lindbergh's transatlantic flight in 1927.

Erik Lindbergh recreated his grandfather's 1927 Spirit of St. Louis transatlantic flight for its 75th anniversary. Leaving from Republic Airport on Long Island, he landed at Le Bourget Airport in Paris on May 2, 2002. The flight was completed in 17 hours and 7 minutes, roughly twice as fast as the original.

Though he leads an active lifestyle, Erik also suffers from rheumatoid arthritis (RA), a progressive autoimmune disease marked by pain, tenderness, and inflammation of the joints, that nearly caused him to give up his passion for aviation when he was diagnosed at the young age of 21. RA crippled Erik for 15 years and only recently has he been active again. During his worst years with RA, Erik was forced to use a cane due to the severe pain that made it almost impossible for him to walk. Erik has been a spokesman for the arthritis drug Enbrel, as a result of his success with the treatment.^[1]

Aside from aviation, Erik is an artist and owner of Lindbergh Woodworks, which creates unique furniture and wood sculptures. He is known for his sculptures of rustic planets, spacecraft and aircraft within the community of astronomy and aviation. He is now offering some of his sculptures in bronze.