Built in 1917, the Vickers Vimy was used as a bomber in World War I and it had a very interesting design that allowed it to fly for over a hundred hours before needing service. Aerobatic pilot Patty Wagstaff:

"The wings of the Vimy were made of wood and fabric and spanned 68 feet and the cockpit was open, the instruments were primitive by modern standards. The Vimy was actually the first plane to fly non-stop across the Atlantic even though Charles Lindbergh�s solo flight in �The Spirit of St. Louis� is more widely known and commonly thought to be the first transatlantic flight."

Although the Vimy is not a common aircraft today, you can still try your hand at piloting one in Microsoft�s Flight Simulator 2004 "A Century of Flight":

"Well, what�s really cool is that you can actually cue the Flight Sim up when you�re flying this plane to duplicate the cross Atlantic or transatlantic flight � so you can do the same flight that Alcott and Brown flew in 1919 � that�s pretty cool."

This was your "Minute in Aviation."

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