Jordan’s English class is reading a book set in the 1920s. In order to better understand that decade, his English teacher has assigned a research essay on one aspect of that time period. Jordan has written an essay on early pilots but needs help revising and improving the essay. After you read the essay, answer questions below. (1) After Orville and Wilbur Wright have flown their first airplane in 1903, the age of flying slowly began. (2) Many new pilots learned how to fly in World War I, which the United States joined in 1917. (3) During the war, the American public loved hearing stories... Show more Jordan’s English class is reading a book set in the 1920s. In order to better understand that decade, his English teacher has assigned a research essay on one aspect of that time period. Jordan has written an essay on early pilots but needs help revising and improving the essay. After you read the essay, answer questions below. (1) After Orville and Wilbur Wright have flown their first airplane in 1903, the age of flying slowly began. (2) Many new pilots learned how to fly in World War I, which the United States joined in 1917. (3) During the war, the American public loved hearing stories about the daring pilots and their air fights. (4) But after the war ended, many Americans thought that men and women belonged on the ground and not in the air." (5) In the years after the war and through the Roaring Twenties, Americas pilots found themselves without jobs. (6) Some of them gave up flying altogether. (7) Pilot Eddie Rickenbacker, who used to be called America’s Ace of Aces, became a car salesman. (8) But other pilots found new and creative things to do with their airplanes. (9) Pilot Casey Jones used his airplane to help get news across the country. (10) When a big news story broke, Jones flew news photos to newspapers in different cities. (11) Another pilot, Roscoe Turner traveled around the country with a lion cub in his plane. (12) The cub was the mascot of an oil company, and Turner convinced the company that flying the cub around would be a good advertisement. (13) The Humane Society wasn’t very happy about this idea, and they convinced Turner to make sure the lion cub always wore a parachute." (14) Other pilots took people for short airplane rides, often charging five dollars for a five-minute ride (by comparison, you could buy a loaf of bread for about ten cents in 1920). (15) These pilots, called barnstormers, often used dangerous tricks to get customers: two barnstormers once stood on a plane’s wings and played tennis while the plane flew at 70 miles per hour! (16) Many barnstormers advertised their shows as a “flying circus.” (17) During the 1920s, the U.S. Post Office developed airmail. (18) Before airmail, the post traveled on trains and can take weeks to reach a destination. (19) Flying for the post office was dangerous work. (20) Early pilots didn’t have sophistocated instruments and safety equipment on their planes. (21) Many of them had to bail out and use their parachutes when their planes iced up in the cold air or had other trouble." (22) The most famous pilot of the 1920s, Charles","Lindbergh, began as a postal pilot. (23) In May 1927, he participated in an air race to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. (24) The prize was $25,000, but the dangers were extensive. (25) Named Nungesser and Coli, two French pilots had recently tried to fly across the Atlantic. (26) They disappeared. (27) The newspapers called Charles Lindbergh “the dark horse” to win the race. (28) He had already set a record by making the fastest solo flight between St. Louis, Missouri, and, San Diego, California. (29) Lindbergh’s record-setting flight took 23 hours and 15 minutes; today, a flight between St. Louis and San Diego takes about four hours. (30) After several weather delays, Lindbergh took off in his small plane, The Spirit of St. Louis, on May 20, 1927. (31) He made it across the Atlantic Ocean and arrived in France after 33 hours and 30 minutes of non-stop flight; today, a flight from New York to Paris would take about seven hours. (32) The flight was taxing. (33) Because Lindbergh flew alone, he had to stay awake for the entire trip. (34) He knew that he couldn’t have made it across without a great plane. (35) He said, “I feel that the monoplane was as much a part of the trip as myself.” (36) Lindbergh’s trip set off a golden age for aviation. (37) The same people who were nervous about airplanes at the beginning of the 1920s came out by the thousands to cheer Lindbergh. (38) The age of pilots doing odd jobs and dangerous stunt work had ended. Show less
Jordan’s English class is reading a book set in the 1920s. In order to better understand that decade, his English teacher has assigned a research essay on one aspect of that time period. Jordan has written an essay on early pilots but needs help revising and improving the essay.
After you read the essay, answer questions below.
(1) After Orville and Wilbur Wright have flown their first airplane in 1903, the age of flying slowly began. (2) Many new pilots learned how to fly in World War I, which the United States joined in 1917. (3) During the war, the American public loved hearing stories about the daring pilots and their air fights. (4) But after the war ended, many Americans thought that men and women belonged on the ground and not in the air." (5) In the years after the war and through the Roaring Twenties, Americas pilots found themselves without jobs. (6) Some of them gave up flying altogether. (7) Pilot Eddie Rickenbacker, who used to be called America’s Ace of Aces, became a car salesman. (8) But other pilots found new and creative things to do with their airplanes. (9) Pilot Casey Jones used his airplane to help get news across the country. (10) When a big news story broke, Jones flew news photos to newspapers in different cities. (11) Another pilot, Roscoe Turner traveled around the country with a lion cub in his plane. (12) The cub was the mascot of an oil company, and Turner convinced the company that flying the cub around would be a good advertisement. (13) The Humane Society wasn’t very happy about this idea, and they convinced Turner to make sure the lion cub always wore a parachute." (14) Other pilots took people for short airplane rides, often charging five dollars for a five-minute ride (by comparison, you could buy a loaf of bread for about ten cents in 1920). (15) These pilots, called barnstormers, often used dangerous tricks to get customers: two barnstormers once stood on a plane’s wings and played tennis while the plane flew at 70 miles per hour! (16) Many barnstormers advertised their shows as a “flying circus.” (17) During the 1920s, the U.S. Post Office developed airmail. (18) Before airmail, the post traveled on trains and can take weeks to reach a destination. (19) Flying for the post office was dangerous work. (20) Early pilots didn’t have sophistocated instruments and safety equipment on their planes. (21) Many of them had to bail out and use their parachutes when their planes iced up in the cold air or had other trouble." (22) The most famous pilot of the 1920s, Charles","Lindbergh, began as a postal pilot. (23) In May 1927, he participated in an air race to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. (24) The prize was $25,000, but the dangers were extensive. (25) Named Nungesser and Coli, two French pilots had recently tried to fly across the Atlantic. (26) They disappeared. (27) The newspapers called Charles Lindbergh “the dark horse” to win the race. (28) He had already set a record by making the fastest solo flight between St. Louis, Missouri, and, San Diego, California. (29) Lindbergh’s record-setting flight took 23 hours and 15 minutes; today, a flight between St. Louis and San Diego takes about four hours. (30) After several weather delays, Lindbergh took off in his small plane, The Spirit of St. Louis, on May 20, 1927. (31) He made it across the Atlantic Ocean and arrived in France after 33 hours and 30 minutes of non-stop flight; today, a flight from New York to Paris would take about seven hours. (32) The flight was taxing. (33) Because Lindbergh flew alone, he had to stay awake for the entire trip. (34) He knew that he couldn’t have made it across without a great plane. (35) He said, “I feel that the monoplane was as much a part of the trip as myself.” (36) Lindbergh’s trip set off a golden age for aviation. (37) The same people who were nervous about airplanes at the beginning of the 1920s came out by the thousands to cheer Lindbergh. (38) The age of pilots doing odd jobs and dangerous stunt work had ended.
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