L'Oiseau Blanc

Spent some time last week learning about an aviation mystery I didn't know about, the disappearance of "The White Bird" or L'Oiseau Blanc. This was a fascinating transatlantic attempt that preceded Lindbergh's and was going east to west. It was probably lost over Newfoundland or Maine. A compelling account of why the plane was never found is that the engine might have been melted for scrap by a logging company. The plane was a modified version of an existing model that had been in use as an airliner in France, an air trade that I had previously been unaware of, and a fact that I learned by looking up the engine because it was described as a "W" piston engine.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L'Oiseau_Blanc

http://tighar.org/Projects/PMG/Unfinishedflight.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bl%C3%A9riot-SPAD_S.33

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lorraine_12E_Courlis