Ready For Takeoff - Turn Your Aviation Passion Into A Career

Erik Lindbergh, a commercial pilot and certified flight instructor, is the grandson of Charles and Anne Lindbergh and son of Jon Lindbergh and Barbara Robbins. As 2002 marks the 75th anniversary of his grandfather’s Spirit of St. Louis transatlantic flight, Erik Lindbergh will recreate this 1927 milestone, illustrating the human spirit’s ability to dream, innovate and achieve one’s goals against many odds.   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. Today, with the help of a breakthrough biotech drug, Enbrel, Erik has his life back and is in pursuit of his dreams. Usi