On 106 years ago today, July 13, 1919 (June 16, 1919, the British airship successfully flew back and forth across the Atlantic Ocean. In the early morning of July 13, 1919, the British airship "R¡¤34" arrived at its base in Pulheim and completed its first round-trip air flight across the Atlantic. There were no landings on both flights. First take off from Edinburgh, Scotland, to Mineola, Long Island, and then return to England. The "R¡¤34" left Edinburgh at 1:48 am on July 2 and arrived in Mineola at 8:45 am on July 6. The flight time was 4 days and 12 hours, which was slightly longer than the steamboat record set by the ship "Mauritania" in 1909. But the R.34 flew a much longer route, at 3200 miles and an average speed of 30 nautical miles per hour, with thousands of spectators gathered at Roosevelt Airport in Mineola, New York City to watch the airship land. They witnessed the extraordinary scene when the first crew member set foot on American soil. The first crew member was the second mate of the R.34 airship, Major John E. M. Pritchard, who landed first by parachute to help others secure the airship. R¡¤34 stayed in Mineola and did not begin returning flights until July 10. The airship took off and flew over New York City, then over Newfoundland and then across the Atlantic Ocean. The return flight time is 75 hours, which is due to the help of the westerly wind. In addition to its 30 crew members, the R¡¤34 airship also carried one passenger who was not scheduled on the travel itinerary. William Balantine, a 23-year-old fitter who was expelled from the crew in the final stages, hid himself on the airship, becoming the world's first stowaway to fly across the Atlantic.