At the time, he was not allowed to fly the plane alone because he was not able to pay the bond required by President Ray. This fee was paid in case the trainee damaged the only trainer that the school had in its possession. Lindbergh then spent his summer and early autumn as a parachutist and a wing walker in order to add to his experience in flying and to earn more money to pay for school. He also, for a short while, worked as an airplane mechanic at the Billings Municipal Airport. During the winter, he went back to Minnesota and failed to fly for over six months. The first time that Lindbergh flew solo was May 1923 in a Curtis JN-4 "Jenny" biplane that he bought for $500. His first cross country flight was from Americus, Georgia to Montgomery, Alabama. The next noteworthy milestone that he crossed in aviation was when he flew at night for the first time near Arkansas. His damaged his Jenny quite a number of times during the summer with the most serious accident taking place in Minnesota when he ran into a ditch. He was flying his father, who was running for Senate, to a campaign stop. After this, he sold his Jenny to a flying student in Iowa.
After that sale, he travelled back to Lincoln where he joined Leon Klink, and together they proceeded to barnstorm through the South. After a few months, each of them went separate ways, Lindbergh having been called to Brookes Field where he was to begin training for military flights. In the later years of his training, he experienced a terrible accident just before his graduation. His craft collided with an Army S.E.5 in midair while practicing airborne combat operations3. He graduated top of his class in March 1925 and earned his wings as an Army pilot, in addition to a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant. In his book, WE, he attributed his success and skill as an aviator to this last year training for Army flight. After this, he went back to aviation as a civilian, as well as being a flight instructor.
