May 20, 1927

I have gathered many of my supplies needed for the flight tomorrow. I am very nervous about this because 6 other pilots have failed in their attempts to fly across the Atlantic. I am not as famous as the other pilots that attempted to win the Orteig Prize, but I feel like I’ve got a real shot at this thing. Fortunately for me, I have been given a lot of money through donations and funds in the building of my plane, but I also had to contribute $2,000 of my own money even with my $15,000 bank loan; this amount of money still doesn’t equal the amount of money the other pilots had and I don’t have the flight experience they had. I really hope I can beat that ace racer pilot Clarence D. Chamberlin. He’s been bustin’ my chops ever since he found out I was in the race for the prize. I still can’t believe the French war heroes Charles Nungesser and his navigator Francois Coli were never heard from. God the nervousness is getting to me. I think I’m gonna freak out. Thank god for the help Donald Hall gave me in designing this plane, he truly made this plane a work of art. The plane is light enough to get off the ground and powerful enough to get the plane very far and quickly. Hopefully everything goes as planned. If I make this flight I definitely have to give recognition to Frank Robertson, Harry H. Knight, and Harold M. Bixby for their generous donations on this project. This could have definitely not been done without them. I am getting so tired and I have to wake up so early tomorrow for the flight. Although I definitely have to be thankful for the money I made being an airmail pilot. I really hope those 450 gallons of gasoline will be enough for the plane ride. If I get lost I’m gonna be in some serious trouble because then I will run out of gas and drop out of the sky. Well I’m gonna have to get some shut eye because its gonna be a long day tomorrow. Wish me Luck.