Kenneth Perkins, a retired United Airline pilot, was the co-pilot of the dramatic 1974 flight to bring an ailing Charles Lindbergh to Hawaii just before the death of the aviation pioneer. Courtesy photo/Aviation Museum of New Hampshire

LONDONDERRY — Kenneth Perkins was the co-pilot of the flight that brought a dying Charles Lindbergh to Hawaii in 1974. Now, 50 years later, residents are invited to hear his remembrances of the dramatic event at the Aviation Museum of New Hampshire.

Perkins, a retired United Airlines pilot and New Hampshire resident, will speak about the flight in “Lindbergh’s Last Flight” on Jan. 25 at 7 p.m. at the Aviation Museum, 27 Navigator Rd.

The presentation is part of the museum’s “Exploring Aviation” speaker series.

Lindbergh won international fame in 1927 by piloting the first non-stop flight across the Atlantic Ocean, from Long Island to Paris. After enjoying decades as the Lone Eagle, Lindbergh was diagnosed with lymphoma in 1974.

With no hope of recovery, the gravely ill Lindbergh acted against medical advice and decided to make one last flight from New York to Hawaii, where he wished to die and be laid to rest.

Lindbergh’s request precipitated a dramatic flight on a United Airlines DC-8 on which Perkins served as the co-pilot.

Lindbergh, laid across a set of first class seats for family members.

On the way, his wife Anne Morrow Lindbergh remarked that the journey was similar to his solo trans-Atlantic flight in 1927, as “no one believed he could do either and survive.”

Lindbergh died on Aug. 26, 1974 and was buried on the Hawaiian island of Maui. He was 72.

“Lindbergh’s Last Flight” will also include other tales from Perkins’ many decades of experience during the Golden Age of Aviation.

Admission to the event is $10 per person. Museum members will be admitted free of charge. Tickets will be available at the door or may be purchased in advance by calling the museum at 603-669-4877 during business hours.

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