In 1928, he became a national hero when he was selected to undertake a goodwill flight from Valbuena Airfield in Mexico City to Washington, D.C. in response to the previous year's flight between the two capitals by Charles Lindbergh. He received the plane on May 20 from the factory. After a number of short practice flights in Tampico, Mexico to test gasoline and maintaining altitude, Emilio was ready for his distance flight. Flying his plane The Mexico Excelsior, a Ryan Brougham similar to the Spirit of St. Louis, Carranza reached Washington, D.C on June 12, 1928, after a forced landing in Mooresville, North Carolina. The reason for the forced landing was fog. The goodwill flight was partially financed by Charles Lindbergh who contributed $1200 to help finance the flight. The American Syrian Federation also contributed financial assistance to pay for the flight. However, the bulk of the money for the good-will flight came from a public collection in Mexico. $25,000 was raised for his trip.