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The "Spirit of St. Louis" plane that carried Charles Lindbergh on his historic transatlantic flight from New York to Paris was strikingly simple in design
The "Spirit of St. Louis" plane that carried Charles Lindbergh on his historic transatlantic flight from New York to Paris was strikingly simple in design. The plane flew 3,610 miles nonstop in just 33.5 hours, yet it measured less than 28 feet long, seven feet shorter than a standard school bus, and it was built with just a single 220-horsepower engine, about the same as a full-size sedan.
Its fuselage was constructed with a pared-down steel frame and its wings were made from spruce. And the whole plane, apart from the engine, was wrapped with only canvas. In fact, it didn't even have a front windshield because extra gas tanks were placed directly in front of the cockpit to help balance out the weight of the additional fuel. But despite its shortcomings, the plane did exactly what it was supposed to do — and made Lindbergh the most famous pilot on Earth.
Read the story of Charles Lindbergh's "Spirit of St. Louis" by following the link in our profile.
The plane was a Ryan NYP developed from the Ryan M2, a single-engine high-wing monoplane, modified to Lindbergh’s specifications. In standard conformation the airplane would have seated five people; extra fuel tanks in the Spirit of St. Louis occupied much of what had been cabin space. The windshield was replaced by an extension of the nose cowling. Lindbergh had direct vision only from the side windows, relying on a periscope to see straight ahead. There was no radio. The Wright Whirlwind air-cooled radial engine developed a maximum of 237 horsepower. Wingspan of the craft was 46 feet (14 metres) and length 27 feet 8 inches (8.4 metres). Fuel capacity with the extra tanks was 450 gallons; top speed at sea level, when loaded, was 120 miles (200 km) per hour; and range was 4,100 miles (6,600 km).
The Spirit of St. Louis was returned from Europe to the United States aboard ship, and Lindbergh flew it extensively throughout North, Central, and South America to promote interest in aeronautics before donating it to the Smithsonian Institution.
Charles Lindbergh, in full Charles Augustus Lindbergh, also called Charles A. Lindbergh, (born February 4, 1902, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.—died August 26, 1974, Maui, Hawaii), American aviator, one of the best-known figures in aeronautical history, remembered for the first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean, from New York City to Paris, on May 20–21, 1927.
For the feat, Lindbergh in early 1927 had a single-engine monoplane built to his specifications in San Diego. Notably, it was outfitted with extra fuel tanks, including one in front of the cabin, which required him to use a periscope to see forward. On May 10–12 Lindbergh flew what became dubbed the Spirit of St. Louis from San Diego to New York (with a stopover in St. Louis) in preparation for the transatlantic attempt. Only a few days earlier, on May 8, World War I French flying ace Charles Nungesser and his navigator François Coli disappeared after beginning their effort to collect the Orteig Prize by flying from Paris to New York. They were last sighted over Ireland several hours after takeoff. The loss of Nungesser, one of France’s most charismatic and decorated pilots, highlighted the peril inherent in such an undertaking, which Lindbergh proposed to attempt alone.
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Lindbergh, Charles: Spirit of St. Louis
Lindbergh, Charles: Spirit of St. Louis
See Charles Lindbergh and the Spirit of Saint Louis, the first plane to fly nonstop from New York to Paris
See Charles Lindbergh and the Spirit of Saint Louis, the first plane to fly nonstop from New York to ParisSee all videos for this article
Spirit of St. Louis, airplane in which Charles Lindbergh made the first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean, from Long Island, New York, to Le Bourget, near Paris, May 20–21, 1927. His flight was sponsored by a group of businessmen in St. Louis, Missouri.
Lindbergh, Charles; Spirit of St. Louis
Lindbergh, Charles; Spirit of St. Louis
The plane was a Ryan NYP developed from the Ryan M2, a single-engine high-wing monoplane, modified to Lindbergh’s specifications. In standard conformation the airplane would have seated five people; extra fuel tanks in the Spirit of St. Louis occupied much of what had been cabin space. The windshield was replaced by an extension of the nose cowling. Lindbergh had direct vision only from the side windows, relying on a periscope to see straight ahead. There was no radio. The Wright Whirlwind air-cooled radial engine developed a maximum of 237 horsepower. Wingspan of the craft was 46 feet (14 metres) and length 27 feet 8 inches (8.4 metres). Fuel capacity with the extra tanks was 450 gallons; top speed at sea level, when loaded, was 120 miles (200 km) per hour; and range was 4,100 miles (6,600 km).
Concorde. Front end of one of the 20 Concorde supersonic airplanes. A joint British French production they flew for 30 years (1973-2003).
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Navigating the Sky
The Spirit of St. Louis was returned from Europe to the United States aboard ship, and Lindbergh flew it extensively throughout North, Central, and South America to promote interest in aeronautics before donating it to the Smithsonian Institution.
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Charles Lindbergh, in full Charles Augustus Lindbergh, also called Charles A. Lindbergh, (born February 4, 1902, Detroit, Michigan, U.S.—died August 26, 1974, Maui, Hawaii), American aviator, one of the best-known figures in aeronautical history, remembered for the first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean, from New York City to Paris, on May 20–21, 1927.
Role In: Lindbergh baby kidnapping
Early life and transatlantic flight
Lindbergh’s early years were spent chiefly in Little Falls, Minnesota, and in Washington, D.C. His father, Charles August Lindbergh, represented the 6th district of Minnesota in Congress (1907–17), where he was a staunch supporter of neutrality and a vocal antiwar advocate. The younger Lindbergh’s formal education ended during his second year at the University of Wisconsin in Madison, when his growing interest in aviation led to enrollment in a flying school in Lincoln, Nebraska, and the purchase of a World War I-era Curtiss JN-4 (“Jenny”), with which he made stunt-flying tours through Southern and Midwestern states. After a year at the army flying schools in Texas (1924–25), he became an airmail pilot (1926), flying the route from St. Louis, Missouri, to Chicago. During that period he obtained financial backing from a group of St. Louis businessmen to compete for the $25,000 Orteig Prize, which had been offered for the first nonstop flight between New York and Paris.
For the feat, Lindbergh in early 1927 had a single-engine monoplane built to his specifications in San Diego. Notably, it was outfitted with extra fuel tanks, including one in front of the cabin, which required him to use a periscope to see forward. On May 10–12 Lindbergh flew what became dubbed the Spirit of St. Louis from San Diego to New York (with a stopover in St. Louis) in preparation for the transatlantic attempt. Only a few days earlier, on May 8, World War I French flying ace Charles Nungesser and his navigator François Coli disappeared after beginning their effort to collect the Orteig Prize by flying from Paris to New York. They were last sighted over Ireland several hours after takeoff. The loss of Nungesser, one of France’s most charismatic and decorated pilots, highlighted the peril inherent in such an undertaking, which Lindbergh proposed to attempt alone.
See Charles Lindbergh and the Spirit of Saint Louis, the first plane to fly nonstop from New York to Paris
See Charles Lindbergh and the Spirit of Saint Louis, the first plane to fly nonstop from New York to ParisSee all videos for this article
Lindbergh was delayed several days by bad weather, but at 7:52 AM on the morning of May 20 he took off from Roosevelt Field on Long Island (just east of New York City) and headed east. Shortly before nightfall, Lindbergh passed over St. John’s, Newfoundland, on the way to the open sea. After flying some 3,600 miles (5,800 km) in 33.5 hours, he landed at Le Bourget field near Paris at 10:24 PM on the night of May 21. There the somewhat bewildered flier was mobbed by a large crowd that had come to greet him. Overnight Lindbergh became a folk hero on both sides of the Atlantic and a well-known figure in most of the world. U.S. Pres. Calvin Coolidge presented him with the Distinguished Flying Cross and made him a colonel in the Air Corps Reserve. There followed a series of goodwill flights in Europe and America.
While he was in Mexico, Lindbergh met Anne Morrow, daughter of Dwight Morrow, the U.S. ambassador to Mexico at the time. They were married in May 1929. She served as copilot and navigator for him on many flights, and together they flew to countries throughout the world. During that period, Lindbergh acted as technical adviser to two airlines, Transcontinental Air Transport and Pan American World Airways, personally pioneering many of their routes. When he was not flying, Lindbergh worked with Nobel Prize-winning surgeon Alexis Carrel on the development of the perfusion pump, a device that allowed organs to be kept alive outside the body. While the perfusion pump did not see widespread use, it demonstrated the feasibility of preserving organs through artificial means and acted as a precursor for the heart-lung machine.
In March 1932 the Lindberghs’ two-year-old son, Charles Augustus, Jr., was kidnapped from their home near Hopewell, New Jersey, and a short time later was found murdered. Partly because of Lindbergh’s worldwide popularity, this became the most famous crime of the 1930s, and it was a major subject of newspaper attention. In January 1935 Lindbergh himself testified against Bruno Hauptmann, a German American carpenter who was accused of having carried out the kidnapping and murder. Hauptmann was found guilty and sentenced to death, but the sensation of the trial and credible threats against the life of their son Jon forced the Lindberghs to take refuge in Europe in December 1935. In April 1936, having exhausted his appeals, Hauptmann was executed.
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