Spirit of St. Louis

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This article is about an aircraft. See The Spirit of St. Louis (disambiguation) for similarly named things.

Illustration of the Spirit of St. Louis

The Spirit of St. Louis was a custom airplane used by Charles Lindbergh to make the first solo, non-stop trans-Atlantic flight on May 20 and May 21, 1927.

Charles Lindbergh took off from Roosevelt Airfield in Long Island, New York and made a successful touchdown at the Le Bourget Aerodrome in Paris, France. The flight lasted for 33 hours, 30 minutes and 29.8 seconds.

The plane was extremely unstable, with a tendency to curve, dip, and bank at random times. Lindbergh was said to have asked for the plane to be made unstable so he wouldn't fall asleep at the controls. Because he placed a fuel tank at the front of the plane, there was no front windshield, forcing him to install a small periscope to look out the front.

Also known as the Ryan NYP, the aircraft was designed by Donald Hall of Ryan Airlines based on the Ryan M-2. Although designed for its successful New York to Paris flight and built in San Diego, it was named after St. Louis because of financial backing from that city. The flight was inspired by and won the $25,000 Orteig Prize.

The Spirit of St. Louis on display in the National Air and Space Museum

The original Spirit of St. Louis is currently on display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, in the main atrium on the same side as the Bell X-1 and SpaceShipOne. The aircraft was presented to the Smithsonian Institution by Lindbergh in 1928. A large number of replicas have been made — both static and flying. The Experimental Aircraft Association, for instance, owns two such replicas, both of which were registered under the original's NX211. Other examples are found at the Lambert-Saint Louis International Airport, the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport, San Diego Aerospace Museum, and San Diego International Airport.

Specifications (Spirit of St Louis)

General characteristics

Crew: 1

Length: 27 ft, 7 in (8.4 m)

Wingspan: 46 ft (14 m)

Height: 9 ft 10 in (3 m)

Wing area: 320 ft² (29.7 m²)

Empty weight: 2,150 lb (975 kg)

Loaded weight: 5,135 lb (2,330 kg)

Maximum gross takeoff weight: 2888 lb (1,310 kg)

Powerplant: 1× Wright Whirlwind J-5C, 223 hp (166 kW)

Fuel Capacity: 570 gal. (2160 l)

Performance

Maximum speed: 130 mph (210 km/h)

Cruising speed: 110 mph (180 km/h)

Range: 4,100 mi (6,600 km)

Maximum Ceiling: 16, 400 ft (5,000 m)

Wing loading: 9 lb/ft² (44 kg/m²)

Power/mass: 23 lb/hp (10.4 kg/hp)

Nose of the Spirit of St. Louis, with the Wright Whirlwind Radial engine visible.

Spirit of St. Louis

Specifications (Spirit of St Louis)

External links

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