Spirit of St. Louis to Sun ‘n Fun

The Occasion: May 20-21 is the centennial of Charles Lindbergh’s solo transatlantic flight, seeking the $25,000 Ortieg prize, from Roosevelt Field, Long Island to Aéroport Le Bourget, Paris. In honor of that epic feat, the Sun ‘n Fun Aerospace Expo at Lakeland, Florida, will be featuring the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome’s replica of his airplane, The Spirit of St. Louis, in flight and on static display from April 14-19.  More on Sun ‘n Fun

The Flight: The Spirit does not lend itself to easy disassembly. Moving aircraft by ground transport often leads to damage-they were meant to fly. The easiest way to move the airplane and honor the original flight is to fly it. In early November, the Spirit  will fly approximately 1250 miles from the Aerodrome to Lakeland Linder International Airport, where it will overwinter.

The Original Airplane: First flown in 1927, the original was purpose-built, in California, by Ryan Airlines, in 60 days, powered by a 223 hp, Wright J-5C Whirlwind radial engine. It had a wingspan of 46 feet and an empty weight of 2150 pounds. That allowed 450 gallons of fuel, 85 remained on arrival. The flight of 3600 miles took 33 and a half hours. The Spirit returned home on a US warship. Lindberg flew it on a tour of the US and Latin America. In 1928 he presented it to the Smithsonian Institution. It had flown 147 flights and accumulated 489.28 hours. More on the Spirit

The Pilot: Charles Lindbergh was born in Detroit, MI, in February of 1902. He quit college to enroll in flying school and barnstormed to earn money for more lessons. He completed military flight training and returned to civilian aviation as an airmail pioneer, determined to fly the Atlantic. With his own money and other backers, he ordered the Spirit and supervised every aspect construction. After the flight he was a celebrity. His “We” is the best account of the famous flight. During WW II he served as a technical consultant and scored a victory in combat. He died in August of 1974 at the age of 72.  More on Lindbergh