{"id":367,"date":"2013-09-17T13:22:42","date_gmt":"2013-09-17T17:22:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.fantasyofflight.com\/collection\/?page_id=367"},"modified":"2013-09-17T16:32:29","modified_gmt":"2013-09-17T20:32:29","slug":"1927-spirit-of-st-louis","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.fantasyofflight.com\/collection\/aircraft\/currently-not-showing-in-museum\/golden-age\/1927-spirit-of-st-louis\/","title":{"rendered":"1927 Spirit of St. Louis"},"content":{"rendered":"

The prize had been offered for many years for the first flight between the cities of New York and Paris but the technology had not been available for an aircraft to make such a long flight. Designed by Donald Hall to Lindbergh\u2019s specifications, the \u201cSpirit of St. Louis\u201d was built in less than 60 days.<\/p>\n

In April 1927, winter weather over the North Atlantic was predicted to improve in the following days, and several competitors were already getting ready on Long Island and in France. The \u201cSpirit\u201d was completed, and after a few test flights, Lindbergh headed east on May 10, 1927. He flew all night over the Rockies and arrived in St. Louis the next morning. Lindbergh wanted to show off the plane to the businessmen who had backed the airplane and to the city that it had been named after. He arrived on Long Island the following day. There he waited a week, performing last minute preparations to the airplane and waiting for the rainy weather to break.<\/p>\n

On May 20, Lindbergh and the \u201cSpirit of St. Louis\u201d headed down a muddy field and headed east in the morning mist. Thirty-three and a half hours later he arrived in Paris.<\/p>\n

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