Spirit of St. Louis

The famous aircraft is on permanent display in the Boeing Aviation Hangar at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. It was donated to the museum by Charles Lindbergh himself in 1928.

The custom-built aircraft cost $10,580, which was heavily funded by financial backers from St. Louis, Missouri, including Harold Bixby and Harry Knight. It was built in just 60 days by the Ryan Aeronautical Company in San Diego.

Lindbergh calculated that a solo pilot flying non-stop from New York to Paris in a single-engine aircraft would save weight, eliminating the need for a co-pilot and allowing for extra fuel. This decision made the 1927 flight the first solo nonstop transatlantic crossing in history.

The plane was a highly modified Ryan NYP (for New York to Paris), based heavily on the earlier Ryan M-2 mail plane. It was powered by a 223-horsepower Wright Whirlwind J-5C radial engine, which was known for its reliability.