The Spirit of St. Louis

For the first time in over twenty years, the NASM has just brought Lindbergh's Ryan aircraft down to the ground again, for some conservation and preservation work. The Milestones gallery is being renovated at this time.


Story:

https://newsdesk.si.edu/releases/national-air-and-space-museum-lowers-spirit-st-louis-ground-level

The movie was on this weekend. I had to watch it again. I'd love to be able to check out the real plane.

Speaking of planes on display......

Here's a plane (below) that has been of interest to me for some time....and I actually saw it in Hawaii in 2012.

It's Aeronca 65T #NC33768.

On the day that the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, Roy Vitousek, and his teenage son Martin were flying this Aeronca 65T toward Pearl Harbor. The Aeronca took fire from Japanese fighters, but amazingly, it was able to land safely.

This Aeronca was later purchased by a man named Parsons in North Carolina. Mr. Parsons, an avowed aircraft historian, realized the historical importance of the plane and donated it to the Pacific Aviation Museum in Hawaii.

But he's been a long time fan of these T-series Aeroncas and always regretted giving NC33768 away.

As some of you may have realized, my plane is virtually identical to the Pearl Harbor Aeronca.

Mr. Parsons contacted me a while ago and we are in the middle of negotiating a sale of my plane. I hate to sell it but with the race car(s), street cars, grandkids, elderly parents, etc. I don't really have time for it. And Mr. Parsons will be the perfect keeper for it, so I am hopeful that we can complete the deal.
Fingers crossed.

One of the guys who volunteers up at Jack Kosko's hangar in Fawn Grove restoring planes was at a garage sale when he noticed what appeared to be the tail of an airplane in the back of the structure. As it turned out the back of the structure has a sub floor several feet lower than the main entrance. It wasn't just a tail...it was an entire Aeronca Champ. They've been in negotiations for the past couple of months trying to agree on a price. It could become the next project once the Cessna Bobcat is complete.

I have a dim memory of visiting the Smithsonian in 1964, age eight, and the only planes on display were the SoSL and the Wright Flyer. Could not then have imagined the Air & Space Museum, much less the Udvar-Hazy center.

Banjo said:

The movie was on this weekend. I had to watch it again. I'd love to be able to check out the real plane.

Click to expand...

Good film, the only problem I have with it is Jimmy Stewart was way too old to be Lindbergh, lost something by not portraying just how young he was when flying the atlantic.

Banjo said:

The movie was on this weekend. I had to watch it again. I'd love to be able to check out the real plane.

Click to expand...

Me, too. Had I known you were in the "theatre", I would have shared this with you!



I never get tired of Jimmy and the Spirit of St.Louis!

Banjo said:

The movie was on this weekend. I had to watch it again. I'd love to be able to check out the real plane.

Click to expand...

I own that movie! Agree with mikephillips that Stewart was a bit old (49) to play the young Lindbergh, but it's still a great movie. As an aside, and you may already know this, but Stewart was a 1-star general in real life and actually was a pilot who flew, among other things, the B-36 and B-47 (which he also "flew" as an actor in the movie Strategic Air Command (another great Stewart movie)

Strategic Air Command

Yes!

What are the two round things coming out of the bottom of the plane behind the cockpit? Never seen them before.

Not sure what their actually for, but their just below the raft area. I think the raft was fully inflated or possibility made of cork and webbing. PJ

Right from the Smithsonian's site
"Physical Description:
Silver colored doped fabric covered high wing single radial engine monoplane. The "Spirit of St. Louis" was designed by Donald Hall under the direct supervision of Charles Lindbergh. It is a highly modified version of a conventional Ryan M-2 strut-braced monoplane, powered by a reliable 223hp Wright J-5C engine. Because the fuel tanks were located ahead of the cockpit for safety in case of an accident, Lindbergh could not see directly ahead, except by using a periscope on the left side or by turning the airplane and looking out a side window. The two tubes beneath the fuselage are flare dispensers that were installed for Lindbergh's flights to Latin America and the Caribbean. "
The raft was on the supplies list as an "air raft" and there was also an air pump on the list, so that would make it inflatable.

Thanks,
I didn't think they were on the original design. This is the 1st time I have seen them.