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On May 20-21, 1927, Charles Lindbergh literally flew into history when he crossed the Atlantic Ocean in his Ryan NYP Spirit of St. Louis, thus becoming the first pilot to fly solo and nonstop from New York to Paris. This flight made Lindbergh a household name and catapulted him into fame and celebrity. The objects of popular culture in the National Collection display everything from ashtrays to wristwatches reflect the public adulation for Lindbergh and the powerful commercial response to his celebrity. More than 75 years after the Spirit's historic flight, Lindbergh's name still has the power help sell manufactured goods.
Type
MEMORABILIA-Popular Culture
Physical Description
This "tin toy" version of the Spirit of St. Louis is painted yellow overall with a scalloped patterned blue/gray nose, the "windows" left, right and top are painted blue, the lettering overall is in black. The body and wing are made of a ferrous metal. On the top of the fuselage is a indentation that permits the flush mounting of the wing to the body of the fuselage, there is a riveted metal thumb clip that holds the rear of wing to the body, at the front of the fuselage is a narrow opening for the two (2) prongs extruding from the front of the wing to lock into the opening. The wing has a hinge in the middle which permits it to be folded, the two (2) sets of struts attached to the center of the wing are made so that they can easily detach from holes in the lower section of the fuselage so that the wing may be removed entirely from the aircraft. The text on the left and right side of the nose as well as both sides at the middle of the fuselage reads "Spirit of St. Louis". On the top right wing panel in large bold letters is "N-X-211", at the tail surface on both sides it reads "X-2 RYAN NYP". The white colored plastic propeller at the front of the plane is connected through a piece of yellow metal at the front of the nose into the fuselage and is connected to the gear box which sits under the fuselage this has bar with running through it on either side of the fuselage where two (2) rubber wheels are attached a smaller third wheel is attached at the tail end of the craft. It is supposed that at one time the gears were made so that when the plane was rolled the propeller turned.
Dimensions
Model: 7.6 x 24.1 x 31.1cm (3 in. x 9 1/2 in. x 12 1/4 in.) Materials
Metal, ferrous in nature, plastic and rubber Inventory Number
A20040289077
Credit Line
Gift of the Stanley King Family.
Data Source
National Air and Space Museum
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