Ryan NYP (Spirit of St. Louis)

The Story of Ryan NYP (Spirit of St. Louis)

The Ryan NYP, flown by aviation pioneer Charles A. Lindbergh (1902-1974), was a heavily modified Ryan M-2, itself based on the early M-1 mail plane. Thirty-six prototypes of the M-1 were produced, and the first flight took place on February 14, 1926.

Its career has largely focused on delivery routes, and its short-range quality and good range have allowed it to thrive in civilian service. The original design carried a crew with up to two passengers in the cabin and was powered by a 150-horsepower Hispano-Suiza 8A engine driving a two-bladed wooden propeller.

Top speed is 125 mph and range is up to 400 miles.

Lindbergh dropped out of the University of Wisconsin to study aviation, which landed him a job at Nebraska Aircraft. For two years, he performed on the classic "Barnstorming" and toured the United States before officially joining the U.S. Army Air Service (USAAS).

He then accepted a courier position on the route from St. Louis, Missouri, to Chicago, Illinois.

In 1927, Lindbergh had the backing of financiers for a $25,000 prize sponsored by Raymond Orteig, with a plane and flying machine that would fly non-stop from New York to Paris. This prompted the Lindbergh team to choose the M-2 as the starting point for the long-range design, which Donald Hall modified to improve its performance. The wings were stretched about 10 feet and the fuselage was increased by 2 feet. Power came from a single Wright J-5C "Cyclone" engine driving a twin-blade propeller unit in the nose. The cockpit was moved further aft to distribute the internal volume of fuel, which blocked all forward vision of the pilot.

A periscope or side window must be used to observe oncoming terrain and airspace. The wheeled main legs are fixed, and the wing main aircraft is mounted high, while being supported by struts for added strength.

The aircraft was completed in April 1927, and tests were conducted shortly thereafter. The May 10-12 flight took the plane from San Diego to New York with its only stop in St. Louis, setting a transcontinental record of 21 hours and 40 minutes. The plane took off from New York controlled by Lindbergh before heading to Paris on its historic 33-hour, 30-minute flight. He arrived at Le Bourget airport outside Paris with his plane intact, where more than 100,000 onlookers eagerly waited.

With that flight, Lindbergh cemented his reputation in aviation history forever and went on to tour the United States, Latin America and South America as a world-renowned hero.

Ryan NYP was flown by Lindbergh from St. Louis to Washington, D.C. on April 30, 1928, to surrender to the Smithsonian Institution and remains protected to this day.

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