Thu, Apr 09, 2009
The Spirit Of St. Louis Flies Again!
The Lindbergh Foundation announced Wednesday its third-annual
on-line auction includes only one item -- a ride in the Spirit of
St. Louis -- with up to 12 winners possible.
The EAA Spirit of St. Louis replica is making a rare appearance
during the weekend of the Lindbergh Foundation's 2009 Lindbergh
Award Celebration on May 15, 16, and 17 at the EAA AirVenture
Pioneer Airport (or Weeks Hangar), exclusively for the winners of
the Lindbergh Foundation's on-line auction. The official start of
the bidding process will be announced at a press conference on
April 22 at the Lakeland Fly-in.
"We are extremely grateful to EAA for making the Spirit
available to us for our auction," said Foundation Chairman John
King, co-chairman of King Schools. "The Spirit remains one of the
most recognizable airplanes in the world, an icon of Charles
Lindbergh’s famous record-setting New York-to-Paris flight.
We hope the opportunity for a ride in this incredible aircraft will
draw lots of excitement from the aviation community and increase
the interest in the mission and programs of the Foundation as
well."
The original Spirit of St. Louis hangs in the Smithsonian
Institution's National Air and Space Museum. Very few flying Spirit
replicas exist, and the EAA replica is the only one in the world
capable of carrying a passenger.
The EAA built its Spirit of St. Louis replica from scratch with
painstaking detail, using the "Morrow" plans from the Smithsonian
Institution. However, in this unique replica the EAA customized the
airplane by installing a forward pilot station in place of
Lindbergh’s large fuel tank. This means the EAA pilot
commands the aircraft from up front so the lucky passenger can
experience flight in the aircraft from the actual "Lindbergh seat"
position, providing a view that is exactly the way Lindbergh
himself would have seen it.
Pilots will enjoy logging "stick time" in this historic time
machine through the fully functioning dual flight controls. This
Spirit replica will not make another public appearance until
2011.
More News
From 2023 (YouTube Version): Legacy of a Titan Robert (Bob) Anderson Hoover was a fighter pilot, test pilot, flight instructor, and air show superstar. More so, Bob Hoover was an i>[...]
Get The Latest in Aviation News NOW on Instagram Are you on Instagram yet? It's been around for a few years, quietly picking up traction mostly thanks to everybody's new obsession >[...]
Aero Linx: B-52H Stratofortress The B-52H Stratofortress is a long-range, heavy bomber that can perform a variety of missions. The bomber is capable of flying at high subsonic spee>[...]
Altimeter Setting The barometric pressure reading used to adjust a pressure altimeter for variations in existing atmospheric pressure or to the standard altimeter setting (29.92).>[...]
"Knowing that we play an active part in bettering people's lives is extremely rewarding. My team and I are very thankful for the opportunity to be here and to help in any way we ca>[...]
Classic Aero-TV: Remembering Bob Hoover
See All