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[[Image:Spirit of St. Lewis.JPG|thumbnail|right|200px|The Spirit of St. Louis on display in [[Washington, D.C.]]'s [[Smithsonian]].]]
The '''Spirit of St. Louis''' is a plane that [[Charles Lindbergh]] used to be the first person to fly solo nonstop across the [[Atlantic Ocean]]. On May 21, 1927, Lindbergh completed the 33 hour flight from [[Long Island]], [[New York]] to [[Paris]], [[France]], in the custom made plane. The $15,000 plane's construction was completed on April 1927. Aircraft designer Donald Hall, under the supervision of Lindbergh, originally tried to create the plane by modifying the [[Ryan M-2]], however this attempt failed; and they started on a custom made design<ref>http://www.nasm.si.edu/exhibitions/GAL100/stlouis.html</ref>.
Using his personal savings and donations from wealthy businessmen, Lindbergh completed the the plane in April of 1927. Herold Bixy, a St. Louis banker and one of the founders of the plane construction named the plane in honor of the support that Lindbergh received from the city. Although Raymond Orteig, a wealthy New York businessman, was offering $25,000 to the first person to fly non-stop across the Atlantic, Limdbergh, was motivated by the desire to demonstrate aviation's potential<ref>http://www.charleslindbergh.com/hall/spirit.asp</ref>. On April 30, 1928 the Spirit of St. Louis was placed on display at the [[Smithsonian]] in [[Washington, D.C.]], where it remains as one of the most visited exhibits.
==Design==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
|'''Wingspan'''
|14 m (46 ft)
|-
|'''Length'''
| 8 m (27 ft 8 in)
|-
|'''Height'''
| 9 ft, 10 in
|-
|'''Weight, gross'''
|5,135 lb
|-
|'''Weight, empty'''
|975 kg (2,150 lb)
|-
|'''Engine'''
|Wright Whirlwind J-5C, 223hp
|-
|'''Manufacturer'''
|Ryan Airlines Co., San Diego, Calif., 1927
|-
|}
==Facts==
*Weeks before the Spirit of St. Louis' flight, French pilots Charles Nungesser and navigator Francois Coli left Paris for New York in a single-engine biplane. Both of the pilots went missing after takeoff.<ref> http://www.charleslindbergh.com/hall/spirit.asp</ref>
*The crowd that met Lindbergh in Paris consisted of 150,000 people.
*Before Lindbergh's flight, four pilots had tried to cross the Atlantic non-stop. <ref>http://www.charleslindbergh.com/hall/spirit.asp</ref>
==References==
<references/>
[[Category:Aircraft]]