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| Cradle Of Aviation Museum - Spirit Of St. Louis Ryan NYP
Bill Maloney 6/17/2008 |
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Length: 46 feet 0 inches
Wingspan: 27 feet, 5 inches
Height: 9 feet, 10 inches
Crew: 1
Weight: 2150 lbs Empty 5,135lbs Max
Max Speed: 130mph
Cruise Speed: 112mph
Range: 3,600 miles
Service Ceiling: 16,400feet
Fuel Capacity: 450Gallons
Powerplant: Wright J-5C Whirlwind Air Cooled Radial Gas Engine 220hp
Armament:
None
First Flight : 1928
Cost: $13,000 for the original Ryan NYP
This Ryan NYP is a sister ship of the original Spirit of St. Louis built a year later for commercial production. It is said to have been flown by Jimmy Stewart in the Spirit of St. Louis Movie in the 1950s. Aside from the Madonna Cone Bra prop spinner it looks very much identical to the original Spirit of St. Louis Ryan NYP. The original nose cone of the trans Atlantic attempt Spirit of St. Louis is currently located at the Aviation Hall of Fame in Teterboro, NJ. What I especially liked about this Ryan NYP was that the forward vision periscope is extended. I'm embarrassed to say I didn' t realize what I was looking at when I was at the museum. I thought it was a beam used for hanging support somehow. Had I known it was the periscope I'd have taken more shots of it from different angles.
Winthrop Perkins has period footage of Lindberg's Spirit of St. Louis taxiing and taking off on his aviation appraisal website. The clips are really excellent and show how long and slow Lindberg's takeoff run was. The tail skid must have really been digging in to the wet grass with all that fuel aboard. It almost looks like he is not using full power for the takeoff roll.
