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| Actor Jimmy Stewart contemplates
a bust of Charles Lindbergh during a 1979 visit to Henry Ford Museum.
The Spirit of St. Louis replica appears behind him. Photo
ID B83872.5 |
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Our third great aviation replica was built for a 1957 movie, Spirit
of St. Louis, based on Charles Lindbergh’s book of the same
name. Three replicas were used for the movie, all modified Ryan B-1 Broughams
that were similar in design to Lindbergh’s plane. Our replica was
owned by the film’s star, Jimmy Stewart, who donated it to the Museum
in 1959.
There are two major differences between the replica and the original.
First, the replica’s wings are only 42 feet long, compared to real
plane’s 46 feet. The second difference is more substantial, but
better hidden. The Ryan Broughams had two seats, one behind the other.
On Charles Lindbergh’s original plane the front cockpit was replaced
by massive gas tanks, giving the pilot no forward vision. Since the replicas
were not going to repeat Lindbergh’s 1927 flight from New York to
Paris, they had no need for the huge fuel tanks. The movie pilots flew
the planes from the front cockpit, conveniently hidden by panels that
covered the side of the plane facing the camera. Jimmy Stewart could be
seen in the rear cockpit, but he was not really flying the plane. Our
Spirit of St. Louis replica was used for the dramatic recreation
of Lindbergh’s hazardous take-off from Roosevelt Field on Long Island
(although the scene was actually filmed at a small airport in Santa Maria,
California!). This plane is now on display in our Heroes
of the Sky exhibit, helping tell the story of Lindbergh’s
historic flight.
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