There are a lot of interesting destinations in Washington D.C -- the White House, the Capital Building, memorials, and so on. And of course, there are the many Smithsonian Museums. I grew up during the great space race between the USA and the Soviet Union, so it comes as no huge surprise that the National Air and Space Museum is my favorite.
Among the many artifacts in this museum is the original (not a copy) Spirit of St. Louis, at its time the most famous aircraft in the world. The plane is on display in the museum's main entryway (in the Milestones of Flight Gallery). For those not familiar with its story, here is a brief summary.
Charles Lindbergh, a shy mail pilot in his mid-20s, flew the Spirit of St. Louis across the Atlantic Ocean on May 20-21,1927, in so doing becoming the first person to complete a nonstop transatlantic flight. He left Long Island, New York and landed in Paris, France some 33 and a half hours later, having flown 3,600 miles (5,800 km). An exhausted Lindbergh was greeted by a crowd of 150,000 people.
(Charles Lindbergh and his famous plane -- courtesy Wikimedia)
The plane was formally known as the Ryan NYP. It was a custom-built, single-engine, single seat aircraft manufactured by Ryan Airlines in San Diego, California. It was made of a metal piping and covered in white fabric (which when treated is water and wind resistant). The plane was named the "Spirit of St. Louis" in honor of Lindbergh's supporters from the St. Louis Raquette Club in his then hometown of St. Louis, Missouri (Lindbergh was originally from Minnesota).
Lindbergh won the $25,000 Orteig Prize for his accomplishment, but more importantly he had begun a revolution in air travel. His flight was intensely watched around the globe and he became a celebrity and one of the first superstars. Almost everyone knew of him and could recognize him from his photo. Lindbergh was the first to accomplish something that is now commonplace -- intercontinental travel.
One of the incredible things about many of the exhibits at the Smithsonian is that they often are the original item. Lindbergh donated his plane to the museum with the intent of preserving it for history.
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