The Lindbergh Foundation announced that eight individuals from around the country enjoyed a rare opportunity to experience what few others have known—a flight and some stick time in the EAA’s Spirit of St. Louis reproduction. The rides were part of the Lindbergh Foundation’s online auction and took place May 15 to 17, 2009.
Linden Blue of Spectrum Aeronautical was one of only 8 people to have the recent opportunity to fly the Spirit of St. Louis. “I have even greater respect for his airmanship after having seen how unstable the airplane is.
“The Spirit is a great storyteller,” said Spirit pilot Sean Elliott, director of Aircraft Operations at EAA. “If you read all the books written about the Spirit, they still don’t prepare you for the experience of what Lindbergh did when he flew that plane for 33½ hours.”
Larry Williams of Ballistic Recovery Systems, Inc. (St. Paul, Minn.) said, “I was awestruck to learn how unstable the aircraft is and how to keep it flying, you need constant input and diligence.”
Linden Blue of Spectrum Aeronautical (San Diego, Calif.) said, “It was a big thrill to fly the Spirit and fly it from the seat that Lindbergh sat in. It allows me to better project what he went through. I have even greater respect for his airmanship after having seen how unstable the airplane is. There is no way it could get certified today. You have to fly it every second.”
The poor visibility in the aircraft is another eye-opener for those who get a ride. Not only was Lindbergh an aviation pioneer, but he was also at the forefront of instrument flying. With no forward vision available, Lindbergh used instrumentation to navigate his way to Paris. The Earth Inductor Compass, invented in 1924, was very sophisticated instrumentation for the time.
“I found the ailerons heavy, relatively unresponsive, and they created considerable adverse yaw,” said Jeff Loeffler of Wyoming, Minn. “It helped to have a well-developed forearm and responsive feet,” he joked. “Flying over the Wisconsin fields, I couldn’t help drifting into thoughts of yester-year and trying to imagine what it was like to occupy that seat over the Atlantic in 1927.”
Jesse Easudes of Pittsburg, Pa., is a life-long admirer of Charles Lindbergh and a pilot with deep affection for the Golden Age of aviation. Easudes never dreamed he would have a chance to fly in the Spirit of St. Louis.
In fact, he didn’t bid on a ride for himself. He hoped to win a flight for his dear friend, Ev Cassagneres, a worldwide expert on the Spirit of St. Louis who has written two books about the famous plane, yet has never had a chance to take a ride in it. When Cassagneres was unable to accept and Easudes was unable to go himself, he offered the ride to his friend David Troup. Troup gratefully accepted and immediately arranged to return the favor and fly his friend to Wisconsin so they could both experience the flight of a lifetime.
“To hear about its handling characteristics is one thing, but to actually experience them as a passenger and finally as pilot is quite another,” said Easudes. “Although I would have thought it difficult to do, this airplane increased the already tremendous respect I have for Lindbergh.” ?
“The Lindbergh Foundation is 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 is one of the most recognizable airplanes in the world. ?We are delighted to have made some dreams come true for a few very lucky people, and we thank them for participating in our auction.”?
The Lindbergh Foundation is a public 501( c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Anoka, Minn., which supports great innovations fostering the environment for a planet in balance. For more information, please visit [http://www.lindberghfoundation.or.