Spirit of St. Louis

Spirit of St. Louis

This Ryan M-2 “Spirit of St. Louis” made history when it made the first solo, nonstop flight from New York to Paris in 1927, and this 1/4-scale model would certainly make pilot Charles Lindbergh proud. With a 141.7-inch wingspan, the 66-pound model is powered by a radial 4-stroke that’s an authentic reproduction of the original Pratt & Whitney R9. Based on a Ziroli plan, the model has scale wing ribs and a lattice wood skeleton, a scale cockpit, and Robart gear. Builder and pilot Christian Kamman notes that this was the model’s sixth flight after he built it in only 150 days, adding “It was my dream for several years. All dimensions are scale. Also the flaps … this is why it is a bit tricky to fly with crosswinds😊… but i love it.” Nicely done, and thanks to RCScaleAirplanes for sharing this great video.

 

Updated: May 8, 2018 — 10:48 AM

14 Comments

  1. Robart retracts?! Wow, Lindberg was waaaay ahead of his time to have retractable gear on his plane. Christian built a beautiful plane and I love the engine.

    1. Did anyone say anything about retracts? God I hate smat asses on this forum. Robart also makes scale sprung stationary gear as well..

  2. Beautiful model of the plane which represents probably the single greatest accomplishment achieved in a flight. Love the damascening on the cowling. Why, that looks like Chuck himself sitting in the cockpit! [I didn’t see the Robarts actuate]. Really weel-flown; I half expected the crowd to rush over the flightline after the landing to tear souvenir pieces from the fabric.

  3. Lovely. But Robart Retracts for fixed landing gear?

  4. Beautiful model. Great achievement. Get rid of the vip ties for the pilot and put in a scale seat belt.

  5. Growing up, I went to the movie Spirit of st Louis with James Stuart, I came out of the movie knowing I just seen the greatest none military plane ever built, have loved the plane since, and still love the old James Stuart movies, seeing this plane fly was such a treat! Would love to see it in person, great tribute to a classic, great job!

    1. You’re so lucky to have attended with James Stuart. I would loved to have met him as well, you lucky son of a gun….he seemed like a swell guy.

  6. Don’t know what all the retract comments are about that said what a beautiful aircraft! But as said by another post why not try to conceal the wires and strap the pilot in minus the tie wraps? Awesome job!

  7. Awesome model…!!! Looks and sounds like its full scale counterpart on the ground and in the air.

  8. Es una joya entre los aeroplanos antiguos

  9. Trank You all for the nice comments. IT s great for me to read…

    The Modell is one of My dreamplanes, and I never thought That so many of You like IT too…

    If There is any interest from modelairplanenews, i Can send You bilding pictures and maybe an Short article. About it

    Ps. The seat Harnes is scale. But the zip was for an Smal Cam. To make an film from charles position

    Tanks again
    Christian

  10. Nowhere does the description mention a damn thing about retracts. It clearly says Robart “gear”. People who lack the strength to be themselves always tear down those who do!…

  11. An overall nice reproduction job; except, I don’t think the wheels are to scale, too small. Check out a real life picture of the Spirit.

  12. Hi Great job on the airplane.
    Believe the engine was a Wright Whirlwind, Not a Pratt.
    Otherwise a great article and photos and video

Comments are closed.

Air Age Media ©
WordPress Lightbox