Spirit of St. Louis - some considerations

[Gil]

Hi Leif,

Below is the Standard Steel Propeller Corporate logo. The company was later acquired by Hamilton and become "Hamilton Standard".

Also found a reference to the coating of the tubing used to build the fuselage. "Nitro Valspar" was used to coat the outside (no color reference) and "Lion Oil", a mixture of Linseed Oil and Turpentine, was used to coat the inside.

+Gil

[shrike]

Nitro Valspar would be a nitrocellulose lacquer. Skyways published a set of colour chips recently, but I think they were all Randolph brand. A fair assumption to make is that the wood structure would be coated with Valspar brand Spar Varnish. (it's what I used too<G>)

To clarify the oil in the inside of the tubes.

During fabrication, holes are drilled in the tubes where other tubes meet so that once welded together the inside of all of the tubes are connected. The hole help vent gases during welding, but after welding the tubular structure is filled with hot linseed oil mixture (either filled completely, or filled partially and the structure rotated on a rotisserie) to coat the inside of all of the tubes. Heating the oil makes it flow more easily, and also allows you to feel the tubes to be sure the oil gets into all of the tubes.
The oil is drained and the holes used to fill are plugged.
The oil not only coats the steel, but in drying, the oil absorbs any oxygen present to prevent corrosion.

[Leif Ohlsson]

We had a server crash here before the previous post by Shrike, and several posts after this were lost. So I'll try to recreate some of the information. Here's an answer to Don's question about the wheel sides.

As I remember it Gil Russell came up with some very accurate information, including illustrations from early 20th century rubber tyre manufacturers' catalogues.

The gist of it all, as I remember it, was that aircraft tyres were made with a vulcanized fabric sleeve. Fabric wheel covers were stitched on to this.

The result was a completely flat wheel side. C.f. the following photos from Dutch Flats in San Diego, fresh from the factory, and before departure for New York and then Paris.

[Click on thumbnails, and then again to get full size]

What this means is that the conical part that is supplied as wheel covers in the Gremir (& WAK) kits ought to be replaced. In the photos, note the stitches, the flat profile, and the absence of an opening for accessing the tyre valves. This was added later, as witnessed by this photo from the Smithsonian:



For the NYP-flight, I am guessing that the valve access opening were not there. If anyone knows better, please correct this piece of guesswork.

Leif

[Leif Ohlsson]

The deeper I get into the Spirit of St. Louis kit, the more obvious it is to me that I am not up to redesigning it as completely as I would like to see it done. For the parts so far, however, I'm still just about keeping up.

To sum up the last few installments, here is a sheet with amended parts for the new spinner which was installed in New York. The shape ought to be slightly different, but I haven't been able to accomplish that. A polished alu surface will have to do. The main difference is that it is unburnished.

Then the new prop blades, polished steel with the Standard Steel Prop logo (courtesy Gil Russell).

Finally, a new set of wheel covers, which I am slightly proud of. I'm guessing that the fabric collar vulcanized to the tyre would have a slightly different nuance than the silver-doped cover which is stitched on to it. Anyway, that's how I interpret the Dutch Flat photos in the previous post. If you use these parts, just omit parts G18.

The sheet is 1:16 scale, but contains instructions for how to print/copy in various scales including the original 1:33.

Leif

[Gil]

Hi Lief,

The tires were 32" x 4" on spoked wheels manufactured by the Dayton Wire Wheel Company (still in business). The tires were manufactured by B.F. Goodrich Company and were Silvertown Aero Cable Cord Tires made under license to the Palmer Tire Company of England (which manufactured them in a suburb of London called Silvertown). A flap was molded into each side of the tire onto which a "Wind Shield" panel was laced through a system of grommets mounted on both the flap and shield. The tire valve stems were accessible from the inside of each wheel. The original wheels are at the Smithsonian, they're just not on the NYP.

Dyke's Automobile and Gasoline Engine Encyclopedia

An interesting early automotive guide is here:

Dyke's Automobile and Gasoline ... - Google Book Search

+Gil

[Leif Ohlsson]

Thanks Gil, for preserving the information about the tire "wind shields" common on this and other aircraft from the era!

The tire valve stems were accessible from the inside of each wheel.

But you will agree that this was not the case on the original Spirit wheels, right? (See this, and the other photos above)



By the way, note the interesting sagging of the wheel cover at the bottom of the port wheel, due to the tire being depressed at the bottom. I suppose that for the Spirit (which was designed not for serviceability, but essentially for one flight only) they accepted the trouble of having to unlace the wheel covers at least partially when checking the air pressure.

And while we're watching this particular photo, note the acetate windows inserted. They were never used after this I believe, at least not for the NYP flight. Lindbergh (the only pilot of this plane ever) preferred to have the "feel" of any slip winds, since the aircraft was so inherently unstable. Which also helped to keep him awake.

Leif

[shrike]

Originally Posted by Leif Ohlsson

Lindbergh (the only pilot of this plane ever) preferred to have the "feel" of any slip winds, since the aircraft was so inherently unstable. Which also helped to keep him awake.

Leif

Lindbergh was not known to be the greatest or most skilled pilot, even by contemporary standards (by modern standards he probably wouldn't keep his license).

He had a habit of having his airplanes rigged and trimmed in a fashion that made them unflyable by anyone else. His custom Monocoupe (hanging at Lambert Field) was a case in point.

[Don Boose]

Leif --

Many thanks for your very conscientious and meticulous research and for organizing and maintaining this thread. With the additional inputs by Gil, Mark, and others, it has become a valuable historical document and I hope that it will come to the attention of the Smithsonian.

Don

[dansls1]

Besides if the windows were in the plane, it wouldn't give the grand movie scenes of James Stewart hanging his head out in the freezing air to see where he was

[shrike]

True, but they also cut out the Campbell's Soup can that was the airborne 'convenience' too, so Hollywood accuracy may not be the best reference<G>



(Periodically emptied through the fuel sump drain and finally jettisoned over the French coast so as to prevent embarrassment upon landing)