“Lucky Lindy’s” Plane is Reborn

DAYTON - When Charles Lindbergh was helping design the airplane in which he would make the first-ever trans-Atlantic flight in 1927, he knew it would need a lot of fuel. Af- ter all, he would be in the air for nearly 34 straight hours.

To make sure made it from London to Paris with fuel to spare (which he did), Lindbergh had a giant fuel tank mounted directly behind the engine - and directly in front of the cockpit. This meant the plane would have no windshield. Forward visibility would be limited to how much he could see lean- ing his head out the window.

This was one of the inter- esting facts that Dayton pas- tor Jim Edwards explained to a group of Kiwanians last week as he showed off his detailed ¼-scale replica of Lindbergh's airplane, "The Spirit of St. Louis."

Edwards is a member of the Walla Walla Valley Proptwisters model airplane club, which has flying field adjacent to the Fort Walla Walla museum on Myra Road. He is also pastor of the First Christian Church in Dayton.

The Spirit of St. Louis model was the brainchild of another club member, Winston Okerlund. Oker- lund began constructing the scratch-built model several years ago.

"He was known for tak- ing on projects that many of us would consider too chal- lenging," said Edwards.

Though the plane has a 12-foot wingspan, Okerlund intended the model to be capable of flying. He spent more than a year welding together the fuselage frame and constructing the right wing. However, he passed away unexpectedly two years ago.

At the urging of Oker- lund's family, club mem- bers began making plans to complete his Spirit of St. Louis project, and Edwards stepped forward. With the help of time, money and ma- terials donated by other club members (and the use of Edwards' basement in Dayton), the project resumed about 18 months ago, and is now almost complete.

The operating motor that Okerlund had planned to use to fly the model was sold, but a non-running rep­lica engine was built by Edwards' friend, Waitsburg Presbyterian Church pastor Bret Moser.

Because the model was no longer being built to fly, the left wing was built more accurately than the right, according to Edwards, with the ribs constructed to scale. Okerlund built the ribs in the right wing larger than scale, to provide the necessary strength for flight.

The detailed portions of the interior of the model will be permanently visible, with the skin on the left side of the fuselage and the left wing left off. Edward estimates he has spent more than 500 hours on the project since he took it over.

In May, Okerlund and Edwards' completed model will be transported to the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Ore. The Proptwisters club has donated the model to the museum, which has already created space for it.

When he showed off the model at the Kiwanis meet­ing on Thursday, Edwards described Lindbergh's 1927 flight.

The plane was designed and built in San Diego, Calif. by Ryan Airlines, with the express purpose of making the record-breaking flight. It was a variation of an airplane commonly used by the postal service for mail flights.

Edwards described how Lindbergh flew the plane across the U.S. on its maiden voyage, side-slipping toward runways so he could see them.

On May 20, 1927, Lind­bergh took off from Long Is­land, NY. He reached the air­field in Paris 33 ½ hours and approximately 3,600 miles later, only to find a huge crowd covering the entire field. After circling the Eifel Tower a few times, he man­aged to find a small opening in the crowd and brought the plane down safely.

For making the first suc­cessful trans-Atlantic flight, Lindbergh won a $25,000 prize and became "a rock star of his day," according to Edwards.

More information about Okerlund and Edwards' Spirit of St. Louis model can be found on the Walla Walla Valley Proptwisters web site at www.proptwisters.org.