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Pioneering aeronautical engineer and aircraft designer (1898–1968) most famous as the designer of the Spirit of St. Louis, Charles Lindbergh's high-wing monoplane that made the first solo nonstop transatlantic flight. Two intriguing handwritten documents by aircraft designer Donald Albert Hall, representing the 'bookends' of his contributions to the creation and legacy of Charles Lindbergh's famed Spirit of St. Louis airplane: a timesheet recording his hours worked on the plane in 1927, and later notes from his time as technical advisor for Billy Wilder's 1957 film The Spirit of St. Louis, which starred James Stewart as Lindbergh. Includes:
- Handwritten manuscript in pencil by Donald Albert Hall, one page, 8.5 x 11, recording time spent on the Spirit of St. Louis project from January 31 to May 9, 1927. The document walks through Hall's design process for the Spirit of St. Louis, formally known as the Ryan NYP (for 'New York to Paris'), which was loosely based on Ryan's M-1/M-2 mailplanes. After doing some work on the M-1 wings and chassis, Hall exhaustively dedicated himself to the "NYP," recording his tremendous input of time—often upwards of 70 hours per week. One week in April, according to his sheet, he "worked from 5:45 a.m. Monday to 6:15 p.m. Tuesday without sleep." Ultimately, Hall logs 768 hours spent on the project.
- Handwritten notes in pencil by Donald Albert Hall, three pages, 8.25 x 11, headed: "Spirit of St. Louis Motion Picture - San Diego, Discussion with Charles Eames, 7/15/55." First, Hall makes note of a "scene in engineering office," describing his drawing table (filled with "instruments, triangles, ship curves, triangular engineer's scale, flat fractional scale, eraser drawing pencils," and other tools of the trade) and recommends a "montage of several scenes" to include "Lindbergh working" and a "second drawing table." He then makes a list of photographs for inclusion in a montage, including "progress in building airplane," "interiors of factory," "tools, jigs," "landing gear," "fuselage," "control surfaces: (1) elevator, (2) rudder, (3) aileron," and "wing." On the last page, he jots a note to himself: "How is consulting work usually paid by motion picture industry?"
In overall fine condition. Additionally includes some contemporary copies of newspaper and journal articles about the Spirit of St. Louis.
Donald A. Hall was the chief engineer who designed the Spirit of St. Louis, the custom-built aircraft that Charles Lindbergh piloted during his historic 1927 transatlantic flight. Hall, working for Ryan Airlines in San Diego, California, created the aircraft in just 60 days. His design emphasized simplicity, efficiency, and long-range capability, with a focus on reducing weight and maximizing fuel capacity. The result was a single-engine monoplane featuring innovative elements like a heavily modified fuselage and wing design to accommodate extra fuel tanks, enabling the groundbreaking 3,600-mile journey.
