Donald A. Hall: The forgotten engineer behind the Spirit of St. Louis airplane.
The Spirit of St. Louis Airplane: Who Really Built This Famous Plane? The Story That Was Almost Lost Forever
Picture this: It’s May 20, 1927, and a silver airplane sits in the rain on Roosevelt Field, ready to make history. In 72 hours everyone in the world knows Charles Lindbergh’s name. But here’s what almost got lost forever, the brilliant engineer who actually designed that legendary aircraft was nearly erased from history entirely.
His name was Donald A. Hall, and this story was almost lost forever.
The Flight That Changed Everything
We all know the famous story. Charles Lindbergh, just 25 years old, climbed into the cockpit of the Spirit of St. Louis and flew solo across the Atlantic Ocean. Thirty-three and a half hours later, he landed at Le Bourget Field in Paris to a crowd of 150,000 people going absolutely wild.
It was May 21, 1927, and the world had its first global hero. Charles Lindbergh would be recognized for the rest of his life.
But here’s the thing, Lindbergh didn’t build that plane. He was an incredible pilot with nerves of steel, but he wasn’t an aircraft designer. So who was the genius behind one of the most famous airplanes in history?
The Forgotten Engineer: Donald A. Hall
Meet Donald Hall, the 28-year-old chief engineer at Ryan Airlines in San Diego who took Lindbergh’s crazy dream and made it reality. Hall was the guy hunched over drawing boards, calculating fuel loads, redesigning wing structures, and figuring out how to cram 450 gallons of gasoline into an airplane that could still get off the ground.
When Lindbergh showed up at Ryan Airlines in February 1927, he had a simple but seemingly impossible request: build me a plane that can fly nonstop from New York to Paris. Oh, and I need it in 90 days.
Most people would have laughed him out of the building. But not Hall. In fact, Hall suggested it should be 60 days, or the competition would win.
Hall took Ryan’s existing M-2 mail plane design and completely reimagined it. He stretched the wingspan by 10 feet. He moved the engine forward and the cockpit back. He designed a massive fuel tank that sat right where the windshield should be, adding three additional tanks in the wing: meaning Lindbergh would have to fly blind, using only a periscope to see forward.
“Every modification, every calculation, every innovation that made the transatlantic flight possible: that was Donald Hall’s genius at work.”
The man was basically performing aircraft engineering miracles on a deadline that would make Amazon Prime delivery look slow.
The 60-Day Race Against Time
Hall didn’t just design the Spirit of St. Louis: he worked side by side with Lindbergh every single day for those two months. While Frank Mahoney (Ryan’s president) handled the business side and Hawley Bowlus managed the factory floor under Hall. It was a masterful puzzle by t he technical mastermind, making sure every rivet, every strut, every ounce of welding metal, and every fuel line would hold up during the most dangerous flight anyone had ever attempted.
The most dangerous part being pilot fatigue and unknown weather.
Think about the pressure. One mistake in Hall’s calculations, and Lindbergh would either never get off the ground or end up in the Atlantic Ocean. There was no room for error, no second chances, and definitely no time for testing and retesting like modern aircraft development.
Hall pulled it off. The Spirit of St. Louis was completed on schedule, tested, and ready for history on April 28th, 1927. Exactly 60 days after the engineer started his work.
When History Forgets the Heroes
So what happened to Donald Hall after the most famous flight in aviation history? Here’s where the story gets heartbreaking.
Lindbergh became an instant celebrity: ticker-tape parades, book deals, movie offers, the whole works. Meanwhile, Hall went back to his drawing board at Ryan Airlines like nothing had happened. No parades for him. No memorials in the city he was buried in. No lasting legacy at the museum in San Diego. Lindbergh gave him credit, but Hall faded into the past.
Within a few years, Ryan Airlines was sold and moved to St. Louis. The team that built the Spirit of St. Louis scattered to different companies, eventually most were rehired by the new company Ryan Aeronautical. Hall’s name got buried in technical documents and engineering reports that most people would never read.
What most never knew as such was that after his success, an major investor saw his brilliance, innovative designs, gullwing / flying wing ideas and put millions behind him. Hall formed his own Donald A. Hall Aeronautical Development company in the old factory where the Spirit of St. Louis was built. Then the Great Depression hit in 1929, ultimately ruining the investor’s vast wealth. Hall eventually found himself living in the empty factory.
For decades, when people talked about the Spirit of St. Louis, they talked about Lindbergh’s courage, Lindbergh’s skill, Lindbergh’s achievement. And don’t get us wrong: the man was incredibly brave. But the genius who made that flight possible? His story was disappearing, one forgotten textbook at a time.
The Kids We’re Forgetting Today
Here’s what really gets us fired up at Flying Over Time: Donald Hall’s story isn’t just about one forgotten engineer from 1927. It’s happening right now, today, with kids who have the same incredible potential. They are focused on the Musks, and wealth of billionaires when they are the future.
Right now, there’s probably some kid in a classroom who could design the aircraft that will take us to Mars. There’s a young person who could solve aviation’s biggest challenges: maybe create planes that run on clean energy, or develop new navigation systems, or design aircraft we can’t even imagine yet.
But here’s the problem: if we don’t preserve these stories, if we don’t show kids that engineers and designers and innovators are just as heroic as the famous names everyone remembers, we lose them. They never discover their passion for aviation. They never realize they could be the next Donald Hall.
Why These Stories Matter More Than Ever
At Flying Over Time, we’re not just preserving old airplanes and vintage photographs. We’re preserving the stories that inspire the next generation of aviation innovators. Every time we share Donald Hall’s story, every time we highlight the forgotten heroes behind aviation’s greatest achievements, we’re showing kids that they could be next.
When a young person learns that a 28-year-old engineer designed one of history’s most famous aircraft, something clicks. Suddenly, aviation isn’t just about the pilots everyone celebrates: it’s about the brilliant minds who make flight possible.
Your generous donation helps us continue sharing these stories and inspiring kids who might otherwise be forgotten.
That’s why we collect these stories, preserve these artifacts, and share them through our educational programs. Because somewhere out there, the next aviation breakthrough is waiting in the mind of someone who just needs to hear the right story at the right moment.
Your Role in Keeping History Alive
Here’s the thing about stories like Donald Hall’s: they survive only when people care enough to preserve them. Without organizations like Flying Over Time, these incredible stories disappear forever. The artifacts get lost, the documents get thrown away, and the inspiration dies with them.
But when you support our mission, something amazing happens. Every donation helps us:
- Preserve rare aviation artifacts and documents
- Create educational programs that inspire young innovators
- Share forgotten stories that change lives
- Build exhibits that bring aviation history to life
“Your donation doesn’t just keep history alive: it keeps opportunity alive for the next generation of aviation pioneers.”
The Legacy Lives On
Today, the Spirit of St. Louis hangs in the National Air and Space Museum, where millions of visitors marvel at Lindbergh’s achievement. And that’s wonderful: he deserves every bit of recognition he gets.
But now you know the rest of the story. You know about Donald Hall, the brilliant engineer who made it all possible. You know about the team at Ryan Airlines who worked around the clock to build an impossible dream.
And most importantly, you know that right now, today, there are young people who could be the heroes of tomorrow’s aviation stories: if we just give them the inspiration and opportunity they need.
The story of the Spirit of St. Louis was almost lost forever. Let’s make sure the next great aviation story doesn’t disappear the same way. Let’s make sure every Donald Hall gets the recognition they deserve, and every kid with aviation dreams gets the chance to chase them.
Ready to help us preserve aviation history and inspire the next generation? Visit Flying Over Time to learn more about our mission and how your support makes these stories possible. Because the best way to honor the forgotten heroes of aviation’s past is to create opportunities for aviation’s future heroes.
Scan below to donate and keep history and opportunity alive.
What do you think about Donald Hall’s incredible story? Have you discovered any other forgotten heroes in aviation history? Share your thoughts in the comments below( we’d love to hear from you!)