Cockpit Framework and Main Fuel Tank (1927)

The bare tubular steel framework of the Spirit of St. Louis cockpit, showing the instrument panel mounted directly in front of the massive main fuel tank. — Cockpit Framework and Main Fuel Tank (1927) · Donald A. Hall Estate Collection

An incredible structural photograph from 1927. Donald A. Hall Sr. documented the bare tubular steel framework of the Spirit of St. Louis cockpit, highlighting how the instrument panel and complex mechanical flight linkages were positioned directly in front of the massive, custom-built main fuel tank to maintain the aircraft's center of gravity.