Instrument Panel Installation (1927)

The uncovered tubular steel framework of the Spirit of St. Louis cockpit featuring the newly mounted black instrument panel and flight controls. — Instrument Panel Installation (1927) · Donald A. Hall Estate Collection

Documenting the rapid 60-day construction of the Spirit of St. Louis, this 1927 photograph shows the custom instrument panel newly mounted to the bare tubular steel framework. Donald A. Hall Sr.'s meticulous layout of these gauges was critical for Charles Lindbergh's successful dead-reckoning navigation across the Atlantic Ocean.