Ryan NYP Right Landing Gear Assembly and Fairing Detail (1927)

Close-up photograph of the right landing gear assembly showing streamlined shock-strut fairing and fabric-doped wire wheel. — Ryan NYP Right Landing Gear Assembly and Fairing Detail (1927) · Donald A. Hall Estate Collection

A vintage positive slide from the Donald A. Hall Estate Collection detailing the right main landing gear of the Spirit of St. Louis. The image shows the vertical shock strut covered by an aerodynamic aluminum fairing, the welded chrome-molybdenum steel diagonal brace struts, the lower fuselage attachment fittings, and the fabric-doped wheel disc enclosing the wire-spoke wheel and tire. This streamlined landing gear design produced minimal parasitic drag while providing the structural strength needed to support a gross takeoff weight of over 5,200 pounds.