Ryan NYP Aft Fuselage, Tail Skid Braking Shoe, and Empennage Bracing (May 1927)

Ground-level detail photograph of the aft fuselage underside showing tail skid shoe and horizontal stabilizer struts. — Ryan NYP Aft Fuselage, Tail Skid Braking Shoe, and Empennage Bracing (May 1927) · Donald A. Hall Estate Collection

An archival engineering photograph focusing on the lower aft fuselage and empennage underside of the Spirit of St. Louis at Dutch Flats. The view details the hardened steel tail skid shoe, shock-absorbing tail strut, horizontal stabilizer bracing struts, and inspection grommets. Functioning like a ground ski, the tail skid provided essential ground braking friction and directional tracking across unpaved turf and dirt runways without independent wheel brakes.