Ryan NYP Fuel Load Calibration with Gasoline Drums at Camp Kearny (May 4, 1927)

Halftone print of the Spirit of St. Louis on the ground at Camp Kearny with stacked 55-gallon fuel barrels. — Ryan NYP Fuel Load Calibration with Gasoline Drums at Camp Kearny (May 4, 1927) · Donald A. Hall Estate Collection

An archival halftone documentary print recording the fuel calibration setup for the Spirit of St. Louis at Camp Kearny, San Diego. The aircraft rests on the unpaved field beside a stack of 55-gallon steel gasoline drums used by Ryan ground mechanics to pump measured fuel increments into the fuselage tanks. Donald Hall monitored each fueling stage to document takeoff distance versus gross weight across 70 to 300 gallons of gasoline.