Ryan NYP Uncovered Fuselage Truss, Fuel Tank Bay, and Cockpit Frame (View 1) (1927)

Uncovered welded steel-tube fuselage frame resting on sawhorses outside factory wall showing cockpit and fuel tank bay. — Ryan NYP Uncovered Fuselage Truss, Fuel Tank Bay, and Cockpit Frame (View 1) (1927) · Donald A. Hall Estate Collection

A primary construction negative showing the bare welded chrome-molybdenum steel-tube fuselage truss of the Spirit of St. Louis supported on wooden sawhorses outside the Ryan factory wall. The structure clearly displays the forward engine mounting ring, the massive central bay engineered to house the 425-gallon fuel tank on the center of gravity, and the cockpit enclosure behind it. Positioning the pilot behind the fuel tank was a critical safety measure engineered by Donald A. Hall Sr. to prevent pilot crush fatalities during nose-over crackups.