The Estate
Donald A. Hall Estate Collection
The Donald A. Hall Estate Collection contains the definitive, original 1927 engineering blueprints, technical notes, and historical photographic negatives documenting the design and construction of the Spirit of St. Louis (Ryan NYP).
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948 images from the family-held record. Search captions and descriptions, and open any image to view it in full.
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Page 3 of the December 4, 1939 letter providing definitive historical testimony regarding T. Claude Ryan. Lindbergh writes: "To the best of my knowledge, Ryan had no part in building the 'Spirit of St. Louis' except in the sense that the part he took in developing the Ryan Company and its monoplane was an essential factor in creating the organization which eventually built the plane... However, Ryan took no part in the discussions I had concerning the purchase and construction of the plane." Lindbergh emphasizes that the Spirit was a radical redesign of the M-2 with totally different construction and flying qualities, stating it was by far the best aircraft the company ever produced.
Donald A. Hall Estate Collection
Page 4 of the December 4, 1939 letter from Charles A. Lindbergh to Donald A. Hall Sr. Lindbergh unequivocally confirms: "To the best of my knowledge, Ryan had nothing whatever to do with the operation of the factory at the time the 'Spirit of St. Louis' was being built, or with the design or construction of the plane." Concluding with formal authorization, Lindbergh writes: "Please use this letter with discretion, but you are welcome to show it wherever you feel it is necessary to establish the facts of which I have written," providing Hall with an unassailable legal charter to defend his engineering legacy.
Donald A. Hall Estate Collection
An autograph letter written by Charles A. Lindbergh on his 39 Broadway executive stationery, dated June 13, 1934, addressed to Donald A. Hall Sr. in San Diego. Lindbergh acknowledges receipt of Hall's correspondence and confirms that he has forwarded Hall's technical proposals to Harry Knight in St. Louis, one of Lindbergh's original 1927 financial backers. Lindbergh notes that Knight is among the group actively interested in backing the manufacture of Hall's proposed low-wing monoplane design and promises to inform Hall as soon as an organizational response is received.
Donald A. Hall Estate Collection
Page 1 of a two-page typed letter signed from Charles A. Lindbergh to Donald A. Hall Sr., written from Lloyd Neck in Huntington, New York, on March 6, 1940. Lindbergh informs Hall that he received an inquiry from Dr. George W. Lewis, Director of Research at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), regarding historical technical data on the Spirit of St. Louis for the Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences (IAS). Lindbergh explains that he has donated his personal flight logs and materials to the Missouri Historical Society and the Smithsonian, and urges Hall to submit his original engineering calculations to the Institute. In a postscript, Lindbergh notes reading Hall's NACA Technical Note 257 with great interest.
Donald A. Hall Estate Collection
Page 2 of Charles A. Lindbergh's March 6, 1940 letter to Donald A. Hall Sr. Lindbergh expresses his gratitude that Hall documented the complete technical and aerodynamic record of the Spirit of St. Louis immediately after the flight while the data was fresh in his mind. He encloses a copied excerpt of Page 4 from Hall's report containing the official roster of personnel responsible for the construction of the aircraft, suggesting Hall's associates would be interested in preserving this definitive organizational record.
Donald A. Hall Estate Collection
The official title header and Page 4 excerpt from NACA Technical Note No. 257, titled "Technical Preparation of the Airplane 'Spirit of St. Louis'," authored by Donald A. Hall, Chief Engineer, Ryan Airlines, Inc., published in Washington in July 1927. The document preserves the formal historical record of the Ryan factory organization, naming B. F. Mahoney, W. H. Bowlus, Bert Tindale, Walter Locke, McNeal, Fred Rohr, Fred Ayers, Anderson, Morrow, and Donald Hall as the individuals responsible for the engineering and construction of the transatlantic aircraft.
Donald A. Hall Estate Collection
A treasured literary artifact from the Donald A. Hall Estate Collection: the inscribed front-matter page of the 1935 first edition of Anne Morrow Lindbergh's classic aviation memoir North to the Orient. Sent from the family's coastal retreat in Maine, the volume features a joint personal inscription in dark ink: "To Donald A. Hall / from Charles A. Lindbergh / and Anne Lindbergh / North Haven 1935". The inscription illustrates the deep personal warmth and high regard both Charles and Anne Lindbergh held for the Chief Engineer of the Spirit of St. Louis.
Donald A. Hall Estate Collection
An original factory blueprint from the Donald A. Hall Estate collection documenting the wing structure of the Ryan M-2 monoplane. The drawing details the internal wooden truss rib contours, capstrip dimensions, front and rear solid spruce box spars, and internal diagonal steel drag-wire bracing. Preserved by Hall as Chief Engineer of Ryan Airlines, this master drawing served as the structural baseline that Hall re-engineered and expanded to carry the massive fuel loads of the Ryan NYP Spirit of St. Louis.
Donald A. Hall Estate Collection
The master three-view general arrangement blueprint of the Ryan M-2 monoplane, preserved in the archives of Donald A. Hall Sr. The drawing provides comprehensive dimensional elevations of the high-wing mailplane, detailing the front view with strut bracing, the side elevation showing the open pilot cockpit and Hispano-Suiza engine installation, and the plan view showing wing chord and empennage surfaces, illustrating the production aircraft design Hall evaluated upon arriving at Ryan Airlines.
Donald A. Hall Estate Collection
A primary engineering blueprint documenting the fuselage framework of the Ryan M-2 monoplane. The technical drawing illustrates the welded steel-tube Warren truss side elevation, detailing station bay lengths, tubing diameters, diagonal strut geometry, cockpit bay openings, and tailpost attach fittings. Hall used these exact structural dimensions to design the elongated forward fuselage structure required to accommodate the heavy center-of-gravity fuel tanks of the Spirit of St. Louis.
Donald A. Hall Estate Collection
The companion structural blueprint to the M-2 fuselage side elevation, illustrating the horizontal plan views of the welded tubular steel airframe. The drawing details the upper and lower fuselage bays, cross-tubes, diagonal wire bracing stations, and internal load-bearing bulkheads. Preserved from the Ryan Airlines engineering room at Dutch Flats, this blueprint provided the baseline structural data that Hall modified to withstand the 5,200-pound maximum gross weight of the transatlantic NYP.
Donald A. Hall Estate Collection
The supreme engineering artifact of the Donald A. Hall Estate Collection: the original master lofting and aerodynamic lines drawing on drafting vellum, hand-inscribed and signed in the lower corner: "Model N.Y.P. / April 1927 / Designed by D.A. Hall". This historic document depicts the precise cross-sectional station curves, longitudinal waterlines, and fairing profiles developed by Hall to streamline the enclosed fuselage of the Spirit of St. Louis around its massive 425-gallon main fuel tank. Serving as the primary empirical definition of the Ryan NYP, this drawing provides irrefutable physical proof of Hall's sole authorship of the transatlantic aircraft.
Donald A. Hall Estate Collection
A foundational master engineering artifact hand-drafted by Donald A. Hall Sr. in March 1927 at Ryan Airlines in San Diego. This detailed pencil drawing on technical drafting paper details the structural architecture of the Spirit of St. Louis's 46-foot wing, specifying a 23-foot semi-span (276 inches), rib stations, spruce box spar depths, internal drag-wire bracing, and the cutouts for three wing fuel tanks totaling 153 gallons. Annotated with precise dimensions and Hall's signature dated March 1927, this drawing captures the bespoke aerodynamic engineering that increased aspect ratio and fuel capacity beyond the standard Ryan M-2 design.
Donald A. Hall Estate Collection
Large-format U.S. Hydrographic Office nautical chart (Northwestern Sheet) utilized during flight planning for the Spirit of St. Louis. Depicting the North American eastern seaboard from New York and Boston up through Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and the Grand Banks, the chart features magnetic compass roses, fathom depth soundings, and great-circle sailing curves. Preserved from Donald A. Hall Sr.'s San Diego drafting office, this navigation sheet was used alongside Mercator and gnomonic projections to plot distance increments, magnetic variation, and drift angles for Lindbergh's transoceanic departure.
Donald A. Hall Estate Collection
The companion U.S. Hydrographic Office navigation chart (Northeastern Sheet) covering the European approach of the transatlantic flight. The map details the waters of the eastern Atlantic, the southern coast of Ireland, the English Channel, the Bay of Biscay, and the landfall approach across France toward Paris. Retained in Hall's personal technical papers, this working chart reflects the meticulous dead-reckoning calculations and landfall verification waypoints Hall and Lindbergh reviewed before the aircraft departed San Diego for New York.
Donald A. Hall Estate Collection
An original factory blueprint photostat from the Ryan Airlines engineering department showing the definitive three-view general arrangement of the Ryan NYP Spirit of St. Louis. Drafted by Donald A. Hall Sr., the technical drawing presents the plan view of the expanded 46-foot wing, the front elevation showing the Wright J-5 Whirlwind radial engine and wide-track landing gear, and the side elevation illustrating the fully enclosed cockpit with periscope installation and empennage geometry. This drawing served as the master structural blueprint from which the historic transatlantic monoplane was built.
Donald A. Hall Estate Collection
A critical aerodynamic blueprint photostat titled "Cowling Lines of Ryan NYP," engineered and drafted by Donald A. Hall Sr. in April 1927. The drawing details the station offsets, waterlines, and compound curvature templates for the hand-beaten aluminum nose cowling and spinner fabricated by Fred Rohr. Engineered to smoothly integrate the 220-horsepower Wright J-5C Whirlwind motor into the slab-sided fuselage while maximizing cooling airflow and minimizing parasitic drag, this blueprint captures the subtle aerodynamic fairing lines essential to the transatlantic aircraft's range efficiency.
Donald A. Hall Estate Collection
Master blue-line blueprint documenting the complete internal wood and steel structural assembly of the Ryan NYP wing. Drafted by Donald A. Hall Sr., the drawing specifies the Clark Y airfoil section, the fabrication of two continuous spruce box spars extending the full 46-foot wingspan, closely spaced truss-type spruce ribs, internal drag and anti-drag wire bracing, and reinforced bays housing the three aluminum gravity-feed wing fuel tanks. This blueprint provided the structural layout that enabled the wing to support a maximum gross overload takeoff weight of 5,200 pounds.
Donald A. Hall Estate Collection
An illuminated testimonial citation presented by the Pratt Institute School of Engineering on November 11, 1977. Signed by Pratt Institute President Richardson Pratt Jr. and bearing the embossed gold collegiate seal, the certificate formally honors Donald A. Hall Sr. (Class of 1919) "In recognition of his work as Engineering Genius, Aeronautical Designer and Author," inducting him as an honorary posthumous member of the School of Engineering Board of Visitors. The award honors Hall's foundational education in Brooklyn, where he mastered the analytical mechanics and structural calculus that produced the Spirit of St. Louis.
Donald A. Hall Estate Collection
A historic printed gold silk commemorative ribbon from the Ziegfeld Theatre on Broadway in New York City, reading: "RIO RITA / ZIEGFELD THEATRE / Performance in honor of Col. Charles A. Lindbergh / June the fifteenth, Nineteen hundred and twenty-seven." On May 19, 1927, Lindbergh had purchased tickets to see the musical Rio Rita but famously skipped the show when a midnight weather clearance allowed him to prepare for his historic takeoff at dawn. Following his triumphant return to New York, theatrical impresario Florenz Ziegfeld held this exclusive gala encore performance in Lindbergh's honor, and this personal commemorative ribbon was preserved in Donald A. Hall Sr.'s estate collection.
Donald A. Hall Estate Collection
An extraordinary personal artifact from the Donald A. Hall Estate Collection: an authentic Dunhill "Unique Giant" lift-arm table lighter in fine silver finish, complete with its original fitted presentation case. Measuring significantly larger than standard pocket models, this heavy table lighter was manufactured by Alfred Dunhill of London and custom-engraved with the monogram "D.A.H. from C.A.L." Acquired by Lindbergh in Europe or at Dunhill's Fifth Avenue salon during the June 1927 triumphal celebrations, the lighter was presented to Chief Engineer Donald A. Hall Sr. in recognition of his tireless night work designing the Spirit of St. Louis. Known as an inveterate pipe smoker while working at his drafting table, Hall preserved this presentation piece as a centerpiece of his personal engineering office.
Donald A. Hall Estate Collection
The supreme mathematical artifact of the 1927 transatlantic crossing: Donald A. Hall Sr.'s personal 20-inch duplex engine-divided slide rule with glass cursor runner. Engineered with precision white celluloid scale faces laminated onto seasoned Honduras mahogany to prevent thermal and hygroscopic distortion, this analog calculating instrument served as Hall's primary computational tool at Ryan Airlines. Using this rule, Hall calculated the gross weight curves, wing loading, fuel consumption rates, Clark Y lift-to-drag ratios, and center of gravity travel that enabled the Spirit of St. Louis to complete its nonstop flight to Paris. Hall hand-etched his name into the hardwood frame, preserving full provenance for this primary aerospace artifact.
Donald A. Hall Estate Collection
The definitive three-view general arrangement engineering drawing of the Ryan NYP Spirit of St. Louis (N-X-211), prepared by Chief Engineer Donald A. Hall Sr. and published in the July 1927 technical issue of Aero Digest. The plate illustrates the front elevation with wide-track landing gear, the side profile showing the enclosed fuel tank bay and Wright Whirlwind motor, and the top plan view detailing the extended 46-foot wing chord and empennage geometry, serving as the first public disclosure of the aircraft's exact aerodynamic specifications.
Donald A. Hall Estate Collection
Preserved in its original fitted velvet-lined case, this professional German silver and tool-steel drafting set was owned and used by Donald A. Hall Sr. during the creation of the Spirit of St. Louis. The set contains technical ruling pens, precision compasses, dividers, lengthening bars, and micro-adjusters utilized on Hall's drafting board at Ryan Airlines to ink the master lofting lines, wing spar cross-sections, and fuselage station geometry for the historic transatlantic monoplane.
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