Spirit of St. Louis: Spirit of St. Louis is by far the best-known Ryan airplane used by Charles Lindbergh in 1927 during the first and epic solo west to east nonstop flight across the North Atlantic. Charles Lindbergh pursued his dream of crossing the Atlantic with a single engine monoplane with a single pilot, named the Spirit of St. Louis. The Spirit of St. Louis was turned down by all the major aircraft manufacturers. Lindbergh traveled by train to San Diego and Ryan Airlines Inc. at the insistence of his St. Louis backers. Lindbergh arrived on February 23, Lindbergh placed his order of Spirit of St. Louis to Donald Hall. On April 28, 1927, Lindbergh informed Harry Knight that the Spirit of St. Louis is ready for flight, and that was the maiden flight of Spirit of St. Louis. The Spirit of St. Louis is powered by a 237-hp Wright J-5C Whirlwing radial engine. It has a maximum range of 4,210 miles.