Spirit Of St Louis, Control Panel From The Plane

original movie prop

From the epic film of Lindbergh's preparations and successful crossing of the Atlantic, is the control panel from the recreated plane built and flown by Paul Mantz. It is an exact copy of the 1927 original, now in the Smithsonian, and was used on the plane that flies - N7212 (built by Ryan in 1928). There was also a static model and a mock cockpit used. The mock panel does not match the original in that they were unable to obtain some of the exact antique gauges. This can be seen in the insert shots of when Stewart places the St Christopher medal on the dash. Mantz was a legendary flier for films in his career and also was Amelia Earhart's partner. Ironically, he was killed in 1965 flying for another Jimmy Stewart film, THE FLIGHT OF THE PHOENIX. N7212 was sold to settle his estate in 1968 to David Jameson from whose family this piece was obtained. The plane itself is now in the Cradle of Aviation Museum in NYC. There have been some losses; the periscope box and slide lever are gone as is the guard over the Inclinometer. The Air Speed gauge is stuck on 40, in error, which can be seen in the film after he lands in Paris. It should read zero, as the plane was motionless and grounded.