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testing: non-stop from San Diego to St. Louis and then to Long Island, 5)rectification of the problems diagnosed in pre-flight testing - including adequate greasing of the rocker arms and installation of the deicing carburetor heater.

Donald Hall writes, "A combination of fctors associated with the design and construction of the Spirit of St. Louis made it possible to complete the project in two months.  One of these was the almost constant availability of Lindbergh to discuss the problems which arose.  Normally, the purchaser of a custom-built airplane did not stay at the factory during its development, and this required the engineer to maintain an extensive correspondence.  Rather complete preliminary design drawings and data had to be especially prepared and forwarded to the purchaser for study and comment.  Such work and correspondence took a large part of the engineer's time.  Fortunately, this was not necessary for the NYP.

The presence of Charles Lindbergh, with his keen knowledge of flying. his understanding of engineering problems, his implicit faith in the proposed flight, and his constant application to it, was a most important factor in welding together the entire factory organization into one smoothly running team.  This groups was unusually conscientious, co-operative, and hard-working."

It is useful to put the Lindbergh flight in historical perspective.  The first across the Atlantic (at least partially) occurred in Nineteen-Nineteen when Read flew one of three Navy NC-4 biplanes from Newfoundland to the Azores.  The British team of Alcock and Boyd flew from Newfoundland to Ireland in Nineteen-Nineteen.  The Lindbergh flight was in May Nineteen Twenty-Seven.  In June he was followed by Chamberlain (New York to Elseben (near Berlin)) in a Bellanca that Lindbergh had initially sought after. In June Nineteen Twenty-Seven Byrd and crew flew from New York to Val Sur Mer. In April Nineteen Twenty-Eight, Von Huenfeld flew from Ireland to Quebec.

In Nineteen Forty-Seven, Colonel Al Boyd was in charge of the project involving the Bell X-1, the plane that broke the sound barrier, piloted by that 

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