The Lindbergh Boom (1927–1929) is a period of rapid interest in aviation following the awarding of the

Orteig Prize The Orteig Prize was a reward offered to the first Allied aviator(s) to fly non-stop from New York City to Paris or vice versa.Bak. Pages 28 and 29. Several famous aviators made unsuccessful attempts at the New York–Paris flight before the rela ...

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...

for his 1927 non-stop solo transatlantic flight in the

Spirit of St. Louis The ''Spirit of St. Louis'' (formally the Ryan NYP, registration: N-X-211) is the custom-built, single-engine, single-seat, high-wing monoplane that was flown by Charles Lindbergh on May 20–21, 1927, on the first solo nonstop transatlant ...

. The Lindbergh Boom occurred during the

interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...

between

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, where aviation development was fueled by commercial interests rather than wartime necessity. During this period, dozens of companies were formed to create airlines, and aircraft for a new age in aviation. Many of the fledgling companies funded by stock went under as quick as they started as the stock that capitalized them plummeted in value following the

Wall Street Crash of 1929 The Wall Street Crash of 1929, also known as the Great Crash, was a major American stock market crash that occurred in the autumn of 1929. It started in September and ended late in October, when share prices on the New York Stock Exchange colla ...

. The

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

dried up the market for new aircraft, causing many aircraft companies to go into bankruptcy or get consolidated by larger entities. Air racing, record attempts, and barnstorming remained popular, as aviators tried to recapture the prizes and publicity of Lindbergh's Transatlantic flight.

The Lindbergh Boom

Publicity surrounding Lindbergh and his flight boosted the aviation industry and made a skeptical public take air travel seriously. Within a year of his flight, a quarter of Americans (an estimated thirty million) personally saw Lindbergh and the ''Spirit of St. Louis''. Over the remainder of 1927 applications for pilot's licenses in the U.S. tripled, the number of licensed aircraft quadrupled, and U.S. Airline passengers grew between 1926 and 1929 by 3,000% from 5,782 to 173,405.

Contributing factors

Lindbergh's flight was the peak of several other factors that lead to the boom. This included: * movie reels and newspaper-funded record attempts for publicity * the introduction of reliable, high-power-to-weight engines, such as the

Wright Whirlwind The Wright Whirlwind was a family of air-cooled radial aircraft engines built by Wright Aeronautical (originally an independent company, later a division of Curtiss-Wright). The family began with nine-cylinder engines, and later expanded to incl ...

* the exhaustion of World War I-vintage aircraft engines and airframes * the start of

contract air mail A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more Party (law), parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, Service (economics), ser ...

routes in the United States, which subsidized new airline service * the introduction of all-metal airliners like the

Ford Trimotor The Ford Trimotor (also called the "Tri-Motor", and nicknamed the "Tin Goose") is an American three-engined transport aircraft. Production started in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and ended on June 7, 1933, after 199 had been made. It w ...

that could carry enough revenue passengers to be profitable * the completion of the

lighted airway The Transcontinental Airway System was a navigational aid deployed in the United States during the 1920s. History In 1923, the United States Congress funded a sequential lighted airway along the transcontinental airmail route. The lighted ai ...

* publicity events such as the National Air Races, and the nationwide

Ford National Reliability Air Tour The Ford Reliability Tour, properly called "The National Air Tour for the Edsel B. Ford Reliability Trophy", was a series of aerial tours sponsored in part by Ford from 1925 to 1931 and re-created in 2003. Top prize was the Edsel Ford Reliability ...

* airplane service and cargo flights to the Caribbean to skirt the

Volstead Act The National Prohibition Act, known informally as the Volstead Act, was an act of the 66th United States Congress, designed to carry out the intent of the 18th Amendment (ratified January 1919), which established the prohibition of alcoholic d ...

* an influx of capital from a booming stock market.

The Boom companies

*Ace Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation 1929–1930 * American Aeronautical Corporation - founded to license build

Savoia-Marchetti SIAI-Marchetti was an Italian aircraft manufacturer primarily active during the interwar period. History The original company was founded during 1915 as SIAI (''Società Idrovolanti Alta Italia'' - Seaplane Company of Upper Italy). As suggested ...

seaplanes in 1928. The company folded after 1933. *Associated Aircraft Corporation 1929–1929 *Air Capital Manufacturing Company 1929–1929 *Beach Aviation Company 1927–1928 *Bowlby Airplane Company 1929–1929 *Braley Aircraft Company 1929–1931 *Buckley Aircraft Co. 1929–1930 *Continental Aircraft Company 1929–1929 *Geselle Aircraft Company 1927–1927 *Hilton Aircraft Company 1929–1930 *Jayhawk Aircraft Company 1929–1930 * Knoll Aircraft Company 1928–1929 * Laird Aircraft Company 1928–1928 *Lark Aircraft Company 1928–1928 *Lea Aircraft Company 1930–1930 *Lear Aircraft Company 1929–1930 *

Mason Aircraft Company Mason Aircraft Company was an American aircraft manufacturer of the late 1920s and 1930s. Mason Aircraft Company was founded by Monty G. Mason of Los Angeles, California. Mason modified a 1928 custom aircraft built by students of the Californi ...

- Founded in 1928, and built the Mason Greater Meteor, a near clone of the Spirit of St. Louis for record attempts. *Metal Aircraft Corporation 1929–1929 *Miller Aircraft 1927–1927 *Mooney Aircraft Company 1929–1930 *C.M. Mulkins Company 1929–1929 *Okay Airplane Company 1929–1929 *Poyer Motor Company 1929–1929 *Quick Air Motors 1928–1929 *Roydon Aircraft Company 1930–1930 *Red Bird Aircraft Company 1929–1929 *Rawdon-Burnham Company 1931–1931 *Shilberg Aeroplane Company 1928–1928 *Self Aircraft Corporation 1929–1929 * St. Louis Aircraft Corporation - Came out of dormancy in 1928 to produce the St. Louis C2 Cardinal. Production ceased after the start of the Depression. *Steamboat Aircraft Corporation 1928–1928 * Straughan Aircraft Corporation *Pawnee and Woodlawn 1932–1933 *Swift Aircraft Corporation 1927–1929 *Sullivan Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation 1929–1930 *Supreme/Stone Propeller Company 1929–1930 *Vanos Aircraft Corporation 1929–1929 *Wichita Airplane Manufacturing Company 1929–1929 *Watkins Aircraft Company 1929–1930 * Vulcan Aircraft Corporation - Developed the

Vulcan American Moth Monoplane The Vulcan American Moth Monoplane was an early parasol-wing monoplane developed by the Doyle brothers. Development Wilson Doyle graduated Harvard in 1925, and his brother Harvey from Yale the same year. They moved to Detroit looking for employ ...

. Company sold to Davis Aircraft, with production ending by 1932. *Wichita Imblum Aero Corporation 1929–1929 * Yellow Air Cab Company 1929–1930 *Yunker Aircraft Company 1929–1930

Consolidation

Companies were consolidating Lindbergh Boom start-ups at a rapid rate. Some, like

Curtiss-Wright The Curtiss-Wright Corporation is a manufacturer and services provider headquartered in Davidson, North Carolina, with factories and operations in and outside the United States. Created in 1929 from the consolidation of Curtiss, Wright, and v ...

, went on a buying spree before the market crash and struggled to maintain control afterward. Others like the

Detroit Aircraft Corporation The Detroit Aircraft Corporation was incorporated in Detroit, Michigan on July 10, 1922, as the Aircraft Development Corporation. The name was changed in 1929. The Detroit corporation owned the entire capital stock of the Ryan Aircraft Corp., Air ...

were dissolved.

References

{{Charles Lindbergh 20th-century aviation Charles Lindbergh 1927 in aviation

The Lindbergh Boom

Contributing factors

The Boom companies

Consolidation

See also

References