Why did Lindbergh choose not to have a windshield on the Spirit of St. Louis?

Answer 1

The Spirit of St. Louis was custom made for endurance and lots of sacrifices were made for that and visibility was one. However he did have a crude periscope for forward vision.

Answer 2

I don't really think it was Lindbergh who decided it didn't need a windshield. It was probably the designer, Donald Hall. The aircraft had to fly 3600 miles non-stop, so every aerodynamic feature had to be incorporated.
I read the Wiki article and it says it was due to the placement of the fuel tanks, but ask any engineer what is most important in long range flights and he will tell you it is aerodynamics, then all other features are built around that. Anyone can write an article for Wikipedia, but the accuracy is sometimes in question. For example:"Locating fuel tanks at the front of the aircraft reduced the risk of the pilot being crushed to death in crash, thus there was no front windshield, and the pilot's view was limited to the side windows."
The fact that the J-5 Wright engine and supporting structure was in front of the pilot protected the pilot. The fuel tank in front also, insured the pilot would not be crushed by the structure in event of the crash, but rather burned to death when the fuel tanks ruptured.
The designers were fully aware of the dangers and advantages of the design.

Answer 3

He didnt require forward visibility for the majority of the flight, so the windshield was replaced with a periscope.
The fuel tanks were not in the front like most people think, they are only there in the replica. The real Spirit of St.Louis has the fuel tank directly below the wing and windows with the pilot behind it without a direct view out the side. That is the only position that the fuel could be placed to keep the CG within limits.

Answer 4

Spirit Of St Louis Cockpit

Answer 5

The airplane was built to hold as much gas as possible. Since the gas tank was about the heaviest thing on the plane, it needed to be located near the center of gravity, which was right between the engine and the pilot. Lindberg needed to look forward only for takeoff and landing, so the plane had a periscope for this.

I've seen the plane at the Smithsonian and it -does- look strange without a windshield! But what the heck, it worked!

Answer 6

Sometimes a special built aircraft has to loose non-essential things to make room for the essential.

As mentioned above, the fuel tank was in the way because of where it had to go for weight and balance. The only time he needed to see anything was during landing and takeoff, a very small part of his trip. The rest of the time he was using his instruments to tell him right or left.

Answer 7

Most pilots killed in crashes in those days were crushed by the fuel tank. So to prevent that from happening he put the fuel tank in front of him. In order to maintain the balance of the aircraft it had to be tall and narrow. This blocked his view forward if he wanted to carry enough fuel to get across the atlantic. So he put in a periscope to see forward. Besides, it's not like there was anything to see for most of his flight.

Answer 8

Even today one of the toughest engineering obsticles on aircraft is the windshield. Once we start going hypersonic, there will be no windshields.

Answer 9

Might sound dumb, but maybe, just maybe he was though the windshield would be covered with bugs, messing up his view when landing?

Answer 10

You can read something about it here...i think?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirit_of_St._Louis