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Restoration
of “Lindy’s” Jenny
By
Phyllis (Mrs. David) Crago
Overlooked
by far too many, a dedicated group of Long Island men with
interest in aviation, including some TWAers, played a key role in
linking yesterday with today. In the 1970s, the team undertook a
painstaking restoration of the 1920s Jenny biplane, Charles
Lindbergh’s very first airplane, and it was a major project of
expertise and love.
An enormous garage at the Glen Head,
Long Island
home of millionaire George Dade (1913-1998) provided the meeting
place for the group. Each Wednesday evening they got together and
worked on the Jenny, which would become a highly valuable and
important archival item. Each person involved in the project had a
personal history involving flight --inventors, manufacturers,
airline pilots and ground personnel who made up the restoration
crew.
The Jenny earlier had been retrieved from a barn near
Oelwein
,
Iowa
, where it had languished for many years. A Mr. Stinson, the owner,
had purchased the plane directly from Charles Lindbergh who
piloted it from
St. Louis
to Oelwein. About a year before his death in
Hawaii
, Col. Lindbergh traveled to
Long Island
to authenticate the Jenny’s history, providing the team with
written proof that the vintage aircraft was indeed the first he
had owned.
Along with the Jenny’s rejuvenation, there was a replica
of the Jenny simultaneously constructed by the group. Both the
original restored Jenny and the replicated model are now displayed
in the Cradle of Aviation Museum; Mitchell Field, Garden City on
Long Island
. The museum was opened to the public in the spring of 2002.
For many years,
Long Island
has been at the forefront of man’s conquest of air and space.
Charles Lindbergh embarked upon his famed 1927, “lone eagle,”
transoceanic flight to
Paris
from Roosevelt Field, Mineola,
Long Island
. And as most know, he was one of the first pilots hired by TWA (then
known as Transcontinental & Western Air, Inc.). TWA became
known as “The Lindbergh Line,” a title it held for many
decades thereafter.
TWA’s David Crago (1913-2003) was a member of the team,
which restored the Jenny and perpetuated its significant place in
aviation history. David retired from Flight Planning as Supervisor
of Special flights in 1976, and during his 34 years participated
in much of the airline’s history, from the DC-3 to the super
jets.
He and his wife subsequently returned to live in the
Kansas City
,
Missouri
area.
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