The Lindbergh Boom (1927–1929) is a period of rapid interest in aviation following the awarding of the Orteig Prize to Charles Lindbergh for his 1927 non-stop solo transatlantic flight in the Spirit of St. Louis. The Lindbergh Boom occurred during the interwar period between World War I and World War II, 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 Great Depression 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.
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.
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 publicitythe introduction of reliable, high-power-to-weight engines, such as the Wright Whirlwindthe exhaustion of World War I-vintage aircraft engines and airframesthe start of contract air mail routes in the United States, which subsidized new airline servicethe introduction of all-metal airliners like the Ford Trimotor that could carry enough revenue passengers to be profitablethe completion of the lighted airwaypublicity events such as the National Air Races, and the nationwide Ford National Reliability Air Tourairplane service and cargo flights to the Caribbean to skirt the Volstead Actan influx of capital from a booming stock market.Ace Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation 1929–1930American Aeronautical Corporation - founded to license build Savoia-Marchetti seaplanes in 1928. The company folded after 1933.Associated Aircraft Corporation 1929–1929Air Capital Manufacturing Company 1929–1929Beach Aviation Company 1927–1928Bowlby Airplane Company 1929–1929Braley Aircraft Company 1929–1931Buckley Aircraft Co. 1929–1930Continental Aircraft Company 1929–1929Geselle Aircraft Company 1927–1927Hilton Aircraft Company 1929–1930Jayhawk Aircraft Company 1929–1930Knoll Aircraft Company 1928–1929Laird Aircraft Company 1928–1928Lark Aircraft Company 1928–1928Lea Aircraft Company 1930–1930Lear Aircraft Company 1929–1930Mason Aircraft Company - Founded in 1928, and built the Mason Greater Meteor, a near clone of the Spirit of St. Louis for record attempts.Metal Aircraft Corporation 1929–1929Miller Aircraft 1927–1927Mooney Aircraft Company 1929–1930C.M. Mulkins Company 1929–1929Okay Airplane Company 1929–1929Poyer Motor Company 1929–1929Quick Air Motors 1928–1929Roydon Aircraft Company 1930–1930Red Bird Aircraft Company 1929–1929Rawdon-Burnham Company 1931–1931Shilberg Aeroplane Company 1928–1928Self Aircraft Corporation 1929–1929St. 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 1928–1928Straughan Aircraft CorporationPawnee and Woodlawn 1932–1933Swift Aircraft Corporation 1927–1929Sullivan Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation 1929–1930Supreme/Stone Propeller Company 1929–1930Vanos Aircraft Corporation 1929–1929Wichita Airplane Manufacturing Company 1929–1929Watkins Aircraft Company 1929–1930Vulcan Aircraft Corporation - Developed the Vulcan American Moth Monoplane. Company sold to Davis Aircraft, with production ending by 1932.Wichita Imblum Aero Corporation 1929–1929Yellow Air Cab Company 1929–1930Yunker Aircraft Company 1929–1930Companies were consolidating Lindbergh Boom start-ups at a rapid rate. Some, like Curtiss-Wright, went on a buying spree before the market crash and struggled to maintain control afterward. Others like the Detroit Aircraft Corporation were dissolved.
