Never before published photos of Charles Lindbergh test flying the Spirit of St. Louis in San Diego

March 1, 1927 — Charles A. Lindbergh in front of a Ryan Aircraft monoplane in San Diego. (Photo by Stanley Andrews Jr. / San Diego Union-Tribune)

04.28.1927 — Charles A. Lindbergh’s test flight of the Spirit of St. Louis, which Ryan Aircraft built in San Diego. (Photo by Harry T. Bishop / San Diego Union-Tribune)

04.28.1927 — Charles A. Lindbergh’s test flight of the Spirit of St. Louis, which Ryan Aircraft built in San Diego. (Photo by Harry T. Bishop / San Diego Union-Tribune)

04.28.1927 — John van der Linde, chief mechanic at Ryan Aircraft, turns the propeller over for the first engine run during Charles A. Lindbergh’s initial test flight of the Spirit of St. Louis. Ryan Aircraft built the plane in San Diego. The dirt airfield is Dutch Flats, where the Midway post office once stood. (Photo by Harry T. Bishop / San Diego Union-Tribune)

04.28.1927 — Charles A. Lindbergh’s test flight of the Spirit of St. Louis, which Ryan Aircraft built in San Diego. The dirt airfield is Dutch Flats, where the Midway post office once stood. (Photo by Harry T. Bishop / San Diego Union-Tribune)

04.28.1927 — Charles A. Lindbergh’s test flight of the Spirit of St. Louis, which Ryan Aircraft built in San Diego. The dirt airfield is Dutch Flats, where the Midway post office once stood. (Photo by Harry T. Bishop / San Diego Union-Tribune)

04.28.1927 — Charles A. Lindbergh taking off on his initial test flight of the Spirit of St. Louis in San Diego. The New York-to-Paris monoplane was built by Ryan Aircraft in San Diego and was completed in just two months. (Photo by Harry T. Bishop / San Diego Union-Tribune)

04.28.1927 — Charles A. Lindbergh’s initial test flight of the Spirit of St. Louis, which Ryan Aircraft built in San Diego. The dirt airfield is Dutch Flats, where the Midway post office once stood. Mission Hills can be seen in the background. (Photo by Harry T. Bishop / San Diego Union-Tribune)

04.28.1927 — Charles A. Lindbergh’s initial test flight of the Spirit of St. Louis, which Ryan Aircraft built in San Diego. (Photo by Harry T. Bishop / San Diego Union-Tribune)

09.21.1927 — Charles A. Lindbergh rides with San Diego Mayor Harry C. Clark during a parade to welcome him back to San Diego after his New York-to-Paris flight. Photo by Harry T. Bishop / San Diego Union-Tribune

09.21.1927 — Charles A. Lindbergh during his welcome back to San Diego celebration. Sitting next to him is humorist Will Rogers. (Photo by Harry T. Bishop / San Diego Union-Tribune)

09.21.1927 — R.D. Workman, chaplain of the 11th Naval District, delivered the invocation at ceremonies in Balboa Stadium to welcome Charles Lindbergh back to San Diego. Seated, from left, are Mayor Harry C. Clark, Lindbergh, Will Rogers and Jack Lyman. (Photo by Harry T. Bishop / San Diego Union-Tribune)

09.21.1927 — Charles A. Lindbergh addressed the crowd during his welcome back to San Diego celebration at Balboa Stadium. (Photo by Harry T. Bishop / San Diego Union-Tribune)

09.22.1927 — The Spirit of St. Louis, which Ryan Aircraft built in San Diego. (Photo by Harry T. Bishop / San Diego Union-Tribune)

09.22.1927 — Unidentified men pose with the Spirit of St. Louis, which Ryan Aircraft built in San Diego (Photo by Harry T. Bishop / San Diego Union-Tribune)

09.22.1927 — Three Boy Scouts stand in front of the Spirit of St. Louis. From left to right are F. Novelo, A. Ondarza and E. Lopez. (Photo by Harry T. Bishop / San Diego Union-Tribune)

09.21.1927 — From left, R.D. Workman, chaplain of the 11th Naval District, Mayor Harry C. Clark, and seated, Charles A. Lindbergh, humorist Will Rogers and Jack Lyman, during ceremonies at Balboa Stadium to welcome Lindbergh back to San Diego. (Photo by Harry T. Bishop / San Diego Union-Tribune)

09.21.1927 — Charles A. Lindbergh, in front of the microphone, addresses the crowd at Balboa Stadium when he returned to San Diego after his historic New York-to-Paris flight. (Photo by Harry T. Bishop / San Diego Union-Tribune)

09.21.1927 — Charles A. Lindbergh addresses the crowd at Balboa Stadium when he returned to San Diego after his historic New York-to-Paris flight. (Photo by Harry T. Bishop / San Diego Union-Tribune)

09.21.1927 — Charles A. Lindbergh is seated next to humorist Will Rogers during ceremonies at Balboa Stadium to welcome him back to San Diego after his historic New York-to-Paris flight. (Photo by Harry T. Bishop / San Diego Union-Tribune)

09.21.1927 — A crowd of 60,000 people jammed Balboa Stadium to welcome Charles A. Lindbergh back to San Diego after his historic New York-to-Paris flight. (Photo by Harry T. Bishop / San Diego Union-Tribune)

09.21.1927 — Charles A. Lindbergh rides with San Diego Mayor Harry C. Clark in a car during a celebration welcoming him back to the city after his historic New York-to-Paris flight. (Photo by Harry T. Bishop / San Diego Union-Tribune)

09.21.1927 — Charles A. Lindbergh rides in a car during a celebration to welcome him back to San Diego after his historic New York-to-Paris flight. (Photo by Harry T. Bishop / San Diego Union-Tribune)

09.22.1927 — A crowd of 60,000 people jammed into Balboa Stadium to welcome Charles A. Lindbergh back to San Diego four months after his historic solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic. (Photo by Harry T. Bishop / San Diego Union-Tribune)

09.21.1927 — The Spirit of St. Louis was built by Ryan Aircraft in San Diego. (Photo by Harry T. Bishop / San Diego Union-Tribune)

09.21.1927 — B.F. Franklin Mahoney of Ryan Aircraft was the first to greet Charles A. Lindbergh when the Spirit of St. Louis rolled to a stop at the Ryan Airfield in San Diego. Ryan Aircraft built the plane. (Photo by Harry T. Bishop / San Diego Union-Tribune)

09.21.1927 — Charles A. Lindbergh rides with San Diego Mayor Harry C. Clark in a flower-bedecked car during a celebration to welcome him back to San Diego after his historic New York-to-Paris flight. (Photo by Harry T. Bishop / San Diego Union-Tribune)

09.21.1927 — A crowd that included some of the men who built the Spirit of St. Louis gathered to greet Charles A. Lindbergh when he landed at the Ryan Airfield in San Diego four months after his historic New York-to-Paris flight. (Photo by Harry T. Bishop / San Diego Union-Tribune)

09.22.1927 — Charles A. Lindbergh inspects the Prudden all-metal monoplane with G.K. Prudden in the cockpit with him. (Photo by Harry T. Bishop / San Diego Union-Tribune)

09.22.1927 — Luncheon at the Mahoney plant in San Diego to celebrate Charles A. Lindbergh’s historic New York-to-Paris flight. To the left of Lindbergh are B.F. Mahoney and A.J. Edwards. (Photo by Harry T. Bishop / San Diego Union-Tribune)

09.21.1927 — Alonzo Jessop holds a silver replica of the Spirit of St. Louis, built to scale, which was presented to Charles A. Lindbergh at Balboa Stadium as a reminder of his “ship” and San Diego, the city where it was built. (Photo by Harry T. Bishop / San Diego Union-Tribune)