Sidney Schaor, age 13, of Brooklyn, New York, for his question:

 Does the Spirit of St. Louis still exist?

The Spirit of St. Louis is, of course, a plane. It is the little monoplane piloted by young Charles Lindbergh on the first solo flight to span the wide Atlantic. Lindbergh raised money for the building of this plane in St. Louis, Missouri. He named it in honor of that city, whose forward‑looking business men made his venture possible.

The lone plane left Long Island and landed in Paris 33 hours and 29 minutes later. Nowadays, such a trip is routine and, of course, much faster. But this one, on May 20, 1927, was the first. On his return home, Lindbergh was given a hero's welcome. Thereafter he lived up to his heroic deed. He flew his now famous Spirit of St. Louis around America for people to see and also flew to the West Indies and Mexico. Wherever he went, he inspired and encouraged people to look ahead with confidence to the age of flight.

When time came to retire the sturdy little monoplane, it too was given a hero's reward. Since 1938, the Spirit of St. Lour has been on display at the Smithsonian  in the Nation's capital.