Builder: Jack Hopp

Aircraft: Bellanca WB2

Designation: Miss Columbia

about this project

The Bellanca WB2 (also known as Miss Columbia) was the aircraft that Charles Lindbergh tried to purchase for his transatlantic flight in 1927.

At the time, the WB2 was tied up in litigation between a financial backer and co-owners of the aircraft who had planned to make the New York to Paris flight themselves. As a result, Lindbergh was forced to look elsewhere for a suitable aircraft. The Ryan Aircraft Co. fulfilled this quest by producing one of the most famous airplanes of all time, the Spirit of St. Louis. Remarkably, just two weeks after Lindbergh’s accomplishment, Miss Columbia completed a non-stop, transatlantic flight from New York to just 108 miles short of Berlin, Germany.

After many transatlantic flights and a long and distinguished career, sadly the WB2 was destroyed in a hangar fire at the Bellanca factory in Newcastle, Delaware on January 25, 1934.

Modeled from plans by Eric Fearniley (England), drawn by Don McGovern, and purchased on eBay, the WB2 has a 68” wingspan and is powered by an OS 48 Surpass engine. Traditional balsa construction was used, covering is Oratex and lettering is custom decals by a local sign shop. She is lettered as she appeared in April, 1927, just before the Lindbergh flight.

The Presidents Choice page is intended to showcase the best workmanship and/or innovation in the club. This could be a beautiful scratch built model, innovative design, or a customization/modification of an ARF/PNP. Anything that sets an aircraft apart from the crowd.