Replica of Spirit of St. Louis soars 88 years after Charles Lindbergh's trans-Atlantic flight

In this Sunday, Dec. 6, 2015 photo, pilot Ken Cassens readies a Spirit of St. Louis replica for flight at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome in Rhinebeck, N.Y. Cassens has spent years creating a doppelganger of the plane Charles Lindbergh flew across the Atlantic in 1927 down to every flap and fuel gauge. (AP Photo/Mike Groll) (The Associated Press)

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In this Sunday, Dec. 6, 2015 photo, Clay Hammond, left, and Ken Cassens help move a Spirit of St. Louis replica to a runway at Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome in Rhinebeck, N.Y. Cassens has spent years creating a doppelganger of the plane Charles Lindbergh flew across the Atlantic in 1927 down to every flap and fuel gauge. (AP Photo/Mike Groll) (The Associated Press)

RHINEBECK, N.Y. – A replica of Charles Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis has taken to the air in New York's Hudson Valley.

But unlike the plane Lindbergh flew solo across the Atlantic in 1927, there will be no flights to Paris. This Spirit will join other vintage planes and reproductions next year that fly for weekend crowds at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome.

The replica has required leg work, some scavenging and countless hours of tinkering in a hangar 80 miles north of New York City.

There has been a small squadron Spirit reproductions made over the decades. The original remains prominently displayed at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

The museum's chief curator says the enduring interest in Lindbergh and his airplane speaks to the "singular moment" of the epic flight.