Andrew Lech (1905 – 1991) was a postal worker in Chicago, Illinois. He lived in the suburb of Aurora. He retired from the post office in approximately 1940. He began making scale models in high school on a part-time basis. He began work on the Spirit of Saint Louis model in 1931. It was completed in 1933. It had a wingspan of 36 inches and featured working systems, including control systems that actually worked. In 1940, he was commissioned by the Smithsonian Institution to provide structural and external view drawings of the Spirit of Saint Louis.
Andrew Lech with Waco Ten Model, 1929, Andrew Lech Collection
Curtiss JN-4D Model Sketch, Andrew Lech Collection
WWI Vickers Vimy, Andrew Lech Collection
WWI SE-5-A, Andrew Lech Collection
WWI Rumpler C-IV, Andrew Lech Collection
WWI Canuck JN-4, Andrew Lech Collection
WWI Breguet 14 B, Andrew Lech Collection
WWI Avro 504-K, Andrew Lech Collection
Waco Ten Model – Originally Built 1928-1929, Andrew Lech Collection
Waco Ten Model – Engine Built 1978-1979, Andrew Lech Collection
Waco Ten Model, 1980, Andrew Lech Collection
Andrew Lech with Waco Ten Model, Andrew Lech Collection
Mr. Lech also constructed fifty precise scale models of various 1900s to 1930s era aircraft. In addition, he was commissioned by a patron in Orange County in 1967 to build scale models of experimental aircraft as well as models that were proposed but never executed. This commission also included dioramas of WWI airdromes.
Spirit of St. Louis Model, Andrew Lech Collection
Spirit of St. Louis Model, Andrew Lech Collection
Salmson 2-A.2, Andrew Lech Collection
Pfalz D III-A, Andrew Lech Collection
Nieuport 17 C1, Andrew Lech Collection
Model OX-5 Waco Ten 1927, Andrew Lech Collection
Bristol F.2B, Andrew Lech Collection
Andrew Lech with Spirit of St. Louis Model, Andrew Lech Collection
1928 Lockheed Vega, Andrew Lech Collection
1927 Ryan NYP Spirit, Andrew Lech Collection
1927 Buhl Airsedan, Andrew Lech Collection
1924 Remington-Burnelli RB-2, Andrew Lech Collection
1924 Curtiss PW-8, Andrew Lech Collection
1922 Fokker T-2, 1964-1965, Andrew Lech Collection
1912 Martin 12, Andrew Lech Collection
1909 Bleriot XI, Andrew Lech Collection
1908 Wright, Andrew Lech Collection
Andrew Lech Special Collection Photo, 1978-1982, Andrew Lech Collection
In 1939, Mr. Lech began a correspondence with Paul Garber, Assistant Curator for aeronautics with the Smithsonian Institution. This culminated in the donation of the model to the Smithsonian in 1972. His highly detailed models have been displayed at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum and the San Diego Aerospace Museum. His models date back to the 1920’s.
