Flight: The Story Behind the Erkers Collection Born From Lindbergh’s 1927 Crossing
Quick answer: Flight is the 2026 collection from Erkers 1879, the oldest family-owned optical company in the United States. It was born from the goggles Erkers designed and made for Charles Lindbergh, who wore them when he flew the Spirit of St. Louis from New York to Paris in May 1927. The collection has 24 designs in acetate and metal, optical and sun, each marked with a small aviator-cap emblem on the temple tips. Its colors come from the plane and its era: silver, aged gold, the browns of flying leathers and the navy of a night over the Atlantic. In September 2026, Erkers took Flight to Paris, to SILMO. You can find it at our St. Louis boutiques, or ask your eye doctor about it.
A man sits alone in a small silver airplane with no window in front of him. A fuel tank fills the space where the windshield should be, so to see ahead he leans out a side window or looks through a periscope. He will stay in that seat for thirty-three and a half hours. Between his eyes and the cold air of the North Atlantic there is very little: a leather helmet, and a pair of goggles from a family optical shop in St. Louis.
That was Charles Lindbergh in May 1927. The goggles were ours.
We have told pieces of this story before. On our Transatlantic frames we put the airfield codes of New York and Paris on the temple tips. Flight is the fuller telling, and this page is where we tell all of it: the flight, the family, and the frames we made a century later to carry the memory forward.
What happened on Lindbergh's flight from New York to Paris?
On May 20, 1927, Charles Lindbergh took off from Roosevelt Field on Long Island in the Spirit of St. Louis. He landed at Le Bourget Field outside Paris at 10:22 p.m. the next night, after about 3,600 miles and 33 hours and 30 minutes in the air. It was the first solo, nonstop flight across the Atlantic, and it won him the $25,000 Orteig Prize.
The airplane carried our city's name because our city paid for it. Lindbergh flew the airmail out of St. Louis, and when he went looking for backers, a group of local businessmen said yes. He put in $2,000 of his own. They covered the rest. He named the plane for them.
Then he brought it home. After picking up the Spirit of St. Louis in San Diego, Lindbergh flew it here on May 10, 1927, and stopped for the night before going on to New York. Ten days later he left Roosevelt Field for Paris. The plane had our city's name on its nose. The goggles on his face were ours.
What this means for the collection: Flight is a St. Louis story that ends in Paris, and that is why we were proud to take it there.
Who made Charles Lindbergh's goggles?
Erkers did. We designed and made Lindbergh's goggles here in St. Louis in 1927. By then we had been in business for nearly fifty years, ever since two brothers came over from Germany and opened the shop in 1879.
Back then we sold anything with a lens. Spectacles. Opera glasses. Telescopes, microscopes, cameras. We were an official photographer of the 1904 World's Fair, the one with the giant Ferris wheel, and we still keep many of those photographs. So when a young airmail pilot needed goggles for a long flight, it was a job like any other. It only became history later.
The shop never left the family. Five generations on, it is run by two brothers again, Jack Erker III and Tony Erker, with their father, Jack Erker Jr., still beside them. We are still here, and still the oldest family-owned optical company in the United States.
"Our history is rich. Through trial and error, our family overcame obstacles that once seemed unimaginable, just as the heroes of yesterday did. With Flight, we wanted to craft a collection that honors that spirit of adventure and invites people into a piece of our family's living history."
Jack Erker III, fifth-generation co-owner, Erkers 1879
The short version: the goggles that crossed the Atlantic were made in St. Louis, by a family that is still designing eyewear here.
What colors are in the Flight Collection, and where do they come from?
The Flight colors come from five things Lindbergh would have seen, or worn, in 1927: the silver skin of the airplane, its gold-toned nose, the brown leather of his flying clothes, the olive of aviation gear, and the navy of a night over the ocean.
Start with the plane. The Spirit of St. Louis was covered in doped fabric and painted silver. Its nose panels were polished aluminum, and today they glow a warm gold, which a Smithsonian curator has put down to an early varnish or shellac aging on the metal. Silver that turned gold with time felt like the right idea for a collection about a hundred years.
Then the man inside it: leather helmet, leather coat, khaki and olive gear. And outside the window, for most of a night, nothing but dark water and darker sky.
| From 1927 | Flight colors | Where you'll find them |
|---|---|---|
| The silver airplane | Moon, Grey | Moscow Mills, Blackwater |
| The nose, gone gold | Black Gold, Matte Gold, Gold Black, Copper Gold | Pestalozzi, Loma Linda |
| Flying leathers | Brown, Tortoise, Blonde, Demi | Blackwater, Montrose, Moscow Mills |
| Aviation gear | Fatigue, Algae | Montrose, Moscow Mills |
| Night over the Atlantic | Navy, Matte Navy | Blackwater, Kenna, Pestalozzi |
The collection doesn't stop at history. Alongside these sit warmer and brighter colors, like Rose Gold, Red, Purple Blue and Pink Rose, for the people who would rather carry the story quietly.
At the chair: if a patient asks what a color means, there is usually a 1927 answer.
What frame shapes are in the Flight Collection?
Flight runs from strong rectangles to soft rounds, in acetate and in fine metal, with two oval sunglasses for the people who actually want to look at the sky. Nothing in it looks like a pair of goggles, and that was deliberate. The goggles are the reason for the collection, not a costume for it.
What ties the frames to 1927 is a detail you notice second: a small aviator-cap emblem on the temple tips, a quiet nod to the man in the leather helmet.
Six of the models, and what makes each one itself:
- Blackwater: a rectangle with a flat, confident brow and thick acetate rims. A slim metal accent sits at the hinge, with three pin rivets on the temple. Brown, Matte Black, Navy, Grey.
- Kenna: a soft square in layered acetate, navy on the outside with warm amber glowing through the inside of the rim and temples. A gold accent marks the hinge. Navy, Black Crystal, Red, Purple Blue.
- Moscow Mills: a round tortoise acetate front on slim titanium temples with a fine diamond texture, and adjustable nose pads. Moon, Grey, Algae, Demi.
- Loma Linda: fine metal in a soft cat-eye, with a lacquered rim, adjustable nose pads and translucent temple tips. Rose Gold, Red, Gold Black, Copper Gold.
- Montrose: a small oval sunglass in thick tortoise acetate with brown lenses, and two pin rivets on the front and temple. Tortoise, Fatigue, Black, Blonde.
- Pestalozzi: a metal oval sunglass, a black rim set on gold, with wide, flat titanium temples and gradient lenses. Black Gold, Matte Gold, Matte Navy, Pink Rose.
The rest of the collection is on the Flight Collection page.
In one line: six shapes, two materials, and one detail from 1927 on every temple.
What are Flight frames made of?
Most Flight frames are cut from luxury acetate, and some are fine metal, like Loma Linda and Pestalozzi. Some frames utilize titanium components, and all are finished with custom rivets and custom hinges. Each one goes through a 48-step process and is polished by hand, using our own formula. Like every Erkers frame, Flight is designed by us in St. Louis.
Acetate is a plant-based material, made from cellulose, and it is what gives the frames their depth: the navy-over-amber layers of Kenna, the deep tortoise of Montrose and Moscow Mills, the flat, quiet black of Blackwater. It holds color for years and can be warmed and adjusted by an optician, which matters more than most people realize. Titanium does a different job. It is light and strong, which is why you'll find it in the slim temples of Moscow Mills and Pestalozzi.
The hand polishing is the part you feel rather than see. It decides how the frame sits against the skin, how the edges meet the face and how the hinge closes. Our mission has said the same thing for a long time: high quality fine eyewear that can last a lifetime. The 48 steps are how we try to keep that promise.
How do Flight frames fit?
Flight is built around fit, which has always been our real point of difference. Lindbergh needed goggles that would stay put for thirty-three hours in a cramped, roaring cockpit. A pair of glasses has an easier job, but the principle holds.
Every Flight frame balances three things: a bridge sized to the nose, a temple length scaled to the size of the frame, and weight spread so the frame doesn't slide or pinch. The six models here run from a 47 eye to a 55, so there is a starting point for most faces.
| Model | Eye (mm) | Bridge (mm) | Temple (mm) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Moscow Mills | 47 | 21 | 140 |
| Kenna | 48 | 22 | 145 |
| Montrose (sun) | 51 | 20 | 142 |
| Pestalozzi (sun) | 53 | 20 | 145 |
| Blackwater | 54 | 20 | 150 |
| Loma Linda | 55 | 17 | 145 |
What this means for an optician: Flight comes in a range of sizes, so the story can reach more of your patients.
Why did Erkers take Flight to Paris?
In September 2026, Erkers went to SILMO, the international eyewear show in Paris, for the first time, and we brought Flight with us. Lindbergh landed at Le Bourget. Ninety-nine years later, the family that made his goggles came to the same city to show what it makes now. The founders had left Germany for St. Louis in the 1800s. In a sense, this was the family's first trip back.
The story travelled. It was picked up by press in France, Spain, Latin America and the United States, which tells us something about Lindbergh: a century on, people still want to hear about the man alone over the ocean.
Why does 1927 still matter in 2027?
May 20, 2027, marks one hundred years since Lindbergh took off from Roosevelt Field. It is also our 148th year. Two anniversaries, one city, and a pair of goggles between them.
Every year Erkers tells a new story, and we design the frames to tell it. This year, the story is Flight.
Frequently asked questions
Who made Charles Lindbergh's goggles for the 1927 flight?
The goggles Lindbergh wore on his 1927 New York to Paris flight were designed and made by Erkers, a family optical company founded in St. Louis in 1879. The same family still runs the company today, five generations later. Its 2026 Flight Collection is built around that story.
What is the Erkers Flight Collection?
Flight is a collection of 24 optical and sun designs from Erkers 1879, inspired by Lindbergh's 1927 transatlantic flight in the Spirit of St. Louis. Every frame carries an aviator-cap emblem on the temple tips. Erkers showed it at SILMO Paris in September 2026.
What colors are in the Flight Collection, and where do they come from?
The palette draws on 1927: the silver of the airplane, the gold its nose turned with age, the browns of flying leathers, the olive of aviation gear and the navy of a night over the Atlantic. Look for colors like Moon, Demi, Tortoise, Fatigue, Black Gold and Navy. Warmer colors such as Rose Gold, Red and Pink Rose sit alongside them.
What are Flight frames made of?
Most Flight frames are made from luxury acetate, and some are fine metal. Some frames utilize titanium components, and all are finished with custom rivets and custom hinges. Each frame goes through a 48-step process and is polished by hand.
What frame shapes are in the Flight Collection?
Flight runs from the strong rectangle of Blackwater and the soft square of Kenna to the round Moscow Mills and the fine metal cat-eye of Loma Linda. There are also two oval sunglasses, Montrose in acetate and Pestalozzi in metal.
Where can I buy Erkers Flight frames?
You can find the Flight Collection at our three St. Louis boutiques: Saint Louis Galleria, Ladue Market Place and Eye Roc in the Central West End. Erkers is also carried by independent eye doctors and opticians. Ask your eye doctor for more information on Flight and other Erkers collections.
See Flight in person
Glasses are best when fitted appropriately. Come and try them on. Flight is at all three of our St. Louis boutiques: Saint Louis Galleria, Ladue Market Place and Eye Roc in the Central West End. Outside St. Louis, ask your eye doctor for more information on Flight and other Erkers collections.
For eye doctors and opticians: Flight comes with a story your patients will remember and a range of sizes to fit them. If you would like to carry it, request a rep visit or open an account. We'll bring the frames and the story.
More of the story: The Transatlantic Collection · Our heritage · The full Flight Collection
Sources
- Flight Collection debut, models and craftsmanship: The Spirit of St. Louis Returns to Paris // ERKERS1879, The Optical Journal, September 16, 2026
- Flight models, colorways, materials and sizes: Flight Collection, erkers1879.com
- Flight dates, distance, backers, construction and the gold nose panels: Spirit of St. Louis, Wikipedia (citing the National Air and Space Museum)
- Company history, the goggles and the 1904 World's Fair: Erker's Optical, Wikipedia
- Five generations and the family's history: Our Heritage, erkers.com
- The Transatlantic temple tips: The Transatlantic Collection, erkers1879.com
By Lucas Mendicelli, Marketing & Creative Director, Erkers 1879 · St. Louis · November 2026