Lanphier was a friend and business partner of Colonel Charles Lindbergh and was one of Lindbergh's flying instructors. On July 1, 1927, Lanphier flew the Spirit of St. Louis on a single flight in the vicinity of Selfridge Field. Lanphier was the head of the Transcontinental Air Transport Company (Sept 1928) and in 1931 was the president of Bird Aircraft Corporation, the manufacturer of the Brunner-Winkle Bird. He also gave a statement in the aftermath of the Lindbergh kidnapping and piloted an airplane during the search for Lindbergh's son.