Spartan Aircraft Company
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| Incorporated | |
| Industry | Manufacturing |
| Fate | Dissolved |
| Founded | 1928 |
| Founder | William G. Skelly |
| Defunct | 1961 |
| Headquarters | Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States |
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Key people
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| Products | Aircraft, components, travel trailers |
The Spartan Aircraft Company was an American aircraft manufacturing company, headquartered on Sheridan Avenue near the Tulsa Municipal Airport in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Previously known as Mid-Continent Aircraft Company, the company had been reorganized under the Spartan name in 1928 by oil baron William G. Skelly — and operated until 1961, manufacturing aircraft, aircraft components, and recreational vehicle trailers. The company was known for the luxurious Spartan Executive aircraft produced in the late 1930s and early 1940s — made prominent by owners such as Howard Hughes and King Ghazi of Iraq.
J. Paul Getty acquired the company from Skelly in 1935. After World War II, Getty ended aircraft production and converted the company to manufacturing trailers under the Spartan Manor brand — subsequently ending all production in 1961.
Successful oilman William G. Skelly purchased the struggling Mid-Continent Aircraft Manufacturing Company of Tulsa in January, 1928. He renamed the company Spartan Aircraft Company, reorganized it financially and began the Spartan School of Aeronautics. Skelly continued to support the venture during the early years of the Great Depression, while it began producing a line of airplanes. The economic depression strained Skelly's personal finances, and in 1935, J. Paul Getty purchased a controlling interest in the company from Skelly. At the beginning of World War II, Getty assumed direct control of the company operations. He expanded manufacturing by making sub-assemblies for warplanes and opened branches of the Spartan School of Aeronautics in Miami, Muskogee and Ponca City, Oklahoma.
The first aircraft produced by the Spartan Aircraft Company was the Spartan C3 open-cockpit biplane. Built in 1926 (first flight 25 October 1926), the C3-1 was the first of a series of variants of the design for flight schools, sportsman aviators, and Fixed-Base Operators (FBO). The Spartan C3-225 was the last early biplane design produced by the company. At least 160 C-3 aircraft were built, using various engines.
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