T. Claude Ryan
| T. Claude Ryan | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
January 3, 1898 Parsons, Kansas |
| Died | September 11, 1982 (aged 84) |
| Occupation | Aviator, aerospace engineer |
Tubal Claude Ryan (January 3, 1898 – September 11, 1982) was an Irish-American aviator born in Parsons, Kansas. Ryan was best known for founding several airlines and aviation factories.
Ryan began his flying career in 1917 when he enrolled in the American School of Aviation at Venice, California. After making his first solo flight, he was accepted into the Army Air Service with an under-age waiver. The day that he was to report to the recruiting station, the armistice was signed, ending his prospects for a military flying career. Instead, Ryan went to Oregon State College and studied Engineering for less than a year, then was accepted into the Aeronautical Division of the U.S. Army (later known as the United States Army Air Corps). With the Army, Ryan learned to fly at March Field, California, where he graduated in 1921 with a pursuit pilot rating. Ryan flew forestry patrol duty until his enlistment ended in 1922. Ryan then went to San Diego and sold barnstorming rides to pay for a military surplus Curtiss JN-4 Jenny.
Ryan's first employee was William Hawley Bowlus, who had been the mechanic at the first flying school Ryan attended. One of his students was a wealthy young stock broker and real-estate developer named Benjamin Franklin Mahoney. Ryan sold half of the Ryan Flying Company to B. F. Mahoney on April 25, 1925. With Mahoney's funding, they bought Donald Douglas's first complete aircraft, the Douglas Cloudster," which Douglas had built to attempt the first non-stop transcontinental flight. A broken engine part grounded that flight in El Paso, Texas and by the time they had made the necessary repairs, a pair of military pilots accomplished the feat in a Fokker.
Bowlus modified the Cloudster to carry 10 passengers. With the modified Cloudster and three Standards that Bowlus had modified to carry four passengers each, they founded "The San Diego - Los Angeles Airlines," the first all-year airplane passenger service in the United States. It began operation on March 1, 1925 ferrying passengers on a regular schedule between San Diego, California and Los Angeles, California.
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