Ryan Aeronautical Company
Encyclopedia
The Ryan Aeronautical Company was founded by T. Claude Ryan in San Diego, California
in 1934. Part of Teledyne
after 1969, Northrop Grumman
purchased Teledyne Ryan in 1999. Ryan built several historically and technically significant aircraft, including two famous V/STOL
designs, but its most successful production aircraft would be the Ryan Firebee
line of unmanned drones used as targets and unmanned air vehicles.
's transatlantic Spirit of St. Louis
, actually had no part in building the famous plane other than founding Ryan Airlines in 1925. Ryan had been owner or partner in several previous companies, one of which also bore the name Ryan Aeronautical. The Spirit of St. Louis
, was not built by the final Ryan Aeronautical entity.
The new company's first aircraft was the Ryan ST
or "Sport Trainer", a low-wing tandem-seat monoplane with a 95 hp (71 kW) Menasco B-4 "Pirate" straight-4
engine. Five were built before production switched to the Ryan STA (Aerobatic) with a more powerful 125 hp (93 kW) Menasco C-4 in 1935. This aircraft had enough power for aerobatic display, and it won the 1937 International Aerobatic Championships. A further improved Ryan STA Special was built in 1936, with a supercharged Menasco C-4S with 150 hp (112 kW).
In 1937 and 1938 a second civilian aircraft model was introduced, the Ryan SCW-145 for Sport Coupe, Warner 145 horsepower (108 kW) engine. The SCW was a larger three seater aircraft with a sliding canopy and side-by-side front seating. The prototype SCW was originally powered by a Menasco engine, however prototype testing revealed that more power was needed hence the move to the Warner 145 hp, 7-cylinder radial engine for production models. Thirteen examples of the SCW were built, although the last one was assembled from surplus parts decades after the initial production run was finished.
followed. The Menasco engines proved unreliable, and instead Kinner radial engine
s were fitted. Aircraft were produced as the PT-16 (15 built), PT-20 (30 built), PT-21 (100 USAAF, 100 USN) and finally as the definitive PT-22 Recruit (1,298 built) ordered in 1941 as pilot training began its rapid expansion.
Ryan also pioneered STOL
techniques in its YO-51 Dragonfly observation craft. Three prototypes were built, but no USAAF order came.
s for a short period. It bought the rights to the Navion light aircraft
from North American Aviation
in 1947, selling it to both military and civilian customers.
Ryan became involved in the missile and unmanned aircraft fields, developing the Ryan Firebee
unmanned target drone, the Ryan Firebird (the first air-to-air missile) among others, as well as a number of experimental and research aircraft.
Ryan acquired a 50% stake in Continental Motors Corporation, the aircraft-engine builder, in 1965.
In the 1950s, Ryan was a pioneer in jet vertical flight with the X-13 Vertijet, a tail sitting jet with a delta wing which was not used in production designs. In the early 1960s, Ryan built the XV-5 Vertifan for the U.S. Army, which used wing and nose mounted lift vans for V/STOL
vertical flight. It was flown, crashed after ingesting a test rescue dummy in its fans, and was not made into a production aircraft.
In 1966/67, Ryan was awarded the contract to build the digital Doppler radar
system installed aboard the Apollo Lunar Lander
.
In 1968 the company was acquired by Teledyne
for $128 million and a year later became a wholly owned subsidiary of that company as Teledyne Ryan. Claude Ryan retired as chairman with the Teledyne purchase.
Northrop Grumman
purchased Teledyne Ryan in 1999, with the products continuing to form the core of that firm's unmanned aerial vehicle efforts.
San Diego, California
San Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
in 1934. Part of Teledyne
Teledyne
Teledyne Technologies Incorporated is an industrial conglomerate primarily based in the United States but with global operations. It was founded in 1960, as Teledyne, Inc., by Henry Singleton and George Kozmetsky....
after 1969, Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American global aerospace and defense technology company formed by the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. The company was the fourth-largest defense contractor in the world as of 2010, and the largest builder of naval vessels. Northrop Grumman employs over...
purchased Teledyne Ryan in 1999. Ryan built several historically and technically significant aircraft, including two famous V/STOL
V/STOL
Vertical and/or short take-off and landing is a term used to describe aircraft that are able to take-off or land vertically or on short runways. Vertical takeoff and landing describes craft which do not require runways at all...
designs, but its most successful production aircraft would be the Ryan Firebee
Ryan Firebee
The Ryan Firebee was a series of target drones or unmanned aerial vehicles developed by the Ryan Aeronautical Company beginning in 1951. It was one of the first jet-propelled drones, and one of the most widely-used target drones ever built....
line of unmanned drones used as targets and unmanned air vehicles.
Early aircraft
T.C. Ryan, previously best known for building Charles LindberghCharles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...
's transatlantic Spirit of St. Louis
Spirit of St. Louis
The Spirit of St. Louis is the custom-built, single engine, single-seat monoplane that was flown solo by Charles Lindbergh on May 20–21, 1927, on the first non-stop flight from New York to Paris for which Lindbergh won the $25,000 Orteig Prize.Lindbergh took off in the Spirit from Roosevelt...
, actually had no part in building the famous plane other than founding Ryan Airlines in 1925. Ryan had been owner or partner in several previous companies, one of which also bore the name Ryan Aeronautical. The Spirit of St. Louis
Spirit of St. Louis
The Spirit of St. Louis is the custom-built, single engine, single-seat monoplane that was flown solo by Charles Lindbergh on May 20–21, 1927, on the first non-stop flight from New York to Paris for which Lindbergh won the $25,000 Orteig Prize.Lindbergh took off in the Spirit from Roosevelt...
, was not built by the final Ryan Aeronautical entity.
The new company's first aircraft was the Ryan ST
Ryan ST
The Ryan STs were a series of two seat, low-wing monoplane aircraft built by the Ryan Aeronautical Company. They were used as sport aircraft, as well as trainers by flying schools and the military of several countries.-Design and development:T...
or "Sport Trainer", a low-wing tandem-seat monoplane with a 95 hp (71 kW) Menasco B-4 "Pirate" straight-4
Straight-4
The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is an internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft....
engine. Five were built before production switched to the Ryan STA (Aerobatic) with a more powerful 125 hp (93 kW) Menasco C-4 in 1935. This aircraft had enough power for aerobatic display, and it won the 1937 International Aerobatic Championships. A further improved Ryan STA Special was built in 1936, with a supercharged Menasco C-4S with 150 hp (112 kW).
In 1937 and 1938 a second civilian aircraft model was introduced, the Ryan SCW-145 for Sport Coupe, Warner 145 horsepower (108 kW) engine. The SCW was a larger three seater aircraft with a sliding canopy and side-by-side front seating. The prototype SCW was originally powered by a Menasco engine, however prototype testing revealed that more power was needed hence the move to the Warner 145 hp, 7-cylinder radial engine for production models. Thirteen examples of the SCW were built, although the last one was assembled from surplus parts decades after the initial production run was finished.
USAAC trainers
Interest from the United States Army Air CorpsUnited States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
followed. The Menasco engines proved unreliable, and instead Kinner radial engine
Radial engine
The radial engine is a reciprocating type internal combustion engine configuration in which the cylinders point outward from a central crankshaft like the spokes on a wheel...
s were fitted. Aircraft were produced as the PT-16 (15 built), PT-20 (30 built), PT-21 (100 USAAF, 100 USN) and finally as the definitive PT-22 Recruit (1,298 built) ordered in 1941 as pilot training began its rapid expansion.
Ryan also pioneered STOL
STOL
STOL is an acronym for short take-off and landing, a term used to describe aircraft with very short runway requirements.-Definitions:There is no one accepted definition of STOL and many different definitions have been used by different authorities and nations at various times and for a myriad of...
techniques in its YO-51 Dragonfly observation craft. Three prototypes were built, but no USAAF order came.
Postwar
In the immediate postwar years, Ryan diversified, including even building coffinCoffin
A coffin is a funerary box used in the display and containment of dead people – either for burial or cremation.Contemporary North American English makes a distinction between "coffin", which is generally understood to denote a funerary box having six sides in plan view, and "casket", which...
s for a short period. It bought the rights to the Navion light aircraft
Light aircraft
A light aircraft is an aircraft that has a maximum gross take-off weight of or less.Many aircraft used commercially for freight, sightseeing, photography and scheduled flights are light aircraft.Examples of light aircraft include:...
from North American Aviation
North American Aviation
North American Aviation was a major US aerospace manufacturer, responsible for a number of historic aircraft, including the T-6 Texan trainer, the P-51 Mustang fighter, the B-25 Mitchell bomber, the F-86 Sabre jet fighter, the X-15 rocket plane, and the XB-70, as well as Apollo Command and Service...
in 1947, selling it to both military and civilian customers.
Ryan became involved in the missile and unmanned aircraft fields, developing the Ryan Firebee
Ryan Firebee
The Ryan Firebee was a series of target drones or unmanned aerial vehicles developed by the Ryan Aeronautical Company beginning in 1951. It was one of the first jet-propelled drones, and one of the most widely-used target drones ever built....
unmanned target drone, the Ryan Firebird (the first air-to-air missile) among others, as well as a number of experimental and research aircraft.
Ryan acquired a 50% stake in Continental Motors Corporation, the aircraft-engine builder, in 1965.
In the 1950s, Ryan was a pioneer in jet vertical flight with the X-13 Vertijet, a tail sitting jet with a delta wing which was not used in production designs. In the early 1960s, Ryan built the XV-5 Vertifan for the U.S. Army, which used wing and nose mounted lift vans for V/STOL
V/STOL
Vertical and/or short take-off and landing is a term used to describe aircraft that are able to take-off or land vertically or on short runways. Vertical takeoff and landing describes craft which do not require runways at all...
vertical flight. It was flown, crashed after ingesting a test rescue dummy in its fans, and was not made into a production aircraft.
In 1966/67, Ryan was awarded the contract to build the digital Doppler radar
Doppler radar
A Doppler radar is a specialized radar that makes use of the Doppler effect to produce velocity data about objects at a distance. It does this by beaming a microwave signal towards a desired target and listening for its reflection, then analyzing how the frequency of the returned signal has been...
system installed aboard the Apollo Lunar Lander
Apollo Lunar Module
The Apollo Lunar Module was the lander portion of the Apollo spacecraft built for the US Apollo program by Grumman to carry a crew of two from lunar orbit to the surface and back...
.
In 1968 the company was acquired by Teledyne
Teledyne
Teledyne Technologies Incorporated is an industrial conglomerate primarily based in the United States but with global operations. It was founded in 1960, as Teledyne, Inc., by Henry Singleton and George Kozmetsky....
for $128 million and a year later became a wholly owned subsidiary of that company as Teledyne Ryan. Claude Ryan retired as chairman with the Teledyne purchase.
Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman
Northrop Grumman Corporation is an American global aerospace and defense technology company formed by the 1994 purchase of Grumman by Northrop. The company was the fourth-largest defense contractor in the world as of 2010, and the largest builder of naval vessels. Northrop Grumman employs over...
purchased Teledyne Ryan in 1999, with the products continuing to form the core of that firm's unmanned aerial vehicle efforts.
Ryan aircraft
- Ryan ST/PT-22/NR-1Ryan STThe Ryan STs were a series of two seat, low-wing monoplane aircraft built by the Ryan Aeronautical Company. They were used as sport aircraft, as well as trainers by flying schools and the military of several countries.-Design and development:T...
(successful) - FR FireballFR FireballThe Ryan FR Fireball was a mixed-power fighter aircraft designed by Ryan Aeronautical for the United States Navy during World War II. It was the Navy's first aircraft with jet propulsion. Only 66 aircraft were built before Japan surrendered in August 1945. The FR-1 Fireball equipped a single...
(successful brief military service) - XF2R Dark SharkXF2R Dark Shark-See also:-Bibliography:* Ginter, Steve. Ryan FR-1 Fireball and XF2R-1 Darkshark, Naval Fighters Number 28. Simi Valley, CA: Ginter Books, 1995. ISBN 0-942612-28-0....
(unsuccessful) - VZ-3 VertiplaneVZ-3 Vertiplane|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Andrade, John M. U.S. Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909. Earl Shilton, Leicester, UK: Midland Counties Publications, 1979, p. 178. ISBN 0-904597-22-9....
(experimental) - X-13 Vertijet (experimental)
- XV-5 Vertifan (experimental)
- Ryan FirebeeRyan FirebeeThe Ryan Firebee was a series of target drones or unmanned aerial vehicles developed by the Ryan Aeronautical Company beginning in 1951. It was one of the first jet-propelled drones, and one of the most widely-used target drones ever built....
(successful drone) - YO-51 Dragonfly (prototypes)
- Ryan XV-8Ryan XV-8The V-8 designation was re-used by the U.S. armed forces to refer to the AV-8 Harrier. This was an unrelated project.The V-8 designation was re-used by the U.S. armed forces to refer to the AV-8 Harrier. This was an unrelated project....
(flex-wing prototype)