Spartan School of Aeronautics
Encyclopedia
Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology (nicknamed Spartan and initially named Spartan School of Aeronautics) is a private college in Tulsa, Oklahoma
that offers training in aviation
and aircraft maintenance. Originally established to augment sales of Spartan Aircraft Company
, it outlived its parent company and continues to train pilots and mechanics into the 21st Century. According to the school web site, it has graduated over 90,000 aircraft technicians and pilots. The main campus is now at 8820 East Pine Street in Tulsa.
, a Tulsa oilman and owner of Spartan Aircraft Company, founded the Spartan School of Aeronautics in 1929. Initially, the purpose of the school was to promote sales of aircraft manufactured by the company. The school was located initially across Apache Street from Tulsa International Airport
.
During the early 1930s, Skelly pledged his share of Spartan Aircraft Company as collateral for a loan from J. Paul Getty
, but Skelly's finances became overextended during the Great Depression. As a result, Getty obtained control of Spartan Aircraft, including the Spartan School in 1935. In 1942, Getty personally took over management of Spartan Aircraft and its school.
The Spartan school was activated as a U. S. Army Air Corps (USAAC) facility on August 1, 1939 as an advanced civilian pilot training school to supplement the Air Corps' few flying training schools. The Air Corps supplied students with training aircraft, flying clothes, textbooks, and equipment. The Air Corps also put a detachment at each school to supervise training. Flying training was performed with Fairchild PT-19s as the primary trainer. The Air Force also supplied several PT-17 Stearmans and a few P-40 Warhawks. Spartan furnished instructors, training sites and facilities, aircraft maintenance, quarters, and mess halls.
Students from the Royal Air Force entered the school on June 7, 1941. The U. S. Army Air Force officially designated Spartan as a British Refresher School.
In 1943, the school reorganized into a College of Aeronautical Engineering, School of Flight, School of Mechanics, School of Meteorology, School of Communications and School of Instruments. In November 1943, the school was selected by the Department of State and the Civil Aeronautics Administration as a training facility for the Inter-American Aviation Mechanic Training program. The first class under this program included 67 students from 12 Latin American countries.
Spartan Aircraft Company reorganized after World War II, renaming itself as Spartan Aero Repair in 1946. It ceased to produce aircraft, though it continued to operate the school. For the next 15 years the parent company made Spartan Trailers instead of aircraft. It closed the Tulsa manufacturing plant in 1961, and renamed Minnehoma Insurance Company. The Spartan tradename was sold to the Spartan school. In 1967, the former Spartan interests were bought by Automation Industries, Inc., which sold them to National Systems Corporation in 1972.
Tulsa, Oklahoma
Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...
that offers training in aviation
Aviation
Aviation is the design, development, production, operation, and use of aircraft, especially heavier-than-air aircraft. Aviation is derived from avis, the Latin word for bird.-History:...
and aircraft maintenance. Originally established to augment sales of Spartan Aircraft Company
Spartan Aircraft Company
The Spartan Aircraft Company was an American aircraft manufacturing company formerly known as Mid-Continent Aircraft Company and reorganized under the Spartan name in 1928 by oil baron William G. Skelly in Tulsa, Oklahoma. The manufacturing plant was on Sheridan Avenue near the Tulsa Municipal...
, it outlived its parent company and continues to train pilots and mechanics into the 21st Century. According to the school web site, it has graduated over 90,000 aircraft technicians and pilots. The main campus is now at 8820 East Pine Street in Tulsa.
History
William G. SkellyWilliam Skelly
William Grove Skelly , often known as Bill or William G. Skelly, was an entrepreneur who made a fortune in the oil business. Born in Erie, Pennsylvania, he moved to Kansas in 1916, then to Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1919, where he founded Skelly Oil Company. By 1923, his company was one of the strongest...
, a Tulsa oilman and owner of Spartan Aircraft Company, founded the Spartan School of Aeronautics in 1929. Initially, the purpose of the school was to promote sales of aircraft manufactured by the company. The school was located initially across Apache Street from Tulsa International Airport
Tulsa International Airport
Tulsa International Airport is a city-owned public-use airport located five miles northeast of downtown Tulsa, a city in Tulsa County, Oklahoma, United States. It was originally named Tulsa Municipal Airport, when the city acquired it in 1929...
.
During the early 1930s, Skelly pledged his share of Spartan Aircraft Company as collateral for a loan from J. Paul Getty
J. Paul Getty
Jean Paul Getty was an American industrialist. He founded the Getty Oil Company, and in 1957 Fortune magazine named him the richest living American, whilst the 1966 Guinness Book of Records named him as the world's richest private citizen, worth an estimated $1,200 million. At his death, he was...
, but Skelly's finances became overextended during the Great Depression. As a result, Getty obtained control of Spartan Aircraft, including the Spartan School in 1935. In 1942, Getty personally took over management of Spartan Aircraft and its school.
The Spartan school was activated as a U. S. Army Air Corps (USAAC) facility on August 1, 1939 as an advanced civilian pilot training school to supplement the Air Corps' few flying training schools. The Air Corps supplied students with training aircraft, flying clothes, textbooks, and equipment. The Air Corps also put a detachment at each school to supervise training. Flying training was performed with Fairchild PT-19s as the primary trainer. The Air Force also supplied several PT-17 Stearmans and a few P-40 Warhawks. Spartan furnished instructors, training sites and facilities, aircraft maintenance, quarters, and mess halls.
Students from the Royal Air Force entered the school on June 7, 1941. The U. S. Army Air Force officially designated Spartan as a British Refresher School.
In 1943, the school reorganized into a College of Aeronautical Engineering, School of Flight, School of Mechanics, School of Meteorology, School of Communications and School of Instruments. In November 1943, the school was selected by the Department of State and the Civil Aeronautics Administration as a training facility for the Inter-American Aviation Mechanic Training program. The first class under this program included 67 students from 12 Latin American countries.
Spartan Aircraft Company reorganized after World War II, renaming itself as Spartan Aero Repair in 1946. It ceased to produce aircraft, though it continued to operate the school. For the next 15 years the parent company made Spartan Trailers instead of aircraft. It closed the Tulsa manufacturing plant in 1961, and renamed Minnehoma Insurance Company. The Spartan tradename was sold to the Spartan school. In 1967, the former Spartan interests were bought by Automation Industries, Inc., which sold them to National Systems Corporation in 1972.