Spartan Aircraft Company

Infobox Company
company_name = Spartan Aircraft Company
company_
company_type = Incorporated
foundation = 1928 (now defunct)
location = Tulsa, Oklahoma
key_people = William G. Skelly: Founder
Brent Mills: Former CEO
industry = Manufacturing
products = Aircraft, Components & Trailers
num_employees =
homepage =

The Spartan Aircraft Company was an American aircraft manufacturing company founded in 1928 in by oil baron William G. Skelly in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Spartan built a number of different products before the closing its factories in 1961, including aircraft, aircraft components, and recreational vehicle trailers. Spartan was best known for the luxurious Spartan Executive aircraft produced in the late 1930s and early 1940s, made famous by such owners as Howard Hughes, Paul Getty and King Ghazi of Iraq.

Early History

Like many large American companies of the time, Spartan's roots can be traced to oil. In 1905, an oil gusher named No. 1 Ida Glenn sprung up just southeast of Tulsa. What was initially thought to be a localized small gusher turned out to be a fairly large oil reserve large enough to establish companies such as Getty Oil, Gulf Oil, Standard Oil (Exxon), Sinclair Oil and Skelly Oil. Through the "Roaring Twenties," much innovation took place allowing further improvement of existing and recently-introduced technologies. Of those made wealthy by the Tulsa oil boom, William G. Skelly stepped forward and used his considerable new wealth to found the Spartan Aircraft Company in 1928. J. Paul Getty, impressed by the rapid growth and efficiency of Spartan's manufacturing facilities, would later purchase the company from Skelly in 1935.

Early Aircraft

The first aircraft produced by the Spartan Aircraft Company was the Spartan C3-1 open-cockpit biplane. Built in 1926 (first flight 25 October, 1926), the C3-1 was the first of a series of biplanes produced 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's with different engines were built. 1930 saw the production of Spartan's first monoplane design, the Spartan C2-60. Designed for the sportsman flier, the C2-60 was a lightweight design with a small 60 h.p. engine. Using many of C2-60's characteristics, Spartan produced the heavier, more powerful C2-165 low-wing monoplane. Unpopular with the military due to the view-obstructing low-wing design, the C2-165 was primarily used for civilian training purposes. Improvements in Spartan's manufacturing and technology was evident in the 1931 Spartan C4-300. The C4-300 was a high-wing monoplane designed for low-maintenance, high-comfort, and the best possible performance available for the time. The Spartan C4-300 was designed to accommodate large engines of 230 h.p. and more.

Spartan Executive 7W

The most popular aircraft ever produced by the Spartan Aircraft Company, the Spartan Executive Model 7W was a direct result of founder William Skelly's vision for an aircraft designed to accommodate the luxury and performance expected by the world's wealthier individuals. Powered by a 450 h.p. Pratt & Whitney Wasp Jr. engine, the Executive was Spartan's first attempt at an all-metal aircraft design using monocoque technology. The large engine and aerodynamic airframe allowed for a then-remarkable convert|200|mi|km|-1|sing=on an hour cruise speed, a range of over convert|1000|nmi|km|-3 and a convert|22000|ft|m|-2|abbr=on. service ceiling. The Executive's high-performance design was clearly evident in the 1939 Bendix race, in which the stock design aircraft won the trophy with speeds of nearly 197 miles per hour. Owing to the aircraft design mission to satisfy wealthy owners, the 34 7W's produced met a very wealthy and diverse audience of owners.

Based directly on the high-performance design of the civilian Spartan 7W, a military version of the aircraft was developed to meet military needs for high-performance reconnaissance and training aircraft. This re-designed model was named the Spartan Zeus 8W and featured a powerful Pratt & Whitney Wasp 600 h.p. engine.

End of Aircraft Manufacturing

The last aircraft to be developed by the Spartan Aircraft Company was the Spartan NP-1 biplane. The NP-1 was a throwback to earlier aircraft in appearance, though the technology used in the aircraft's construction was certainly more advanced than the wire and fabric used in Spartan's early biplane designs. Built as a Navy trainer, the Spartan NP-1 featured a lightweight open-cockpit construction with a Lycoming R-680-B4C 225 h.p. engine.

Spartan Leisure Trailers

Owning to the increased competition of the aircraft business following World War II, owner J. Paul Getty and Spartan upper-management decided to change the company's product line to meet the skyrocketing demand for housing and leisure. Using the same internally-braced and space-saving monocoque design of the Spartan Executive 7W, the company produced its first all-metal trailer. The company followed in the footsteps of previous design strategies and aimed to become the most lavish and full-featured trailers produced in the United States. Through the 1940s and 1950s, Spartan produced what would quickly become known as the "Cadillac" of trailers, commanding prices upwards of $4000 each. Considering the average home cost in the Unites States at this time was $8000, Spartan trailers were deemed expensive, and like the Spartan Executive 7W, available to the select and wealthy few.

Factories Close

After 33 years of manufacturing powerful aircraft and luxurious trailers, the Spartan Aircraft Company closed its manufacturing facilities and entered the insurance and financial business under the name Minnehoma Insurance Co. The Spartan name was sold to the Spartan School of Aeronautics, which still exists today.

External links

* [http://www.threepeakspub.com "The Spartan Story" by Chet Peek - Book covering the history of Bill Skelly, The Spartan School, and The Spartan Aircraft Co.]