With the introduction of the Cirrus SR22T in 2010, general aviation had a truly modern, high-flying, personal airplane that could fly at over 200 mph and make reliable long-distance travel a reality for the single-engine piston set. However, if we turn back the clock nearly 90 years, wealthy Tulsa, Oklahoma, oil magnate William Skelly created an airplane that matched each of these achievements. He called it the Spartan Executive.
The 1930s are often regarded as the golden age of aviation. Despite the hardships of the Great Depression, airline travel was coming of age with the arrival of the fast, safe, and comfortable Douglas DC-3. Air racing was in the headlines, with the Thompson, Bendix, and Schneider trophy races regularly won at speeds in excess of the front-line military biplane fighters of the time.
However, the rudimentary road systems, nearly three decades before the arrival of the first interstate highways, and the needs of those wealthy enough to afford private travel to far-flung business interests, produced some remarkable airplanes. The classic Beech Staggerwing, Howard DGA series, Stinson Reliant, and the Fairchild Model 45, all constructed of traditional materials, provided speed and comfort. However, Skelly, founder and president of Skelly Oil, decided to move GA into the future with the Spartan Executive.
Today, as in the late 1930s, a [Spartan]…
Source www.planeandpilotmag.com
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