Ryan Aeronautical: Difference between revisions

Ryan Aeronautical Company
Founded	1934
Founder	T. Claude Ryan
Defunct	1969/1999
Fate	Merged with Teledyne
Successor	Northrop Grumman
Headquarters	San Diego, California

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The Ryan Aeronautical Company was founded by T. Claude Ryan in San Diego, California, in 1934. It became part of Teledyne in 1969, and of Northrop Grumman when the latter company purchased Ryan in 1999. Ryan built several historically and technically significant aircraft, including four innovative V/STOL designs, but its most successful production aircraft was the Ryan Firebee line of unmanned drones used as target drones and unmanned air vehicles.^[1]

History

Early history

In 1922, T.C. Ryan founded a flying service in San Diego that would lead to several aviation ventures bearing the Ryan name, including Ryan Airline Company founded in 1925.^[2]

T.C. Ryan, whose previous companies were best known for building Charles Lindbergh's transatlantic Spirit of St. Louis, actually had no part in building the famous aircraft.^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8] 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.^[9]

The new company's first aircraft was the S-T Sport Trainer,^[10] 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 ST-A Aerobatic with a more powerful 125 hp (93 kW) Menasco C-4 in 1935. This aircraft now had enough power for aerobatic display, and it won the 1937 International Aerobatic Championships. A further improved ST-A Special was built in 1936, with a supercharged 150 hp (110 kW) Menasco C-4S.

In 1937 and 1938, a second civilian aircraft model was introduced, the S-C Sport Coupe, or SC-W with a 145 hp (108 kW) Warner Super Scarab radial engine. The SC-W was a larger three-seater aircraft with a sliding canopy and side-by-side front seating. The prototype SC-M was originally powered by a Menasco C-4 inline engine, however testing revealed that more power was needed. Thirteen examples of the SC-W 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 Corps followed. The Menasco engines proved unreliable, and instead Kinner radial engines 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 (1,048 built) ordered in 1941 as pilot training began its rapid expansion.

Ryan also pioneered STOL techniques in its YO-51 Dragonfly liaison and observation craft, but only three.^[11]

Postwar

In the immediate postwar years, Ryan bought the rights to the Navion light aircraft from North American Aviation, selling it to both military and civilian customers.^[11]^{: 222–225}

Ryan became involved in the missile and unmanned aircraft fields, developing the Ryan Firebee unmanned target drone, the Ryan Firebird (the first American 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.^[12]

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 vanes for V/STOL vertical flight. Other Ryan V/STOL designs included the VZ-3 Vertiplane.^[11]^{: 226–235}

Ryan developed the highly accurate radar system used on the Apollo Lunar Module.^[11]^{: 237–238}

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 Aeronautical Company.^[11]^: 237

Northrop Grumman purchased Teledyne Ryan in 1999, with the products continuing to form the core of that firm's unmanned aerial vehicle efforts.

Products

Aircraft

Model name	First flight	Number built	Type
Ryan M-1	1926	36	Mail plane
Ryan ST, PT-22 Recruit	1934	1994	Trainer
Ryan S-C	1937	14	Light passenger aircraft
Ryan YO-51 Dragonfly	1940	3	STOL scout
Ryan FR Fireball	1944	66	Piston-jet fighter
Ryan XF2R Dark Shark	1946	1	Turboprop fighter
Ryan Navion	1948	1202	Light passenger aircraft; military liaison
Ryan X-13 Vertijet	1955	2	Experimental vertical takeoff
Ryan Firebee	1955	xx	Target drone
Ryan VZ-3 Vertiplane	1959	1	Experimental V/STOL
Ryan Model 147	1960s		Drone
Ryan XV-8	1961	1	Flex wing
Ryan XV-5 Vertifan	1964	2	VTOL
Ryan AQM-91 Firefly	1968	28	Reconnaissance drone
Ryan YQM-98	1974		Reconnaissance drone
Teledyne Ryan Scarab	1988		Reconnaissance drone
Teledyne Ryan 410	1988		Reconnaissance drone
BQM-145 Peregrine	1992		Reconnaissance drone

Missiles

References

^ "Ryan Aeronautical Had Big Plans for the Vertifan Jump Jet". The Drive. May 3, 2017.
^ Gill Rob Wilson (July 1954). "Genealogy of American Aircraft". Flying Magazine.
^ Spirit and Creator: The Mysterious Man Behind Lindbergh's Flight to Paris by Nova Hall
^ The Untold Story of the Spirit of St. Louis by Ev Cassagneres
^ "Image: letter_fromCal01-1939-post1970.jpg, (468 × 600 px)". charleslindbergh.com. Retrieved 2015-09-04.
^ "Image: letter_fromCal02-1939-post1970.jpg, (462 × 596 px)". charleslindbergh.com. Retrieved 2015-09-04.
^ "Image: letter_fromCal03-1939-post1970.jpg, (466 × 600 px)". charleslindbergh.com. Retrieved 2015-09-04.
^ "Image: letter_fromCal04-1939-post1970.jpg, (462 × 600 px)". charleslindbergh.com. Retrieved 2015-09-04.
^ "Photos: Ryan Field west of Tucson". Arizona Daily Star. July 19, 2018.
^ Cassagneres, Ev (1995). The New Ryan: Development and History of the Ryan ST and SC. Eagan: Flying Books International. pp. Introduction, 1–19, 52. ISBN 9780911139204.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e Cassagneres, Ev (1982). The Spirit of Ryan. Blue Ridge Summit: TAB BOOKS Inc. pp. 208–210.
^ Leyes, Richard A., and William A. Fleming, The History of North American Small Gas Turbine Aircraft Engines, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 1999: p.143 ISBN 1-56347-332-1

External links

[1] "Ryan Aeronautical Had Big Plans for the Vertifan Jump Jet". The Drive. May 3, 2017.

[2] Gill Rob Wilson (July 1954). "Genealogy of American Aircraft". Flying Magazine.

[3] Spirit and Creator: The Mysterious Man Behind Lindbergh's Flight to Paris by Nova Hall

[4] The Untold Story of the Spirit of St. Louis by Ev Cassagneres

[charleslindbergh-5] "Image: letter_fromCal01-1939-post1970.jpg, (468 × 600 px)". charleslindbergh.com. Retrieved 2015-09-04.

[charleslindbergh2-6] "Image: letter_fromCal02-1939-post1970.jpg, (462 × 596 px)". charleslindbergh.com. Retrieved 2015-09-04.

[charleslindbergh3-7] "Image: letter_fromCal03-1939-post1970.jpg, (466 × 600 px)". charleslindbergh.com. Retrieved 2015-09-04.

[charleslindbergh4-8] "Image: letter_fromCal04-1939-post1970.jpg, (462 × 600 px)". charleslindbergh.com. Retrieved 2015-09-04.

[9] "Photos: Ryan Field west of Tucson". Arizona Daily Star. July 19, 2018.

[ev-10] Cassagneres, Ev (1995). The New Ryan: Development and History of the Ryan ST and SC. Eagan: Flying Books International. pp. Introduction, 1–19, 52. ISBN 9780911139204.

[ec-11] Cassagneres, Ev (1982). The Spirit of Ryan. Blue Ridge Summit: TAB BOOKS Inc. pp. 208–210.

[12] Leyes, Richard A., and William A. Fleming, The History of North American Small Gas Turbine Aircraft Engines, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 1999: p.143 ISBN 1-56347-332-1

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@@ Line 15: / Line 15: @@
 The '''Ryan Aeronautical Company''' was founded by [[T. Claude Ryan]] in [[San Diego, California]], in 1934. It became part of [[Teledyne]] in 1969, and of [[Northrop Grumman]] when the latter company purchased Ryan in 1999. Ryan built several historically and technically significant aircraft, including four innovative [[V/STOL]] designs, but its most successful production aircraft was the [[Ryan Firebee]] line of unmanned drones used as [[target drone]]s and [[unmanned air vehicle]]s.<ref>{{cite news|url = https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/9903/ryan-aeronautical-had-big-plans-for-the-vertifan-jump-jet| title = Ryan Aeronautical Had Big Plans for the Vertifan Jump Jet|date= May 3, 2017|work = The Drive}}</ref>
-==Early history==
+==History==
+=== Early history ===
-In 1922, T.C. Ryan founded a flying service in San Diego that would lead to several aviation ventures bearing the Ryan name, including [[Ryan Airline Company]] founded in 1925.<ref>{{cite journal|magazine=Flying Magazine|date=July 1954|title=Genealogy of American Aircraft|author=Gill Rob Wilson}}</ref>
+In 1922, T.C. Ryan founded a flying service in San Diego that would lead to several aviation ventures bearing the Ryan name, including [[Ryan Airline Company]] founded in 1925.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Flying Magazine|date=July 1954|title=Genealogy of American Aircraft|author=Gill Rob Wilson}}</ref>
 T.C. Ryan, whose previous companies were best known for building [[Charles Lindbergh]]'s transatlantic ''[[Spirit of St. Louis]]'', actually had no part in building the famous aircraft.<ref><u>Spirit and Creator: The Mysterious Man Behind Lindbergh's Flight to Paris</u> by Nova Hall</ref><ref>The Untold Story of the Spirit of St. Louis by Ev Cassagneres</ref><ref name="charleslindbergh">{{cite web|url=http://www.charleslindbergh.com/hall/3/letter_fromCal01-1939-post1970.jpg|title=Image: letter_fromCal01-1939-post1970.jpg, (468 × 600 px)|publisher=charleslindbergh.com|access-date=2015-09-04}}</ref><ref name="charleslindbergh2">{{cite web|url=http://www.charleslindbergh.com/hall/3/letter_fromCal02-1939-post1970.jpg|title=Image: letter_fromCal02-1939-post1970.jpg, (462 × 596 px)|publisher=charleslindbergh.com|access-date=2015-09-04}}</ref><ref name="charleslindbergh3">{{cite web|url=http://www.charleslindbergh.com/hall/3/letter_fromCal03-1939-post1970.jpg|title=Image: letter_fromCal03-1939-post1970.jpg, (466 × 600 px)|publisher=charleslindbergh.com|access-date=2015-09-04}}</ref><ref name="charleslindbergh4">{{cite web|url=http://www.charleslindbergh.com/hall/3/letter_fromCal04-1939-post1970.jpg|title=Image: letter_fromCal04-1939-post1970.jpg, (462 × 600 px)|publisher=charleslindbergh.com|access-date=2015-09-04}}</ref>  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.<ref>{{cite news|url = https://tucson.com/news/retrotucson/photos-ryan-field-west-of-tucson/collection_a3d5dfb2-8ad9-11e8-98df-4ffcee093bb4.html| title = Photos: Ryan Field west of Tucson|date= July 19, 2018| work = Arizona Daily Star}}</ref>
-The new company's first aircraft was the [[Ryan ST|S-T Sport Trainer]], a low-wing tandem-seat monoplane with a {{cvt|95|hp}} [[Menasco B-4 Pirate]] [[straight-4]] engine. Five were built before production switched to the '''[[Ryan ST|Ryan ST-A Aerobatic]]''' with a more powerful {{cvt|125|hp}}  [[Menasco C-4]] in 1935. This aircraft now had enough power for aerobatic display, and it won the 1937 International Aerobatic Championships. A further improved '''ST-A Special''' was built in 1936, with a supercharged {{cvt|150|hp}} [[Menasco C-4S]].
+The new company's first aircraft was the [[Ryan ST|S-T Sport Trainer]],<ref name="ev">{{cite book |last1=Cassagneres |first1=Ev |title=The New Ryan: Development and History of the Ryan ST and SC |date=1995 |publisher=Flying Books International |location=Eagan |isbn=9780911139204 |pages=Introduction,1–19, 52}}</ref> a low-wing tandem-seat monoplane with a {{cvt|95|hp}} [[Menasco B-4 Pirate]] [[straight-4]] engine. Five were built before production switched to the [[Ryan ST|Ryan ST-A Aerobatic]] with a more powerful {{cvt|125|hp}}  [[Menasco C-4]] in 1935. This aircraft now had enough power for aerobatic display, and it won the 1937 International Aerobatic Championships. A further improved ST-A Special was built in 1936, with a supercharged {{cvt|150|hp}} [[Menasco C-4S]].
-In 1937 and 1938, a second civilian aircraft model was introduced, the '''[[Ryan SC|S-C Sport Coupe]]''', or SC-W with a {{cvt|145|hp}}[[Warner Super Scarab]] radial engine. The SC-W was a larger three-seater aircraft with a sliding canopy and side-by-side front seating. The prototype SC-M was originally powered by a [[Menasco C-4]] inline engine, however testing revealed that more power was needed. Thirteen examples of the SC-W were built, although the last one was assembled from surplus parts decades after the initial production run was finished.
+In 1937 and 1938, a second civilian aircraft model was introduced, the [[Ryan S-C|S-C Sport Coupe]], or SC-W with a {{cvt|145|hp}} [[Warner Super Scarab]] radial engine. The SC-W was a larger three-seater aircraft with a sliding canopy and side-by-side front seating. The prototype SC-M was originally powered by a [[Menasco C-4]] inline engine, however testing revealed that more power was needed. Thirteen examples of the SC-W were built, although the last one was assembled from surplus parts decades after the initial production run was finished.
-== USAAC trainers ==
+=== USAAC trainers ===
+[[File:Ryan Aeronautical Company logo 1960.png|thumb|Ryan Aeronautical Company logo (1960–1969)]]
 Interest from the [[United States Army Air Corps]] 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]] (1,048 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 materialized.
+Ryan also pioneered [[STOL]] techniques in its [[YO-51 Dragonfly]] liaison and observation craft, but only three.<ref name="ec">{{cite book |last1=Cassagneres |first1=Ev |title=The Spirit of Ryan |date=1982 |publisher=TAB BOOKS Inc. |location=Blue Ridge Summit |pages=208–210}}</ref>
-== Postwar ==
+=== Postwar ===
+[[File:Teledyne-Ryan AQM-34N Firebee, 1962 - Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum - McMinnville, Oregon - DSC00908.jpg|thumb|right|Ryan AQM-34N Firebee, 1962 - [[Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum]] - [[McMinnville, Oregon]]]]
-[[File:Ryan Aeronautical Company logo 1960.png|thumb|Ryan Aeronautical Company logo (1960–1969)]]
-In the immediate postwar years, Ryan diversified, including even building [[coffin]]s for a short period. It bought the rights to the [[North American/Ryan Navion|Navion]] [[light aircraft]] from [[North American Aviation]] in 1947, selling it to both military and civilian customers.
+In the immediate postwar years, Ryan bought the rights to the [[North American/Ryan Navion|Navion]] [[light aircraft]] from [[North American Aviation]], selling it to both military and civilian customers.<ref name=ec/>{{rp|222–225}}
 Ryan became involved in the missile and unmanned aircraft fields, developing the [[Ryan Firebee]] unmanned target drone, the [[Ryan Firebird]] (the first American air-to-air missile) among others, as well as a number of experimental and research aircraft.
@@ Line 37: / Line 39: @@
 Ryan acquired a 50% stake in [[Continental Motors Corporation]], the aircraft-engine builder, in 1965.<ref>Leyes, Richard A., and William A. Fleming, The History of North American Small Gas Turbine Aircraft Engines, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 1999: p.143 {{ISBN|1-56347-332-1}}</ref>
-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 vanes for [[V/STOL]] vertical flight. It was flown, crashing after ingesting a test rescue dummy in its fans, and was not made into a production aircraft. Other Ryan [[V/STOL]] designs included the [[VZ-3 Vertiplane]] and the [[YO-51 Dragonfly]].
+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 vanes for [[V/STOL]] vertical flight. Other Ryan [[V/STOL]] designs included the [[VZ-3 Vertiplane]].<ref name=ec/>{{rp|226–235}}
-In 1966/67, Ryan was awarded the contract to build the digital [[Doppler radar]] system installed aboard the [[Apollo Lunar Module|Apollo Lunar Lander]].
+Ryan developed the highly accurate radar system used on the [[Apollo Lunar Module]].<ref name=ec/>{{rp|237–238}}
-In 1968, the company was acquired by [[Teledyne]] for $128&nbsp;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.
+In 1968, the company was acquired by [[Teledyne]] for $128&nbsp;million and a year later became a wholly owned subsidiary of that company as Teledyne Ryan Aeronautical Company.<ref name=ec/>{{rp|237}}
 [[Northrop Grumman]] purchased Teledyne Ryan in 1999, with the products continuing to form the core of that firm's unmanned aerial vehicle efforts.
-== Aircraft ==
+== Products ==
+=== Aircraft ===
 {| class="wikitable sortable"
 |-
@@ Line 58: / Line 59: @@
 |align=center| 1926
 |align=center| 36
-|align=left| Mailplane
+|align=left| Mail plane
 |-
 |align=left| [[Ryan ST]], [[Ryan PT-22 Recruit|PT-22 Recruit]]
@@ Line 68: / Line 69: @@
 |align=center| 1937
 |align=center| 14
-|align=left| Cabin monoplane
+|align=left| Light passenger aircraft
 |-
 |align=left| [[Ryan YO-51 Dragonfly]]
@@ Line 78: / Line 79: @@
 |align=center| 1944
 |align=center| 66
-|align=left| Piston-Jet Fighter
+|align=left| Piston-jet fighter
 |-
 |align=left| [[Ryan XF2R Dark Shark]]
 |align=center| 1946
 |align=center| 1
-|align=left| Turboprop Fighter
+|align=left| Turboprop fighter
 |-
 |align=left| [[Ryan Navion]]
 |align=center| 1948
 |align=center| 1202
-|align=left| Light single engine
+|align=left| Light passenger aircraft; military liaison
 |-
 |align=left| [[Ryan X-13 Vertijet]]
@@ Line 98: / Line 99: @@
 |align=center| 1955
 |align=center| xx
-|align=left| Target Drone
+|align=left| Target drone
 |-
 |align=left| [[Ryan VZ-3 Vertiplane]]
 |align=center| 1959
 |align=center| 1
-|align=left| Experimental VSTOL
+|align=left| Experimental V/STOL
 |-
 |align=left| [[Ryan Model 147]]
@@ Line 148: / Line 149: @@
 |}
-== Missiles ==
+=== Missiles ===
 * [[AAM-A-1 Firebird]]
 * [[ADM-160 MALD]]
-== See Also ==
+== See also ==
 * [[Ryan Airfield]]

v t e Northrop Grumman
Subsidiaries	Scaled Composites
Products	ADM-160 MALD AGM-88E AARGM AGM-88G AARGM-ER Antares (rocket) AN/AAQ-37 AN/APG-77 AN/APG-78 Longbow AN/APG-80 AN/APG-81 AN/APG-83 AN/APG-85 AN/APY-2 AN/SPQ-9B AN/TPQ-36 Firefinder radar AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar AN/ZPY-1 Battlefield Airborne Communications Node Cygnus (spacecraft) Ground Based Strategic Deterrent IMETS James Webb Space Telescope MESA radar Mission Extension Vehicle Northrop BQM-74 Chukar Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider Northrop Grumman E-2 Hawkeye Northrop Grumman E-8 Joint STARS Northrop Grumman EA-6B Prowler Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton Northrop Grumman MQ-8 Fire Scout Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk Nautilus Deep Space Observatory Northrop Grumman Guardian OmegA
Antecedents & former assets	Grumman Litton Industries Northrop Corporation Los Angeles Assembly Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems Sperry Marine Northrop Grumman Northrop Grumman Ship Systems Ingalls Shipbuilding Newport News Shipbuilding The Apprentice School Orbital ATK Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems Ryan Aeronautical Xetron
People	Jack Northrop Leroy Grumman Wesley G. Bush Burt Rutan T. Claude Ryan Kathy J. Warden

v t e Aircraft produced by Ryan Aeronautical and Ryan Airline Company
Ryan Airline Company	Standard J Cloudster M-1 M-2 NYP (Spirit of St. Louis)
Commercial	Brougham Foursome S-C S-T Navion
Fighters	FR XF2R
Observation	L-10 YO-51
Trainers	NR YPT-16 PT-20 PT-21 PT-22 PT-25
Drones/Missiles	Firebee AAM-A-1 Firebird AQM-34 AQM-91 YQM-98 Model 147
Experimental/ Research	X-13 VZ-3 XV-5 XV-8

v t e Teledyne
Subsidiaries	Mattituck Services Teledyne Controls Teledyne CARIS Teledyne DALSA Teledyne Turbine Engines Teledyne FLIR Wah Chang Corporation
People	George Kozmetsky Donald Rice Henry Earl Singleton
Related	Allegheny Technologies Water Pik

Authority control databases
International	VIAF
National	United States