Fs2002 Semi-Historical Scenery Dutch Flats/Ryan Airport

Fs2002 Semi-Historical Scenery Dutch Flats/Ryan Airport. by Christopher Tarana. This airport was established by the founder of Ryan Aircraft, Claude Ryan. According to the AIAA report Historic Aerospace Site. Dutch Flats Airport . As business expanded, Ryan found a new location on a salt flat called Dutch Flats, adjacent to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot. In the spring of 1923, he moved his operations there & paid a $15 per month rental fee. He managed to build a hangar & a small office building. The new location on the corner of Tide Street (later renamed Barnett Avenue) and Midway Drive (a dirt path at the time) provided a boom to business. He offered free plane parking to other pilots & increased his business by hiring a full-time mechanic. His sightseeing business also expanded, and he & his mechanic, Hawley Bowlus, experimented with increasing the size of airplanes to accommodate more passengers. He took on a partner, B. Franklin Mahoney, and on 3/1/25, they debuted the first year-round, regularly-scheduled passenger airline, the Los Angeles - San Diego Air Line. It continued for about a year & a half.