page_title: Spartan Aircraft Company
section_title: Early aircraft
hierarchical_section_title: Spartan Aircraft Company / History / Early aircraft
caption_attribution_description: English: Spartan C3-165 US-built biplane of 1929 at the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome Museum near New York
context_page_description: The Spartan Aircraft Company was an American aircraft manufacturing company, headquartered on Sheridan Avenue near the Tulsa Municipal Airport in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Previously known as Mid-Continent Aircraft Company, the company had been reorganized under the Spartan name in 1928 by oil baron William G. Skelly — and operated until 1961, manufacturing aircraft, aircraft components, and recreational vehicle trailers. The company was known for the luxurious Spartan Executive aircraft produced in the late 1930s and early 1940s — made prominent by owners such as Howard Hughes and King Ghazi of Iraq.
  J. Paul Getty acquired the company from Skelly in 1935. After World War II, Getty ended aircraft production and converted the company to manufacturing trailers under the Spartan Manor brand — subsequently ending all production in 1961.
context_section_description: The first aircraft produced by the Spartan Aircraft Company was the Spartan C3 open-cockpit biplane.  Built in 1926 (first flight 25 October 1926), the C3-1 was the first of a series of variants of the design 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 aircraft were built, using various engines.
  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 1930 Spartan C4.  The C4 was a high-wing monoplane designed for low-maintenance and high-comfort. The Spartan C4 was designed to accommodate large engines of 230 h.p. and more.
caption: Spartan C3-165 of 1929 displayed airworthy at the Rhinebeck Aerodrome Museum near New York in June 2005
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