News

In the spring of 1965 I was an Air Force navigator preparing to leave active duty just as the major airlines were beginning to hire civilian pilots with low flight time.  I was aware that these rare windows of opportunity were of short duration and for me time was imperative.   In my five years of […]

As reported in the Tulsa World on August 28th, Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology has signed a $12 million, five-year contract to provide training to the United States Air Force. The program, similar to one Spartan participated in during the Iraq war, will prepare about 30 USAF personnel annually to work in Afghanistan as Air Force […]

Entering the world of aviation is like entering another country. It has its own people, its own customs—and its own language. This article provides a sample of some of aviation’s most common terms, with definitions. ATP (Airline Transport Pilot): The pilot certificate requiring the highest level of experience and skill, required for captains working for major […]

The Spartan News, published during the War years, documented the contributions of women pilots during that time, and the openness with which Spartan accepted them as equal partners in the war effort. Tulsa Women Organize Air Corps Unit Now Training at Spartan “The local branch of the Women’s National Aeronautics Association has recently completed arrangements […]

The British Are Coming! (1941-1945)“Captain Maxwell Balfour, his piercing black eyes scanning the motley crew, gave them their first official greeting in the U.S. ‘Welcome to Tulsa.’, he said, ‘Climb on that bus and we’ll take you to breakfast’. The British had come to Spartan.”“One of five flying cadet schools to be operated in the […]

The memorial as it stands at the Tulsa International Airport today. “During World War II, 16,000 young men of the United States and Allied Nations received flight training at the Tulsa Municipal Airport and subsidiary fields. Of these, 14,000 were trained by Spartan School of Aeronautics and 2,000 by the United States Army. In memory of these […]

J. Paul Getty took ownership of Spartan in the 1930′s and inspected the Spartan Factory and School for the first time on December 7, 1939. Peek writes, “(Getty) was greatly impressed by ‘captain’ Max Balfour. He was running a . . . school training hundreds of army cadets, and appeared to be the kind of […]

August 21, 2012 – A Boeing 727-200F aircraft from FedEx Express, a subsidiary of FedEx Corp.     (NYSE: FDX) was donated at the North Campus at Tulsa International Airport. College and  Community leaders gathered to celebrate this generous donation to Spartan College of Aeronautics and Technology.  A tour of the aircraft followed its arrival. “As we retire […]

Not only has Spartan contributed to the evolution of the aviation industry by training highly skilled pilots and aircraft technicians. Spartan has also had a history in manufacturing quality aircraft. The aviation school is the only college in the nation to have also been involved in the manufacturing as well as development of new airplanes. 1927 […]

Spartan College has a rich history.The below outlines some of our aviation college’s more historic events. 1928 – Spartan School of Aeronautics was founded September 27, 1928, by W.G. Skelly, President of Skelly Oil Company. He established Spartan Aircraft Company and formed the corporation that built Tulsa Municipal Airport (now called Tulsa International Airport). 1942 – Spartan was […]