When was embry riddle founded

The Embry-Riddle Company was founded over 90 years ago to promote aviation through airmail carrier, aircraft sales, teaching the daring to fly, providing thrill rides, performing air shows, and even transporting passengers on their scheduled mail routes.

From a desk in a hotel lobby, the company is credited with operating the first air travel agency, having organized other mail carriers and selling their passenger space. A year later, Embry left the company and retired to California, where he lived until his death in Louis where it was merged into a new division called American Airways, leading the original Embry-Riddle Company to cease its independent enterprise for a few years. Riddle moved to New York, then to Dallas, and on to St. Louis, the new headquarters of American Airways.

After less than a year in St. Louis with the fledgling airline, Riddle left the company in and moved to Florida — a location and climate he thought offered tremendous potential for aviation. He envisioned Miami as the gateway to South America, a new horizon for aviation.

Between his arrival in South Florida and , Riddle had opened three aviation companies. They named it Embry-Riddle School of Aviation. The charismatic Riddle was known to anyone who had interests in aviation. His friend Howard Hughes even asked him to act as tour guide and escort to his friend, film actress Jane Russell, while Hughes was busy making his deals. These were captivating times in a fashionable city, but the looming opportunity was anything but glamorous.

War drums were becoming deafening across the Atlantic and growing louder in the Pacific. Riddle and McKay readied the school to train pilots and mechanics. Each had long believed that if another war were to break out, airplanes would play a major role.

Pearl Harbor proved them right. Training facilities had already expanded to four sites and cadets poured in from the Army Air Corps and the Royal Air Force. Five hundred cadets could be trained during each nine-week course that included 60 flight hours. There was also an Instrument Department to instruct students to build and repair all varieties of aviation instrumentation.

The seaplane base continued operations during the war as an all-female division. Adjustments were made as necessary and resources were allocated where needed to maintain a flexible and efficient machine. The contributions of Embry-Riddle, providing pilots, mechanics, and technicians to the allied war effort, was undeniable and without precedent. As was true for so many of the companies involved in the military-industrial complex, post-war Embry-Riddle realigned to define its new role.

It became one of the first institutions approved to educate veterans under the new Government Issued Bill, commonly known as the G. In , Riddle set his sights on the burgeoning aviation industry in Brazil.

Within three years, under his leadership with North American instructors, he turned it over to the Brazilian government having graduated 3, students. Back in Miami, McKay was focused on civil aviation.

He reorganized and moved flight operations to Opa-Locka Airport. Space remained an issue, as the divisions were located miles apart. Edition: Available editions United Kingdom.

Become an author Sign up as a reader Sign in. Displaying all articles. When it comes to commercial space tourism, suborbital flight are the first frontier. But what are the risks?

Are there health requirements? What should you know before taking such a way-out trip? The new era of space exploration is characterized by an emphasis on diversity and international cooperation. By , interest in aviation was increasing and the Embry-Riddle Flying School experienced significant growth. In some cases, the team even flew in formation to their games. A year later, Embry left the company and retired to California. Louis where it was merged into a new division called American Airways, and the original Embry-Riddle Company was no more.

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