Moose Jaw Flying Club founder named to Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame

One of the founders of the Moose Jaw Flying Club will be inducted into the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame during a ceremony planned for this May.

Richard W. (Dick) Ryan (1896-1992) flew as a pilot with the Royal Flying Corps and the Royal Air Force in the First World War.

He taught at Ross Collegiate until 1931 and then moved to Central Collegiate until 1938.

In 1928, Ryan helped established the Moose Jaw Flying Club and served as chief flying instructor before going on to establish Prairie Airways Ltd. in 1934, which was later purchased by Canadian Pacific Airlines in 1942.

Ryan would go on to serve as a vice-president of the airline. He retired from the board of directors in 1965 and died 28 years later at Penticton, B.C.

During the Second World War, Ryan trained navigators for the British Commonwealth Air Training Plan at the No.3 Air Observer School in Regina.

Jamie McIntyre, a director of the Canadian Aviation Hall of Fame, said annual induction usually includes four individuals.

He said the induction ceremony/dinner gala this year will be held at the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum in Hamilton, Ont., on May 26.

There are 204 members of the hall, which is located in the hangar at the Reynolds-Alberta Museum in Wetaskiwin, Alta., south of Edmonton.

Founded in 1973, members have come from all across Canada and have led extraordinary lives as military and civilian pilots, doctors, scientists, inventors, aeronautical engineers and administrators.

McIntyre said the hall aims to increase the public's understanding and interest in aviation history by making its displays, archives, records and artifacts accessible.

Gerry Julian, the current president of the Moose Jaw Flying Club said he welcomed the news of Ryan's induction.