DATE OF DISTRIBUTION: March 6, 2009           FOR RELEASE UPON RECEIPT

Ryan Airfield Tower Gets a Lift

     Painting of the Ryan Airfield air traffic control tower is currently underway. Constructed in June 1993, the six-story tower became part of the Federal Aviation Administration Contract Tower Program in 1996. Certified air traffic controllers are on duty daily from dawn until dusk overseeing flight operations, which totaled 168,052 in 2008. The field is used primarily by recreational and student pilots.

     There are over 300 aircraft based at Ryan Airfield which has three runways on appx. 1,800 acres and is located 12 miles west of Tucson International Airport.

     World War II set the stage for the birth of Ryan, which was created on June 13, 1942, when the U.S. turned to private companies to train pilots. One of the schools chosen as the new “West Points” of the air was San Diego-based Ryan School of Aeronautics. Because the U.S. feared a coastal attack, inland training sites were required. Arizona’s climate was perfect.

     The school transformed a bare patch of desert into an Army air base with paved runways, hangars, barracks, mess hall, and classrooms in three months. Over one weekend planes, equipment and personnel were transferred to the facility from San Diego and by August 1942, the school was training its first pilots.

     Equally amazing was that 6,000 pilots, from the “greatest generation,” graduated from the school by the time the base closed in September 1944. After the school closed, the State of Arizona and the Tucson Airport Authority executed a 10-year lease, later extended to 99 years in 1954.

     Work on the $40,000 project, which is being done by Riddle Painting, should be complete within 10 days.

     T-A-A

Photo Attachment: Ryan Tower

NOTE: On Saturday, March 28, 2009, from 7 a.m. until 3 p.m. at Ryan Airfield, 9698 W. Ajo Way, the Tucson 99s International Organization of Women Pilots are hosting a fund raiser for aviation scholarships for women. Rides are 15 cents per pound. Ticket sales will end at appx.11 a.m. Details at www.tucson99s.org.