12/02/2024
SAGE Society December 10 Presentation – The Aviation History Of Hemet
Join us for our presentation, The Aviation History Of Hemet.
Our presenter, local historian Ken Graff, will share "The Story of Riverside County's Hemet Ryan Airport and A History of Local Aviation". He will feature stories from his book "Mr. Ryan's Field" which will be available. Ken wrote this book to share and preserve as much of the history of the Ryan Field story in one place as possible.
Ryan Field's rich history includes its years as a training base for World War II Army Cadets who learned to fly there when it opened, as well as hundreds who worked there during the war years.
In the decades since the war, Ryan Field has played a part in the lives of thousands more who either worked for, or supplied, the many businesses that got their start there. They included the amazing history of crop dusting and firefighting airplanes.
Ken was born 1947 in Monterey Park, California, and moved to Hemet at the age of seven.
He was hired by Hemet Valley Flying Service as a ‘line boy’ in January 1960, where was introduced to many of the Ryan flight instructors from the war years who came to sit around the airport drinking coffee and reliving Ryan stories on weekends.
He began flying lessons at fifteen, soloed on sixteenth birthday, private pilot’s license at seventeen and achieved Commercial pilot with Instrument, and Multi-engine ratings at eighteen. Began flying as a Forestry Pilot during the 1965 fire season four days after graduating from Hemet High School.
He enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1966 and served as a Loadmaster on C-130 A, B, and E model cargo planes with two years flying in Viet Nam and one year as an instructor on AC-47 Gunships.
From 1970 until 1990 his Hemet Valley Flying Services duties included flying firefighting and agricultural aircraft.
He assumed management of maintenance and operations of the company’s Stockton facility for five years operating the Department of Forestry’s thirty-three aircraft fleet of S2 Air Tankers and Cessna 0-2 Air Attack aircraft.
With the closing of Stockton in 1990 he moved to Arkansas and opened Graff Aviation, a full-service fixed base operation and within a few months became manager of the Clarksville Airport for the City.
In 1993 joined Hyline International Airlines based in Palau, operating a Boeing 727 to carry fish from various islands to Guam and Saipan for the Chinese and Taiwanese fishing fleets of Palau and the Marshall Islands.
In 1996 returned to take over Hemet Valley Flying Service when Jim Venable, owner of the company, became a County Supervisor.
In 2000 he assumed the role of a Legislative Assistant in the Third District County Supervisor’s office. Left the Supervisor’s staff 2004 to join the newly created Western Riverside County Regional Conservation Authority (R.C.A.) as an Administrative Services Officer and later Director of Land Acquisition & Property Management for the agency responsible for acquiring and maintaining habitat reserves.
He retired from the R.C.A. in June of 2011 and spent spare time at Hemet Ryan Airport in various activities, including roles with the Hemet Hangar of “Quiet Birdmen” and other groups that promoted activities and improvements at the airport.
When the Ryan School of Aeronautics Museum closed its doors, he volunteered to inventory the entire contents of the Museum, catalog items and pack for storage until a new location or interest in the museum was rekindled.
In preparation for the 80th Anniversary of the Hemet-Ryan Airport he began researching the history of Ryan using much of the information and records found in the Ryan Museum inventory. Other information came from newspaper research and personal recollections from fifty years at the airport. In February of 2020 self-published “MR. RYAN’S FIELD” to be shared at events proposed to celebrate the anniversary of the airport.
Interest in the airport’s history and “MR. RYAN’S FIELD” rekindled recently through word of mouth and a power point presentation shared with local groups.
Join us on Tuesday, December 10, at 1:30 pm for social time, 2:00 pm for this presentation. The public is welcome to attend.
Location:
The Ramona Room behind Miller-Jones Mortuary.
1501 W. Florida Avenue, Hemet (Park in rear.)
The SAGE Society of Hemet (Search for Adventure in Greater Education) provides a forum for people to engage in programs and activities of intellectual stimulation.
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1786423754927161
