Duncan A. McIntyre was early aviator and native of New Zealand, who on August 22, 1919 stopped in

Tulsa Tulsa ( ) is the second-most-populous city in the state of Oklahoma, after Oklahoma City, and the 48th-most-populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tul ...

Oklahoma Oklahoma ( ; Choctaw language, Choctaw: , ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Texas to the south and west, Kansas to the north, Missouri to the northea ...

to visit an old army buddy. Originally intending to stay a short while on his way to

Spokane Spokane ( ) is the most populous city in eastern Washington and the county seat of Spokane County, Washington, United States. It lies along the Spokane River, adjacent to the Selkirk Mountains, and west of the Rocky Mountain foothills, south ...

, Washington, McIntyre decided that Tulsa was fertile ground for establishing an aviation business. He soon established a private airport on an 80-acre tract at the corner of Admiral Place and Sheridan Avenue. McIntyre Field had three hangars to house 40 aircraft and a beacon for landings after sundown.Jones, Kim. ''Aviation in Tulsa and Northeastern Oklahoma''. 2009. . Available through Google Books. Accessed January 17, 2011

/ref> Within just a few years, McIntyre's airport was considered by many early flyers to be one of the finest airports in

. Established almost a decade before Tulsa's municipal airport, McIntyre's offered flying lessons, charter services, mechanical services, and hosted transient flyers. 1927 was a busy year for McIntyre. The

Ford National Reliability Air Tour The Ford Reliability Tour, properly called "The National Air Tour for the Edsel B. Ford Reliability Trophy", was a series of aerial tours sponsored in part by Ford from 1925 to 1931 and re-created in 2003. Top prize was the Edsel Ford Reliabili ...

chose his airport as one of its tour stops, bringing thousands of Tulsans to the airport to see an armada of touring aircraft. Later, on September 30, 1927,

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, and author. On May 20–21, 1927, he made the first nonstop flight from New York (state), New York to Paris, a distance of . His aircra ...

visited Tulsa. He had been persuaded to visit Tulsa by William G. Skelly, who was then president of the local Chamber of Commerce, as well as a booster of the young aviation industry. In addition to being a wealthy oilman and founder of

Skelly Oil Company Skelly Oil Company was a medium-sized oil company founded in 1919 by William Grove (Bill) Skelly, Chesley Coleman Herndon and Frederick A. Pielsticker in Tulsa, Oklahoma. J. Paul Getty acquired control of the company during the 1930s. It b ...

, Skelly also founded

Spartan Aircraft Company The Spartan Aircraft Company was an American aircraft manufacturing company, headquartered on Sheridan Avenue near the Tulsa Municipal Airport in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Previously known as Mid-Continent Aircraft Company, the company had been reorgani ...

. Lindbergh had already landed at Oklahoma City Municipal Airport,

Bartlesville Bartlesville is a city mostly in Washington County and Osage County, Oklahoma. The population was 37,290 at the 2020 census. Bartlesville is north of Tulsa and south of the Kansas border. It is the county seat of Washington County. The Caney ...

Municipal Airport and Muskogee's Hatbox Field. All of these were superior to the privately owned McIntyre Field. Lindbergh pointed this out at a banquet given that night in his honor.Cantrell, Chuck. "Lucky Lindy Lands and Tulsa Airport Takes Off." GTR News Web site. Updated May 14, 2007. Accessed January 20, 2011. Landing at McIntyre's airport, Lindbergh complimented McIntyre on his facility while simultaneously criticizing the city fathers for their failure to establish a city-owned airport. Lindbergh's speech galvanized some of Tulsa's early leaders. Within two years, Tulsa had its own municipal airport. McIntyre evidently closed his airport during the 1930s and in 1931, for the sum of $350,000, the Garland Airport was merged into the McIntyre Airport Company. McIntyre became the owner of what later would be the Brown Airport. In 1940, McIntyre accepted a position with Lockheed and moved to California.Tulsa Gal Website – Duncan McIntyre: "Father of Tulsa Aviation." March 23, 2010. Accessed January 20, 201

/ref> McIntyre stayed in Tulsa until 1940, when he moved to California to take a job with Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed. He returned to Tulsa on one more occasion, to dedicate the new modern terminal in 1961.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McIntyre, Duncan A. American aviators 20th-century American people Year of birth missing Year of death missing New Zealand expatriates in the United States