Serial Number

Model

Registration

Date of Manufacturing

ATC

Price (USD)

Engine

Propeller

Current Status

History

This aircraft was sold new on October 31, 1938 to Gordon Barbour. He kept the ship at Caldwell Wright Airport, Caldwell, new jersey, until January, 1939 when he moved to Bolivia, taking the Ryan with him. In 1941 Mr Barbour sold the aircraft to the Bolivian Ministry of Defence for use as a training plane.

The aircraft was evaluated by the Bolivian Air force and deemed unsuitable as a light fighter. Mr. Barbour then undertook some record flights while still Bolivia, and SN 199 became the first aircraft to sucsessfully overfly the Andes Mountains.

After less than 100 hours Total time the aircraft was ground looped on landing, and the damage to the landing gear was sufficient to ground the aircraft.

In 1979, a missionary pilot named L. Eugene Hershey discovered the plane, abandoned in a small farm courtyard. He began negotiating with the Bolivian authorities and about a year later he was able to secure ownership and export rights to the remains and he brought the aircraft back to the USA on a DC3, and commenced restoring the aircraft.

Sometime later, Mr and Mrs Hershey divorced, and Mrs Hershey was awarded the Ryan in the divorce settlement. But was unable to secure the paperwork and a percentage of the parts. In March, 1994, Mille Hershey sold the project to Bill Foley of Connecticut, who continued the efforts to secure a US registration Certificate for the aircraft.

In 2016 Mr Foley sold the project to its current owner, Peter Groves. The project was moved to Ontario, Canada where it is currently under restoration to flying condition. This will be the first Ryan STA Special to fly in Canada.

Ownership History

• Gordon Barbour, Barvia Company Inc., New York, NY;
• Ministerio de Defensa Nacional, Direcion de Aeronautica, La Paz, Bolivia, South America;
• Eugene Hershey, Mechanicsville, Virginia;
• Millie Hershey, Mechanicsville, Virginia;
• William Foley, Glastonbury, Connecticut.
• Peter Groves, Ontario, Canada

Current Ownership

Peter Groves

Notes

The process is currently underway to gain a US certificate of ownership, as when the aircraft was exported from the USA it was removed from the US registry.

The process to add the aircraft back and therefore be able to apply a US registration is not an easy one, in particular when involving a country such as Bolivia.

Registration Number N18905 is currently reserved for the project

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