Edward Dwight Sly was a distinguished aeronautical engineer with Teledyne Ryan Aeronautical. Ed Sly was born in Calexico, California on July 9, 1919, and grew up in Lakeside, California, with his father Altho (a teacher), mother Esther and brother Bill. He graduated from Grossmont Union High School in 1936 and immediately began his career at the Ryan School of Aeronautics.

He attended night school at San Diego State College (now SDSU) over a period of 17 years, ultimately earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering in 1956, winning the Physics Award, and graduating second in his class of approximately 600 students. At Ryan, Ed met and married Marion Croome on January 29, 1949. They had four children.

His 51-year career at Ryan resulted in his being written into the U.S. Congressional Record in 1987 as "an individual most responsible today for technical contributions that have helped create our new era of unmanned vehicle systems." A world record-setting operator of Remotely Piloted Vehicles (RPVs), he worked on a series of more than 30 manned and unmanned aircraft built by Ryan (and later Teledyne Ryan) in times of peace and war. He piloted reconnaissance RPVs during the Vietnam War, and the guidance and control systems were, in large measure, the result of Ed's contributions. During his remarkable career, he established unmanned aircraft world records for single-flight endurance, altitude, and career pilot hours. He was a true pioneer with a lengthy list of professional distinctions. Mr. Sly died in San Diego, California, on April 17, 2006. 

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