William Hawley Bowlus built homemade gliders as a teenager, flying them from the hillsides of the San Fernando Valley. Bowlus joined the Air Service in 1917 and learned to fly powered aircraft at Venice, California, along with T. Claude Ryan. In 1924 Bowlus re-associated with Ryan and with B. F. Mahoney at the Ryan Aircraft Company in San Diego. He assisted with design and construction of the M-1 and M-2 transport aircraft for Ryan Airlines. Charles Lindbergh requested that a special version of the M-1 be built with larger wings and fuel tank. Bowlus led construction of the ensuing Spirit of St. Louis. In 1928, Bowlus designed and built his 16th glider, the first American designed and constructed sailplane. With increasing national notoriety, he established the Bowlus Sailplane Company and the Bowlus Glider School in San Diego. In the early 1930s he designed and built America’s first high-performance sailplane, the Senior Albatross. Then, in 1938, his popular Baby Albatross was offered in kit form, becoming one of America’s most iconic sailplanes. Bowlus also designed aerodynamic travel trailers to tow behind cars. His 1935 Bowlus-Teller Road Chief was the first all-aluminum American recreational vehicle, the predecessor to the popular Airstream trailer. In 1937, he built the Bennett Transport BTC-1, pioneering use of composites in aircraft construction, using Duraloid – a plywood impregnated with resin. During World War II, Bowlus designed gliders for the Army Air Corps, including the XBM-5 and the larger XCG-16 multi-person troop transport glider. Bowlus was inducted into the Soaring Society of America Hall of Fame in its inaugural class of 1954 and was also inducted into the OX5 Aviation Pioneers Hall of Fame in 1983.
Inducted in 2019.
Portrait Location: Hall of Fame Hallway
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