From Daredevil to TWA
Paul E. Richter Jr.'s love of flying inspires legendary career and legacy
For most, the time of aviation pioneers like Paul E. Richter was the “Golden Age of Flying,” but for his daughter Ruth, it was much more personal that that. “Growing up as a little girl, I remember sitting on my dad’s lap in a DC-3 and thinking that all kids did that,” she recalls. “He was always my hero, but I had no idea how significant his work was.”
Richter’s legendary journey started when he left home in Colorado and headed to California to learn how to fly. He began flying at the Burdett Airport and soon became an instructor. By 1925, he and a group of stunt pilots founded The 13 Black Cats, a group famous for their daredevil flying feats. Richter and the other Black Cats were often featured in 1920s films, including Howard Hughes’ Hell’s Angels. “My dad did anything in those days to earn an honest dollar,” says Ruth. “He used to say, ‘Give me enough power and I can fly a barn door.
A year later, he and two other Burdett graduates, Jack Frye and Walter Hamilton, continued their pursuits into the expanding world of aviation. They founded Aero Corporation of California and the Standard Flying School, one of the first nationally certified flight schools, which became a quick success.
“These three men started at ground zero and had to teach people what airplanes and flying was all about,” says Susan. “Everything they did was the groundwork for the industry we all enjoy today – from aerial sightseeing and advertising to fire spotting and crop dusting. They were going beyond what anyone thought was possible.”
In 1927, the trio made their next move to advance the world of aviation once again. They started Standard Airlines as a subsidiary of Aero Corporation, and offered one of the first scheduled passenger services. “They initially had only one plane, a single-engine Fokker, that they flew three times a week between Hollywood and Phoenix,” explains Ruth. “As the demand grew, they expanded their fleet and began connecting to Tucson and El Paso – and eventually merged with Western Air Express and Transcontinental Air Transport. In 1930, Transcontinental & Western Air, later named Trans World Air, or TWA, was born.”
“This was quite an accomplishment!” says Susan proudly. “My grandfather went from being an air racer and stunt pilot, to growing a small airline with just one plane, to becoming a co-founder of TWA.”
TWA was famously known as ‘The Airline Run by Flyers.’ During his years there, Richter not only served as the Executive Vice President and Director, but also became one of TWA’s ‘Million Mile’ pilots, maintaining his currency throughout his life.
