Ryan M-1

The Ryan M-1 was a mail plane built in the United States in the 1920s and the first original design of the Ryan company of San Diego. It was a conventional parasol-wing monoplane with two open cockpits in tandem and a fixed tailskid undercarriage. The front cockpit could take two passengers side by side, or one passenger and a sack of mail, or mail alone, and it had dual controls. The prototype was first powered by a Hispano-Suiza 8A engine, and production aircraft used a variety of engines in the same power range, with the Wright J-4B chosen for nine of the sixteen M-1s built. The follow-on M-2 was substantially the same, and one M-2 named Bluebird was built with an enclosed cabin for the pilot and four passengers, foreshadowing the Brougham series. Pacific Air Transport flew M-1s and M-2s on its demanding Seattle, San Francisco and Los Angeles mail route. Charles Lindbergh first thought of an M-2 for his transatlantic flight, but his requirements led to an all-new design, the Ryan NYP Spirit of St. Louis. The prototype was restored to flying condition between 1980 and 1984 and is preserved in the Museum of Flight in Seattle.