Norman William Ralston (November 28, 1916 – November 14, 2007) was an American pilot.

Biography

During World War II, Ralston, known as "Swede", trained hundreds of Army pilots at

Rankin Field Rankin Field is a former airport and military airfield located approximately southeast of Tulare, California. It was a United States Army Air Forces basic (Level 1) flying training facility during World War II. It is now an agricultural and li ...

in Tulare, California. Rankin Aeronautical Academy was a civilian flight school for the United States Army Air Corps. As a stunt pilot, he operated a fleet of aircraft for Ralston Airshows. He became famous for flying an

AT-6 Texan The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and other air forces ...

through

Naval Air Station Tillamook Naval Air Station Tillamook, located just south of Tillamook, Oregon, was a U.S. Naval Air Station during World War II. Commissioned in 1942 and decommissioned in 1948, it was used primarily to house blimps. The station was the base of operations f ...

, a World War II blimp hangar, in Tillamook, Oregon. Ralston constructed the first commercial hangar at

Hillsboro, Oregon Hillsboro ( ) is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County. Situated in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area, the city hosts many high-technology companies, ...

and helped found the Hillsboro Airport. He co-founded the airline company Aero Air, a successful full-service fixed-base operator.

Awards

* Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award *International Council of Air Shows Hall of Fame Award * Federal Aviation Administration's

Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award The Wright Brothers Master Pilot Award was instituted by the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on October 11, 2003, to recognize pilots who have practiced safe flight operations continuously for 50 or more years during the course o ...

References

External links

Aero Air official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ralston, Norman 1916 births 2007 deaths Aviators from Oregon People from Forest Grove, Oregon People from Hillsboro, Oregon American people of Swedish descent American flight instructors