15 Facts About Tex Rankin

John Gilbert "Tex" Rankin was an aerobatic pilot, barnstormer, air racer, and flight instructor from the 1920s to the 1940s.

Tex Rankin created the Rankin Flying Service which trained thousands of pilots at Rankin Field for the US Army Air Force in World War II.

Tex Rankin was the 1935 US Aerobatic champion and 1938 World Aerobatic champion.

Tex Rankin served in the Aeronautical Division, US Signal Corps which gave him an interest in aviation.

In 1920, Tex Rankin opened his first flying school in Walla Walla, Washington.

Tex Rankin moved his flight school to Portland, Oregon in 1922, where he established the Tex Rankin Flying Service.

On January 10,1930, Tex Rankin established a National Aeronautic Association flying record, for executing and completing 19 consecutive aerial outside loops.

Later that same year, Tex Rankin would set the world record a third time, with a total of 131 loops.

Tex Rankin became the US Aerobatic Champion in 1935, at the National Air Races in Cleveland, Ohio.

At the age of 48, Tex Rankin was the oldest entrant in the competition.

Tex Rankin performed daily aerobatic flights to the delight of the crowds at the San Francisco World's Fair.

Now with the certification and contracts for his school, Tex Rankin set about finding the school's ideal location.

At the beginning of the new year in 1941, Tex Rankin flew throughout the US, recruiting and hiring flight instructors.

Tex Rankin graduates included twelve World War II aces, the United States all-time leading ace and Medal of Honor recipient Richard Bong, and Jeppeson navigation charts founder Elrey Jeppeson.

Tex Rankin has been selected into the Oregon Aviation Hall of Fame and the International Aerobatic Club Hall of Fame.