Ray Tice -- Flying Daredevil

It was a wild night. At one o'clock in the morning, Muskogee residents were awakened by the loud roaring of an unmuffled engine. Upon arising to look out their windows, they saw a blurry image and a red light in the sky. Those with home telephones called the police department to ask what was going on. Residents were not accustomed to loud noises at night and they wanted to go back to sleep.

Earlier the previous afternoon, the Air Tour arrived at Hatbox Field. The tour was a promotional effort that supported the development of aviation in Oklahoma. Thirty-six airplanes with sixty-six pilots and passengers came to spread the word.

One of the pilots was from the Spartan School of Aeronautics in Tulsa. Ray Tice was born in Topeka, Kansas in 1895. Automobiles fascinated him in his youth. He learned everything he could about motors and soon became an auto mechanic. This interest evolved into a love of flying.

On the eve of the Great Depression, Muskogee was improving Hatbox Field with drainage tile after enlarging it to its present size. Spartan's airplane was a Stearman C-3 biplane, capable of carrying 3 people. It had weak instrument lights and a bright red taillight.

Ray Tice took off with couple of girls for a demonstration flight in the Spartan biplane. The girls had no idea that flying at night was any less safe than flying during the daytime. They did not think it was unusual that only automobile headlights lit the runway for takeoff.

Once in the air, Tice buzzed the Muskogee residential area. It was about one o'clock in morning. When that proved unchallenging, he flew into the downtown district.

Tice was extremely lucky that Thursday night. Flying at a very low altitude, he made many passes between Muskogee skyscrapers. At one point he was observed to pass below the top of the Severs Hotel. He was almost low enough to strike the flag pole out front.

Because the police received so many calls from concerned residents, they called Officer Pete Hale then stationed at Hatbox Field. His duty was to keep sightseers away from the touring aircraft. Hale's new instruction was to arrest the pilot upon landing.

Tice managed to land without any complications. He again used only automobile headlights to point out the landing strip. This was very hazardous during the early days of flying. One of the girl passengers reported fainting upon landing.

No charges were filed against Ray Tice the next morning. After all, it had been hard to verify exactly how low he flew. He was reluctantly released. However, the leaders of the Air Tour were very upset by Tice's stunt. As punishment, they forbid him from flying any further on the tour.

The Air Tour departed Hatbox Field about 9:30 Friday morning. The tour planes headed for Okmulgee and Norman on their way to Oklahoma City. Tice's night flying was the constant topic of discussions among the many pilots.

Night flying was tried by the military as early as WWI, but Hatbox did not have field lights in 1929. Lights were only added to Hatbox Field in 1931.