[5] Cessna's interest in aviation began in 1910 after witnessing an aerial exhibition in his home state of Kansas.

[7] After realizing his interest in aviation, Cessna left Oklahoma and moved to New York State where he worked for a short period at the Queen Aeroplane Company where he first learned about the construction of aircraft.

[5] His first design was a monoplane, constructed of spruce and linen and which took the form of an American version of the Bleriot XI.

The crowds that had scoffed at his failures changed their tone and began calling him a "daring hero" and nicknamed him the "Birdman of Enid".

[9] After the success of the Silverwing, Cessna permanently quit his work with the automobile industry to pursue his interests in aviation.

With his primary source of income grounded, Clyde returned to his old home near Rago, Kansas, where he resumed his duties on the family farm.

[5] In the years following World War I public interest in private flying increased, leading Cessna in 1925, along with Walter Beech and Lloyd Stearman, to found the Travel Air Manufacturing Company in Wichita, Kansas.

This success can be attributed to Cessna's advanced design concepts, creating aircraft that attained international recognition, while establishing numerous speed and distance records.

[6] Despite the success of new models, the Great Depression led to a catastrophic decline in aircraft sales, a bankruptcy filing for the corporation, and the complete closure of the company in 1931.

In 1934, Cessna reopened his Wichita plant, which he soon sold to his nephews—aeronautical engineer Dwane Wallace and his brother, attorney Dwight Wallace—in 1936.