Ivan Rhuele "Van" Gates (January 15, 1890 – November 24, 1932) was an American aviator and entrepreneur.
While a member of the San Francisco Police Department, he is credited with being the first to transport a prisoner by air.
He founded or co-founded the barnstorming Gates Flying Circus, which attained much success and fame in the 1920s.
That year, French aviator Louis Paulhan was on a tour of the United States, participating in airshows and competitions.
The weather was bad on January 24, but Paulhan flew a Farman biplane for 12 minutes over Tanforan Racetrack after conditions marginally improved,[7] showing Gates there was money to be made in aviation.
[9] Gates entered the 1915 American Grand Prize, driving a Renault, but was forced to withdraw before the start[2][10] because the car was considered dangerous.
It was the most spectacular of the barnstorming outfits in the 1920s, attracting in its heyday tens of thousands to a single show.
[3] Accord to the Chicago Tribune, Gates felt the days of barnstorming were coming to an end,[26] with aviation becoming more commonplace and the government adding ever more safety regulations, so on October 17, 1927, he teamed up with Charles Healy Day, designer of the Standard J airplane, to form the Gates-Day Aircraft Company to design and build aircraft and to operate the Gates Flying Circus.
[14] With his money and health gone, on November 24, 1932, the despondent 42-year-old committed suicide by jumping from his Manhattan apartment, despite the frantic attempts of his diminutive wife to stop him.