[2] Successful oilman William G. Skelly purchased the struggling Mid-Continent Aircraft Manufacturing Company of Tulsa in January, 1928.

[1][3] Skelly continued to support the venture during the early years of the Great Depression, while it began producing a line of airplanes.

He expanded manufacturing by making sub-assemblies for warplanes and opened branches of the Spartan School of Aeronautics in Miami, Muskogee and Ponca City, Oklahoma.

The Spartan Executive Model 7W was a result of founder William Skelly's vision for an aircraft designed to accommodate the luxury and performance expected by wealthy people.

Pratt & Whitney Wasp Jr. engine, the Executive was Spartan's first attempt at an all-metal aircraft design using monocoque technology.

Built as a United States Navy trainer, the Spartan NP-1 featured a lightweight open-cockpit construction with a Lycoming R-680-B4C 225 h.p.

After the ebb of personal aviation and the increased competition in the aircraft business following World War II, owner J. Paul Getty and Spartan upper-management redirected production to focus on the demand for housing and leisure.

[2] Using the same internally braced and space-saving monocoque design of the Spartan Executive 7W, the company produced its first all-metal travel trailer.

Given an average home cost in the United States at the time of $8000,[citation needed] Spartan trailers were a discretionary purchase for the wealthy.