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Walter T. Varney was born December 26, 1888 in San Francisco.
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Walter T. Varney was born December 26, 1888 in San Francisco.
Going to Redwood School of Aviation before World War 1. He enlisted and was sent to School of Military Aeronutics at the University of California, finishing his training in 1918.
In 1919 he bought Lynch Field in Redwood City. Started with an old Jenny airplane to start a flying school and a local aerial taxi service from San Francisco. He serviced the following locations providing auto service to and from airport.
Del Monte
Sacramento
Stockton
Modesto
Fresno
Bakersfield
Los Angeles
Red Bluff
Santa Rosa
Yosemite
Reno
Salt Lake
Later he launched a contract airmail service between Pasco, Washington, and Elko, Nevada, via Boise, Idaho, marking the true beginning of commercial air transportation in the United States and the birth of United Airlines.
In 1920 Walter Varney was one of the featured pilots in an aerial circus that performed at an event in Oakland, across the bay from San Francisco. In November of 1920 he preformed at Modesto’s Golden Jubilee and Armistice Day Celebration where he flew his new Hispano Suiza Airplane with a 220 horse power engine. Later Varney used his Hispano Suiza Airplane to set the Pacific Coast altitude record and for stunt flying.
Around 1934 Varney Speed Lines was owned by Walter T. Varney and Louis Mueller. It operated between Pueblo, Colorado to El Paso, Texas with stops in Las Vegas, Santa Fe and Albuquerque, New Mexico. Louis Mueller gained control over the carrier and in 1936, sold 40 percent of the company to Robert Six. In July 1937, Robert Six changed the name of Varney Speed Lines to Continental Airlines and moved its headquarters to Denver, Colorado.
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