Torrance Airport’s Merlyn “Sy” Symons passes away
Sy stands next to his 1947 Bonanza V-tail in one of the original hangers he built at the Torrance Airport. photo be Brad Jacobson by Ed Solt Merlyn “Sy” Symons arrived in the South Bay following his service in WWII in order to go to work for Douglas Aircraft in El Segundo. He spent the rest of his life immersed in the two cultures that would define the South Bay, aviation and surf culture. Symons died on December 28. He was 97. Symons was born on December 29, 1918 in Devil’s Lake, North Dakota. His childhood days in Devil’s Lake were filled with hockey and skiing in the winter and swimming and diving in the summer. This is where his love affair with water began. As a child, he began building model airplanes after Charles Lindbergh completed his historic flight over the Atlantic. Symons was inspired to take to the air. He started flying in 1935 in a Curtiss Robin plane. In 1940, he received his commercial license while attending the University of Washington. While in Washington in 1942, he received his instruction rating after enrolling in a civilian pilot training for the Naval Reserves flying Waco Biplanes. Eventually, he was called into active duty for the U.S. Navy. For 15…
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