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 months he worked as a flight instructor in New Orleans training pilots for both theaters of war.
“When Sy first found out that he wasn’t going to the front line, he felt shortchanged,” said Dennis Murphy, his friend and Torrance Airport hangar neighbor. “Now he feels that it’s what saved his life, as he lost many friends and colleagues in the war.”
Toward the end of the war, he flew bombing missions over Japan. He was also a decorated veteran of the Korean War.
Off duty, “Sy” picked up the sport and lifestyle of surfing. Riding waves in those early days of surfing took courage — the boards he used were 80 pound redwood planks.
“Sy loved surfing the Palos Verdes Cove and used to surf Malibu alone in the ‘40s. He’d pray for someone to pull up and surf with him,” Murphy. “He rode waves almost his entire life until he was 71.”
In 1947, Symons purchased his beloved midnight black 1947 Beechcraft Bonanza V-tail airplane, the only airplane he owned in his 70 years of flying.
“Sy would check the surf in his Bonanza from San Onofre to Malibu,” Murphy said, “If the surf was good, he’d surf skipping work and ‘work harder and double tomorrow.’”
A young Sy stands by his solid redwood surfboard, a surfboard he shaped himself. photo courtesy of Symons archives.
He built his first home on 31st. Street and Laurel Avenue in Manhattan Beach in 1950.
“Sy used to joke to not listen to him for financial advice,” Murphy said. “When he and his second wife split up in the late ‘60s, he gave her the house and he kept the plane. The house recently sold for $1.4 million.”
In 1970, while running Symons Engineering, a business that hand-shaped parts for airplanes, Sy and a few buddies built the original 56 hangars at the Torrance Airport.
“Sy knew Louis Zamperini by “Louie,” said Murphy. “He became somewhat of a Torrance airport icon.”
He kept one of the original hangars them for himself and his trusty v-tail. Even after he was grounded a decade ago, Symons would still fire up the Bonanza to keep the Lycoming 6-cylinder oiled and in working condition.
“Sy kept meticulous care of his airplane,” Murphy said. “Through his life, he always had his airplane.”
The walls of his hangar were festooned with medals and awards, photos of the places he’d been and planes he’d flown, like the Vought F-8 Crusader, during the course of life that seemed to have contained several lifetimes. Organized throughout were the antique tools from his years as an airplane fabricator and parts manufacturer. Over cold beverages, his friends would gather and hear classic “Sy” stories with his one liners of comedic wisdom like “If it flies, floats, or f****, rent it.”
“I got to know Sy the last three years and he has many friends from over the decades,” Murphy said. “He was one of the most beloved figures at the Torrance airport.”
A small service and a flyover will be held January 24 in the east hangar section at the Torrance Airport. Contact the Torrance Airport (310) 784-7900 for more info.