Like many other First World War fighter pilots,
Wilfrid Reid (Wop) May
wanted to form his own commercial flying company after the war.
Wop May and his brother Court founded an air service named May
Airplanes Ltd. in the spring of 1919 with the help of the
city of Edmonton.
Edmonton asked the Mays to assist them in promoting flying in
Edmonton and across the province of Alberta. To do this, the May
brothers agreed to pay $25 per month for rent on the city’s
Curtiss JN-4 Canuck named, "The City of Edmonton." In
exchange, the May brothers agreed to keep the JN-4 in good
running condition and not allow any unqualified pilots to fly
it.
After May Airplanes was established it offered cargo
delivery, advertising and policing work. Like other companies at
the time, May Airplanes found opportunities to demonstrate their
aircraft at summer fairs in Red Deer, Camrose, Lloydminster,
North Battleford, and Prince Albert.
The flying company closed in 1924, since there was not enough
activity to keep it in the air.
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