ranking officers coming to March Field to participate in the graduation ceremonies and Mantz was subsequently dismissed from the army. His instructor reportedly made it clear to him that he had the makings of an exceptional pilot and encouraged him to continue a career in aviation. Hollywood stunt pilot After working briefly in commercial aviation, Mantz went to Hollywood, attracted by the large sums of money movie stunt pilots were making at the time. A main requirement was Associated Motion Picture Pilots (AMPP) membership but that was only gained after employment in the industry. In an effort to gain notoriety, on July 6, 1930 Mantz set a record in flying 46 consecutive outside loops as a part of the dedication ceremonies of the San Mateo airport. Although he gained recognition as an accomplished pilot, without the AMPP card, he still could not work in Hollywood. However, in 1931, Mantz performed the climactic stunt in The Galloping Ghost which required him to fly down a canyon and just miss a prominent sycamore. Misjudging his approach, Mantz crashed into the tree but the film crew got their shot and he got his AMPP card. Howard Hughes was among his first clients. After much difficulty finding steady stunt work, he accepted a particularly risky assignment, flying a Curtis-Wright CW-16K through a hangar with less than five feet of clearance off each wingtip for the 1932 film Air Mail. Mantz reportedly treated the challenge as an issue of thorough planning, which set him apart from most of the pilots then flying stunts for the movies. Air Mail was a hit and as word spread about his success in getting through the hangar unscathed, Mantz found more work and his professional ideas about stunt flying were gradually accepted by the studios. United Air Services, Paul's fledgling company at United Airport in Burbank, offered readily available aircraft and pilots, standard rates and insurance to protect producers from the financial risks of accidents and downtime. Mantz's company grew steadily along with the public's fascination with flying as the studios made increasing numbers of aviation related films. His Paul Mantz Air Services air charter company (jokingly christened the Honeymoon Express) also flourished and became a favorite among Hollywood stars, many of whom, such as Clark Gable and James Cagney became friends. One of his helicopters appears in the Errol Flynn short documentary film, Cruise of the Zaca (1952),