Category AN AIRIINE AN0 ITS AIRCRAFT

Enter Howard Hughes

Подпись:Подпись:Enter Howard Hughes

After Charles Lindbergh, and sharing fame with Amelia Earhart, Howard Hughes was America’s most famous avia­tor personality in the 1930s. He was admired by the public, respected by politicians who were aware of the power of his wealth, and recognized by the aviation community for his achievements. His wealth had been inherited from his parents who had died in the early 1920s, and at the age of 18 he began to expand the family business, the Hughes Tool Company, which held close to a monopoly of oil drilling bits.

Tlie Phenomenon

Taking to the business world like a duck to water—one com­mentator said that he ran his entire operation “out of his hip pocket for nearly 40 years”—he worked hard and played hard. He made films, including such epics as Scarface, Hell’s Angels, and The Outlaw. He romanced movie stars and flew airplanes. Everything he did was at the highest level of attain­ment, and this included his flying activities. Having won the Sportsman’s Trophy in 1934, he founded the Hughes Air­craft Company and built—and flew—a racing airplane, the H-l, and beat the world’s landplane speed record in 1935. The following year, in a Northrop Gamma, he broke the transcontinental speed record, and in 1937 broke it again, in his H-l. In this latter case, he flew at an altitude of 14,000 feet, using oxygen, and received the Harmon Trophy. In July 1938, in a Lockheed 14, he flew around the world in less than four days, averaging 202 mph. He had made meticulous preparations, and demonstrated systems of radio communica­tion, weather reporting, and navigation that were in advance of their time. The aircraft was known as The Flying Labora­tory,’ and for this flight, he received the Collier Trophy from President Roosevelt himself.

Into the Airline Fray

Howard came into the airline industry, therefore, with impressive credentials. By 1937, T. W.A. had passed out of the control by the Pennsylvania Railroad and North American Aviation (by the conditions of the 1934 Air Mail legislation) and was owned by Yellow Cabs’ John Hertz and Lehman Brothers, the investment bankers. T. W.A. President, Jack Frye, did not apparently like the control and approached Hughes with a view to starting another airline, which Hughes would finance and Frye would manage. Howard had another idea. In April 1939 he bought 25% of T. W.A. stock and by 1940 had increased this to a dominating 78%. He took over a great airline and set about the task of making it even better.

Enter Howard Hughes

This picture epitomizes the tremendous impetus given to the United States airline industry during the latter 1930s. The busy scene can be contrasted with that of what was then a modern airport in the late 1920s (page 19), only a decade earlier. The DC-3 was truly the first transport airplane that could be called a modern airliner; and but for T. W.A. it might never have happened.

Speed at All Costs

Up to the Limit

The progress of air transport, since its establishment as an industry in the 1920s, had been char­acterized by an emphasis on speed. In 1950, the jet-powered de Havilland Comet almost dou­bled the speed, at 500 mph, of the best piston-engined airliners, and in 1958 the Boeing 707 (and later the Douglas DC-8) took this to 600 mph. By this time, there were thoughts of a supersonic airliner as a longer-term successor to the Big Jets, as they were called; but the air­lines still sought higher speeds from the currently-available technology. Theoretically, the designers felt that, even if they could not penetrate the sound barrier, they could come close to it, so that, with an airliner that could approach 650 mph, this would be worth a significant saving of time on a long-distance route, and give the operating airline a competitive advantage.

No Room (or Three

The post-war piston-engined rivalry between Douglas and Lockheed had now given way to a Jet Age rivalry between Boeing and Douglas. Throughout airline history, a third contestant had never been able to make its mark; and economic studies have demonstrated that the full bene­fits of competition on any route are invariably achieved by two competitors, not necessarily three. And all too often, the third contestant cannot achieve an adequate share of the market. Similarly, a third manufacturer can end up with financial losses because of insufficient sales. No doubt, this consideration was in Lockheed’s mind when it decided not to build a rival to the 707 or DC-8, but turned to a prop-jet (turboprop) airliner, the Model 188 Electra.

The Convair Challenge

The Consolidated-Vultee, or Convair, company of San Diego, flush with its huge success in building the Liberator bomber and other military aircraft, had entered the commercial market after the War with its short-haul “DC-3 Replacement,” the Convair 240/340/440. In the mid – 1950s, the company decided to enter the Big Jet market. Its entry, the Convair 880 (see next page) was similar in design to the 707 and the DC-8, in that its engines were suspended in pods under a swept wing. Its speed was marginally faster than those of its rivals. This caught the interest of American Airlines, which ordered an even faster version, the Convair 990. The latter’s speed, however, was not significantly greater.

Speed at All Costs

T. W.A.’S CONVAIR 880 (MODEL 22-1) FLEET

Regn.

MSN

Delivery Date

Disposal Date

Remarks and Disposal

N871TW

1

29 Oct 64

18 Apr 78

Stored Dec 73 Kansas City. Sold to American Jet Industries.

8802

2

18 Mar 61

10 Apr 74

Stored Kansas City; Scrapped Dec 79.

N803TW

3

13 Oct 61

18 Apr 78

Sold to American Jet Industries. Stored Jan 74.

N804TW

4

11 Sep 63

24 Oct 73

Leased to Northeast Airlines, 21 Jan 61 to 11 Sep 63. Wfu Oct 73 stored Kansas City.

N805TW

5

10 Aug 61

21 Jun 78

Sold to American Jet Industries.

N806TW

6

12 Sep 63

18 Jul 78

Leased to Northeast Airlines, 30 Jan 61 to 12 Sep 63. Sold to American Jet Industries.

N808TW

8

18 May 60

18 Apr 78

Sold to American Jet Industries.

N809TW

12

29 Jul 63

18 Apr 78

Leased to Northeast Airlines, 10 Sep 63 to 19 Jan 68. Sold to American Jet Industries.

N81OTW

13

15 Feb 61

8 Aug 78

Sold to American Jet Industries.

N811TW

14

2 Feb 61

Nov 72

Stored Kansas City; Scrapped May 22.

N812TV/

15

9 Jun 61

18 Apr 78

Sold to American Jet Industries.

N814TW

19

2 Sep 61

18 Apr 78

Sold to American Jet Industries.

N815TW

20

26 Aug 63

18 Apr 78

Leased to Northeast Airlines, 8 Dec 60 to Aug 63. Sold to American Jet Industries.

N816TW

22

13 Sep 63

18 Apr 78

Leased to Northeast Airlines, 5 Dec 60 to 13 Sep 63. Sold to American Jet Industries.

N817TW

23

29 Aug 63

18 Apr 78

Leased to Northeast Airlines, 30 Nov 60 to 29 Aug 63. Sold to American Jet Industries.

N818TW

24

5 Jan 61

18 Apr 78

Sold to American Jet Industries.

N819TW

25

12 Jan 61

8 Jan 74

Stored Kansas City.

N820TW

26

20 Mar 61

13 Sep 65

Crashed during training flight at Kansas City (MCI).

N821TW

27

8 Jan 61

21 Nov 67

Damaged beyond repair during landing at Covington.

N822TW

28

6 Jan 61

15Jun 74

Stored Kansas City; scrapped Dec 79.

N823TW

30

15 Mar 61

8 Jan 74

Stored Kansas City; scrapped Dec 79.

N824TW

21

1 Jan 61

15 Jun 74

Operated last Convair 880 schedule service on 15 Jun 74. Withdrawn from use and stored Kansas City; scrapped Sep 79.

N8257W

32

21 Jan 61

18 Apr 78

Sold to American Jet Industries.

N826TW

33

6 May 61

16 Jan 74

Stored Kansas City.

N828TW

35

26 Apr 61

18 Apr 78

Sold to American Jet Industries.

8801/N8495H

39

22 May 67

2 Feb 68

Leased from Hughes Tool Company from 22 May 67 to 2 Feb 68.

N830TW

40

25 May 61

18 Apr 78

Sold to American Jet Industries.

N801TW

42

9 Jul 61

14Jun 74

Stored Kansas City; scrapped Nov 79.

Speed at All Costs

A fine shot of N815TW inflight.

Into the 1970s

New Brooms

The final exodus of Howard Hughes from T. W.A. occurred in 1966 (see pg 73). The big lenders, Equitable Life and Metropolitan Life, now held the pursestrings, taking effect from 1 January 1961, when the voting trust controlled the directions of invest­ment. The crisis was overcome. Ernest Breech, formerly with the Ford Motor Com­pany, took over as chairman on 27 April 1961, Charles Tillinghast having replaced Warren Lee Pierson as president on 17 April. They made a top-level team, respected in Wall Street as well as in Washington. The Lockheed L-1011 program got under way, and service began in 1972. The fleet consisted of 19 Boeing 747s, 104 Boeing 707s, 72 Boeing 727s, 25 Convair 880s, and 19 Douglas DC-9s. The total of 239 air­liners comprised a formidable armada.

Diversification

Back in 1967, T. W.A. had purchased the Hilton Hotel chain, matching Pan Ameri­can’s move in buying Intercontinental Hotels. Now, “having lost sight of their objec­tives, they redoubled their efforts.” On 12 October 1978, the shareholders approved the organization of the Trans World Corporation, as a holding company for the air­line; the Canteen Company (an on-board catering service, acquired on 10 August 1973); and Century 21 (areal estate organization). A week later, thirteen more aircraft were ordered, including three Boeing 747SPs. On 9 June 1979, this latter aircraft was able to offer nonstop service from New York to Cairo; but this was after, on 2 March 1975, T. W.A. had agreed to a route exchange with Pan American, in which T. W.A. suspended service on the trans-Pacific route, and abandoned service at Bangkok, Bombay, and Frankfurt. The SPs never earned their keep. (See pages 84-85)

Post-Deregulation Oligopoly

The Airline Deregulation Act of 24 October 1978, had been expected to launch new initiatives, mainly with lower fares, for the benefit of the travelling public. About 150 companies applied for certificates from the Department of Transportation; only about a third of these ever started service; and a mere handful lasted more than a year or two. Meanwhile, the big airlines became more concentrated that ever before. After a decade of deregulation, a higher percentage of U. S. air traffic was in the hands of fewer air­lines than when when the industry was regulated by the Civil Aeronautics Board. Meanwhile, TWA tightened its belt. The early 1980s witnessed a period of Survival of the Fittest, as the competition was frequently almost self-destructive. T. W.A. survived, but at a cost. On 1 September 1983, all salaried personnel and management accepted a 10% pay cut, and on 30 November ALPA, the Air Line Pilots Association — nor­mally involved in seeking pay increases — took a similar reduction.

Divorce

On 1 February 1984, Trans World Airlines once again became a separate corpora­tion, when it was broken clear from the parent company, which had been established on 12 October 1978 —just in time for Airline Deregulation (see above). Other units of the Trans World Corporation were profitable, unaffected by the changing regula­tory scene. But T. W.A., out of whose heritage the conglomerate had sprung, now “suffered from lagging sales, high debt load, and high operating costs.” The omens in the mid-1980s were not good.

LaMott T Cohu After Jack Frye resigned in February 1947, after a disagreement with Howard Hughes, Cohu became president.

During that period, Hughes and the Tool Company controlled T. W. A. affairs. Cohu resigned on 1 June 1948.

Warren Lee Pierson had been chairman and managing director of T. W. A. Internat­ional in April 1947, and came into promi­nence again when he became acting president on 9 January 1958, before Charles Thomas took over (see below).

Carter Burgess became president of T. W.A. on 23 January 1956, after Ralph Damon died on 4 January 1956 (see page 61). Damon had been a good partner for Hughes, but Burgess never even met his chief He lasted only until the end of the year.

Charles Thomas took over the presidency on 15 July 1958, after a hiatus during which T W. A. had been a ship without a sail. He resigned on 27 July 1960, providing the reason for Hughes’s ouster by the voting trust (see

Into the 1970sInto the 1970sInto the 1970sInto the 1970spage 73).

Into the 1970s

Charles Tillinghast became president of
Trans World Airlines on 17 April 1961, and
was to guide its fortunes for the next two
decades. He was at the helm when the
Trans World Corporation was formed on
12 October 1978.

Ernest Breech was the experienced business
leader, formerly chairman of the Ford Motor
Company, who had taken over the front
office of T. W.A. on 27 April 1961. He and
Tillinghast kept the airline on course.

Подпись: The New Tycoon

Into the 1970s

Nostalgic Comfort

That an airline with such a history of pioneering and achieve­ment as T. W.A. to have fallen upon hard times was cause for sadness. Adding up the figures over the course of half a cen­tury, not a single penny of accumulated profits could be iden­tified in the true sense of the term. Yet the airline had sponsored new generations of aircraft (of which the entire industry benefitted). Perhaps another fascinating connection with technical progress is to trace T. W.A.’s record of its con­nection with the motion picture industry.

Hand-Cranked

Not long after T. W.A.’s ancestor, Transcontinental Air Transport (T. A.T.) started coast – to-coast service in July 1929 (see page 24), an announcement in the showbiz publi­cation Billboard of 19 October stated “Last week the T. A.T. ship leaving Port Columbus, on its westward hop to Waynoka, carried projection equipment, a program of Uni­versal Pictures, and an operator. The show was given during the flight to Waynoka and again on the second hop of the trip between Clovis and Los Angeles.” The projector used 16mm film and was set up on a board across the arms of two seats in the back row of the Ford Tri-Motor. The Duograph projec­tor, the lightest on the market, and housed in aluminum, was “of the hand-crank style, altho future installations will prob­ably be motor driven.”

The article speculated that this experiment would become a regular feature, but more than 30 years were to pass before the amenity was adopted by the airlines, and T. A.T. s successor, T. W.A., was the prime innovator.

In-Flight Movies

With the wide-bodied aircraft providing more headroom than in the piston-engined aircraft, the airlines had, in the early 1960s, experimented with showing motion pictures, mainly to relieve boredom on long transcontinental and trans-ocean flights. Trans-Atlantic passengers were treated to various types of screen and different viewpoints. Once the idea was promoted, every self-respecting major airline had to have them. Trans World Airlines introduced the first successful permanent system, on 19 July 1961. The movie was By Love Possessed, starring Lana Turner.

Carl Icahn

Like many a self-made man, Carl Icahn did not have wealthy parents. But he had the Midas Touch. He began on Wall Street in 1961, and founded Icahn & Company in 1968 with his own savings and some borrowed capital. His seat on the New York Stock Exchange was worth $150,000. By the mid-1980s, this had increased by 1,000 percent to $150 million. In 1985 he became interested in the airline industry and the opportunities offered by the liberal climate of airline deregulation.

First Overtures

On 9 May 1985, Carl Icahn filed a registration statement with the S. E.C. (Security Exchange Commission) to state that he had accumulated 6,745,000 shares, or 20.5%, of T. W.A. common stock, a process that he had begun earlier in March. A week later, this percentage had increased to 23%, drawing a comment from T. W.A. that this “transfer of control was uninvited and undesirable.” The next day, on 15 May, T. W.A. filed suit in the New York District Court, alleging that Icahn was in violation of the federal securities laws. The day after that, the airline filed a petition with the Department of Trans­portation to investigate the fitness aspects of the take-over bid, questioning Icahn’s managerial skills and technical abil­ities, regulation compliances, capital resources, and the lack of an operational plan.

Carl’s response, on 20 May, was an unsolicited proposal to T. W.A. shareholders of $18.00 per share, and T. W.A. coun­tered on 23 May with a request to the D. O.T. for emergency action, and also sought support in the corridors of political power on Capital Hill. The battle for control heated up. On 28 May the T. W.A. board recommended the pursuance of a better offer, possibly an employee buyout; but lost an appeal for restraint in the New York U. S. District Court. The Circuit Court of the County of St. Louis then issued a restraining order, prohibiting Icahn from acquiring additional shares.

Challenge from Lorenzo

On 13 June, a new player entered the skirmish for control of T. W.A., whose employees and management were now mere bystanders. Frank Lorenzo, whose Texas Air Corporation controlled Continental Airlines and New York Air, announced that he had won unanimous approval of a “definite merger agreement, providing for T. W.A. to become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Texas Air.” The offer was $19.00 in cash, plus 14-1/2% cumulative non-convertible preferred stock. On 25

June, Richard D. Pearson succeeded C. E.Meyer as airline president and C. E.O. He was to play a small part in persuad­ing the directors to make up their minds.

Carl Icahn Wins

On 5 August 1985, Icahn renewed his efforts, offering $19.50 cash, plus $4.50 of a 14.5% stock issue. On 13 August, Lorenzo raised his offer to $26.00 per share. But on 7 September he agreed to withdraw, in exchange for surrender­ing the Texas Air Corporation’s option on 6.4 million T. W.A. shares for $43 million. This was somewhat reminiscent of Lorenzo’s coup in collecting a similar profit when wrestling with Pan American to take over National Airlines.

On 14 June a Boeing 727 was hijacked in North Africa and the aircraft was not returned until 16 August. This was not a way to greet the new owner, who settled into his new occupation, and went through the necessary legal processes to pave the way for a merger agreement between Icahn & Company and Trans World Airlines, consummated on 26 September 1986. He had already made a good move. On 27 February of that year, he purchased Ozark Holdings, Inc., the parent company of St. Louis-based Ozark Air Lines, for $224 million. The story of this Local Service airline, and its valu­able regional route network and fleet, is told in the next six pages of this book

Stinson A (tri-motor) (Marquette)

8 seats • 160 mph

Stinson A (tri-motor) (Marquette)

Marquette’s Stinson A wore the original American Airlines blue and orange color scheme with the addition of the Marquette winged logo on the aft fuselage.

Stinson A Trimotor

In January 1938, Midwest Airlines was formed in St. Louis. The name was changed almost immediately to Marquette Air Lines (named after a French missionary-explorer of Upper Michigan) and it promptly leased four Stinson Model A tri-motors from American Airlines. It began service on 20 April of that year under Mail Contract AM 58 on a route St Louis- Cincinnati-Dayton-Toledo-Detroit.

Important Route Extension

Подпись: Engines Lycoming R-680 (260 hp) x 3 MGT0W 10,2001b. Range 500 miles Length 37 feet Span 60 feet Stinson A (tri-motor) (Marquette)Within a few months, the directors approved the purchase of the stock by T. W.A. which leased the route from 14 August 1940. The Civil Aeronautics Board delayed giving the takeover its blessing for two years, but the purchase was completed on 5 December 1941. The 564-mile route, which gave T. W.A. an important link from Detroit to its transcontinental trunk line, cost $350,000.

MARQUETTE’S STINSON A FLEET

 

Detroit

 

Stinson A (tri-motor) (Marquette)

Marquette bought its small fleet of Stinsons from American Airlines, and kept the same paint scheme.

 

Regn

MSN

Delivery Date

Remarks and Disposal

NCI 5153

9113

(

Purchased from American

N0514

9114

Airlines. Sold to Winston

N05157

9117

(see text above) (

W. Kratz, 31 Aug 40, and eventually exported to Tata

N05162

9127

l

Airlines, India, 20 Aug 41

 

Chicago

 

nd

 

anscontiJentaI fZoute2

 

Indianapolis

 

_ Columbus

 

Cincinnati

 

Convair 880

Convair 88085 seats *610 mph

Convair 880TWA

Подпись: Engines General Electric CJ-805-3B (11,200 lb) x 4 Length 129 feet N1GT0W 184,500 lb Span 120 feet Range 2,600 miles Height 36 feet

Another example of “Machat’s Law” is T. W.A. і Convair 880 nose radome in either all-black, light gray with black nose dot, or all-light gray. The original delivery scheme is illustrated here.

QOOOOO –

 

IOQQDQQQOOOOOQ

 

Convair 880

N804TW on the ramp at Phoenix in 1964, in T. W.A. ’s handsome paint scheme, with the slogan Superjet
at the rear of the fuselage, together with the twin-hemisphere logo, (photo: Roger Bentley)

The four-engined jet was at first called the Convair-600, then the Skylark, or the Golden Arrow, and was originally intended to challenge the 707 and the DC-8 on domestic routes. It was sponsored by T. W.A., still strongly influenced by Howard Hughes, who, late in 1955, placed an initial order for 30 Convair 880s, as the new airliner was eventually called. Delta Air Lines also ordered the 880 and was the first into service, on 15 May I960.

This was because T. W.A.’s owner, Howard Hughes, was running into difficulties. The air­line was in an unusual position in that its aircraft were owned by Hughes’s powerful Hughes Tool Company (Toolco) to which it paid a rental of about one million dollars per year per air­plane. But even Toolco’s pockets were not bottomless, and could not finance T. W.A.’s purchase of the Convair 880s. As a consequence of the legal delays, which had far-reaching conse­quences (see page 73) T. W.A. did not begin Convair 880 service until 12 January 1961.

Local Service in the Midwest

Подпись: The classic DC-3, still earning its keep in the 1950s and 1960s, simply because no post-war manufacturer could emulate Emerson's judgement of success by “building a better mousetrap. ’’
Local Service in the Midwest

Подпись:Local Service in the MidwestПодпись: Ozark’s second intrastate airliner, the Cessna T-50 Bobcat. Two aircraft were used from September 12 until the end of service, November 28, 1945.

Подпись: Reg. | MSN | Remarks Beech FI7 NC20769 NC47571 NC2801 D Staggerwing 307 1 1 389 r Delivered 1 Jan 45. 392 | J Cessna UC NC46817 NC49984 ■78 (T-50 Bobcat J Delivered 1 Sep 45.

The First Ozark Airlines

On 1 September 1943, a Missouri bus operator, Laddie Hamilton, with support from a colleague, Floyd W. Jones, incorporated Ozark Airlines in Springfield. This followed the initiative of L. Welch Pogue, Chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Board, by order dated 22 March 1943, to investigate the possibilities of extending air service “to the nation as a whole, including provision for local service to small communities.”

On 11 July 1944, the C. A.B. permitted operations on a strictly local basis. After sporadic operations with a few Fairchild and Stinson monoplanes, Ozark began scheduled service on 10 January 1945 on a triangular route wholly within the State of Missouri, using at first a couple of Beech F17D “Staggerwings,” and then two Cessna UC-78 twin – engined “Bamboo Bombers.” The whole affair had been somewhat cavalier in its approach, and lasted only until 28 November of the same year, because of apparent irregulari­ties in the registration process.

Parks Air Transport

Meanwhile, another aspirant to operate a local airline was Parks Air Transport, organized by Oliver L. Parks, founder
of Parks Air College at East St. Louis in 1927. On 1 Novem­ber 1946, it was selected by the C. A.B., in the Mississippi Valley Service Case, to operate a network from Tulsa to Chicago, via St. Louis and other small cities. In July 1949, the Board opened the Parks Investigation Case, as Parks had not opened service. Eventually, on 15 June 1950, Parks Air Lines started to fly from St. Louis to Chicago (see map) on the Inter Urban Grain Belt Route, but it was a case of “too little, too late.” The C. A.B. cancelled Parks’s certificate on 28 July, and simultaneously granted Ozark Air Lines a three-year experimental one.

Ozark Air Lines Begins

The rejuvenated Ozark began operations with a small fleet of Douglas DC-3s on 26 September 1950, taking over the Parks routes and immediately expanding service to almost every small community within a 200-mile radius from St. Louis. Concentrating on connections to, from, and between St. Louis and Chicago, the network reached as far west as Wichita by 1953, and Sioux City by 1955, and as far east as Louisville and Nashville. By the mid-1950s, Ozark was pro­viding good service not only to the small towns but also to every major city in six states of the Midwest.

Подпись: Ozark's DC-3 (Challenger 250)

Local Service in the MidwestПодпись: Engine Pratt & Whitney R-1830 x 2 Length 64 feet MGTOW 25,200 lb. Span 95 feet Range 1,000 miles Height 17 feet

28 seats • 190 mph

Local Service in the Midwest

The Challenger 250

During the post-war period, when the airline industry was developing rapidly on all fronts, there was much talk about the dream of building a replacement for the pre-war twin-engined Douglas DC-3, or the military C-47, that had proved to be a versatile maid-of-all-work.

Several attempts were made by manufacturers to build a replacement, but they were unsuccessful, mainly because thousands of the old DC-3s were still perfectly operational, and threatened to go on for ever. To build a brand-new DC-3, with improvements, was too costly, although a few “Hyper-DC-3s” were tried out. Ozark Air Lines elected to compromise, by extensive modifications to the old Gooney Bird: new wheel-well doors, flush antennas, a new oil-cooler scoop, new wing fillet fairings, aileron gap covers, shorter exhaust stacks, and better engine cowlings. The Ozark DC-3s were called Challenger 250s and although heavier than the standard versions, their aerodynamic improvements gave them an extra 20 mph.

This particular aircraft was built as a DST (see page 41), and was only the sixth DC-3 off the production line in Santa Monica, California. At one time it held the record for being the oldest DC-3 in commercial service. Note the streamlined “Super DC-3” landing gear doors.

Local Service in the Midwest Local Service in the Midwest

OZARK’S DOUGLAS DC-3S

Above the Weather

Above the Weather
Подпись:

Up, Up, and Away

T. W.A. had been experimenting with high-altitude flying for most of the 1930s, ever since ex-Naval Lieutenant D. W. “Tommy” Tomlinson started serious work in 1934 with the Northrop Gamma (see page 27). During the two years 1935­1936, he was estimated to have done more flying (with oxygen equipment) at altitudes above 30,000 feet than all other pilots, military and civil, combined. His experience— in practical terms exclusive to T. W.A.—led to the conclusion that 95% of all weather problems occurred below 16,000 feet, so that an aircraft that flew at 20,000 feet would be much smoother in flight, and faster.

Improved Comfort Level

The full benefit that such an innovation brought to the airline clientele is sometimes forgotten. Unpressurized DC-3s, which were flying 85% of the airline mileage in the United States by 1940, were a great improvement over the old Fords; but they still had to fly at low altitudes and through weather that was too often very turbulent, mainly because of low
clouds that could not be avoided. The term “air pocket” was used to describe sudden, sometimes violent, changes of alti­tude, in which the aircraft would drop suddenly, and so would the passengers, except for their stomachs. Air sickness, rare today, was a common occurrence in the 1930s.

T. W.A. Does It Again

The introduction of the Boeing 307 Stratoliner, described on the opposite page, was the first commercial aircraft to incorporate cabin pressurization to eliminate the discomfort of low altitude flying. Even though the differential against sea level pressure was only 2-1/2 lb/square inch, this was enough to enable the 307 to cruise at 20,000 feet “above the weather.” Although on the transcontinental route, two stops still had to be made, and sometimes three, when T. W.A. inau­gurated the service on 8 July 1940, it cut the coast-to-coast time to less than 14 hours, some four hours quicker than the DC-3’s. One of the economies for the airline was a marked decline in the budget allocated for the purchase of sick-bags, and, in those days, sick-cups.

Above the Weather

While Tommy Tomlinson was exploring the realms of higher altitude and higher speed, the last veteran of a bygone age saw brief service with T. W.A. In 1935, a Ford Tri-Motor, fitted with floats, was delivered from New England and Western Transportation (and ex­Eastern Air Transport) on 26 April 1933. NC-410H (msn 5-AT-69) operated a shuttle service in the New York Harbor area, carrying passengers from outlying points. The aircraft was sold to Colombia’s SCADTA on 11 February 1936.

 

This photograph illustrates very well the much-promoted claim that the Stratoliner could fly “above the weather."

 

Above the Weather

Atlantic Number One

Подпись: 250Подпись: 250Подпись:Подпись:Подпись: 150Подпись: 100Подпись:Подпись: 200Подпись: 150Подпись:Подпись: 50Подпись:

Confident Start

T. W.A. had entered the North Atlantic airways artery in 1946, to face two incumbent airlines from the United States, and, by 1948, seven national airlines from Europe. The United States contingent, comprising Pan American, American Overseas (A. O.A.), and T. W.A., was dominant, carrying about 60% of the total annual passengers, which, by 1950, had exceeded 300,000. In that year, thanks to the popularity of the Constel­lation, T. W.A. had almost overtaken Juan Trippe’s Pan Am, with 66,000 V. 69.000 passengers. But no sooner had Howard Hughes changed the name to Trans World Airlines, he was confronted with the merger of Pan American and A. O.A., which accounted for 40,000 passengers. This enabled Pan Am to maintain its lead, although T. W.A. was comfortably in second place until 1958.

Obstacles to Progress

When the Jet Age began, however (and as described on page 69) T. W.A. was not prepared for the North Atlantic onslaught. Financial stringency had obliged it to concentrate on the domestic network, while awaiting the long-range Boeing 707s, and a year’s delay cost it dearly. The British B. O.A. C., which had really started the Jet Age, temporarily, with the

Comet in 1952, got into its stride, and pushed T. W.A. into third place for several years. One reason was that both Pan American and B. O.A. C. operated the splendid Boeing 377 Stratocruisers which had great appeal for the trans-ocean air traveller, with its luxury amenities that included a downstairs cocktail bar. And in addition to the Boeing 707, B. O.A. C. had also introduced the Bristol Britannia turboprop ‘Whispering Giant’ to provide added capacity.

T. W.A. Takes the Lead

But during the 1960s, with new ownership and management T. W.A. began to reassert itself. It built up the Boeing 707 fleet energetically, and eventually 133 aircraft—almost as many as Pan Am. By 1969, it had overtaken the hitherto unas­sailable Pan Am, and continued to maintain at least parity throughout the 1970s. Indeed, many regular trans-Atlantic travellers habitually expressed a preference for the T. W.A. operation and service standards, a reputation that was main­tained until in more recent times British Airways gradually claimed ascendancy, and Pan American’s demise was accom­panied by T. W.A. owner Carl Icahn’s sale of the coveted London routes in 1991 and 1992.

This chart shows the change of leadership on the North Atlantic
air route during the 1960s.

Shannon,

 

___ London

 

T’ankfurt

brich

Milan

 

Santa Maria

 

Tel Aviv

 

>hahran

 

Colombo

 

INTERNATIONAL ROUTES

1968

 

‘airobi

 

Dar e? Salaam

 

REGD

 

Ozark’s DC-3 Replacements

Ozark's DC-3 ReplacementsOzark's DC-3 ReplacementsTime to Move On

When Ozark received some new route awards on 9 December 1958, in the decisions in the Seven States Area Case, the time seemed ripe to supplement the old DC-3s with modern feeder airliners. A selection committee chose the Dutch 40- seat Fokker F-27, powered by Rolls-Royce Dart turboprop engines, and put them into service on 4 January 1960. With traffic growing healthily, more ‘DC-3 Replacements’ were required, and the first Convair 240 piston-engined 40-seater went into service on 14 August 1962.

Aircraft Exchange

The Convairs did not stay long. In an ingenious solution to equipment problems, Ozark and Mohawk Airlines filed jointly with the C. A.B. for approval of an exchange of air­craft: Ozark took eight of Mohawk’s Martins for four of its Convairs, thus standardizing both fleets. The C. A.B. acted swiftly, and the first Martin 404 entered Ozark service on 1 December 1964.

During this time, Laddie Hamilton, Ozark’s founder, resigned on 6 August 1959, and Joseph Fitzgerald took over as president, He too resigned on 30 July 1963, and Thomas L. Grace was appointed president on 18 February 1964. He was to guide Ozark into the Jet Age, was elected chairman of the board on 21 August 1970, but died on 21 July 1971, just before the death of founder Hamilton three months later.

OZARK’S MARTIN 404S

 

Ozark's DC-3 Replacements

Regn.

MSN

Delivery

Date

Remarks and Disposal

N470M

14109

2 Jun 65

(FH) 7 Jui 67.

N471M

14112

1 Oct 65

(FH) 29 Jul 67.

N468M

14139

13 Apr 65

(FH) 30 Mar 67.

N456A

14147

16 Mar 65

Ex-Charlotte Aircraft Corp. (FH) 4 Aug 67.

N469M

14148

29 Dec 64

(FH) 2 Apr 68.

N464M

14151

19 Dec 65

(FH) 12 Jun 67.

N465M

14152

23 Sep 65

(FH) 17 Aug 67.

N462M

14153

11 Mar 65

(FH) 29 Dec 67.

N463M

14155

24 Aug 64

(FH) 7 Jul 67.

N460M

14162

10 Aug 65

(FH) 14 Sep 67.

N466M

14163

20 May 65

(FH) 3 Jun 67.

N467M

14164

26 Oct 64

(FH) 11 Mar 67.

N473M

14224

23 Aug 65

(FH) 17 Aug 67.

N461M

14227

29 Dec 65

(FH) 7 Jul 67.

N472M

14234

9 Jul 65

(FH) 12 Jan 67.

Notes: (FH) = Sold to Fairchild-Hiller Corp. All except N456A (ex-Charlotte Aircraft Corp.) were ex-Mohawk Airlines.

 

OZARK’S CONVAIR 240S

 

Ozark's DC-3 Replacements

Ozark's DC-3 ReplacementsOzark's DC-3 Replacements

Ozark's DC-3 Replacements

Ozark's DC-3 Replacements

Turbine Power

As mentioned on page 94, Ozark Air Lines moved with the times and began to retire its old DC-3s, trustworthy and reli­able though they were, simply because the Jet Age had arrived and the trunk airlines were all rushing to upgrade their fleets with Boeing 707s and Douglas DC-8s on their premier routes, and introducing ВАС One-Elevens and Douglas DC-9s on their secondary routes. The travelling public was beginning to look askance at any airliners that still had pro­pellers. The Local Service airlines, whose networks now reached beyond the boondocks into the big cities, had to ‘keep up with the Joneses.’ The answer was a compromise: turbine power (which the publicists could refer to as jet power) with jet engines that drove propellers, and called turboprops or propjets.

The Fokkers and Fairchilds

Of all the Rolls-Royce Dart-engined turboprop airliners, the Fokker F-27 had a head-start on the competitors, the Avro 748, the Handley Page Herald, and the Nihon YS-11. More than 600 of all types were sold world-wide. Ozark put them into service on 4 January 1960 and six years later, with bur­geoning traffic demand on all fronts, ordered the U. S. license – built development, the Fairchild-Hiller FH-227. Ozark had increased its capital by $12 million to finance this order, as well as one for more Douglas DC-9 jets, which went into service during the same year (see page 96). The first FH-227 schedule was on 19 December 1966.

OZARK’S FOKKER F-27S

Goodbye to Pistons

On 26 October 1968, the veteran Douglas DC-3 fleet was retired, and this included one of the earliest off the production line (as noted on page 93), originally a DST that had logged 65,000 hours in flying time. The last revenue service was from St. Louis to Kansas City, and from then onwards, the Ozark Air Lines fleet was all turbine-powered.

F-27

Engines

Rolls-Royce Dart

Length

77 feet

(1,670 ehp) x 2

Span

95 feet

NIGTOW

405,000 lb.

Height

28 feet

Range

400 miles

The stretched FH-227featured three more cabin windows than the standard F-27 from which it was derived.

Ш-227В

Engines

Rolls-Royce Dart

Length

84 feet

(1,990 ehp) x 2

Span

95 feet

MGTOW

45,500 lb.

Height

28 feet

Range

550 miles

Ozark's DC-3 Replacements

Fairchild F-27 (photo: Roger Bentley)

Ozark's DC-3 Replacements

Fairchild-Hiller FH-227B (photo: Roger Bentley)

Ozark's DC-3 Replacements

Ozark's DC-3 Replacements

One of Ozark’s DC-9-34s over the grid-patterned fields of the Midwest.

 

Minneapolis-St. Paul

 

Ji50”

Milwaukee

 

OZARK
AIR LINES

(Regional)

 

New York

 

This series of maps dearly illustrates Ozark’s transition from local service to regional airline status.

 

Ozark's DC-3 Replacements

Denver^”

 

Las Vegas,

San Diego

‘ms

REGD

 

1960

 

Son Antonio

 

Ft. t-aua

 

Miami

 

Ozark's DC-3 ReplacementsOzark's DC-3 ReplacementsOzark's DC-3 Replacements

DC-9-30

 

Douglas

127 seats • 560 mph

 

OZARK’S DOUGLAS ©C-9S

 

Ozark's DC-3 Replacements

Regn.

MSN

Delivery

Date

Remarks and Disposal

Series 15

N970Z

45772

25 May 66

First Ozark DC-9.

N971Z

45773

10 Jul 66

Merged with TWA, 26 Oct 86. Returned to lessor, 20 Apr 00.

N968E

45786

7 Dec 72

Ex-Swissair, ex-Air Panama, ex-Douglas. Sold TIA, 28 Mar 74.

N490SA

45798

3 Nov 66

Ex-Standard Airways, ex-Ozark Air Lines.

N49ISA

45799

1 Oct 68

Ex-Standard Airways, ex-Ozark Air Lines.

N972Z

45841

24 Aug 66

Sold to Douglas Aircraft, 29 Oct 74.

N969Z

47001

3 Jul 72

Ex-Saudia. Leased to and returned LAV, 8 Aug 75 to 15 Oct 76. Leased to and returned Southern Airways, 10 Sep 77 to 1 Jun 78.

N973Z

47033

31 Jul 67

Returned to lessor, 20 Apr 00.

N974Z

47034

1 Sep 67

Leased to and returned Air West, 12 Mar 68 to 16 Oct 68. Crashed after aborted take-off Sioux City, Iowa, 27 Dec 68.

N975Z

47035

10 Oct 67

Returned to lessor, 20 Apr 00.

Series 31

N993Z

47082

2 May 75

Ex-Northeast.

N992Z

47095

3 Apr 75

Ex-Northeast.

N991Z

47096

6 Feb 75

Ex-Northeast.

N994Z

47097

6 Jun 75

Crashed after hitting a snowplow during take-off, Sioux Falls, SD. 21 Dec 83. Sold to Aviations Sales Company Inc., Jun 84.

N988Z

47134

1 Apr 74

Ex-Northeast.

N989Z

47135

1 May 74

Ex-Northeast.

N990Z

47136

3 Jun 74

Ex-Northeast.

N987Z

47137

1 Mar 74

Ex-Northeast.

N976Z

47248

26 Feb 68

Retired 25 May 00.

N977Z

47249

19 Apr 68

N978Z

47250

10 May 68

N982PS

47251

14 Jul 69

Ex-Pacific Southwest Airl Lines.

N979Z

47343

25 Feb 69

Ex-Ozark Air Lines.

N980Z

47344

27 Mar 69

N981Z

47345

21 Apr 69

Leased to Allegheny Airlines, 18 Feb /4 to 14 Feb /6.

N983Z

47411

8 Dec 69

N984Z

47412

11 Dec 69

N985Z

47491

25 Jun 70

N986Z

47589

4 Dec 73

Series 32

N995Z

47027

3 Feb 77

Ex-Delta.

N996Z

47028

13 Jul 77

Ex-Delta.

N997Z

47029

28 Jul 77

Ex-Delta.

N998R

47030

15 Jun 77

Ex-Delta.

N921L

47107

20 Dec 78

Ex-Delta.

N922L

47108

6 Mar 79

Ex-Delta.

N923L

47109

5 Jun 79

Ex-Delta.

N926L

47172

11 Dec 79

N931L

47173

19 May 81

Ex-Delta.

 

Ozark's DC-3 ReplacementsOzark's DC-3 ReplacementsOzark's DC-3 Replacements

Boeing 307B Stratoliner

Boeing 307B Stratoliner33 seats • 220 mph

B.

STRATOLINER

———- E———

Подпись: Engines Wright GR-1820 Cyclone (900 hp) x 4 Length 74 feet NIGT0W 42,000 lb. Span 107 feet Range 1,250 miles Height 21 feet Подпись:Подпись:

The 307 was T. W.A.’s first aircraft to incorporate the use of white in its bare metal color scheme.

Boeing Fights Back

T. W.A.’s introduction of the Douglas DC-2 in 1934 had been a severe blow to the Boeing Com­pany. But it was still a driving force in the military field, and its B-17 Flying Fortress bomber —named because of its impressive array of defensive armament—ensured its survival. Boeing engineers and designers adapted the B-17 as an airliner by substituting a commercially accept­able fuselage but keeping the same wing, tail, and four engines. The result was the innovative Boeing 307 Stratoliner.

The First Pressurized Airliner

The fuselage was the most notable advance in design and construction since Jack Northrop’s monocoque replacement of the steel framework. The fuselage of the Boeing 307 Stratoliner was hermetically sealed so that, by maintaining the same pressure inside the cabin as at low altitudes—at the equivalent of 8,000-10,000 feet—the 307 could climb to higher altitudes without discomfort to the passengers or crew. It was advertised as “flying above the weather” and the term pressurization soon came into use. The name Stratoliner neatly conveyed the idea of reaching for the stratosphere, which in 1940 was perceived by the flying public as almost like flying into space.

An Eventful Life

Although T. W.A. and Pan American both put it into service in 1940, the Stratoliner’s airline life was commercially short. The aircraft’s fuel capacity was limited, to the extent that it did not have trans-ocean range, at least with an acceptable payload. But Boeing was a little unlucky, in that before improvements could be made, as is normal with all great airliners, the outbreak of the Second World War disrupted both demand and production. Only ten were built, of which T. W.A. had five. It entered service on the transcontinental route on 8 July 1940. As explained in the following pages, it suffered the ignominy of having its pressurization system removed so that the weight saving permitted a payload to be carried across the Atlantic. The 307 was a

Подпись: Registration MSN Delivery Date Remarks 41-20137 3050 1 Dec 42 Ех-USAAF C-54-DO (41-20137). Leased to T.W.A. Dec 42-9 Jon 43. This was the first C-54 built. 41-32939 3114 8 Sep 42 Ех-USAAF C-54-DO (41-32939). Crashed, Paramaribo, 15 Jan 43 Подпись:Подпись: