By Phil Brooks

My wife Pam and I were planning a trip to the Traverse City, MI area to visit friends and enjoy the beautiful scenery. On our second day there, since she was going to the town of Charlevoix to go shopping with her friend, I decided to sample the two airlines that fly from Charlevoix Municipal Airport (KCVX) to nearby Beaver Island. The plan was to ride on Fresh Air Aviation to Beaver Island Airport (KSJX), find my way to Welke Airport (6Y8), and fly back to Charlevoix on Island Airways.  

I had called ahead to both companies to find out how things operated. The two airlines don’t have a published schedule. They operate “on demand” but a couple of weeks out,  I found that Fresh Air had an 11 am departure planned, which would work well with our hosts and the shopping trip, so I made a reservation. The cost was $68.50, and I would be charged on the day of departure.

When making my reservation, the planned aircraft type would be a Partenavia P-68. Not a traditional airliner, but a new type for me, which is my yearly goal, along with at least one new airport. If all went well, I would get three of those that day! The only uncertain things were the weather, and getting myself between the two Beaver Island Airports, which are 4.7 miles apart. I could walk, but I didn’t want to keep Pam waiting as we had plans for later.

The weather dawned cloudy on July 16, 2024, but, was forecast to improve at 11 am. It actually cleared out at 10 am – perfect. After a quick look at Charlevoix, the ladies dropped me off at Fresh Air’s office, just down the road from the main terminal at CVX.  I arrived an hour before departure (even though they want passengers to arrive 30 minutes before departure. I was greeted by Lori, who weighed my carry-on bag (I brought my laptop to get some work done in case I got stuck somewhere) and charged my credit card.  I took advantage of the extra time and went back outside to call Island Airways and see how things looked for a return flight later that day. I was advised there was space on the 1 pm departure and that I should be able to get a taxi between airports. If not, they would send someone to pick me up!

There was good news: we had seven passengers so they would be operating a Beechcraft Queen Air on the route – also a new airplane type for me! And since the Partenavia is a much newer aircraft, I figured I would have other opportunities to fly on one. I had tried to get a Queen Air ride in the 1990s on Bemidji Airlines, but the flight was canceled and I never had the time to try it again. 

This Fresh Air Queen Air was powered by Twin Lycoming IO-720 eight-cylinder engines (An Excalibur 800 conversion from the original design). The plane has a very distinct and wonderful sound!

We were transported on a van from their office to their hangar, just south of RW09-27, about halfway down the runway. Their Queen Air in an ex-US Army paint scheme was jacked up in the hangar, so we were assigned to N5078G, painted white with brown trim, and small Fresh Air Aviation titles. We stood by while the cargo was loaded (Fresh Air and Island Airways do a large freight business) and then we boarded through the aft airstairs. I was assigned the right seat, next to pilot Jackson. I think Lori
knew I would enjoy that, and I did!

We departed one minute early and were airborne in two minutes from Runway 27. In addition to the six adults, there was a baby girl (on her first flight!) and a small dog in the row behind me. Cruising altitude was 1,500 feet, and the flight time was 13 minutes. We landed on Runway 27 at Beaver Island Airport (SJX) and were in the blocks three minutes later. I deplaned, took some pictures, and waited in the terminal for one of the agents to return after the aircraft departed for Charlevoix. 

I asked if anyone was going to town or the other airport, and was told no. I was referred to several taxi service phone numbers on the wall. I was calling one of them when a man (he had seen off some passengers for the outbound) walked by and asked if I needed a ride into town. Welke Airport was on the way, so I accepted his kind offer.  I learned his name is also Phil, so we got a kick out of that! He’s a longtime (since 1979) resident of the area and a former private pilot, so we had a nice talk. The 2.6 mile ride took less than ten minutes. I wouldn’t have minded walking, but had to catch the 1 pm departure.

Island Airways was departing for Charlevoix when I arrived, but I didn’t inquire about getting on it. I wanted to look around during the one-hour wait. There was another Islander in the hangar, and some cool 1970s cars in the long-term parking lot to photograph! I recorded the departure, which was good and loud! I checked in and paid the $72 fare. As with the Fresh Air flight, there was no ticket. A steady stream of customers were dropping off and picking up their freight shipments.

Soon the Britten-Norman BN-2A Islander (N80KM, former LIAT- Leeward Islands Air Transport Services) returned from Charlevoix with more passengers, and after it was unloaded, we boarded for my return to CVX.  I was assigned the right rear seat (1B) by pilot Brian upon boarding. 

The man next to me was a business traveler- a healthcare worker from the mainland, returning from one of his visits to care for residents. A couple ahead of us was using this service for the first time, versus taking the ferry. The ferry costs $32.50 per passenger, one way, and takes two hours – that would be an easy decision for me!

We had five passengers and departed seven minutes early, taking off from Runway 27 one minute later. Flight time was 16 minutes and I couldn’t view our altitude. We passed one of the ferries on the way! We made a left downwind arrival to Runway 27, and blocked in at the modern terminal after a two-minute taxi.

I noted that the right seat’s occupant was walking toward another Islander on the ramp – it was Paul Welke, the airport and airline’s owner, who had deadheaded there to pick up an aircraft for another mission!

I was told about this operation by the owner of New England Airlines, another Islander operator, flying from Block Island, NY to Westerly, RI in 2019. I was glad to have finally experienced this operation and highly recommend this excursion if you find yourself in Northern Michigan. I plan to return to Beaver Island to check out the non-aviation sights!

All photographs courtesy of the author.

By Thomas O. Hilditch

When wandering through the streets of Salt Lake City, UT you will inevitably run across the Family Search Library, a genealogical research facility located in downtown on the southwest side of Temple Square. It’s the largest genealogical library in the world with over 2.4 million searchable records on file.

I entered the facility with great curiosity and was interested in what I might find. Working with a volunteer research assistant, I discovered a remarkable trove of documents. Many years of my family history was spread before me in the form of marriage certificates, birth and death documents, visa forms, and more.

In disbelief, I also found a BOAC flight manifest dated December 26, 1953  – a Boeing 377 Stratocruiser, tail number G-ALSD “Cassiopeia” for a flight from London, UK to New York, NY. Prominent on this document, I found myself listed as a four-year-old passenger! My first of many transatlantic crossings. Wow, what a find!!

The Boeing 377 Stratocruiser, developed in the late 1940s, was a luxurious commercial airliner based on the World War II B-29 bomber. Although it offered passengers a comfortable and spacious flying experience, it ultimately faced challenges with operating costs which led to limited production and eventual retirement from commercial service.

Transatlantic flying in those days was an arduous 15 to 20-hour journey with many stopovers.  The first leg would be from London, UK to Shannon, Ireland for one and a half hours. Stopover ground time at Shannon would be an additional one or two hours. The stopovers at each landing were a crucial part of the trip ensuring the aircraft could safely complete the journey across the Atlantic. 

The complexity of the B-377 engines made maintenance and repairs challenging and time-consuming. Specialized training and tools were required, and even minor issues could result in significant downtime for the aircraft. Before take-off, the aircraft would be maneuvered to a holding apron where engines would run at full power for several minutes.  If no problem surfaced the journey could continue. Otherwise, it would return to the terminal, passengers disembarked, and maintenance would resolve the issue.

The next leg of the journey would be the actual ocean crossing This would be an eight-hour flight to Gander, Newfoundland  – part of the London to New York “Great Circle Route” since 1936. A Stratocruiser arriving in Gander would generally have a one to two-hour stopover to refuel and remedy any mechanical issues.  The final flight to New York’s Idlewild airport was an additional four to five hours.

I would like to note that my father, as an RAF pilot, completed a similar journey in 1942 as a youthful 24-year-old. A Lockheed Hudson was a much smaller aircraft than the Stratocruiser and required many more stops. Starting in Prestwick UK he would fly Reykjavik, Iceland – Goose Bay, Labrador – Montreal-Dorval, Quebec – and finally on to New York.  Total flying time was 28 hours. 

By Sara Gradwohl

Daniel Kusrow, past editor of the “Labels and Stickers” section for the Captain’s Log, recently gave a video lecture for the American Air Mail Society on the history of airline baggage label collecting.

In the recording, produced by the American Air Mail Society and the Rocky Mountain Philatelic Library, Kusrow covers many aspects of airline ephemera, including airline baggage labels, various other types of labels and posters. You’ll see many stickers from both WAHS and Airliners International.

We invite you to watch Daniel’s in-depth and informative lecture.

What labels, stickers and other ephemera do you collect? Do you have an airline collectibles story to tell? Email captainslog@wahsonline.com for information on how to share your story.

By Marvin G. Goldman

The first airport in the Kansas City, MO metropolitan area was Richards Field which opened in 1922 at the border between Kansas City and Raytown, MO. It had limited commercial airline passenger service and was mainly utilized for air mail and military purposes.

As Richards Field proved inadequate for expanding commercial airline passenger operations, Kansas City built in 1927 a new airport in a sharp bend along the Missouri River close to downtown. Initially called “New Richards Airport,” its name soon became “Kansas City Municipal Airport” and was sometimes referred to as the “Downtown Airport.” The new airport received airport code “MKC,” presumably taken from “Municipal Kansas City.” A modern passenger terminal opened at this new airport in December
1929.

Another airport, called Fairfax Airport, was also established in the 1920s, located across the river from the Kansas City Municipal Airport. Some commercial airline flights operated from Fairfax in the late 1920s and into the 1930s, but it was mainly used for industrial purposes.

Kansas City Municipal Airport (MKC)

In October 1930 Transcontinental Air Transport, Western Air Express, and three other airlines merged to form Transcontinental and Western Air, later named TWA (Trans World Airlines). TWA established its headquarters in Kansas City and became the most prominent airline at MKC. It also established its maintenance and overhaul base nearby across the river at Fairfax Airport.

The next most prominent airline at MKC after TWA was Mid-Continent Airlines, originally formed under the name Hanford Airlines in 1936. In 1938 the airline changed its name to Mid-Continent and moved its company headquarters to Kansas City’s Fairfax Airport. Mid-Continent merged into Braniff International Airways in 1952.

The Original “MCI” – Mid-Continent International Airport

In 1951 Kansas City suffered a great flood that severely damaged TWA’s maintenance and overhaul base and many other facilities at Fairfax Airport across the Missouri River from the downtown Kansas City Municipal Airport (MKC). Some facilities at MKC were also damaged. Moreover, the Kansas City, Missouri Municipality recognized that there was little room for any expansion of airline activity at the two airports. The Municipality started planning a new airport facility 15 miles (24 km.) northwest of downtown Kansas
City in Platte County, MO, away from the Missouri River.

The new airport opened in 1956. It was named Mid-Continent International Airport and received the IATA airport code MCI.

TWA moved its main overhaul base there, and Braniff established a hub at the new airport. However, the runways and terminals at each of MKC and MCI were too small to serve in the future as Kansas City’s main airport.

Most passengers still preferred to travel out of MKC because of its proximity to downtown. However, once jet aircraft started flying in and out of MKC, the jets had difficulty landing on the short runways, and taking off presented challenges because of the downtown skyscrapers. MKC was also congested. A 1963 report by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) described MKC as “one of the poorest major airports in the country for large jet aircraft” and asked that no more federal funds be disbursed for it.

The New MCI – Kansas City International Airport

As a result, Kansas City, with the encouragement of TWA, decided to convert the MCI site into a major, modern airport. This new airport, built on the MCI site and named Kansas City International Airport, was dedicated October 23, 1972 and officially opened for commercial service on November 11, 1973. The original IATA airport code MCI was retained for the new airport, so that’s how Kansas City International is MCI (rather than KCI).

After the new MCI opened, all airlines serving Kansas City moved their operations there, and Kansas City Municipal Airport (MKC) was converted to serve only general aviation. In October 1977 the name of Kansas City Municipal Airport was changed to Kansas City Downtown Airport, and the name was changed again in August 2002 to Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport (Wheeler was Kansas City’s mayor 1971-
1979).

New Terminal at MCI, 2023

With mandated new airport security procedures following the 9/11/2001 terror attacks, the design of MCI’s three circular terminals became increasingly inefficient because there was inadequate room and separation areas available for passenger security screening. Moreover, the other terminal facilities were becoming crowded and outdated.

In 2017 it was decided to build a single modern terminal to replace the three old terminals. The City broke ground on the project in March 2019. Old Terminal A was demolished to build the new terminal in its place. Terminals B and C continued in operation only until the opening of the new single terminal.

On February 28, 2023, the new $1.5 billion single terminal opened. Its spacious interior is filled with natural light, and features upgraded technology and amenities, beautiful local artwork, and convenient gate access. Security checkpoints have been consolidated into one area with flexible features. There are 40 gates and two concourses. Passageways and glass passenger boarding bridges provide expansive
views of the surrounding airfield. I do not have any postcards yet of the new MCI terminal, but it is featured in many photos, videos, and articles on the internet. For example, follow this link for photos by the architect.

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NOTES: All postcards in this article are from the author’s collection. I estimate their rarity as follows: Uncommon: United Airlines aerial view of MKC; T-A-T Ford Trimotor at MKC; Mid-Continent Airlines DC-3 at MKC; group of TWA Constellations and Martins at MKC; and Frontier 737-200 at MCI. The rest are fairly common.

I hope to see you at Airliners International™ 2024 MCI, 26-29 June 2024, at the Hilton Kansas City Airport Hotel. You can see the outstanding new MCI terminal in person while attending the world’s largest airline history and collectibles show and convention, with nearly 200 vendor tables for buying, selling, and trading airline memorabilia (including postcards, of course), seminars, the annual meeting of the World Airline Historical Society, annual banquet, tours and more. Follow this link for more information: airlinersinternational.org.

Airliners International™ 2024 MCI will include an airline/airport postcard exhibit area. Please consider submitting an exhibit entry. Follow this this link for postcard entry guidelines.

Happy collecting. Marvin.

By Phil Brooks

Note: All photos are courtesy of the author except where noted.

In the mid-1980s, Fred Erdman, from Springfield, OH, and one of the original World Airline Hobby Club members, told me there was a DC8 restaurant near the town of Hillsboro, OH. I flew over it (I don’t remember who the pilot was, but it wasn’t me) shortly after that in the spring of 1986, but it was several more years before I could visit it. It turns out the DC8 was actually northeast of Mowrystown, OH, but Hillsboro was used as a reference since it was the nearest town of any size. The actual location was at the intersection of US Hwy 62 and OH Route 321, where the two roads form a “Y”.

I told my friend Pete Crawford about it, and he learned there was an airstrip nearby. Pete got permission from Fred Kay, the strip’s owner, to land his flying club’s Cessna Cutlass there on January 3, 1988. We flew over from Eagle Creek Airpark (now KEYE) in Indianapolis.

Our party of three walked to the Highland South restaurant, and while I don’t remember eating a meal there, we did get access to the DC8, which was not in use at the time. I found this old newspaper article that mentions the owner had difficulty heating it, so it was mainly being used for private parties: follow this link to read the Cincinnati Enquirer DC8 article.

Fred recently told me that he carpeted his attic floor with the original Eastern blue carpet from the plane!

The aircraft came south by road from the former Clinton County AFB in Wilmington, Ohio, where it was used as a “spares” source by Overseas National Airlines at their maintenance base, which is now Wilmington Air Park (ILN). 

The left (public) side was painted in different colors, maybe so it wouldn’t be confused with any specific airline. The “wings” were not original to the aircraft.

It was far from any population center or major highway, so we were probably among the few airline enthusiasts to visit. Nice that they left the registration on the right side!  

I wonder how long it lasted there, before being broken up? The restaurant still exists; it’s now called “The Old Y.”

Here are a few overhead shots of the DC8 Restaurant and “the Old Y.”

Thanks to Maria Roberts, daughter of the restaurant’s owners Coburn and Susan Davidson, for contacting us in July 2025 and providing this additional newspaper clipping:

By David C. Powell

Editor’s Note: This speech was given by David Powell and Connor McCauley on June 24, 2023, at the annual Airliners International 2023-DFW Banquet.

Connor McCauley and I are here to talk about the appreciation we feel for the friendships that have resulted from these shows, beyond the models, barf bags and postcards and other items. What we’re here appreciating tonight is the part when all the fun talk about planes goes beyond that, to personal long-term friendships. 

Like so many of you, I’ve loved planes and trains since I can remember. My Dad would take me and my younger brother to Philadelphia (PHL) to see DC-8s Viscounts, Electras, 707s, CV 580s, 880s and Caravelles, some of which would disappear behind their own black exhausts until liftoff.

On my 10th birthday, my Dad took my brother and me on our first flights: a United DC-8 from Philadelphia to New York-JFK to take part in New York Airways helicopter rides. Our return was on the iconic TWA Connie from JFK back to PHL. 

When I was 14, Dad “volunteered” me to work in a travel agency where I hand-wrote tickets. I was mesmerized by the domestic and international OAG books.  I collected timetables, had and built models, hung posters on my walls all the while I was thinking, “yeah, ha, right…. me and about 20 other people in the world go for this kind of stuff.”

I discovered this hobby group at age 32 through a truly strange connection – an advertisement in, of all things, an ATP decal catalog that spoke of an airline show in Indianapolis, IN. I was working for Conrail and they transferred me to Indianapolis.

When I registered, this gentleman, Phil Brooks calls me and asked “How come we haven’t heard from you before? Are you new?” We met that day and went into the office where he worked at American Trans Air. That was July 1, 1987. I joined the local Indy group that Phil had started. 

Clint Groves, owner of ATP passed away a few years ago- but, I am grateful to him nonetheless, for placing that advertisement.  

That simple connection led to the mind-blowing event that followed: Phil was running the convention along with our great friend Art Smit-Roeters as his co-chairman, Art just passed at 92 in March 2023. 

The Indianapolis convention was attended by 770 similarly-minded folks!! Holy Cow. A whole new world had just opened up for me. I was beyond words, I was overwhelmed! Can anyone relate to this?

Phil was my first Airliners contact and we became fast friends. We decided to take a trip together. Our first trip was to Central America. We landed and took off from Tegucigalpa. In Guatemala City, we intended to ride a Convair 580 but it had a nose gear problem. Phil then sees this plane and says, “I don’t know where it’s going but we’re riding it!” It was an Aerovias Dart Herald! We rode it to Flores, Guatemala and back. We rode trains coast to coast in Costa Rica (for $3) Then on a regularly scheduled SANSA DC-3, once landing while standing up behind the pilots! We also rode a CASA 212 Aviocar. 

On an overnight at our hotel in San Jose, Costa Rica, in the middle of the night, I hear mumbling. I didn’t know where I was. Then Phil broke into “Britt Airways announces the departure of Flight 132 with service to Danville and Chicago. Please have your ticket out and available.” Well, at breakfast the next morning, I remembered this and asked Phil, “Did you ever work for Britt?”  Phil said, “I never told you that! How did you know?” I replied, “Because you made a boarding announcement in your sleep!” After much laughter, Phil said, “I did? NEAT!”

We then went to the Paris Air show, and he took me to the place where Charles Lindbergh stepped off his plane. 

We dipped our toes in the Arctic Ocean together at Tuktyoktuk and flew an Air North DC-3 pancake flight from Whitehorse to Fairbanks and then took the 12-hour train ride to Anchorage. 

We also flew on the the milk run aboard an Alaska 737-200Combi aircraft. 

We flew the world’s shortest scheduled commercial flight in the Orkney Islands together, only 2 minutes! 

It was his idea to use discounted Northwest miles to go to Sydney, Australia and return with a Honolulu stopover after a last-minute fuel stop in Noumea! 

Spent a weekend riding the US Air/Trump 727 Shuttles together. It all had been amazing.

My interest in trains had an effect on him for sure. What great times we have had together, a thousand wonderful and fun and funny memories. And a few absolutely astounding coincidences too! Thank you, Phil!

While at a mini-show with Phil in Atlanta in 1989, I met John Doan. We also became fast friends. I watched as he got hired by Eastern ATLRR in Atlanta and he would non-rev on DC-9s to visit me in Indianapolis.

I encouraged him to come to a Seattle show (we flew together on an Eastern A-300) and enter a model of his in the contest. He won a prize! We attended the show that featured Tex Johnson as the guest speaker. John was working the night EAL shut down.

We traveled to San Juan and flew on a Latin America Pass Frequent Flyer promo to Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama, as well as to Quito, Ecuador and Bogota, Colombia.

John has been a great friend. He would have been here but, he just moved to Vancouver. He still LOVES DC-9s and Super-80s. He even taught a parrot to say: “Dee-cee-Nine!”

Phil introduced me to Bill Demarest who was then living in my native Philadelphia area. Bill introduced me to Joe Crawford in Seattle in 1990. Joe had just missed the Hartford, CT show as he was attending Embry-Riddle in Daytona Beach, FL. He was handing out car rental coupons he was too young to use, and somehow got a group of us into the Admiral’s Club!

Joe and I started taking trips with lots of segments on American Airlines where he had status. We went to Panama and Belize and flew the SANSA DC-3 and a Trilsander together in Costa Rica as well. We once went to Edinburgh via Miami, New Orleans, and Dallas/Ft. Worth for the weekend!

In 1994, Joe suggested doing an incredible offer made by Chart House restaurants. Spend $25 in food at all 65 of their restaurants and they buy you two round trip tickets. Our first dinner was at Atlanta AI. 

Joe busted his left knee skiing at Mammoth Mountain on one trip. 

A group of us celebrated our 65th dinner during the Phoenix AI show at the Scottsdale Chart House. It was a truly amazing and magical night!

Joe got a medical waiver that day (knee) and joined the Rhode Island National Guard to fly C-130s!  Unforgettable celebratory night that all came together.

For the reward trip, in 1995 we flew Delta- Singapore-Swissair to New York JFK, San Francisco, South Korea, Taiwan, then Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Airport, Singapore, Phuket, Katmandu, Delhi, Bombay, Cairo, Rome, Switzerland and many more. The whole voyage took 28 days. 

A group of us got together one night at the CR Smith Museum celebrating Joe’s million miler passage in style! Amazing stories and loads of adventures! Too many to tell. Joe and I once went to Saba and climbed to the top of that mountain to have a view. He even once rented a plane and he flew us down the Hudson River flyway and circled the Statue of Liberty, plugged in a CD player with singing Frank Sinatra’s New York, New York! It was followed by a canoe ride on the Delaware River. Still my best day ever!  

We took a LOT of really fun and really great trips together!! It all made life really worth living!!! 

Valuable friendships happen here. It has been fun supporting Joe and watching him rise from instructor pilot to Kalitta, US Airways, Japan Air Lines and now flying the A321NEO at Hawaiian. Joe, you have been an amazing friend for 33 Years! 

There were 5 of us doing the lucrative Star Alliance promo that brought us together in Istanbul to get on that required THAI flight which flew three times per week from Munich.

I attended Tom Livesey’s wedding.

I was pallbearer at Joe’s dad’s funeral. 

We always had excellent and fun times with Scott O’Leary, and watched him go from college student to Aeroplan executive.

We miss Art, Paul K., Joe Yeager, and Jon Proctor. Jon published my article in May ’97 on my MGM Grand DC-8 trip roundtrip flight. Jon was a great guy; I even stayed at his place a few times. 

I could go on and on with trips and shared life experiences and long-term good friendships that have meant so much to me and so many. 

I wanted to share this sampling of these amazing experiences with you because I realize that NONE of them would have transpired if it weren’t for Clint, Phil, and this organization. None of these experiences!

WAHS has been a game-changer for me and I’m sure many of you. I don’t wish to think about what life would have been like if I’d never matched up with anyone here. Too much fun I would have missed. So, I am just mighty grateful.

Kind of a life lesson here: one simple act of sharing and inviting others can make a big difference.

I also think it’s good to stop for a moment to recognize all the great folks, who have, for years, sacrificed their time and energy to keep this organization and shows going and serving to facilitate not only the fun of the shows, but the extra great secondary benefit of the valuable friendships and enhanced life experiences that result from shows like this one. I’ve heard more than once attendees say, “I mostly go to these to see my friends again.” 

Many of us, like Connor, can relate to the joy of entering our first big annual show. There are hardly words to describe it all. It’s like coming home. It’s a feeling of, yes, I belong here, surrounded by like-minded aviation enthusiasts. These shows lead to friendships. 

Last year, while waiting in the check-in line at the Chicago show, I met this young man, Connor. It was his first show ever. He’s from a small town in Oklahoma. He didn’t know any aviation buffs there, so he started making aviation YouTube videos at age 10 to share his enthusiasm and love of aviation. There are now more than 35,000 followers of Red River Aviation of his Instagram feed and Youtube channel. Here is the simple act of sharing in motion.

As you can see, I love taking trips with folks; you really get to know someone that way. In January 2023, Connor and I rode Amtrak from Oklahoma City to Ft Worth. We then took a Boeing 787 Dreamliner to Miami, and a Delta 757-300 to Atlanta. We had a blast. You could hardly meet a smarter, more enthusiastic, joyful, and kinder person than Connor. We have more fun trips planned!

And now, here is Connor to share a few words.

By Steve Caisse

Follow this link to view this article as a pdf.

Follow this link if you’d prefer to download this article as a .pdf.

By Dennis Danesi

Way back in July 1972, I was heading with my parents to Los Angeles to visit Disneyland. This was going to be my very first time flying on an airplane and I was thrilled to learn that we were flying aboard a TWA 747. I was already in love with aviation as my Dad would take me to Chicago O’Hare Airport all the time to see the planes and walk around the terminals (back when you could do that) and he would even ask a Pilot or Flight Attendant to take me onboard an airplane for a few minutes just to see the passenger cabin and cockpit.

However, as things usually go, we received a call from our Travel Agent telling us that we were no longer going to be flying on a 747. TWA put this new aircraft on the route and we were going to be on their inaugural L-1011 flight. I was NOT happy at all, what was this L-1011 thing and why can’t we fly a 747?!?!  

When we arrived at the airport that day, I remember the news media being there. On board, they gave us beach towels as a remembrance of this inaugural flight.

I remember the Captain visiting the cabin and greeting passengers, including myself!!

Here is the crazy part, I have always wondered which TWA aircraft I was on for my first flight as a kid.

Fast forward to a couple of years ago.  I was starting a page on Facebook for Past US Aircraft and Liveries (US Airlines Past Liveries and Aircraft | Facebook) and was searching for photos. I came across the photo below and the caption Mr. Jon Proctor wrote. Needless to say, I was blown away.  My family and I were on that exact aircraft when Mr. Proctor took the photo so many years ago.  I only wish I had known sooner to share this with him.  His photos are amazing and I am glad that I found his site.

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Editor’s Note:  This is why we at the World Airline Historical Society keep the late Jon Proctor’s website alive, for great stories such as this. Do you have a story to share about a memorable flight or an aviation collectible? We want to hear from you! Leave your comments/contact information below or send us an email. We regret we are unable to publish all submissions.

By Fons Schaefers

Introduction

In the previous issue, we saw that in the mid-1960s safety cards became mandatory. This caused a proliferation of safety cards and parties being involved in their design and production. It set in motion some trends and developments that shaped the appearance of safety cards until this day. Let’s review them.

Expansion

The first trend was that, now that safety cards were mandatory, all airlines applied them. This included smaller airlines such as regional and air taxi operators which before did not have them. The USA led, but many other countries followed suit. A US example is Texas International Airlines, a local airline operating Convair 600s and DC-9s. It earned its “international” nomer because it flew across the border to Mexico. Its 1970 Convair 600 card has a mix of drawings and text, in English on one side and Spanish on the other. A revision of the card 2.5 years later is identical except for the evacuation slide. This is now of the inflatable kind, but who noticed?

An early example from Europe is a card for the Fokker F.27. Although it does not say so, this card was in use with NLM. That stands for Nederlandse Luchtvaartmaatschappij – Netherlands Airlines, which started in 1966 and was affiliated to KLM. Initially, it flew domestic routes only with two F.27s leased from the Royal Netherlands Air Force, but gradually expanded into a regional carrier. It exists today as KLM Cityhopper. The card reproduced was its first card and dates back to about 1970. Its design did not follow the style in use by KLM at the day. Rather, it was copied from a sample made by Fokker, the aircraft manufacturer. Text prevailed, in Dutch and English on the front side, German and French on the back. The title however was only in English – on both sides.

A trend that emerged in the 1970s and 1980s was leasing of aircraft between airlines. There are many varieties of leasing. For the safety card collector, the most interesting one is where there is a mix of features on it from both the lessee (the airline that leases in) and the lessor (the airline that leases out). An example is the Aeroflot Ilyushin 62 that was leased out to Air India in the late 1980s. For the passengers, it should have the look of Air India, hence the Air India logo. All text is in three languages: Hindi, English and Russian, except that the header has three more languages: German, Polish and Greek, probably a remnant from the Aeroflot example. Note the distances to the ground from exit sills. Only Russian cards have this useful information.

Safety cards also found their way on non-commercial transport aircraft. An example is the Gulfstream 1 operated by Pittsburgh National Bank from 1983 to 1985. This aircraft sat less than 20 passengers so there was no cabin staff on board. The card explains where passengers can find the refreshments and that cockpit jump-seat rides are allowed!

In some countries the introduction of safety cards was delayed. In the UK it remained common well into the 1970s to have safety information included in the company’s in-flight magazine instead of having a separate safety briefing card. See the British Eagle sample in the previous part, and the exit diagrams for the Britannia and the ample-exited Viscount below.

But when indeed a separate safety card was used in Britain, the American rule prohibiting mixing aircraft types with different exit layouts was not always followed. This mid-1970s Dan-Air card showed both the 727-100 and the 727-200. Although seemingly of the same length, the -100 was actually significantly shorter and had a different exit layout. Some of you probably spotted the error for the 727-100: side exits aft of the wing! These were only on the -200, weren’t they? Actually, this was not an error. In the early 1970s Dan-Air obtained short body 727s from Japan Airlines and converted them into a high-density seating layout. For that, two extra, opposite exits were required by the British Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).Below photo, courtesy of I Spashett, shows G-BAEF’sleft side with the new exit just added, awaiting painting in Dan-Air colours. Reportedly, they could sit 153 passengers, but I doubt whether that figure is correct. An already very cramped layout on Seating Plans – DAN AIR REMEMBERED shows 144 seats. Perhaps the 153 figure included the crew?

In China, aviation safety was not a priority until well into the 1990s. It was common for airliners not to have any safety card on board, or the wrong one, stowed away in a hat rack, as the author experienced in 1989 when flying on a CAAC Hawker Siddeley Trident but finding a CAAC BAe 146 card. Another airline that did not take safety cards too serious was Aviaction from Germany. One side of its card shows the bare minimum of safety features, the other side presents the destinations of this holiday charter airline and a beach lady in bare minimums as well, clad only in sunscreen. Aviaction flew three Fokker F.28s between February 1971 and October 1973.

Pictorials and Pictograms

Another trend, developing slowly, was that of pictures replacing text. Already in the 1950s, airlines started to add illustrations to their text-based safety leaflets. Still, even two decades later, there were many safety cards where text prevailed with illustrations in a supportive role only. Gradually, this reversed into the opposite. Pictures became primary and text became supporting. There were several reasons for that. One is the adage of “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Another is the multitude of languages. Whilst for domestic US airlines, English was the dominant language. Airlines that flew internationally used many more languages. This took up much space. As we saw in the previous part, Pan Am in 1969 translated all text in eight languages and needed a booklet for this. It bundled all the illustrations on one fold-out sheet so that passengers could consult it alongside the text. A third reason is that the power of illustrations was recognized by the authorities and became formally recommended, as we will see below.

An early reverser was Lufthansa. Its 1973 Boeing 737 card combines texts in six languages with photos.

The next year they introduced an illustrations-only format. At the top of the card they added an index using pictograms. These pictograms were explained by text appearing in no fewer than 13 languages. See the Boeing 707 example, dated June 1974. Lufthansa thus became a trend-setter.

Not only was the concept of pictograms copied by many others, but often also Lufthansa’s unique drawing style itself was copied. See for instance Hungarian’s airline Malev with its 1988 card for their new 737. Until then their fleet was dominated by Soviet types.

Other airlines used the pictograms concept but developed their own presentation style, such as British Airways, formed in 1974 out of a merger between BOAC and BEA. See their card for the “Super 737” which was just a first generation 737-200. These pictograms were widely copied by other airlines.

Some small airlines continued to use text based cards. In July 1989 I flew on a TWA affiliate CASA 212 from New York JFK to Atlantic City to visit the FAA Technical Centre. It was a hot day and take-off queues were long. As an alternative to air conditioning, the captain lowered the aft ramp to make us more comfortable. Its safety card, which does not show the ramp as it is not an emergency exit, is reproduced. It lists Jet Express as the operator, even though this small TWA Express carrier never operated jets, only the CASA 212.

Some airlines, like American, Northwest and United preferred photographs over drawings. In the majority of cases however drawings prevailed. They have the advantage that essential actions and features can be emphasized, and backgrounds can be omitted. Compare the window exit opening presentation on an American Airlines 727 card with that of National Airlines. Which one is clearer?

Inflatables Innovation

Aircraft escape chutes were invented in 1947. Ten year later, the first inflatable slides appeared. Another ten years later, the first wide-bodies were being developed. These were, initially, the Boeing 747 (four engines), the Douglas DC-10 and Lockheed Tristar (both with three engines) and, from Europe, the twin-engined Airbus A300. These aircraft sat higher off the ground so their slides had to be taller. Exits over the wing led to escape routes down the wings, with heights too high for jumping. So, special off-wing slides were made. On the first 747 cards, these were all nicely and clearly explained. Many initial operators used the same drawings, supplied by Boeing. I show panels from the Continental May 1970 card, which were identical to those of American, United or Wardair. Early 747s had separate life rafts, typically stowed in ceiling lofts, as shown by Continental. Wardair even showed a raft launching scheme. Later, the explanations got more terse, or disappeared completely, leaving only graphics, with passengers possibly puzzled as to their meaning.

Late in the 1960s, the combined slide/life raft was invented, called slide/raft. It just missed the first 747s, but all overseas DC-10 and Tristar cards show slide rafts. Nigeria Airways’ DC-10 card had the best explanation: “in case of ditching the slides are used as rafts.”

Gradually, also 747s were so equipped and separate life rafts became rare on long haul aircraft. Short haul aircraft did not need them, but there were exceptions. In the mid-1980s, East West was an Australian Fokker F.28 operator that served Norfolk Island, which is in the Pacific about 1,400 km (870 miles) from Australia. For that route, it carried life rafts near the front doors, but the safety card explains that for launching they should be carried to the overwing exits. They never had to put this to practice.

Effectiveness and Dedicated Companies

Few, if any airlines, tested the effectiveness of their cards, be it text-based or illustrations-based. The same applied to the manufacturers of aircraft, with one exception. Douglas Aircraft Company, a leading manufacturer of airliners since the 1930s, in 1967 hired two psychologists to do research in passenger safety systems and the effects of panic in crashes. They studied passenger behavior and experimented with passenger education methods. The safety systems that they studied were those typically appearing on safety cards such as exits and their operation, seat belt use and oxygen systems. But they also improved exit signs and lighting in the cabin and placards. After six years, they left Douglas (which now was McDonnell Douglas) and started a company making safety cards. They named it Interaction Research Corporation (IRC). This name reflected their modus operandi, which was to develop safety cards by means of research. They had their cards reviewed by members of the public (‘naïve subjects’) for comprehensibility of its contents. Poor scores needed improving the contents until a satisfactory score was reached. The two psychologists were Beau Altman and Daniel Johnson. Daniel also sat in the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) panel for cabin safety and was instrumental in developing the first set of guidelines for cabin safety cards, published by the SAE in August 1976 as Aerospace Recommended Practice (ARP) 1384.

IRC started in a garage in the Long Beach, California area, where Douglas was based, but later moved to the state of Washington – Boeing territory. Their registered trade mark (™) was Just in case. The same tagline had been used by Pan Am on their 1950 safety leaflets, then not trademarked. Incidentally, Pan Am was one of the users of IRC material so their safety cards carried the Just in case line again.

Neither Beau nor Daniel were artists, so they hired illustrators for drawing the pictorials. Unintentionally, they thus created a pool of professionals who later started on their own. This explains why today there are quite a few safety card making companies in the state of Washington. At one stage, Beau Altman had its own company. I reproduce the 1988 Air Ontario Convair 580 card. Note the tagline: For Your Safety, not trade marked.

On the East Coast, male flight attendant and vivid collector of safety cards – probably holding the world record in number of unique samples – Carl Reese, was an artist himself and started in 1981 a one-man safety card producing company. He named it Cabin Safety Inc., trademark Cabin Safety. His garage was his own home in Lester, PA, near Philadelphia. After having lived for a while in nearby, quiet Cecilton, MD and renaming his company as Cabin Safety International, he emigrated to Calgary, Canada. Readers of the Captain’s Log will recognize his name, or may even have met and traded with him. He ran the Log’s safety card section in the 1980s and often visits Airliners International^TM conventions. An early safety card of his hand is for Altair’s Fokker F-28, drawn November 1981. Carl also tested his drawings on naïve subjects, but not at the same scale as IRC.

Whereas IRC mainly served large airlines and heavier equipment, Carl’s clientele primarily consisted of smaller airlines and private operators, with associated lighter aircraft. Where Pan Am used IRC, Pan Am Express (formerly Ransome Airlines) used Cabin Safety. Its ATR42 flew routes both in the USA and, before the wall fell, between West Germany and Berlin. For the latter, Carl made a version with German as primary language.

Regulatory Actions

The 1970s’ spike in survivable, yet fatal accidents caused concern with the US congress. Its members, coming from all of the US states for meetings in Washington, D.C., were frequent flyers and could well relate to it. The House of Representatives organized a series of hearings aimed at improving cabin safety, occurring almost annually between 1976 and 1990. In July 1977, the focus was on passenger education. Witnesses interviewed included a survivor of the 1974 Pago Pago crash and Beau Altman and Daniel Johnson. For those interested, search for: Aviation Safety: Aircraft Passenger Education, the Missing Link in Air Safety : Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Investigations and Review of the Committee on Public Works and Transportation, U.S. House of Representatives, Ninety-fifth Congress, First Session, July 12, 13, and 14, 1977. Coincidently or not, the FAA had published just a few weeks before its first set of guidelines for briefing cards: FAA Advisory Circular (AC) No. 121-24. These guidelines augmented the requirements in force since the previous decade. The entire AC can be found on page 118 of the NTSB 1985 Special Study on Airlines Passenger Safety Education (https://www.ntsb.gov/safety/safety-studies/pages/ss8504.aspx).

Both the SAE ARP and the FAA AC set standards for what to present in the cards. Both said that ‘the primary method of presentation should be pictorial’. This accelerated the trend of going away from text and use graphs instead. The list of subjects to be explained does not contain any surprises:

• exits/slides/oxygen/seatbelts/brace positions/individual flotation devices.

Additionally, for extended overwater operations:

• exit awareness and location/life preservers/life rafts, slide rafts/emergency locator transmitters (ELT)/survival equipment.

Note that both the exit awareness and location and the ELT guidance was limited to the overwater operations section. This is strange as they would equally apply to overland flights. This was corrected in later updates. The AC also addressed the briefings by flight attendants to passengers, including handicapped passengers. Both the ARP and the AC exist today, updated with many subjects added since the original version, as we will see in the next part of this series.

Comparison

Comparing 1970s and 1980s cards to the ARP and AC reveals some interesting facts.

In many cases, airlines covered more subjects than the minimum prescribed. Often, emergency equipment and their locations were displayed even though not prescribed. This also applied to equipment that should not be used on board, such as radios, television sets and cigarette lighters. It was not uncommon to show passengers the crash axe in the rear of the cabin, as Avianca did on their 707. Would they still do that today? Remember, these are the 1970s and 1980s.

Some 1970s cards still had the emergency landing preparation instructions that were en vogue in the 1950s, instructing passengers to remove glasses, sharp objects and much more. See the sample taken from the Libyan Arab Airlines (LAA) Caravelle leaflet. Libyan Arab Airlines was the new name of Kingdom of Libya Airlines, following the coup in late 1969 by Muammar Gadaffi which ended the monarchy. This leaflet likely dates from 1970 or soon after.

The 1970s saw the phrase “Do not remove from the aircraft,” “Leave on board,” or similar messages gradually appear on more and more safety cards. It is believed that smaller airlines, with lower budgets, started with this, possibly in an attempt to stop having to replenish whole loads of cards after each flight. Larger airlines then took up this practice as well and today it will be hard to find a card without such a text. It is believed that IRC, whose business was to sell cards to airlines, initially only used the phrase when their customers so specified. Cabin Safety had it from their start in 1981.

Both card makers diligently met all the recommendation of the ARP and AC. The only item they typically added that was neither on the ARP nor the AC were instructions for the stowage of hand luggage and the seat back table.

Some airlines that had long stretches over water were late with including instructions for evacuation on water and the use of life rafts. Lufthansa did not have separate water evacuation panels, but showed the use of life rafts or slide rafts where so equipped. The original Laker Airways, which was British and became famous for their no-frills, very cheap “Skytrain” flights between London and New York from 1977 until 1982,only showed life vests and nothing else that would facilitate a ditching evacuation.

(The later US Laker Airways also used DC-10s and had cards made by IRC, with ditching instructions). Conversely, British Island Airways, which flew the high-winged Dart Herald only a short sector over water between England and the European continent in the 1970s, did show on their cards how to evacuate on water: via the roof of the aircraft and with ropes attached to the wings to hold onto once outside!

In the next part, I will cover the trends in safety cards in the period 1990 to now.

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Fons Schaefers / August 2023

Email: f.schaefers@planet.nl

By Marvin G. Goldman

A warm welcome to Texas. I hope you enjoy our postcard trip through the skies of the Lone Star State as well as the Airliners International™ 2023 show and convention at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

Let’s start with postcards of airlines that served Texas and are now history, followed by leading airlines that continue to operate in Texas skies.

Now let’s turn to some of the leading airlines currently serving Texas. We start with American Airlines which has the longest continuous operating history in Texas and maintains its headquarters in Fort Worth near Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport.

We close with the airline that, along with American, is most associated with Texas skies – Southwest Airlines, also headquartered in Dallas. Southwest commenced operations in 1971 from its base at Love Field, Dallas. At first, it was an intrastate Texas airline, but in 1979 it started expanding to other states and eventually to international destinations as well. Today Southwest is the third largest airline in the U.S. (behind American and Delta) in terms of passengers carried.

NOTES: All postcards in this article are from the author’s collection unless otherwise noted.

Below is my estimate of the rarity of the above postcards:

• Rare: Trans-Texas DC-3 with hostess, Braniff DC-3 over Dallas, and Eastern DC-2 over Houston;
• Uncommon: Central Airlines, Trans-Texas DC-3 over San Jacinto Monument, Continental 727-200 Houston, American DC-3 at Meacham Field, American Convair 240 at El Paso, Delta Convair at Jefferson County Airport, and KLM DC-8 at Houston;
• The rest are fairly common.

I hope to see you at Airliners International™ 2023 DFW, June 22-24, 2023, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel, next to Terminal C at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport. This is the world’s largest airline history and collectibles show and convention, with more than 200 vendor tables for buying, selling, and trading airline memorabilia (including, of course, airline and airport postcards), seminars, the annual meeting of the World Airline Historical Society, annual banquet, tours and more. 

Follow this link for more information on entering the postcard, model and photograph/slide contests.

Until then, Happy Collecting, Marvin