MAIL BAG
May - July 2018
A mail bag full of messages sent in during May, June and July 2018. It's a fascinating assortment covering a head-spinning variety of topics. I always welcome contributions and feedback. Please share your stories and photos!
Old 1961 ATL terminal entrance ramp is no more?
The old Atlanta airport terminal closed in 1980, but oddly, the entrance and exit ramps from Virginia Avenue have remained in place even though they have been cut off from the roads at either end. Kristen F. reports that the former entrance ramp, seen in this Google Maps street view from January 2018, has been destroyed.
Hi! One of the most fascinating parts of your site to me is the list of remnants from Atlanta's earlier airport age(s), linked here: https://www.sunshineskies.com/atl-1961-today.html
Was visiting the Delta Flight Museum today and noticed the Virginia Avenue entrance ramp (letter I on the map on the above photo) has been destroyed as of July, 2018. Drove by quickly so I couldn't tell what was being built, but it's part of some sort of construction site now and has possibly been re-graded. The exit ramp (H) still exists (for now). Unfortunately I live quite a long way from the airport or else I'd go take some photos.
Anyway, thought you may be interested in the sad update.
Thanks!
Kristen F.
Was visiting the Delta Flight Museum today and noticed the Virginia Avenue entrance ramp (letter I on the map on the above photo) has been destroyed as of July, 2018. Drove by quickly so I couldn't tell what was being built, but it's part of some sort of construction site now and has possibly been re-graded. The exit ramp (H) still exists (for now). Unfortunately I live quite a long way from the airport or else I'd go take some photos.
Anyway, thought you may be interested in the sad update.
Thanks!
Kristen F.
More Sarasota Airport photos from the 1970s!
David-
I’ve got a few old pics of the Sarasota airport from the 1970’s that I could scan and send. Not sure about quality – took them with a Kodak instamatic type camera during the 70’s. I, like you, was an airline/ airport rat growing up during that time.
David W.
Cincinnati, OH
I'll be posting these soon. Thank you David!
I’ve got a few old pics of the Sarasota airport from the 1970’s that I could scan and send. Not sure about quality – took them with a Kodak instamatic type camera during the 70’s. I, like you, was an airline/ airport rat growing up during that time.
David W.
Cincinnati, OH
I'll be posting these soon. Thank you David!
Atlanta Memories
Dear Mr Henderson,
Thank you for putting together such a wonderful website! I discovered it while trying to find some info about lost airports in the ATL area! I obtained a BHM sectional chart of the ATL area in 1946 and found 3 airports I was unaware of. You mention them and they are not in Freeman’s Abandoned and Little Known Airfields website. That Is great! The Cobb airport, (near my old house) and Lakewood. I was trying to find any mention of one called Clevengers in East Cobb county (near my current residence) it showed up on the 1946 sectional that predates the Parkaire airport that I used to live by as a kid and found an old piece of the runway behind that mall with the ice skating Rink before they tore it down to build the new mall.
As I began looking through your website I was stunned by your pics of the ATL airport! I used to fly for ASA and now for Delta. My grandfather flew at Delta from 1944-1971 and my Dad from 1977-2004. I can’t wait till my father sees your website! He has described the old airport many times that he remembered as a kid! Amazing to see your pics! He actually owns a Stearman C3 that flew out of ATL for American in 1930 on CAM16 the airmail route from ATL to Chicago! You have a pic of the American hangar it was in! I’m trying to get a copy of your book! I wanted to ask you if you sell it through your site as I would like to support all you are doing! I realize you are probably very busy and might not be able to respond but just wanted to tell you great job I know how much work that had to be to compile! Your website has been an absolute delight!
Thank you again!
Wes W.
Thank you for putting together such a wonderful website! I discovered it while trying to find some info about lost airports in the ATL area! I obtained a BHM sectional chart of the ATL area in 1946 and found 3 airports I was unaware of. You mention them and they are not in Freeman’s Abandoned and Little Known Airfields website. That Is great! The Cobb airport, (near my old house) and Lakewood. I was trying to find any mention of one called Clevengers in East Cobb county (near my current residence) it showed up on the 1946 sectional that predates the Parkaire airport that I used to live by as a kid and found an old piece of the runway behind that mall with the ice skating Rink before they tore it down to build the new mall.
As I began looking through your website I was stunned by your pics of the ATL airport! I used to fly for ASA and now for Delta. My grandfather flew at Delta from 1944-1971 and my Dad from 1977-2004. I can’t wait till my father sees your website! He has described the old airport many times that he remembered as a kid! Amazing to see your pics! He actually owns a Stearman C3 that flew out of ATL for American in 1930 on CAM16 the airmail route from ATL to Chicago! You have a pic of the American hangar it was in! I’m trying to get a copy of your book! I wanted to ask you if you sell it through your site as I would like to support all you are doing! I realize you are probably very busy and might not be able to respond but just wanted to tell you great job I know how much work that had to be to compile! Your website has been an absolute delight!
Thank you again!
Wes W.
Del Airways Beechcraft
David, the Beech D-18 was my grandfather's airplane. It's my understanding that he owned the plane and the company. Sadly my grandfather passed away a few years ago in a car accident. I know he would have loved to see your website.
Billy F.
Billy F.
Eagle-eyed reader recognizes Skyways aerial photo location
David,
I really enjoyed taking a look at the web pages for the old Air Florida photos, especially the ones for Skyway since I live just outside of Ocala. I wish they were still in business as it would be much easier to start my journeys from OCF instead of having to drive to GNV.
I wanted to point something out that may be of interest with one of the photos. On your Skyway page, there is a photo of a Beech 99 in the air. I immediately recognized the ground underneath. The plane was flying over the CSX tracks just north of Belleview in southern Marion County.
The cluster of buildings off of the right wingtip are the Belleview-Santos Elementary School, and the road running almost parallel to the tracks is US441/US301/US27. The white building under the left engine along the tracks is now AlumaTrek Aluminum Trailers, and the road running under the plane from the tracks going past the school is SE 95th St.
Things have changed a lot with this area since the photo was taken. There is now a "Belleview Bypass" road, SE 92nd Place, which turns into SE 92nd Loop, which is a 4-lane divided highway (but not limited access), which if it was in the photo would probably run under the tail and horizontal stabilizer of the plane. There are also a lot more buildings in the area.
It is interesting to compare the Google Maps image against the one in the photo. Here is a link to the Google Maps view of this area:
https://www.google.com/maps/@29.0872758,-82.0762231,2031m/data=!3m1!1e3
Anyway, I thought you might be interested.
Regards,
Craig P.
Reddick, FL
I really enjoyed taking a look at the web pages for the old Air Florida photos, especially the ones for Skyway since I live just outside of Ocala. I wish they were still in business as it would be much easier to start my journeys from OCF instead of having to drive to GNV.
I wanted to point something out that may be of interest with one of the photos. On your Skyway page, there is a photo of a Beech 99 in the air. I immediately recognized the ground underneath. The plane was flying over the CSX tracks just north of Belleview in southern Marion County.
The cluster of buildings off of the right wingtip are the Belleview-Santos Elementary School, and the road running almost parallel to the tracks is US441/US301/US27. The white building under the left engine along the tracks is now AlumaTrek Aluminum Trailers, and the road running under the plane from the tracks going past the school is SE 95th St.
Things have changed a lot with this area since the photo was taken. There is now a "Belleview Bypass" road, SE 92nd Place, which turns into SE 92nd Loop, which is a 4-lane divided highway (but not limited access), which if it was in the photo would probably run under the tail and horizontal stabilizer of the plane. There are also a lot more buildings in the area.
It is interesting to compare the Google Maps image against the one in the photo. Here is a link to the Google Maps view of this area:
https://www.google.com/maps/@29.0872758,-82.0762231,2031m/data=!3m1!1e3
Anyway, I thought you might be interested.
Regards,
Craig P.
Reddick, FL
ATL aerial from 1970 and Cobb Airfield missed opportunity
Attached is a photo of ATL taken 1970-1972 by an Alabama ANG pilot with orders to spend his weekend taking photos in a RF-4. Unfortunately, the original negative was very grainy. Perhaps they used an inexpensive, grainy film for training flights. Photo credit to Robert Andrews; he said that there probably wasn't an airport or bridge in the Southeast that they hadn't photographed.
I noticed that you had some info on Cobb Airfield. I was lost in that area in the early 1990's and drove by the closed drive-in theater. They must have been cleaning up the site in preparation for demolition and there was a sign for Cobb Airfield by the side of the road. I wish that I had been in a truck and able to pick it up.
Robert B.
I noticed that you had some info on Cobb Airfield. I was lost in that area in the early 1990's and drove by the closed drive-in theater. They must have been cleaning up the site in preparation for demolition and there was a sign for Cobb Airfield by the side of the road. I wish that I had been in a truck and able to pick it up.
Robert B.
Many thanks Robert! This has to be, at the latest, spring 1970. It looks like a Convair 440 parked at the first gate (I will be posting hi-res details from this photo soon.) on the north side of Delta's concourse E. They retired the last 440 in April 1970. The first 747 arrived later that year and extended jetways were added to the E rotunda to accommodate them and those aren't seen here. Great photo!
"Airport Love Theme" at ATL courtesy of The Now Explosion!
The Now Explosion was a music video program produced from 1968 to 1970 that featured locally produced videos for hit songs of the time. Dan Morrison has been archiving, posting and sharing digitized copies on both facebook and The Now Explosion website. At least four of the videos were shot at the old Atlanta airport terminal. Thankfully, Dan lets me know whenever he posts another ATL video. I will soon be creating a page dedicated to these.
Hi David,
I just uploaded another Atlanta Airport video on the Now Explosion. I think you're gonna love this video because of the content. Btw, check out those intake vents on the front of the Delta Jet!
http://www.thenowexplosion.com/nxpl-videos/airportlovetheme.html
Dan
Hi David,
I just uploaded another Atlanta Airport video on the Now Explosion. I think you're gonna love this video because of the content. Btw, check out those intake vents on the front of the Delta Jet!
http://www.thenowexplosion.com/nxpl-videos/airportlovetheme.html
Dan
?
This view of a modern airliner cockpit was sent in without explanation. I suppose it needs no explanation.
Jet World Airways
Hi David,
A question for you - I was wondering whether you could shed some light on this airline.
In the October 1988 OAG there was a note of two new airlines as of that issue, and one of them was Jet World Airways (IATA code DH). There's a listing of them with a Miami headquarters but no listing of any flights in the OAG itself or at least not to
or from Miami. They aren't listed in the 1988 or 1989 JP fleet listings, and it seems Jet World was listed as its own airline and not as a commuter affiliate for someone else. They also appeared in the airline address section in the November 1988 OAG,
desktop edition. But neither October or November pocket OAGs had them listed in the airline address section. It *is* in the December 1988 pocket but neither I nor any of my friends have any early 1989 OAGs so we can't verify anything beyond that.
And no flights were listed in any of these, at least not at MIA, just the address.
Jet World was given IATA code 608 so they were apparently recognized by IATA, and of course they had the DH two letter code too. Their address was One Biscayne Tower Suite 1800, MIami FL 33131. 305-374-2464
[The phone number is disconnected, by the way]
Thanks in advance for any information you might have on Jet World Airways.
Arthur
Hello Arthur! Good to hear from you. I must admit I have never heard of Jet World Airways. I did a search on Newspapers.com and the only thing that came up was this text (presumably from an ad) from page 30 of the Baltimore Sun on December 7, 1988:
JET WORLD AIRWAYS, LTD. SCHEDULE AIRLINE MEMBER INTERNATIONAL AIR TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION Jet in luxury to these romantic Caribbean islands with a European flavor for the holidays. Convenient morning departures from Ft. Lauderdale, Atlanta and Baltimore Washington allows you more daytime fun. Non-stop service to Antigua with through service to Martinique and Guadeloupe. Call your travel agent or our toll free number now! 1-800-442-3009 AIR HOTEL PACKAGES AVAILABLE. SOME RESTRICTIONS APPLY
UPDATE - Within hours of posting this, I received this information from Rick Rohrer: According to "Deregulations Knockouts Round One" by Tom Norwood, Airliners Monthly News issues 17, 18 and 21, and JP1990, Jet World Airways was formed in 1982. Based in Antigua it proposed to operate out of Miami with B.727 and DC-8 equipment. It never started operations.
A question for you - I was wondering whether you could shed some light on this airline.
In the October 1988 OAG there was a note of two new airlines as of that issue, and one of them was Jet World Airways (IATA code DH). There's a listing of them with a Miami headquarters but no listing of any flights in the OAG itself or at least not to
or from Miami. They aren't listed in the 1988 or 1989 JP fleet listings, and it seems Jet World was listed as its own airline and not as a commuter affiliate for someone else. They also appeared in the airline address section in the November 1988 OAG,
desktop edition. But neither October or November pocket OAGs had them listed in the airline address section. It *is* in the December 1988 pocket but neither I nor any of my friends have any early 1989 OAGs so we can't verify anything beyond that.
And no flights were listed in any of these, at least not at MIA, just the address.
Jet World was given IATA code 608 so they were apparently recognized by IATA, and of course they had the DH two letter code too. Their address was One Biscayne Tower Suite 1800, MIami FL 33131. 305-374-2464
[The phone number is disconnected, by the way]
Thanks in advance for any information you might have on Jet World Airways.
Arthur
Hello Arthur! Good to hear from you. I must admit I have never heard of Jet World Airways. I did a search on Newspapers.com and the only thing that came up was this text (presumably from an ad) from page 30 of the Baltimore Sun on December 7, 1988:
JET WORLD AIRWAYS, LTD. SCHEDULE AIRLINE MEMBER INTERNATIONAL AIR TRANSPORT ASSOCIATION Jet in luxury to these romantic Caribbean islands with a European flavor for the holidays. Convenient morning departures from Ft. Lauderdale, Atlanta and Baltimore Washington allows you more daytime fun. Non-stop service to Antigua with through service to Martinique and Guadeloupe. Call your travel agent or our toll free number now! 1-800-442-3009 AIR HOTEL PACKAGES AVAILABLE. SOME RESTRICTIONS APPLY
UPDATE - Within hours of posting this, I received this information from Rick Rohrer: According to "Deregulations Knockouts Round One" by Tom Norwood, Airliners Monthly News issues 17, 18 and 21, and JP1990, Jet World Airways was formed in 1982. Based in Antigua it proposed to operate out of Miami with B.727 and DC-8 equipment. It never started operations.
Air Illinois at Panama City
Hi David,
Just a little tidbit to add to your Panama City feature.... It just hit me that Air Illinois went to Panama City briefly in late 77' early 78'! Ive included the schedule page and route map. Those deep south routes were most likely a result of the Air Illinois BIZZARE purchase of SCAT.
What were they thinking?! All of the former SCAT cities were vaporized by 1980,when they went no further south than Memphis, but not until Air Illinois could lose money all over Arkansas & Alabama as well....what a mish-mash of routes! They sure worked those J31's to death!
Amazing to me the airline lasted 14 years with all their blunders.
Anyhow, I look forward to your updates.
Don
Just a little tidbit to add to your Panama City feature.... It just hit me that Air Illinois went to Panama City briefly in late 77' early 78'! Ive included the schedule page and route map. Those deep south routes were most likely a result of the Air Illinois BIZZARE purchase of SCAT.
What were they thinking?! All of the former SCAT cities were vaporized by 1980,when they went no further south than Memphis, but not until Air Illinois could lose money all over Arkansas & Alabama as well....what a mish-mash of routes! They sure worked those J31's to death!
Amazing to me the airline lasted 14 years with all their blunders.
Anyhow, I look forward to your updates.
Don
Tortugas Airways
David,
Not sure how much of an airline they were, but in 1972 there was either “Tortugas Airways” or “Dry Tortugas Airways”. They were a seaplane service out of Miami. See attached. On the FAA hijack listing, they are annotated G/A, so most likely not operating under part 121, probably part 135 as a commuter service. Doesn’t seem to be much information available, and I couldn’t find any pictures.
The pilot of the flight that was hijacked is James Hooker Hamersley, and is listed on the National Air and Space Museum Wall of Honor. See: https://airandspace.si.edu/support/wall-of-honor/james-hooker-hook-hamersley
If I come across more I’ll pass it on.
Harold
Not sure how much of an airline they were, but in 1972 there was either “Tortugas Airways” or “Dry Tortugas Airways”. They were a seaplane service out of Miami. See attached. On the FAA hijack listing, they are annotated G/A, so most likely not operating under part 121, probably part 135 as a commuter service. Doesn’t seem to be much information available, and I couldn’t find any pictures.
The pilot of the flight that was hijacked is James Hooker Hamersley, and is listed on the National Air and Space Museum Wall of Honor. See: https://airandspace.si.edu/support/wall-of-honor/james-hooker-hook-hamersley
If I come across more I’ll pass it on.
Harold
The one and only time I had a problem on eBay involved a pamphlet for Tortugas Airways that was paid for but never arrived. Haven't seen one since. Oh well. I recall they operated single engine Cessnas on floats and flew tourists to visit the Civil War ruins on Dry Tortugas in the Florida Keys.
I found this article about the hijacking. It appeared in the March 20, 1972 edition of the Fort Lauderdale News.
I found this article about the hijacking. It appeared in the March 20, 1972 edition of the Fort Lauderdale News.
Eastern Air Lines DC-3 NC19963 Crash
Good afternoon David,
Your Web page “Sunshine Skies” includes photos of Eastern Airlines DC-3 s/n NC 19963 that were taken by LIFE Magazine’s famous photographer Ralph Morse. These were of interest to me because as your site points out, this aircraft was involved in a mid-air collision with a Navy fighter over the skies of New Jersey on July 30, 1949.
The pilot that day was LeRoy Matthews, an acquaintance of my Dad. Both grew up in Lakewood, NJ. Matthews I believe had a flight training school at Roosevelt Field during World War Two (as part of the Civilian Pilot Training Program). After the war, Matthews became an airline pilot for Eastern Airlines. Although he lived in Flushing, NY (probably to be close to La Guardia airport), he maintained his New Jersey roots, and was in the process of making arrangement to building a home in Lakewood, New Jersey when the accident occurred.
After the war my Dad had purchased a war surplus USAAF PT-14 (primary trainer bi-plane) in January 1946. Matthews helped work on the plane as a mechanic, and eventually purchased the plane from my Dad. Dad had been a C-47 pilot during the war (having participated in D-Day) and inquired about becoming a pilot for Eastern. When he learned that he lacked the necessary civilian pilot licenses to fly commercially, he abandoned that attempt and went to work for New Jersey Bell Telephone. At that same time his submission to fly in the Air Force Reserve was granted, which is probably why he sold his PT-14 (civilian UPF-7) to Matthews.
We lost my Dad while he was flight testing an F-86 Sabre while we were living in France in 1957. Your post, and photos of NC 19963, help create a visual image of those times and events.
Thank you,
Chuck B.
Your Web page “Sunshine Skies” includes photos of Eastern Airlines DC-3 s/n NC 19963 that were taken by LIFE Magazine’s famous photographer Ralph Morse. These were of interest to me because as your site points out, this aircraft was involved in a mid-air collision with a Navy fighter over the skies of New Jersey on July 30, 1949.
The pilot that day was LeRoy Matthews, an acquaintance of my Dad. Both grew up in Lakewood, NJ. Matthews I believe had a flight training school at Roosevelt Field during World War Two (as part of the Civilian Pilot Training Program). After the war, Matthews became an airline pilot for Eastern Airlines. Although he lived in Flushing, NY (probably to be close to La Guardia airport), he maintained his New Jersey roots, and was in the process of making arrangement to building a home in Lakewood, New Jersey when the accident occurred.
After the war my Dad had purchased a war surplus USAAF PT-14 (primary trainer bi-plane) in January 1946. Matthews helped work on the plane as a mechanic, and eventually purchased the plane from my Dad. Dad had been a C-47 pilot during the war (having participated in D-Day) and inquired about becoming a pilot for Eastern. When he learned that he lacked the necessary civilian pilot licenses to fly commercially, he abandoned that attempt and went to work for New Jersey Bell Telephone. At that same time his submission to fly in the Air Force Reserve was granted, which is probably why he sold his PT-14 (civilian UPF-7) to Matthews.
We lost my Dad while he was flight testing an F-86 Sabre while we were living in France in 1957. Your post, and photos of NC 19963, help create a visual image of those times and events.
Thank you,
Chuck B.
Flying for Shawnee Airlines
David, I flew for Shawnee Airlines 1971-1972, when they shut down. They originally had six B-99's, and acquired three Twin Otters from Excecutive Airlines, when they ceased their Florida operations. Later getting the FH-227 as well, which was targeted for their FLL-FPO higher density runs, and brought them to their peak. But that was short lived, and they got rid of the FH-227 shortly before they declared bankruptcy.
Shawnee started out at the Orlando Herndon airport hub, but later moved to MCO, so they were able to feed the major airlines (EA, DL, NA, SO) at that time. They also had an agreement with Eastern, to take any of their passengers over to Disney for an additonal $5, using the Otters into Disney's STOL strip. That meant people could bypass bus or rental car needs, and go directly to their Disney hotel via tram from the STOL airport.
Flying was much different back then. We had no autopilots, weather radar, DME or real air conditioning. Have to wonder how we ever got repeat business.
We were all required to be dual qualified on the B99 and the Otter. The FH-227 had four captains, and four copilots. Flew into Disney many times. They had a 2000 foot strip, with trees at the north end as I remember. Their terminal was a trailer, much like the ones used for construction supervisors. When passengers came in, they loaded their bags onto one of their trams, and then took them to their hotel (Contemporary or Polynesian).
Things were a lot different back then. The airline got away with a lot. Pilots were overworked, and underpaid. Rules were always interpreted in favor of the company. I have many stories that would raise the hairs on the necks of today's pilots.
Ed
Shawnee started out at the Orlando Herndon airport hub, but later moved to MCO, so they were able to feed the major airlines (EA, DL, NA, SO) at that time. They also had an agreement with Eastern, to take any of their passengers over to Disney for an additonal $5, using the Otters into Disney's STOL strip. That meant people could bypass bus or rental car needs, and go directly to their Disney hotel via tram from the STOL airport.
Flying was much different back then. We had no autopilots, weather radar, DME or real air conditioning. Have to wonder how we ever got repeat business.
We were all required to be dual qualified on the B99 and the Otter. The FH-227 had four captains, and four copilots. Flew into Disney many times. They had a 2000 foot strip, with trees at the north end as I remember. Their terminal was a trailer, much like the ones used for construction supervisors. When passengers came in, they loaded their bags onto one of their trams, and then took them to their hotel (Contemporary or Polynesian).
Things were a lot different back then. The airline got away with a lot. Pilots were overworked, and underpaid. Rules were always interpreted in favor of the company. I have many stories that would raise the hairs on the necks of today's pilots.
Ed
Thanks again to our readers for contributing their stories and photos!
