Flying Tiger Line

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Flying Tiger Line
IATA
ICAO
Callsign
FT* FTL* TIGER*
Founded1945
Commenced operations1945
Ceased operations1989 (merged into FedEx Express)
HeadquartersLos Angeles International Airport,
Los Angeles, California, United States

Flying Tiger Line, also known as Flying Tigers, was the first scheduled cargo airline in the United States and a major military charter operator during the Cold War era for both cargo and personnel (the latter with leased aircraft). The airline was bought by Federal Express in 1988.

History

Old Logo

The company was started by Robert William Prescott.[1] It was headquartered on the grounds of Los Angeles International Airport in Westchester, Los Angeles, California.[2]

The airline was named after the

Budd Conestoga freighters purchased as war surplus from the United States Navy.[3][4] The pilots and two ground crew provided half of the initial investment, with the balance coming from California oil tycoon Samuel B. Mosher.[5] For the next four years, Flying Tiger Line carried air freight on contract throughout the U.S. and, as the airline expanded, carrying supplies to U.S. troops under Gen. Douglas MacArthur during the occupation of Japan.[5]

In 1949, the

Boston, Massachusetts. Shortly afterward, the company began chartering passenger aircraft for group travel as well; its Lockheed Super Constellation, Douglas DC-4 and DC-6
fleet comprised the largest trans-Atlantic charter operation through the 1950s.

Operations

During the Korean War, Flying Tiger aircraft were chartered to transport troops and supplies from the United States to Asia; Flying Tigers later received a cargo route award to Japan, China, and Southeast Asia. The airline also played a major role in the construction of the Distant Early Warning Line, flying equipment to remote outposts in northern Canada and Alaska.

Flying Tiger Line Douglas C-54A Skymaster at Manchester Airport, England in May 1955
London Gatwick Airport
in 1964
The airline's first DC-8-63F. delivered to the airline. Taken at Seattle airport in 1972.
Chicago O'Hare Airport
in 1979

Flying Tiger Line adopted the Canadair CL-44 swing-tail aircraft in 1961, becoming one of the first carriers in the world to offer aerial pallet shipping service. In 1965, Flying Tiger Line began operating jet aircraft on September 27, when the first (as N322F) of four Boeing 707s was delivered. The Boeing 707 remained in the fleet only few years, until the arrival of the higher-payload Douglas DC-8, the largest civilian airliner until the Boeing 747 entered service. The first Douglas DC-8-63F, registered as N779FT, was delivered to the airline on June 26, 1968, and the other eighteen followed until 1972.[6]

In 1974, the airline took delivery of its first Boeing 747. The Flying Tiger Line then put in orders for brand-new Boeing 747-200F freighters designated the Boeing 747-249F, which at the time were among the heaviest commercial airplanes flying, weighing 823,000 pounds (373,000 kg). These aircraft had the powerful "Q" (Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7Q) engines and heavy landing gear and could simultaneously carry both 250,000 pounds (110,000 kg) of fuel and 250,000 pounds (110,000 kg) of cargo loaded through both the nose door and the side door at the same time. Aircraft loaders had earlier refused to work at the extreme 30 feet (9 m) height necessary for loading freight on the upper deck, so the "supernumerary area" or "hump" was configured with 19 first class seats instead which were used to transport livestock handlers, charter agents and mechanics as well as dead-heading pilots and flight attendants.

Tiger's Ad Hoc Charter livestock flights provided airlift for exotic animals. Two examples were thoroughbred racehorses and show animals from

killer whale and the torch of the Statue of Liberty
.

By the mid-1980s, Flying Tigers operated scheduled cargo service to six continents and served 58 countries. It surpassed

St. Louis, Missouri via Japan, Alaska, and Los Angeles during the 1980s. Covert flights for the military were not uncommon throughout the airline's history, given its roots in Civil Air Transport (CAT), as with its sister airline Air America, originally owned by General Claire Lee Chennault
, commander of the Flying Tigers fighter squadron in Southeast Asia.

At its peak, the Tigers employed approximately 251 flight attendants and carried up to a record 594 passengers and crew on its MAC all-coach passenger flights. Approximately 998 pilots worked for the airline based throughout the US. Large crew bases were situated at Los Angeles, New York City and Lockbourne, Ohio (Rickenbacker International Airport). The Los Angeles headquarters operation included its own engine shop and jet maintenance business. Flying Tigers also made livestock carriers for airplanes, some comparable in external size and shape to the standard AMJ container used in the FedEx flight operations. They operated a recording company subsidiary, Happy Tiger Records, from 1969 to 1971.[7][8]

Charter and scheduled passenger operations were flown by their subsidiary, Metro International Airlines, which was formed in January 1981, and ceased operations in 1983, when it was sold to

JFK Airport - Brussels - Tel Aviv operated several days a week.[11]

After airline deregulation, stiff competition buffeted profits and, with some unsuccessful diversification attempts by parent Tiger International, the airline began sustaining losses in 1981.[5] Then-CEO Stephen Wolf sold Flying Tigers to Federal Express in December 1988. On August 7, 1989, Federal Express merged Flying Tigers into its operations.

World record

On 15 November 1965, a modified Flying Tigers Boeing 707-349C made the first ever aerial circumnavigation of the Earth via the poles, in 62 hours 27 minutes. The aircraft carried additional fuel in two additional tanks installed in the main cabin.[12]

Fleet

Ex-Flying Tiger Boeing 747-200F (there is a tiny FedEx logo aft of the cockpit window; Japan required FedEx aircraft to retain the Flying Tiger paint job for several years)

At the time of its sale to FedEx, Flying Tigers were operating the following aircraft:

Accidents and incidents

More details of the following can be found at the ASN Aviation Safety Database[13]

See also

References

  1. ^ Rossi, J.R. (1998). "Prescott biography". The Flying Tigers - American Volunteer Group - Chinese Air Force.
  2. ^ a b "World Airline Directory." Flight International. March 30, 1985. 83." Retrieved on March 21, 2017. "7401 World Way West, Los Angeles International Airport, California 90009, USA"
  3. ^ "Trucking Anywhere By Air", November 1945, Popular Science
  4. ^ "National Freight Service". StanWing. Retrieved 6 May 2020.[permanent dead link]
  5. ^ a b c "Airline formed by US pilots and ground crew". New Straits Times. 1989-02-20.
  6. ISBN 0711005486
    .
  7. ^ "Denny Hall". The Nite Cafe. Archived from the original on 2012-08-18. Retrieved 2009-03-24.
  8. ^ Long, Donald John (2003-07-31). "Interview with Ray Ruff & Donnie Brooks". One-Way.org. Retrieved 2009-03-24.
  9. ^ "Airlines Remembered" by B.I. Hengi, Midland Publishing
  10. ^ http://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/ft3.htm, Nov. 1, 1982 Metro International Airlines system timetable
  11. ^ http://www.departedflights.com/BRU83intro.html, July 1, 1983 Worldwide Edition, Official Airline Guide (OAG)
  12. ^ Patterson, Thom (6 July 2018). "How Pan Am Flight 50 flew from pole to pole". CNN. Retrieved 15 May 2019.
  13. ^ "ASN Aviation Safety Database (search)". Aviation Safety Network. Flight Safety Foundation. Retrieved 18 March 2017.
  14. ^ https://www.ntsb.gov/investigations/AccidentReports/Reports/AAR7210.pdf [bare URL PDF]

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Flying Tiger Line.
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