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1970
The company established an international service standard of no longer than second-day delivery to any point served along its 17,000-plus miles of route structure, a standard which was met 95% of the time.
Daily service direct from JFK to TYO announced in early 1970, along with expansion to Osaka, Japan and other points in the Orient.
From April, 1969 through March, 1970, Tigers performed over 400 DC8-63F passenger missions in and out of Vietnam for the Military Airlift Command, carrying some 180,000 military personnel.
Bob Prescott, launched the airline’s first U.S. Savings Bond campaign in mid-June.
In one of the largest single shipments of horses on record, a chartered Flying Tiger DC-8 transported 36 Royal Canadian Mounted Police show horses and other equipment from Ottawa. Canada to Osaka, Japan and return for participation in special Canadian week activities at Expo ’70.
Tiger activities at McChord AFB on a large-scale basis began only in the fall of 1969, when all but one crew of the 140 flight attendants were transferred there from San Francisco. Flying Tigers is the largest carrier at McChord, in terms of total flights, and contracts its support services to three other major airlines doing MAC work. During the first quarter of 1970, FTL schedule reliability in the operation of 246 passenger missions for the Military Airlift Command averaged 94.6% on time.
A crew of LAX mechanics dismantled two specially-built Cochran scissors loaders, which were shipped by a Tiger DC-8 to Viet Nam, where several Tigers “remantled” them at Cam Ranh Bay and Da Nang.
A new Tiger record-breaker: on June 21, 1970, 117,481 pounds of fresh fruit moved non-stop from Los Angeles, CA to Philadelphia, PA aboard a Tiger DC-8.
If Tigers can fly, so can whales! Two killer whales were transported from Seattle, WA to Tokyo, Japan and destined for Kamokawa Sea World in Chiba Prefecture.
Samuel B. Mosher died on August 4, 1970 one of the original founders of the Flying Tiger Line.
Helen Ruth Prescott died on September 6.
Helen Ruth is known to many of you. She also was in at the beginning, and only I know how much this company meant to her. She lived it and breathed it from the day of its inception. Some of you can recall the days in Long Beach when she was the whole administration, from telephone operator to crew control, to aircraft scheduling, art director, advertising manager, historian, the whole ball of wax. Her optimism and enthusiasm were great contributors to the fiery spirit that has thrived and grown with us through the years. We shall miss her.
— Bob Prescott.
In the past 25 years, FTL has made its name as the pioneer of airfreight, yet in all those years there have been only a few periods in its history when the airline did not fly passengers.
1971
On January 7 of this year. North American Car, a railroad car leasing firm, joined the Flying Tiger Line of Los Angeles as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Flying Tiger Corp.
In a move which provides Tigers with the single largest increase in common carriage in the airline’s history, UPS chose Tigers’ all-cargo facilities to handle some 35 per cent of its total small parcel traffic.
The daughter of George and Mrs. Maruyama, Lynn Maruyama, was the first Tiger offspring to receive a Peter Prescott Scholarship.
On May 4, the first Tiger flight arrived and departed out of the company’s brand new facility at Tokyo’s Haneda International Airport.
San Francisco is handling about 12-13 million pounds of freight monthly, and often more, handling more freight than any other FTL station. As a result, 380 crew members – the largest crew base in the FTL system – are located at San Francisco to support the heavy flight schedule.
Tigers is carrying 36% of the airfreight market out of Hong Kong.
Tigers never shied away from unique shipments. In October 1970, oil drilling equipment was shipped LAX-JFK, eventually headed to Norway via SAS. The 51,211 pounds of gear took up ten pallet positions. It included two giant shafts, each measuring 235″ in length by 35″ by 32″. Each shaft weighed 8,820 pounds.
Tigers acquires National Equipment Rental Ltd through its subsidiary, North American Car, for $23 million.
Anchorage, AK becomes a transload “crossroad” and suddenly the flight schedule increases from about 90 monthly flights to well over 200 flights.
Robert Prescott and his daughter, Kirchy, tour many of the domestic stations as a personal “thank you” to employees.
1972
Although Tigers had been operating to the Philippines for years with charter flights, the DC8 flight on January 10, 1972, marked the beginning of scheduled service to Manilla on Tigers transpacific Route #163.
A major technological breakthrough in the field of aviation, the inertial navigation system, is becoming part of Tigers’ standard flight equipment.
January 28, 1972, the last of Tigers’ CL-44s, which was leased to Trans Meridian Air Cargo Ltd., prepared for takeoff. Once it had been part of a fleet of 14 aircraft, the hottest thing in air cargo.
To keep pace with the phenomenal growth of The Flying Tiger Corporation and The Flying Tiger Line, Robert W. Prescott, president, and Wayne M. Hoffman, chairman of the board of the Corporation, announced that a ten story $2.4 million building will take shape on the 31-acre site of the existing Flying Tiger Line headquarters at 7401 World Way West, Los Angeles International Airport. Construction is to be completed by Spring 1973.
FTL radio technicians have been working round the clock to complete the installation of two INS systems in each Tiger aircraft by May 1.
Nurse Duke, whose full name was Reinette de Harven Duke, completed her journey on April 28, 1972, “Duke” completed her journey. She was 86.
When Okinawa reverted to Japanese control on May 14, 1972, a Flying Tiger DC-8 was the first commercial aircraft to land at the new Japanese prefecture. Tiger 793 touched down at 1500Z, and shortly after, Tiger 783 arrived.
Since 1965, the Flying Tiger Line has generated between $30 million and $60 million from its MAC contracts. MAC has contracts with civil carriers like Tigers for the transportation of approximately 90% of the military passenger movements in and out of the U.S., as well as between 10% and 30% of its cargo.
Flying Tigers will again send a DC-8 into war-torn Viet Nam at Christmastime and deliver five tons of toys, clothing and food donated by Tiger employees and friends to some 1,000 orphaned children in Saigon.
The 20th stretched DC-8 in the Tiger fleet was purchased to handle the increase in Tiger business.
Tigers announced plans for a new facility at JFK able to accommodate approximately 1.4 million pounds of cargo daily.
Tigers closed Bien Hoa, Da Nang and Cam Ranh Bay stations in Vietnam and moved transferred all personnel to Saigon.
For 1972, Flying Tigers ranked third among 99 IATA airlines in scheduled freight ton kilometers flown.
1973
From Tigers’ first year in the Orient with Route 163, the airline’s performance in terms of revenue ran well ahead of even the most optimistic forecasts. Tigers now ranks as number one in numbers of all cargo flight frequencies between Asia and the States.
Tigers began service into Hong Kong with three flights a week in September, 1969 and just over three years later has the largest cargo lift capability.
Tigers trains over 50 Korean Airlines pilots in FTL LAX Flight Training Center on the DC8-63.
October 2, 1972, Tigers’ Capt. Elgen Long became the 12th American to receive the Federation Aeronautique Internationale ‘Gold Air Medal” for completing the first flight around the world over both the earth’s poles in a light aircraft.
Forbes magazine ranks Flying Tiger Corporation 24th (out of 780 largest companies in the US) in terms of annual earnings per share growth over a five-year period. Air Transport World reports that Flying Tiger Line ranked second among U.S. airlines — behind Pan Am and ahead of United and TWA — in scheduled system-wide freight ton miles carried.
Tigers operated multiple charter flights shipping live cattle from Australia to India, Australia to Bangladesh and Loss Angeles to Hawaii.
Tigers’ Vice President-International Affairs Anna Chennault has been named to the Federal Aviation Administration’s Women’s Advisory Committee on Aviation. The Committee, composed of outstanding women pilots and representatives of aviation business and civic interests, meets twice a year to provide recommendations to the FAA Administrator for improving U.S. aviation facilities and services.
FTL’s new warehouse and office facility at Kimpo Airport, Seoul, are ready for occupancy in May.
Flying Tiger Line President and Founder Robert Prescott has been named winner of the prestigious 1973 Grand Trophy, the highest award presented by the National Defense Transportation Agency. Prescott was unanimously selected by the Joint Chiefs of Staff and subsequently named by the U.S. Secretary of Defense as this year’s winner for his “exemplary contributions to his own industry and the transportation industry at large.”
The Flying Tiger Corporation enjoyed a record first quarter this year.
Under a program jointly with Tigers and the U.S. Postal Service, FTL now carries containerized mail to six major hub cities along its domestic route — Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, New York and Newark — it is expected that the program will grow to eventually cover 22 city pairs throughout the Tiger system.
Tigers now has a crew of about 60 flight attendants working out of Travis Air Force Base.
The Flying Tiger Line’s downtown New York office, located at 5 World Trade Center Building, joined the growing international business community in the city center.
LAX Headquarters new “Hi-Tiger” ten-story building opens in June.
Tom Haywood, AVG pilot and a founder member of FTL, retires on August 14, 1973.
Sales off in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia opens in June.
Only four years ago an unknown stranger in Asia, Tigers now enjoy the enviable status of being one of the airlines whose services are most heavily in demand.
By mid-September, Flying Tigers employs 2,920 in the US and 429 in the Pacific.
The DC-8 fleet is growing with two more ships arriving this year.
Scheduled service to Philadelphia begins with DC-8s.
1974
19 Stretched DC-8s are in scheduled service by early 1974.
Tigers announces the acquisition of two 747 freighters to enter service in the fall. The aircraft are being acquired from the Boeing Company, which repurchased them from American Airlines. Boeing is reconverting them from passenger to cargo configuration at its Wichita, Kansas, plant. Incidentally, LAX maintenance personnel “borrowed” a 747 from the neighbors, TWA, to make sure it will fit in the FTL hangar!
June 8 was the date of the official dedication and open house of the new “Hi-Tiger” World Headquarters on the Los Angeles International Airport. The new 10-story building is the second tallest airline structure at Los Angeles International Airport.
July 1, 1974, the Flying Tiger Corporation changed its name to Tiger International, Inc. The corporation’s stock ticker symbol, formerly FLY, has been changed to TGR on the New York Stock Exchange. The airline’s name remains the same: The Flying Tiger Line.
On August 28 founder Robert Prescott and CEO Wayne Hoffman are presented the keys to the first of three former American Airlines B747 converted to cargo configuration at Boeing’s Wichita plant. Early the next morning the aircraft is ferried to Los Angeles sporting the infamous “tiger shark” insignia and dubbed the “Freight Master.”
Flying Tiger Line is now the second largest freight carrier among all U.S. airlines, according to figures released by the Air Transport Association, second only to Pan Am.
Tigers handles United, TIA, ONA, World Airways, BOAC, Seaboard World and National overseas, as well as Capitol Airways flights in Saigon and Yokota and JAL and Korean Airlines at Cold Bay, AK.
The new facility was dedicated at JFK On September 10 and that same night, the inaugural 747 flight departed for Chicago, Anchorage, Tokyo and Taipei with its first payload aboard.
18 new Flying Tiger Flight Attendants graduated and received their wings in October.
NASA has chartered a Tiger DC-8-63 to transport the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP) space docking system from Los Angeles to Philadelphia for ultimate shipment to Moscow. U.S. Air Force jets will transport the system from Dover Air Force Base in Delaware to Moscow via Frankfurt, Germany.
Eastern Airlines has entered into agreement with the Flying Tiger Line to “dry lease” two DC-8-63F freighters to operate all-cargo service between Los Angeles, CA, Atlanta. GA, Orlando. FL, and Charlotte. N.C. replacing three Eastern B-727OC (Quick Change) aircraft. The freighters are flown by Eastern crews.
1975
The longest cattle drive in history ended at Muscat’s Seeb Airport when a chartered Tiger DC-8-63F loaded with 196 cattle touched down, ending a 14,000 mile flight which began in San Francisco.
Robert W. Prescott, Tigers’ president, has been re-elected to the board of directors of the Air Transport Association of America (ATA) for 1975.
On January 7, Tigers officially dedicated its newest cargo terminal, at Seattle’s Sea-Tac Airport.
Two Tiger DC-8-63Fs have been made available for cargo charter operations.
The U.S. Air Force has awarded Flying Tiger Line a $17.3 million basic contract for military airlift services for fiscal 1976 that will entail 140 round trip flights from the West Coast to Asia and 110 round trip flights from the East Coast to Europe
One of Tigers’ 747s airlifted four inboard wing flaps from Tokyo to Seattle, where they will become part of a new 747SP (special performance) aircraft being produced by Boeing.
Under a contract with the U.S. government, Tigers began flying rice from Saigon to Phnom Penh to support the people of war-weakened Cambodia, whose food supply had been cut off by advancing Communist forces. For 43 days volunteer crews and ground support personnel put their own welfare second as they flew and maintained the planes that were the Cambodians’ only link with food. Flying 2-6 mercy missions a day, Tigers landed 176 times at Phnom Penh’s Pochentong Airport amidst exploding rockets and artillery, bringing a total of 16,687,265 pounds of rice into the besieged city themselves, and providing ground support for all other airlines participating in the airlift.
Flying Tiger Line has selected ground proximity warning systems (GPWS) for installation in its DC-8-63F and 747 aircraft.
in May 1975, Tigers acquired its third Boeing 747, a former passenger liner.
A group of retired FTL pilots recently formed the Flying Tiger Line Retired Pilots Association, and held the first meeting with great success, reported J.R. “Dick” Rossi, president of the new association, with 20 of the 29 retired pilots in attendance.
On Sunday, April 20, as a result of the deteriorating situation in South Vietnam, Tiger personnel and dependents were evacuated from Saigon. Tiger #791 operated to Tan Son Nhut Airport from Bangkok and collected US Tiger employees as well as 12 Vietnamese nationals employed by Tigers and 29 dependents of the Vietnamese Tigers.
Thirty-eight thoroughbred horses traveled from MIA to LAX aboard a Tiger DC-8-63F for the Inglewood, CA racetrack.
June 25, 1975, marks the thirtieth anniversary of the Flying Tiger Line.
Flying Tigers recently flew the first 747 freighter to operate from Dallas/ Fort Worth Airport. The aircraft carried a 200,000 pound payload for Bell Helicopter International to Teheran, Iran.
On July 13 Flying Tigers’ 747 #801 lifted out of Tokyo bound for Anchorage with 205,000 pounds of freight on board — a record load for the overseas TYO-ANC route.
On September 21, Flying Tigers flew its fifth Sea World charter of live fish, birds and marine animals including Shamu, “star” killer whale.
A compressor casing weighing in at 38,500 pounds, the heaviest single piece of freight ever carried on board a Flying Tigers aircraft in the airline’s 30-year history, was shipped from JFK to Taipei on board a B747 freighter.
Anna Chennault, vice president-international affairs, has been appointed to the Federal Energy Administration Transportation Advisory Committee.
Flying Tigers has leased one of its passenger DC-8-63F aircraft to World Airways for a six-month period from November 8, 1975, to May 7, 1976.
FTL has sold two DC-8-63F this year.
Flying Tigers has suspended scheduled flights to Thailand for two years, with CAB approval, because mail and freight demand has declined dramatically since the reduction of U.S. military operations in Southeast Asia. In addition, as a spin-off from the airline activity, Flying Tigers operates the only hotel, restaurant, grocery store and night club in town.
1976
Flying Tigers has asked the Civil Aeronautics Board for authority to serve San Juan, Puerto Rico, and additional cities in the United States to include San Diego, Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston, Atlanta, Baltimore/Washington, D.C. and Miami.
President Bob Prescott has been re-elected to the Board of Directors of the Air Transport Association of America for 1976.
A Flying Tigers 747 was bulked out with a 123,000-pound payload including a 375-inch-long wing flap section, a main cargo door and segments making up full forward and aft lower compartments. Additionally, Tigers has transported multiple 747 engines onboard their own 747s.
The “Flying Tiger Line” name on the side of the aircraft changed to “Flying Tigers”. The change is being done on each of the airline’s DC-8s.
Flying Tigers operates in and out of Beirut, Lebanon as the civil war is raging just a few miles from the airport.
A Flying Tigers DC-8-63F charter from San Francisco, CA, to Fukuoka, Japan carried 33 lions, 37 tigers, 9 bears, 25 Egyptian geese, 6 black swans and 12 mandarin ducks, all destined for Beppu, Japan where they were to be among the first inhabitants of the new Koizumi African Safari.
In July, Flying Tigers inaugurated all-cargo service from the United States to Singapore and Malaysia.
In June, Flying Tigers inaugurated round-trip service from LAX-JFK-LAX five days a week.
Flying Tigers, easily the world’s largest airfreight airline, is closing on Pan Am, ranked #1 in total freight ton kilometers by Air Transport World magazine.
Flying Tigers has received a $16.5 million contract from the Military Air Transport Command for cargo and passenger services in fiscal 1977.
Flying Tigers completed another Sea World charter from Cleveland, OH to San Diego, CA utilizing a DC8-63F transporting the famous Shamu, and 30 other marine mammals including sea lions, dolphins, a river otter, seals and other animals.
Flying Tigers’ fleet of 747 and DC-8-63 jet freighters will soon sport a new tail design as painters replace the trademark Circle T logo with a contemporary lettering design that reads: FLYING TIGERS.
Flying Tigers has announced the consolidation of its New Jersey and New York operations, at JFK, effective December 31, 1976, marking the end of flight operations at Newark.
Tigers is approved for a permanent all-cargo certificate to serve Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea and the Philippines.
Flying Tigers has asked the Civil Aeronautics Board to add Cincinnati, Ohio; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Anchorage, Alaska, to its domestic operating certificate.
1977
President Bob Prescott was elected a member of the 1977 Board of Directors for the Air Transport Association of America.
The airfreight airline introduced a new service: FTL will fly a family’s household goods from the United States to a new home in Asia within 72 hours, compared to the traditional several weeks by ship.
President Robert W. Prescott received a special commendation from the Military Airlift Command (MAC) in recognition of Flying Tigers’ dedicated cooperation to national defense for the past 25 years.
Charter loads today echo the early Flying Tigers motto: anything, anywhere, anytime. Flying Tigers’ charter shipments consist of such regular commodities as clothing; livestock — including sheep, cattle, pigs and horses — for breeding and consumption; hospital and building supplies; foodstuffs — frozen meats, canned juice and ketchup; pre-fab housing and other building materials; and equipment for programs ranging from computer operations to agriculture.
Shamu’s most recent trip on board a Flying Tigers “stretched eight” was from San Diego, CA to Sea World’s Park in Aurora, OH. With Shamu on the 3,000-mile journey were nine dolphins, one elephant seal, 18 sea lions, three harbor seals, two otters, three McCaw’s and assorted fish.
On July 6, Flying Tigers inaugurated direct 747F cargo flights between LAX, SFO, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Korea.
President Bob Prescott has been made an honorary life member of the Wings Club, an organization of distinguished individuals involved in the field of aviation, “in recognition of his civic leadership, support to the development of aeronautics and his patriotism”.
Six sons and daughters of Flying Tigers employees have been selected recipients in the 12th annual Peter Prescott Scholarship Awards program. The scholarships, established in memory of President Bob Prescott’s son, are awarded each year to children of employees.
Flying Tigers now provides daily scheduled 747 jetfreighter service between New York and Asia, increasing its 747F flights along the route from six to seven frequencies a week.
Flying Tigers inaugurated scheduled airfreight service between Alaska and Asia.
National Aircraft Leasing, Ltd., Los Angeles-based subsidiary of Tiger International, has become TigerAir, Inc.
On November 9, U.S. President Jimmy Carter signed into law legislation that essentially eliminates government regulation of domestic all cargo air service. Following the President’s signing, Flying Tigers filed applications with the Civil Aeronautics Board for authority to serve all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. (Flying Tigers was the first airline to file for the authority, which the CAB must grant within 60 days.)
Flying Tigers has agreed to purchase two additional DC-8-60 series jet aircraft for $12 million from Overseas National Airways, added as a result of airfreight deregulation legislation.
1978
Flying Tigers is adding five more “stretched” DC-8 jet freighters to its fleet, for a total of 20 of what the airline’s Chairman Wayne Hoffman describes as the “most efficient narrow-bodied freighter in the world.”
Once weekly DC8 charter will carry up to 100,000 pounds of fresh and frozen meat, fresh fruits and vegetables, dairy products and dry goods, such as paper products, soaps, spices and other household items from the Seattle, WA to Doha.
Seaboard World Airlines, mainly serving Europe, has extended its interline freight agreement to all Flying Tigers personnel.
Retired Captain Ernest “Bus” Loane passed away. Loane, who flew with the original World War II “Flying Tigers” fighter AVG squadron in China, joined Flying Tigers — the airline in 1950 and flew more than 20 years until his retirement.
Flying Tigers’ flags flew at half-mast March 6 through March 10, marking the most solemn occasion in the airline’s 32-year history. Bob Prescott, Flying Tigers’ founder and only president and chief executive officer, was dead. Robert William Prescott — visionary and stalwart pioneer of the air cargo industry, colorful World War II fighter ace, founder and president of Flying Tiger Line — died March 3 of cancer at his home in Palm Springs, California. He was 64.
Wayne Hoffman has assumed the presidency of the airline. Hoffman has been Chairman of the Board of Flying Tigers since 1967.
Flying Tiger Line has passed Pan American World Airways as the free world’s largest airfreight carrier, according to figures made available by the Civil Aeronautics Board.
The airline has initiated use of a “nose tether” system to keep the aircraft from settling onto its tail in the event of an aft-center of gravity condition which could occur during loading or off-loading operations.
Flying Tigers President Wayne Hoffman has been named the 1978 recipient of the Salzberg Medallion, awarded annually by Syracuse University for “outstanding achievement in the field of transportation.”
Flying Tigers fleet consists of six B747s, 14 DC-8-63s and four DC-8-61 jet freighters.
Affirmed, a three-year-old thoroughbred race horse traveled via Tigers’ DC-8 from LAX to Louisville, KY where he raced the famous Churchill Downs Kentucky Derby and then continued to victory in the following two races to become the 1978 Triple Crown winner (and was undefeated for 37 years until 2015).
Captain Bob “Catfish” Raine retired in February 1978, and in so doing, wrote the final lines of a chapter in the airline’s history. Catfish was the Flying Tiger Line’s last active pilot who had seen the action in China with Prescott as a P-40 pilot in the legendary Flying Tigers fighter squadron.
Following a successful six-hour-long transfer from Haneda Airport, Flying Tigers is settled and operating in its facility at the new Tokyo International Airport at Narita, Japan.
Marking its first expansion in Asia since 1969, Flying Tigers will introduce scheduled service between the U.S. and Singapore in June with one weekly B747 flight and one weekly DC-8 flight.
Hi-Tiger — Flying Tigers’ ten-story headquarters building in Los Angeles — has been dedicated to the memory of the airline’s founder and President of 33 years, Bob Prescott, who passed away in March. During informal mid-morning ceremonies on Monday, August 14, members of the Prescott family, airline founders, officers and members of the board of directors paid tribute to Bob and witnessed the unveiling of bronze lettering proclaiming the “Robert W. Prescott Building” above the entrance.
Flying Tigers announced the purchase two new Boeing 747-200Fs for its fleet next year at a cost of about $115 million.
Flying Tigers has inaugurated the only five-day-a-week, nonstop widebody jetfreighter service from San Francisco to New York.
Thirty-year Flying Tigers veteran Joseph J. Healy has been named president of the airline.
Norah O’Neill, Flying Tigers’ first female jetfreighter pilot, who joined the airline in December, 1976, has advanced to the position of First Officer. The promotion makes her the nation’s first woman actually flying four-engine or “big jet“ aircraft for a scheduled airline.
There’s a new giant circulating around Flying Tigers’ airfreight system — a towering contoured freight container developed by the airline to maximize the tremendous interior volume of its Boeing 747 jet freighters. The carrier’s new high-cube container has a capacity of 773 cubic feet, a tare weight of only 705 pounds, and can carry loads of up to 15,000 pounds.
Flying Tigers has introduced scheduled 747 service between New York, Detroit and San Francisco, marking the first time any carrier has offered scheduled domestic 747 jetfreighter service to Michigan and northwest Ohio shippers.
A Flying Tigers employee retirement gave cause for particular notice recently. It was the retirement of Director-Facilities & Equipment Joe Baker, holder of the number one spot on the airline’s employee seniority list. Baker, employee number 0020, who joined the airline in 1945 and has been a central figure during its development through 33 colorful years, retired on October 31.
1979
Without imposing size or weight restrictions, Flying Tigers has introduced a new door-to-door domestic airfreight program with rate reductions up to 25 percent.
Flying Tigers has announced plans to construct a new $10 million air-cargo terminal at Los Angeles International Airport — on the same site the airline occupied at LAX some 32 years ago.
Flying Tigers has opened a second warehouse facility in Chicago to handle import traffic exclusively.
It read more like the title of a prestigious law firm: Goldsmith, Goldsmith & Goldsmith. In actuality, it was the crew termination report for Flying Tigers B747 flight #178 of January 7 bound for Seattle, Washington. On board, 32-year veteran Captain J. Parker Goldsmith — “Goldie” — was making his last flight for the airfreight airline, and he was going out just as he had hoped: with his sons Skip and John as his crew. Skip, who joined Flying Tigers in 1972, flew first officer, and John, a two-year Tiger, handled the second officer’s slot.
For the second time in five years, Flying Tiger Line has been severely impacted by fuel supply problems. Like the 1973/74 crisis, this one arrived suddenly and without advance warning.
Construction is underway at Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport’s new east side cargo and foreign trade zone area for Flying Tiger Line’s $2.5 million airfreight terminal.
Flying Tigers donated a Douglas DC-9 flight and ground training simulator to the aviation and transportation division of Glendale College, giving students there the opportunity to learn first-hand the instrument systems and cockpit layout of transport-type aircraft.
Captain Thomas Haywood, a founder of Flying Tiger Line and a member of the American Volunteer Group (AVG) in China, died April 28, 1979 at the Centinela Hospital, Inglewood, CA, after a long illness. He was 61. Mr. Haywood, one of the original “boys from China” who threw in with Bob Prescott to finance the Flying Tiger Line almost 34 years ago, worked his first flight for the airline in 1945 as co-pilot to Bob Prescott on board one of the notorious stainless-steel Budd Conestogas. He piloted Flying Tigers aircraft around the world for the next 15 years, until his flying career ended with a major heart attack in 1959. Upon recovery, Mr. Haywood directed the airline’s flight operations and served as manager of ground training until his retirement in 1973.
Flying Tigers has announced that it will purchase two more Boeing 747-200 jetfreighters for delivery in mid-1980 at a cost of S120 million (including spare parts); and will re-engine nine stretched DC-8 aircraft owned by the airline.
A letter of intent has been signed with Cammacorp to equip seven DC-8-63s and two DC-8-61s with new CFM56 engines made by General Electric and SNECMA of France.
Flying Tigers has selected Pratt & Whitney Aircraft engines to power the airline’s new Boeing 747-200Fs.
Economic considerations have led to the end of scheduled DC-8- 63 flights across the Pacific. As a result, Flying Tigers no longer operates to Okinawa, Kaohsiung or Manila.
In May, TigerAir, Flying Tigers’ sister company, was granted an exemption by the Civil Aeronautics Board to operate “planeload passenger charter service as an air taxi operator,” providing another area of expansion for the diversified aircraft company.
Bob Prescott, Flying Tigers’ founder and president of 33 years, who passed away in March 1978, has been posthumously named recipient of the prestigious Flying Tiger Pilot Award presented every other year by members of the American Volunteer Group — the famous World War II “Flying Tigers” fighter squadron for which the Flying Tiger Line is named.
Joe Healy, who has been Flying Tigers’ president since September, 1978, has been elected to the new position of senior vice president-transportation systems planning of the airline’s parent company, Tiger International, where he will plan, organize and coordinate the merger of The Flying Tiger Line and Seaboard World Airlines.
Thomas F. Grojean, president of Tiger International, will take on the additional role of president of Flying Tiger Line.
An 18 day strike by members of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers reached an agreement and scheduled flights commenced immediately.
Flying Tigers has received a $31.3 million contract from the United States Air Force’s Military Airlift Command for cargo and passenger service during fiscal year 1980; this represented about 25% of the entire Air Force contract worth $126.9 million.
Following postponement of more than a year, Flying Tigers has inaugurated scheduled B747 jetfreighter service to and from Osaka, Japan.
The Civil Aeronautics Board has approved Flying Tigers’ application to provide scheduled jetfreighter service between the United States and Canada.
Flying Tigers dedicated its new terminal building at Houston Intercontinental Airport.
In early November, the impact of the economy and the fuel situation upon Flying Tigers became evident. The airline was forced to initiate a drastic belt-tightening program that involved the elimination or tabling indefinitely of several projects and a cutback in employee force.
Flying Tigers has announced a $3.7 million expansion of its flight training center located at world headquarters in Los Angeles. The 45.000 square-foot, four-level structure will house a new 747 simulator, Flying Tigers’ existing DC-8 simulator; administrative offices; and classrooms and facilities for training pilots, flight attendants, maintenance and terminal personnel.
In November 1979, Flying Tigers was the first commercial U.S. carrier back into Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The chartered DC-8 jetfreighter carried 77,000 pounds of food, medicine and supplies sponsored by two private American relief organizations — Operation California and the American Friends Service Committee — for the first direct United States-to-Cambodia mercy flight since the oppressive Pol Pot regime was overthrown in January.