1945 – 1947
Early pioneering…
The Budd Conestoga, Flying Tiger Line’s first aircraft, was an all-stainless steel, rear loading, twin-engine aircraft – built by a company that had made its reputation manufacturing railway cars. Many questioned its looks and even more questioned whether it would ever fly. But it did, starting with the founding of the company in June, 1945, when Robert W. Prescott acquired the entire fleet of 14 originally built for the US Navy. The Conestoga airlifted 7,000 pounds of cargo at about 150 miles per hour over a 500 mile range. The airline’s headquarters in those days was a two-car garage at the Long Beach Municipal Airport. Ralph Meyers, a pioneering Bakersfield produce shipper, was Flying Tigers first customer. His two plane-loads of fresh grapes destined for Georgia got the budding airline off the ground – literally.