August 1969 I took the Mohawk Airlines cargo shuttle from Boston to Detroit.

[Fenway]

In August 1969 as a poor college student, I had an interesting 48-hour experience.

It started with the Mohawk Airlines 'cargo shuttle' that left Boston around 8 PM with stops in Hartford, Albany, Syracuse, Buffalo, Cleveland, and Detroit. With the half-price for young people back then, it was cheap.

I was visiting a college friend who was working overnight at CKLW radio in Windsor

Landed at Detroit Metro around 1 AM and back then Greyhound offered shuttle service to downtown and then I took a cab to Windsor to see my friend.

Crashed at his place, saw a ballgame at Tiger Stadium, and then took the overnight train from Detroit to Chicago.

I was a streetwise kid from Boston but the Michigan Central station was truly frightening that night. The ticket office was closed, and when I boarded the conductor just told me not to worry about the fare.

Union Station Chicago in 1969 was in sad shape as well

Flew back that night to Manchester, NH on Northeast Airlines fr0m Midway.

 

[BlackDiamond]

Interesting. Do you remember what kind of plane Mohawk was using for the cargo run? Some kind of turboprop I suspect. I recall Mohawk had a pretty bad reputation, one of their ex pilots wrote a book about them called "safety last". I guess thing got better when they merged with Allegheny to form US Air.

 

[Fenway]

Interesting. Do you remember what kind of plane Mohawk was using for the cargo run? Some kind of turboprop I suspect. I recall Mohawk had a pretty bad reputation, one of their ex pilots wrote a book about them called "safety last". I guess thing got better when they merged with Allegheny to form US Air.

It was a BAC-111



The flight was uneventful. One thing I remember is back then passengers were only allowed 2 drinks per takeoff and landing so on this flight the beverage cart was busy.

I remember another night I flew Mohawk from Toronto to Boston. The airline was not allowed tofly nonstop as Air Canada had a monopoly on the route so Mohawk flew nonstop from Toronto to Keene, NH and then on to Boston.

My roommate was picking me up at Logan and the flight was late and the Mohawk people went home and on the TV screen they said the flight status was 'missing'. My roommate was convinced the plane had crashed. When it did land it took a while for Eastern to unload it.

It was an interesting airline.

 

[PVD]

maybe a Convair 580, but I'd have to look at the way back machine to be sure... There was an old joke about passengers getting off a connection at LaGuardia, rushing to the Marine Air Terminal for Mohawk, and getting there and finding out the flights were now leaving as Alleghany from the main terminal, until all the USAir signs went up 6 or 7 years later.

 

[PVD]

Looks like their Convairs were 440 piston powered, turbo prop was likely an FH-227, Fairchild Hiller licensed version of the Fokker F-27, great plane for a view on a clear day because it was a high wing.

 

[Willbridge]

On my 1971 train ride home from Fort Dix to Oregon I met a railfan from Baltimore who boarded the Lakeshore at Buffalo, also heading for the Northwest. He said that he had flown "Slowhawk" to catch up with the train.

I had never heard that slur before. We in Oregon, of course, had F-27's on "Worst Coast Airlines."

 

[PVD]

I think those F-27 may have also been FH licensed production, and not Dutch but I'm not sure.

 

[Fenway]

What is really sad is regional air service no longer exists in New England.

You would think Bangor/Boston service would be viable but no.....

 

[lstone19]

I guess thing got better when they merged with Allegheny to form US Air.

The merger with Allegheny and the name change to US Air were separate events. Allegheny (Agony Airlines) acquired Mohawk (Slo-hawk) in 1972. The name change to US Air was in 1979 (which I remember from flying on an Allegheny plane that had already been repainted but I had not yet heard of the change nor was it officially in effect). The name change reflected their expansion into a nationwide carrier and a desire to get away from a regional name. Despite the name change, US Air continued to use the old AL code for a few more years before switching to US. With many people abbreviating US Air as USA, the wags said it stood for "Unfortunately still Allegheny"

 

[BlackDiamond]

maybe a Convair 580, but I'd have to look at the way back machine to be sure... There was an old joke about passengers getting off a connection at LaGuardia, rushing to the Marine Air Terminal for Mohawk, and getting there and finding out the flights were now leaving as Alleghany from the main terminal, until all the USAir signs went up 6 or 7 years later.

Allegheny was flying Convair 580s in the late 1960s on the route Allentown PA - New Haven CT - Boston which I used a few times when I was attending school in Bethlehem PA. I recall landings and takeoffs at Tweed airport were "interesting" with the mountain at the end of the runway

 

[BlackDiamond]

What is really sad is regional air service no longer exists in New England.

You would think Bangor/Boston service would be viable but no.....

View attachment 27751

Yes it is strange. There is service via Cape Air to Bar Harbor for those folks with the million dollar summer homes. Boston to Bangor is served by Concord Coach about a 4 hour trip. Greyhound used to serve this route also, not sure if it still does.

 

[MARC Rider]

Back in the 1970s something called "Executive Airlines" that become Air New England ran a route from Logan to Portland, Auburn-Lewiston, Augusta. Waterville and Bangor. I flew up to Auburn-Lewiston on a Twin Otter. The next summer, my girlfriend booked a ticket, but when we got to Auburn-Lewiston to pick her up, the airport was closed, as the runway was being dug up for some kind of repairs. Nobody at the terminal, either. We ran down to Portland, where they finally told us that she had been rebooked to Augusta. We got up to Augusta in time to watch her stumble down the stairs of the DC-3 that flew her up from Boston.

Nowadays, people flying up to the cabin just fly to Portland, sometimes we fly up to Manchester, NH, as there are more flights from BWI. It's kind of ironic that the best way to fly up to the most northeastern part of the country is on "Southwest Airlines."

 

[Rex Block]

It was a BAC-111

View attachment 27742

The flight was uneventful. One thing I remember is back then passengers were only allowed 2 drinks per takeoff and landing so on this flight the beverage cart was busy.

I remember another night I flew Mohawk from Toronto to Boston. The airline was not allowed tofly nonstop as Air Canada had a monopoly on the route so Mohawk flew nonstop from Toronto to Keene, NH and then on to Boston.

My roommate was picking me up at Logan and the flight was late and the Mohawk people went home and on the TV screen they said the flight status was 'missing'. My roommate was convinced the plane had crashed. When it did land it took a while for Eastern to unload it.

It was an interesting airline.

Looking at the route map brings back a lot of memories working for USAir in the 90s. Commuter service was still pretty regular to a lot of those places through the 90s -- Glens Falls, Massena, Ogdensburg, Watertown, Saranac Lake even. It was all with Beechcrafts, Dash-7s, and Dash-8s on spoke-and-hub operations, and very few multi-hop trips. The BAC-111's must have been gone by the time I got there. Multi-hops began to fade in earnest in the 90s with the advent of fortress hubs. Most of the upstate NY stations were served from LGA, PHL, or BWI, some from BOS. Most of those routes are gone now, given over to Cape Air and other small operators.

I didn't know Keene (NH) had a field.

 

[basketmaker]

Back in the 1970s something called "Executive Airlines" that become Air New England ran a route from Logan to Portland, Auburn-Lewiston, Augusta. Waterville and Bangor. I flew up to Auburn-Lewiston on a Twin Otter. The next summer, my girlfriend booked a ticket, but when we got to Auburn-Lewiston to pick her up, the airport was closed, as the runway was being dug up for some kind of repairs. Nobody at the terminal, either. We ran down to Portland, where they finally told us that she had been rebooked to Augusta. We got up to Augusta in time to watch her stumble down the stairs of the DC-3 that flew her up from Boston.

Nowadays, people flying up to the cabin just fly to Portland, sometimes we fly up to Manchester, NH, as there are more flights from BWI. It's kind of ironic that the best way to fly up to the most northeastern part of the country is on "Southwest Airlines."

I worked for Executive Airlines in Miami for a while in the 70's but sadly they went under. Then 5 years as station manager for Provincetown-Boston Airline Naples Airlines Div. at Miami.

 

[Dakota 400]

Fokker F-27, great plane for a view on a clear day because it was a high wing.

Flew on one those from Dayton to Pittsburgh on US Air. The view really was excellent, but, the fuselage was so close to the ground that it provided a rather "exciting" to me view as we landed.

 

[lstone19]

Looking at the route map brings back a lot of memories working for USAir in the 90s. Commuter service was still pretty regular to a lot of those places through the 90s -- Glens Falls, Massena, Ogdensburg, Watertown, Saranac Lake even. It was all with Beechcrafts, Dash-7s, and Dash-8s on spoke-and-hub operations, and very few multi-hop trips. The BAC-111's must have been gone by the time I got there.

I wish GFL (Glens Falls) lasted into the 90s. I think service there was gone by sometime in the 70s. I flew a light plane into GFL in 1992 and in the terminal, there was still evidence that there had been an Allegheny ticket counter (signage gone but enough paint still there).

BAC-111s were similar to a small DC-9 - twin tail-mounted engines with a T-tail. My logs say I was on 10 BAC-111 flights totaling 1,835 miles so none of them long flights. Digging deeper:
4/1979 ITH-ELM-PIT
4/1979 PIT-ELM-ITH
8/1979 DCA-ALB (GFL would have been nice for this one)
8/1979 DCA-ALB (GFL still would have been nice)
8/1979 ALB-DCA (and for this one too)
1/1980 PIT-CLE
8/1980 CLE-BUF
8/1980 PIT-CLE
And that's 10. Longest was ALB-DCA at 318 miles; shortest was ITH-ELM at 32 miles. It would be ten years before I'd fly US again (excluding former PSA routes in the west) by which time the BAC-111 was long gone.

 

[PVD]

one of the worst flights I ever had was on a BAC 111. I went up to Buffalo for a day tour of SUNY Buffalo, and went up on an AA DC-10 (still never figured out why that plane went to BUF) came home in a nasty storm in an Allegheny BAC-111, people getting airsick, sinks didn't have water, just a box of wash and dries. Felt sorry for the 2 FA.

 

[lstone19]

I went up to Buffalo for a day tour of SUNY Buffalo, and went up on an AA DC-10 (still never figured out why that plane went to BUF)

A lot of that is utilization flying meaning the plane flies in a market that doesn't really need it or it doesn't fly at all for those hours.

A good example of what causes this is mid-morning departures. As a very simplified example, let's say you want a transcontinental capable plane departing LAX at 9am heading to JFK and returning back to LAX. Typical times for that would be depart LAX at 9am, arrive JFK at 5pm, depart JFK at 6pm, arrive LAX at 9pm. And that's all you get out of the plane that day unless you send it on short missions at the beginning and end of the day. So instead of overnight at LAX, maybe you send it to SMF (Sacramento) departing LAX at 10pm and arriving SMF at 11:30pm. In the morning, depart SMF at 6:30am and into LAX at 8am and ready to go to JFK.

PVD didn't say where he flew to BUF from but I'm guessing it might have been LGA in which case if it was an evening flight, it might have been merely to get the plane out of LGA due to limited space to park planes overnight.

 

[Exvalley]

This thread reminded me of Pilgrim Airlines. I used to regularly see their Twin Otters flying over my school. I am surprised that the two route maps posted in this thread include Keene, NH. That's a pretty small town for commercial service.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Trans Texas Airlines, aka Tree Top Airlines, and Texas International which morphed into Continential , used to fly DC-3s that serviced several really Small Towns such as Alpine, Texarkana, College Station,San Angelo,Harlingen,Del Rio etc.

I once flew on a Joy Ride Trip between Austin and Houston on a Bargain Ticket that flew to San Antonio, Del Rio,Alpine,Midland-Odessa,San Angelo,Ft Worth,Dallas,College Staion and finally Houston.

Long Day but for $29 I thought it was Worth the Money!

 

[Rex Block]

I worked for Executive Airlines in Miami for a while in the 70's but sadly they went under. Then 5 years as station manager for Provincetown-Boston Airline Naples Airlines Div. at Miami.

The old TV show "Wings" always made me think of PBA. And vice-versa.

 

[basketmaker]

The old TV show "Wings" always made me think of PBA. And vice-versa.

That plane (N121PB) was a PBA C-402 and is still flying for Cape Air today.

 

[basketmaker]

Trans Texas Airlines, aka Tree Top Airlines, and Texas International which morphed into Continential , used to fly DC-3s that serviced several really Small Towns such as Alpine, Texarkana, College Station,San Angelo,Harlingen,Del Rio etc.

I once flew on a Joy Ride Trip between Austin and Houston on a Bargain Ticket that flew to San Antonio, Del Rio,Alpine,Midland-Odessa,San Angelo,Ft Worth,Dallas,College Staion and finally Houston.

Long Day but for $29 I thought it was Worth the Money!

Several of TTA's DC-3s were purchased by PBA and fully overhauled and refurbished and flew many years with them. A couple are still going strong. One of them N136PB (now N18121) has the highest flying time of any aircraft. Also one of them (N34PB) was sold to Brietling Watch and did an around the world tour in 2017.

 

[trainman74]

Then 5 years as station manager for Provincetown-Boston Airline Naples Airlines Div. at Miami.

Does this look familiar? (This is the one PBA timetable I have in my collection -- I never actually flew them, but I must have just grabbed this in Tampa from their ticket counter or a gate.)

 

[basketmaker]

Does this look familiar? (This is the one PBA timetable I have in my collection -- I never actually flew them, but I must have just grabbed this in Tampa from their ticket counter or a gate.)

This one is well after my tenure (1970-1975) with them. We only operated between Miami and Naples and between Tampa and Naples. Long before the YS-11 (pictured) came online. We had 7 DC-3s, 2 Lockheed 10 Electras, a couple of Piper Aztecs and Cherokee Sixes and a brand new Cessna 402 (N402PB). After Ol' Man Van (or Nutsy as he also called) retired the sons (Johnno and Peter) took over and expanded and bought planes like they were going out of style. And expanded routes in both the southern division up to New Orleans. As well as the northern division all over New England where it was only Boston to Provincetown in my day. And the new routes included Newark. It was a shame they boys went and expanded too quickly and killed a fantastic family run airline. Planes and crews would transfer twice a year between the north in the summer and south in the winter. That included the office and all the file cabinets and so on. Another thing when the Ol' Man ran it every aircraft was owned outright. He paid cash for everything. The boys ran debt up to their eyeballs. I only made $2.00/hour doing everything (including flight attendant) except pilot. And I wish I could go back and do it all again!