Slick Airways

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Slick Airways
IATA ICAO Call sign
SI(1) [1] SI(1) [1]
Founded1946
Commenced operationsMarch 4, 1946 (1946-03-04) [2]
Ceased operations1966 (1966)
Operating bases Burbank, California
San Francisco, California
Headquarters San Antonio, Texas
United States
Founder Earl F. Slick
Notes
(1) IATA, ICAO codes were the same until the 1980s
CL-44 at San Francisco 1963 Canadair CL-44, Slick Airways JP7015730.jpg
CL-44 at San Francisco 1963

Slick Airways was one of the first scheduled cargo airlines in the United States, awarded a certificate for scheduled cargo service in the same proceeding that awarded a certificate to Flying Tiger Line. The airline was founded by Earl F. Slick, a Texas aviator and multimillionaire who along with his brother, inherited $25 million (around $324 million in 2015 currency) in oil wealth after their father's death in 1930.

Contents

History

C-46. Registration is an "NC" number, making this 1948 or before. C-46Eslickairways62528 (4418779131).jpg
C-46. Registration is an "NC" number, making this 1948 or before.
C-46 at San Francisco N87842. See External links for a video of an unusual 1950s (?) color film of Slick C-46 and DC-4 aircraft C-46SlickSFO (4440239996).jpg
C-46 at San Francisco N87842. See External links for a video of an unusual 1950s (?) color film of Slick C-46 and DC-4 aircraft
DC-6 at RAF Burtonwood, UK 1956 Douglas DC-6A N6814C Slick Aws Burtonwwod 08.56 edited-2.jpg
DC-6 at RAF Burtonwood, UK 1956
L-1049H Super Constellation Lockheed 1049H Slick AW N468C (4849914519).jpg
L-1049H Super Constellation

The airline was formed in January 1946 as the air cargo division of the Slick Corporation, headquartered in San Antonio. Slick Airways had its original fleet of Curtiss C-46 Commando aircraft based at Lockheed Air Terminal (Burbank) and San Francisco Airport. [3] In 1949, the Civil Aeronautics Board awarded Slick (along with Flying Tiger Line) a scheduled cargo certificate [4] and scheduled freighter flights to domestic destinations were commenced, and by 1951, the company had become the largest all-cargo airline of the United States. [5] On 16 April of that year, Slick Airways became the first airline to operate the freighter variant of the Douglas DC-6 (the passenger variant had been introduced with United Airlines five days earlier). [3]

In 1954, Slick Airways went into merger talks with Flying Tigers because of the increasing competition by passenger airlines, which failed because the respective shareholders would not approve of these plans. [3] In 1958, the company was forced to suspend all scheduled services, though it continued to operate charter flights on behalf of the United States Armed Forces, [6] also to European destinations. A fleet of newly built Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation airliners went into service with the airline during 1959, initially being used to fly military freight from Travis Air Force Base near Sacramento to Japan. This operation was supplemented by Canadair CL-44s from 1962. [6]

In October 1962 scheduled flights were resumed, [5] when Slick Airways was granted permanent permission to operate its transcontinental Route 101. The trunk routing went from either San Francisco or Burbank to Dallas, St. Louis, Chicago, Indianapolis and New York City and was operated using the Lockheed Super Constellation. The DC-6 was used on side routes. Additionally, Slick Airways operated on so called Quicktrans domestic routes on behalf of the United States Navy. [7] In 1965, the L-1049 was withdrawn from the Route 101 in favor of the CL-44.

On 27 August 1965, scheduled flights once again were discontinued because of the poor financial situation of Slick Airways, and military charter flights were terminated by the end of the year. [8] On 1 July 1966, Slick Airways was shut down, and the assets were acquired by Airlift International [5] to ensure continuity of Slick's military charter operations. [9] In 1968, Airlift was awarded Slick's former scheduled cargo authority. [10]

Fleet

Over the years, Slick Airways operated the following aircraft types: [5]

Accidents and incidents

Slick Airways suffered nine accidents resulting in an aircraft being damaged beyond repair. In total, 19 people lost their lives.

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 Contractions (Report). Federal Aviation Agency. 15 March 1963. pp. 47–48. hdl: 2027/uc1.c101986578 .
  2. "Non-scheduled Carriers Score Pan Am Rate Slash to Puerto Rico". Aviation Week. 6 (8): 23. 19 August 1946. ISSN   0005-2175.
  3. 1 2 3 History of Slick Airways at cl44.com
  4. "Air Freight Case". Civil Aeronautics Board Reports. 10. Washington, DC: U.S. General Printing Office: 572–646. January–November 1949. hdl: 2027/osu.32437011657588 .
  5. 1 2 3 4 Information about Slick Airways at the Aero Transport Data Bank
  6. 1 2 Marson, Peter J. (1982). The Lockheed Constellation Series. Tonbridge, UK: Air-Britain (Historians). p. 242. ISBN   0851301002.
  7. Marson 1982, p. 242–243.
  8. Marson 1982, p. 243.
  9. "Airlift-Slick Transfer of Assets". Civil Aeronautics Board Reports. 44. Washington, DC: U.S. General Printing Office: 840–843. February–June 1966. hdl: 2027/osu.32437011658263 .
  10. "Airlift-Slick Route Transfer". Civil Aeronautics Board Reports. 48. Washington, DC: U.S. General Printing Office: 579–607. January–July 1968. hdl: 2027/osu.32435022360259 .
  11. Aircraft Accident Report: Slick Airways, Inc.—Denver, Colorado—February 14, 1947 (Report). Civil Aeronautics Board. 21 January 1948. doi:10.21949/1500401.
  12. Aircraft Accident Report: Slick Airways, Inc., Near Hanksville, Utah, August 21, 1947 (Report). Civil Aeronautics Board. 28 April 1948. doi:10.21949/1500415.
  13. Aircraft Accident Report: Slick Airways, Inc.—Burbank, California—September 17, 1947 (Report). Civil Aeronautics Board. 12 January 1948. doi:10.21949/1500418.
  14. Aircraft Accident Report: Slick Airways, Inc.—Near Port Columbus Airport, Columbus, Ohio—May 16, 1948 (Report). Civil Aeronautics Board. 26 November 1948. doi:10.21949/1500465.
  15. Aircraft Accident Report: Slick Airways, Inc., Near Cheyenne Airport, Cheyenne, Wyoming, October 9, 1949 (Report). Civil Aeronautics Board. 30 March 1950. doi:10.21949/1500504.
  16. "Accident Curtiss C-46E-CS-1 Commando N59490 23 February 1951". asn.flightsafety.com. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 16 October 2024.
  17. Aircraft Accident Report: Slick Airways, Inc.—Near Bradley Field, Windsor Lock, Connecticut,—March 4, 1953 (Report). Civil Aeronautics Board. 22 September 1953. doi:10.21949/1500587.
  18. Aircraft Accident Report: Slick Airways, Inc., Lockheed Constellation L-1049H, N 9740Z, San Francisco International Airport, San Francisco, California, February 3, 1963 (Report). Civil Aeronautics Board. 11 October 1963. doi:10.21949/1500813.
  19. Aircraft Accident Report: Slick Airways Division, The Slick Corporation, Douglas C-54B-DC, N384, Castle Island, Boston, Massachusetts, March 10, 1964 (Report). Civil Aeronautics Board. 5 November 1964. doi:10.21949/1500829.

Bibliography