Slick Airways was originally founded as an irregular air carrier before becoming 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.
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operated on so called Quicktrans domestic routes on behalf of the United States Navy.[7] In 1965, the L-1049 was withdrawn from the Route 101 in favor of the CL-44.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]
21 August 1947: two pilots and a non-revenue passenger (all on board) died when C-46E NC59488 en-route from Denver to Burbank flew into mountain ridge at an altitude of approximately 10,000ft (3,000m) near Hanksville, Utah while in cloudy conditions. The probable cause was failure to maintain required altitude for that terrain: controlled flight into terrain.[12]
17 September 1947: C-46 NC59495 was extensively damaged during an emergency landing at Burbank on a flight from Denver due to fuel starvation. The two pilots survived. Probable cause was failure of the captain to track of fuel consumption, and provide for sufficient fuel reserve.[13]
16 May 1948: The two pilots of a C-46E NC59489 died when the aircraft crashed near Columbus, Ohio. They were flying from Newark to Chicago and diverted to Columbus to avoid severe weather and encountered extreme turbulence, causing rivets and skin to fail near the vertical fin, rendering the aircraft uncontrollable.[14]
9 October 1949:C-46E NC59485 was en-route from Las Vegas to Denver when it diverted to Cheyenne, Wyoming to avoid bad weather. However, on approach, the aircraft, accumulating ice, encountered heavy squalls, leading to loss of control and the death of the two pilots and one company employee on board.[15]
23 February 1951:C-46E N59490 encountered severe icing during a flight from Burbank to San Francisco. The pilots carried out a forced landing on a highway near Newhall, California. There were no fatalities but the aircraft was destroyed.[16]
4 March 1953: Flight 162-3, C-46F N4717N, crashed into trees near Windsor Locks, Connecticut on a flight from New York to Bradley Field; the two pilots died. After missing an instrument approach, the captain, without informing the airport, attempted a quick VFR landing despite the late hour and poor conditions, rather than reset for another instrument approach, but misjudged the terrain.[17]
3 February 1963: a Lockheed L-1049H Super Constellation N9740Z on a ferry flight with a limited complement of avionics due to maintenance issues, hits runway approach lights during an instrument approach to San Francisco and subsequently crashes, causing the deaths of two (out of three) flight crew and two (out of five) non-revenue passengers. The crew continued an instrument approach "after adequate visual reference was lost below authorized minimums." Inadequate safety briefings likely contributed in injuries/deaths.[18]
10 March 1964: Slick Airways Flight 12, a C-54B-DC N384 crashed during approach at Boston; the two pilots and loadmaster on board died. Aircraft icing, particularly of the tail, caused an uncommanded and unrecoverable pitch-down, sending the aircraft into a lumber yard.[19]
Unusual color film from the 1950s (?) featuring a tame lion being walked around an airport ramp among Slick Airways C-46s and a DC-4: "Mayflower Hotel: Slick Airways"(video). youtube.com. The Silver Texan. 30 November 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2024.
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