Frontier Airlines: my inspiration pt 1

[beaky]

Some of you may have been following my little "virtual airline" project in the Payware section; I've been flying the MAAM-Sim DC3 on Frontier Airline's routes and schedules for the 1950s.
Something about Frontier really inspired me, and now I'm a little obsessed with it. Right now I'm just having fun with it, but I'm considering starting up a VA based on the old DC3 routes.
If anyone's interested, here's some of the informative and inspiring images I've gathered from various sources...just google "Frontier Airlines" or specifically "Old Frontier Airlines" if you want to learn more; there are some excellent sites out there.

Very nice b&w image, ca. 1950:








An example of a 1950 summer schedule, and a promo shot of a stewardess (each DC3 had one stewardess; at the time this was a relatively new thing, replacing the old tradition of male "pursers":









The front cover of the summer 1950 schedule, showing Frontier's route system:










A coupla beauties, ca. 1950-1960. I've seen pictures of every variety of door/pax stair configuration for Frontier DC3s of the time; the most common seems to have been the double cargo door version, with the forward door being used by passengers. The "Sunliner" in the lower picture sports the late-50s livery...










Not a Frontier DC3, but I like this shot because it shows the typical gate situation at most of the smaller fields on Frontier's routes in the early postwar period. Airline flying used to be a fun adventure... no effort was made to hide the fact that one was about to go flying!!










The Frontier  "terminal" at Kemmerer, Wyoming, late '50s.




More later...

[Hagar]

Very interesting. Of course, I'm old enough to remember all this. Ahhh, the nostalgia. Nice memories of less complicated times.

Being a much smaller country, internal airline travel in Britain was never quite as common or informal as it was in the US.

[Brett_Henderson]

This is pretty cool. I lived in Grand Junction, CO for a brief time in the late 1960s. The first jet airplane that I ever got on (or even saw up close) was a Frontier 727. I can remember my grandfather climbing out of the tail and down those steps in December, for the Christmas visit..

I've got a Frontier 727 and CV-580 in my hangar  ;D

Now I'm gonna add a DC-3..

[beaky]

This is pretty cool. I lived in Grand Junction, CO for a brief time in the late 1960s. The first jet airplane that I ever got on (or even saw up close) was a Frontier 727. I can remember my grandfather climbing out of the tail and down those steps in December, for the Christmas visit..

I've got a Frontier 727 and CV-580 in my hangar  ;D

Now I'm gonna add a DC-3..

Looks like I may have an "employee" if and when I start up the VA... how does Seniority number 2 sound to you?  ;D

If you know anything at all about Frontier's DC3 ops, I'd like to hear about it... there are a lot of gaps that I'm trying to fill...

[flyboy 28]

Haha, it looks like the guy in # 5 is looking under a car hood.

[beaky]

Very interesting. Of course, I'm old enough to remember all this. Ahhh, the nostalgia. Nice memories of less complicated times.

Being a much smaller country, internal airline travel in Britain was never quite as common or informal as it was in the US.

It's amazing how much this airline schedule resembles a bus or train schedule... I have no idea how they managed these turnarounds (sometimes as brief as 3 minutes!), even with good weather.
It's a challenge making these short hops among the high peaks and plateaus; I'm looking forward to exploring the entire system, from Montana to Mexico.

[Hagar]

It's amazing how much this airline schedule resembles a bus or train schedule... I have no idea how they managed these turnarounds (sometimes as brief as 3 minutes!), even with good weather.

Not quite the same of course but I got the impression it was still much like that in some parts of the US at the time of my last visit. That was almost 10 years ago now. Of course, the events of 9/11 changed all that for ever. I can understand how this must have come as a shock to passengers used to the informality & convenience of internal flights.

[Willit Run]

I would love to but,  I don't think i would have the time.  My computer time is late nite most of the time.

 If I could work it in I'll join in.

[Brett_Henderson]

Of all the VAs I've looked into (and tried) none seemed to add much to the simming experience. I thought about starting one where real time flying as a group, multi-player would be fun. The only thing I could come up with would be small pistons shuttling tourists around the northern Michigan islands. We'd all be in near enough proximity to make position reporting relevant and realistic and we'd no doubt be at the same airport enough to see each other come and go... trying to keep tight schedules and flying efficiently.

I think something along the Frontier line might be fun and be more about learning the history and replicating real, historic timetables and pooling the experience. The pretending to be an airline captain type of VA never appealed to me.