Interactive Airports

An engaging 1961 illustration over forty years before outdoor observation decks were off limits after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. No more appreciable sounds of prop-engined airliners mixed with jet airliners, the smell of aviation fuel, or hearing support vehicles jockey around to provide services for the airlines. 

Maybe the artist needed TWA's approval on the fuselage livery of their Boeing 707s. The tail livery is nondescript, however. A livery history at TWA.

Short Hoppers

Ozark Air Lines began public operation in the US in 1950, operating from their headquarters located at Lambert–St. Louis Municipal Airport. Ozark purchased Douglas DC-3s from the defunct Parks Airline with regular flights between St. Louis and Chicago, including short hops along the way, and to Tulsa and Memphis. By 1955, the airline used its thirteen DC-3s to serve thirty-five cities between Sioux City, Indianapolis, Wichita, and Nashville. By 1960, turboprop Fairchild F-27s (above) replaced the aging DC-3s with its first Douglas DC-9-10 jets introduced in 1966. Ozark Airlines was unable to compete in the airline price wars and in 1986 was purchased by Trans World Airlines, itself unable to sustain profitability and was purchased by American Airlines in 2001. 

Note: The three swallows in Ozark's logo represented on-time flights, referring to the legend of the swallows that return to the Mission San Juan Capistrano, in California each year. 

Sweet on Connie

Starting in 1943, the Lockheed Corporation began manufacturing the triple-tailed Constellation series. It was the first pressurized-cabin civil airliner series to go into widespread use. Its pressurized cabin enabled commercial passengers to fly well above most bad weather for the first time, thus significantly improving the general safety and ease of air travel. TWA was a major airline client. The "Connie" wing was similar to the Lockheed P-38 Lightning in design, differing mostly in size. The triple tail design allowed the aircraft to fit into existing hangars. Several different models of the Constellation series were produced, although all featured the distinctive dolphin-shaped fuselage. The stretched L-1049 Super Constellation first flew in 1951. The C-69 Constellation transport was the first of many military variants. The C-69 was a key player during the Berlin and Biafran airlifts. Constellation production ended in 1958. In recent years, the few airworthy examples of the L-1049 have dwindled down to one in Australia.