The Airchive-Vintage Post Cards

	American Boeing 727-100 Shown in the 1964-68 livery is an American Airlines 727-100 somewhere over the desert.
	1960 - Post Card Scrapbook With the jet age in full swing, American distributed these scrap books to passengers. This example features the 707, Electra, and a preview of the coming 727, along with past examples from the fleet.

	1996 - Post Cards American's fleet is seen here in the 1968 to current polished aluminum scheme. Apart from changing the titles on the airlines from "American Airlines" to just "American", this livery has remained unchanged since then, one of the most venerable schemes in the industry today!


	Boeing 747 prototype The Boeing 747 prototype shadowed by Boeing’s T-38 flies over the coast of Washington in 1969. Note the badges at the front of the fuselage representing all the airlines that had ordered the Jumbo up to that point.
	1976 Braniff “Spirit of ‘76” To mark the country’s Bicentennial in 1976, Braniff commissioned Alexander Calder to design a special paint scheme for one of it’s 727-200s. Years before special logo jets became vogue, Calder had also painted a DC-8 in a special scheme promoting South American services. This scheme was noteworthy in that the airline’s name was absent from the fuselage. The “Spirit of ‘76” flew until Braniff Is shutdown in 1982, eventually joining People Express. In the background is a 727-200 in an orange “Flying Colors” scheme.
	1971 Braniff “Pickle Plane” 727-100 In 1971, Braniff revised the Wells/Girard look with a two-tone scheme dubbed “Flying Colors”. As beautiful as the green, orange, teal, red, and navy blue aircraft were, the schemes deteriorated rapidly and required frequent repainting. This image showcases a 727-100 in a scheme nicknamed “The Pickle Plane”.
	Capital Airlines Capital operated Viscounts briefly from 1958 until its 1961 merger with United.
	Braniff BAC 1-11 This Braniff BAC 1-11 Pumpkin Plane in 1965 colors pictured in flight. Braniff operated BAC’s in the mid 60’s and again under Braniff II in the late 80’s.
	1965 livery Boeing 727 Special Thanks to: Mark Trent
	Continental Airlines ATR-42 Continental operated an express operation from Denver Stapleton until 1994 using ATR's into the Inter-mountain ski resorts.
	Continental Viscount Continental was among the few U.S. operators of the British made Viscount. This plane was noteworthy for being one of the first Turboprops and for its huge oval windows.
	Delta DC-8 Delta, along with United, launched the world's first DC-8 services in 1959.
	Late 1960s - Douglas DC-8 Super 63 Special Thanks to: Mark Trent
	Delta "Spirit of Delta" 767 Delta's first 767 was a $30 million gift from Delta employees to Delta in 1983.
	Douglas DC-10 Special Thanks to: Mark Trent
	MD-80 Special Thanks to: Mark Trent
	MD-80 Special Thanks to: Mark Trent
	Eastern Airbus A-300 "WhisperLiner" Eastern was the first U.S. operator of any Airbus product. In 1977, to gain a toehold in the U.S. market, fledgling Airbus offered Eastern essentially a 6 months free lease of 4 A-300s with no obligation. The gamble paid off and Eastern went on to order many more. Continental, American, and Pan Am followed suite with A-300s and A-310s and the rest if history. Special Thanks to: Mark Trent
	Eastern Boeing 727-100 "WhisperJet" Eastern was the launch customer for the Boeing 727. The airliner was originally designed to be able to take-off and land from the very short runway at New York's Laguardia fully laden with pax, cargo, and fuel. Special Thanks to: Mark Trent
	Eastern Douglas DC-9 Series 10 "WhisperJet" Special Thanks to: Mark Trent
	Eastern Douglas DC-9 Series 30 "WhisperJet" Special Thanks to: Mark Trent
	Eastern Douglas DC-9 Series 50 "WhisperJet" Special Thanks to: Mark Trent
	Frontier Convair 580 Frontier operated the world's largest fleet of Convair 580s from the mid 60s until the early 80s. The Convair was a perfect bird for the missions involving short runways and high altitudes of many of Frontier's inter-mountain destinations. It is seen here in the 1978 Sal Bass livery.
	Interflug These postcards are from the former East German flag carrier, which ceased operations in 1990 following the reunification of East and West Germany. IL-62s and A310s purchased in the late 80s are seen here.

	Lufthansa DC-10 This Lufthansa DC-10 in a 1970s era livery cruises high above the clouds.
	Lufthansa 727 A Lufthansa 727-200 in 1970s colors somewhere in the skies. The 727s were retired in the early 80s in favor of 737s
	National Airlines Lockheed L-188 Electra An Electra is seen crusing over Miami Beach, Florida and the world famous Fountainbleu Hotel.
	National Airlines Douglas DC-8 National was the first airline in the U.S. to operate jet service domestically. The airline leased 2 Boeing 707s in December 1958 from Pan Am. This was a stopgap measure until their own DC-8s arrived in 1960. One of these is seen in the 1964-68 era paint scheme at Miami International Airport.
	Northeast F-27 This Fokker F-27 belonged to Boston based Northeast Airlines. Northeast was a large operator in New England, based in Boston, prior to its 1972 buyout by Delta Airlines. Fokker's left the fleet before the merger as Northeast became an all jet carrier.
	Northwest 727-200 Northwest was a large operator of the Boeing 727-200 and the last of the U.S. mainline carriers to operate it, retiring the last example in early 2003.
	Northwest Orient Boeing 757 Special Thanks to Rick Van Houten
	Northwest Orient Boeing 727 Ironic for an airline that as of 2004 was still flying the oldest fleet of the majors (DC-9s and DC-10s), Northwest was the first to retire its 727s with service ending in 2000. Special Thanks to Rick Van Houten
	Northwest Orient Douglas DC-10-40 Northwest was the only new purchaser of the DC-10-40, essentially a DC-10-30 with Pratt and Whitney turbofans as opposed to GE CF-6s. As of 2004, these were still flying the bulk of European services for the carrier with Airbus A330s slowly replacing them. Special Thanks to Rick Van Houten
	Northwest Orient Boeing 747-200 Along with United, Northwest is the only US major operating the 747s today. They retired their last Classic Jumbo in 2001, with over 100,000 hours upon it with no incidents - a record for high time 747s! Special Thanks to Rick Van Houten
	Ozark DC-3 Before the arrival of the F-27s and DC-9s, the DC-3 was the backbone of St. Louis based Ozark Airlines. The last was retired in 1970.
	Pan Am Martin M-130 China Clipper The China Clipper is seen over the San Francisco Bay Area in this vintage postcard. Ed Musik flew the first U.S. to Asia (Oakland to Manila) scheduled service aboard the world famous China Clipper in 1935. This was the penultimate Flying Boat, surpassed only by the Boeing 314. However, there are few more famous airliners in the the world than this one.
	Pan Am Stratocruiser Boeing 377 From 1950-1955, the Queen of the Skies was the double deck Strat. These were loved by passengers for their smoothness and roominess but loathed by the airline for their tempramental Pratt's.
	Pan Am Boeing 707-120 As every airline afficionado knows, Pan Am was the launch customer for the 707 and the first U.S. Airline to operate jets. The first flight took place on Oct 26, 1958 from New York Idelwild to Paris Le Bourget. Pan Am’s first delivered 707-120 replete with first generation Pratt JT-3 TurboJets, Clipper America soars above the clouds.
	Pan Am Boeing 747 Economy Cabin The spaciousness of 9 abreast seating in a 747 is indeed a thing of the past.
	TWA DC-3 TWA was originally the launch customer for the DC-2. Though American monopolized DC-3 positions, TWA operated many DC-3s until the late 1940s.
	TWA L1011 TWA was one of the 3 original operators of the TriStar. The airline launched TriStar services in 1972 and ran them continuously until 1996.
	United DC-7 United operated the Queen of the Recips, the DC-7 from 1953 until the early 1960's. Ironically the DC-6's would last longer in the fleet as freighters.
	1968 - DC-8 Super Sixty Series 61 Special Thanks to: Mark Trent
	1964 - Boeing 727 Special Thanks to: Mark Trent
	Berlin Airports Postcards Tegel in the West and Schonfeld in the former Eastern sector are the main airports serving the German capital of Berlin. Schonfeld, due to its long runways, has seen growth in the long haul segments.

	Burbank Airport - 1950s The Historic Burbank / Glendale / Pasadena Airport was the original home of Lockheed, and the beloved Constellation. The airport was originally known as the Lockheed Air Terminal when it was the primary Los Angeles airport before becoming the Hollywood / Burbank terminal in the 1950s. The current name was adopted in the late 70s. The terminal building itself dates back to 1940 and is still devoid of jet bridges. The airport is currently served by Southwest, American, Alaska, United, American West, and Aloha with non-stops to Hawaii. Curiously, there is no scheduled prop airline service owing to the few available slots and gates. The terminal has been due to be replaced for years on the site of the now demolished Lockheed plant, but that has been opposed by neighborhood groups. See current shots on the Burbank Page.
	Washington D.C. National Airport - 1940 Terminal This famous WPA era structure was the most modern airport in the world when it was built. The 1940 era terminal was the focal point of the airport until the new terminal opened in 1997. National was, and remains the closest to downtown airport in the U.S. See current shots at the Washington Reagan National Page.
	Denver Stapleton Airport - 1970s Stapleton was completely closed down in 1995 with the opening of Denver International Airport. The airport real estate is currently being redeveloped for housing and retail. See 1999 shots of the still standing terminal at the Denver International page.
	Honolulu International Airport - 1950s and 1960s HNL came into its own with Pan Am's launch of non-stop service in 1946 from the mainland, followed by United in 1948. See more at the Honolulu Planespotting page.
	Miami International Airport - 1929 and 1959 Terminal
	Oklahoma City Will Rogers World Airport - 1966 OKC's terminal and concourses remained unchanged until a full renovation master plan began in 2001. 2 of the 3 concourses have been raised and replaced, while the 3rd is being demolished now. The main ticketing hall is also undergoing major reconstruction. When complete, the airport will be unrecognizable from these shots. See 2004 images at the Oklahoma City Planespotting page.

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