Editing Flying Tiger Line (section)

== History ==
=== Early years===
[[File:Flyingtigers.png|thumb|Old Logo.]]
[[File:Douglas C-54A N90433 FTL Ringway 29.05.55 edited-2.jpg|thumb|left|[[Douglas DC-4|DC-4]] at [[Manchester Airport|Manchester, UK]] May 1955. Four months later this aircraft ditched in the Pacific with the loss of three crew.]]
The airline was named after the [[Flying Tigers]] fighter unit of [[World War II]], officially the [[1st American Volunteer Group]]. After returning to the United States in 1945, ten former AVG pilots led by [[Robert William Prescott]] established the Flying Tiger Line on 24 June 1945 under the name '''National Skyway Freight''' using a small fleet of 14 [[Budd Conestoga]] freighters purchased as war surplus from the [[United States Navy]].<ref name="AVG-bio">{{cite web|last=Rossi |first=J.R. |url=http://www.flyingtigersavg.22web.org/bio-Prescott.htm |title= Prescott biography |year=1998 |work=The Flying Tigers - American Volunteer Group - Chinese Air Force}}</ref><ref name="auto">"World Airline Directory." ''Flight International''. March 30, 1985. [http://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1985/1985%20-%200943.html 83]." Retrieved on March 21, 2017. "7401 World Way West, Los Angeles International Airport, California 90009, USA"</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=bCEDAAAAMBAJ&dq=popular+science+July+1946&pg=PA79 "Trucking Anywhere By Air", November 1945, ''Popular Science'']</ref><ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.stanwing.com/National%20Freight%20Service%20Pilot%20Wing | title = National Freight Service | publisher = StanWing | access-date = 6 May 2020 }}{{Dead link|date=April 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The pilots and two ground crew provided half of the initial investment, with the balance coming from California oil tycoon [[AlliedSignal#History|Samuel B. Mosher]].<ref name="nst">{{cite news|title=Airline formed by US pilots and ground crew|work=New Straits Times|date=1989-02-20}}</ref> For the next four years, Flying Tiger Line carried air freight on contract throughout the U.S. and, as the airline expanded, carrying supplies to U.S. troops under Gen. [[Douglas MacArthur]] during the [[occupation of Japan]].<ref name="nst" />

[[File:Lockheed L-1049H N6918C FTL LGW 29.08.64.jpg|thumb|right|A [[Lockheed L-1049|L-1049H Super Constellation]] in [[London Gatwick Airport|Gatwick]] (1964).]]

In 1949, the [[Civil Aeronautics Board]] awarded Flying Tiger Line (along with [[Slick Airways]]) a scheduled cargo certificate for a transcontinental route from [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]] and [[San Francisco, California]] to [[Boston, Massachusetts]].<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Civil Aeronautics Board Reports|volume=10|publisher=U.S. General Printing Office|location=Washington, DC|pages=572–646|date=January–November 1949 |url=https://hdl.handle.net/2027/osu.32437011657588?urlappend=%3Bseq=588%3Bownerid=107199248-592| hdl=2027/osu.32437011657588|hdl-access=free|title=Air Freight Case}}</ref> Shortly afterwards, the company began chartering passenger aircraft for group travel as well; its [[Lockheed Constellation|Lockheed Super Constellation]], [[Douglas DC-4]] and [[Douglas DC-6|DC-6]] fleet comprised the largest trans-Atlantic charter operation through the 1950s.

During the [[Korean War]], Flying Tiger aircraft were chartered to transport troops and supplies from the United States to Asia; Flying Tigers later received a cargo route award to Japan, China, and Southeast Asia. The airline also played a major role in the construction of the [[Distant Early Warning Line]], flying equipment to remote outposts in northern Canada and Alaska.

Flying Tiger Line adopted the [[Canadair CL-44]] swing-tail aircraft in 1961, becoming one of the first carriers in the world to offer [[Unit load device|aerial pallet]] shipping service.

===1960s-1970s: Jet age===
[[File:Flying Tiger Line DC-8 63F N779FT.jpg|thumb|The airline's first DC-8-63F delivered to the airline, seen at Seattle airport in 1972.]]
Flying Tiger Line began operating jet aircraft on September 27, 1965, when the first (as N322F) of four [[Boeing 707]]s was delivered. On 15 November that same year, a modified Flying Tigers [[Boeing 707]]-349C made the first ever aerial circumnavigation of the Earth via the poles, in 62 hours 27 minutes.  The aircraft carried additional fuel in two additional tanks installed in the main cabin.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=CNN|last=Patterson|first=Thom|title=How Pan Am Flight 50 flew from pole to pole|url=https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/pole-to-pole-pan-am-flight-50/index.html|date=6 July 2018|access-date=15 May 2019}}</ref> The Boeing 707 remained in the fleet for only a few years and was replaced by the higher-payload [[Douglas DC-8]], the largest civilian airliner until the Boeing 747 entered service. The first Douglas DC-8-63F, registered as N779FT, was delivered to the airline on June 26, 1968, and the other eighteen followed until 1972.<ref name="war">{{cite book|first=David|last=Mondey|title=World's Airliner Registrations|publisher=Ian Allan Ltd.|year=1974|isbn= 0711005486}}</ref>

In 1974, the airline took delivery of its first [[Boeing 747]]. Flying Tigers then placed orders for brand-new Boeing 747-200F freighters designated the Boeing 747-249F, which at the time were among the heaviest commercial airplanes flying, weighing {{convert|823000|lb}}. These aircraft had the powerful "Q" ([[Pratt & Whitney JT9D|Pratt & Whitney JT9D-7Q]]) engines and heavy landing gear and could simultaneously carry both {{convert|250000|lb}} of fuel and {{convert|250000|lb}} of cargo loaded through both the nose door and the side door at the same time.  Aircraft loaders had earlier refused to work at the extreme {{convert|30|ft|m|0}} height necessary for loading freight on the upper deck, so the "supernumerary area" or "hump" was configured with 19 first class seats instead which were used to transport livestock handlers, charter agents and mechanics as well as dead-heading pilots and flight attendants.

===1980s: Later years and merger with Federal Express===
[[File:Boeing 747-132SF N803FT F.Tigers ORD 30.09.79 edited-3.jpg|thumb|right|Flying Tigers [[Boeing 747|Boeing 747-132SF]] freighter at [[Chicago O'Hare Airport]] in 1979]]
Tiger's Ad Hoc Charter livestock flights provided airlift for exotic animals. Two examples were thoroughbred racehorses and show animals from [[Stansted]], England to the [[Melbourne Cup]], as well as breeding stock cattle (milk supply) to nations such as Japan and Thailand. They became known for carrying a number of unique cargoes, including [[Shamu (SeaWorld show)|Shamu]] the [[SeaWorld]] [[killer whale]] and the torch of the [[Statue of Liberty]].

By the mid-1980s, Flying Tigers operated scheduled cargo service to six continents and served 58 countries. It surpassed [[Pan American World Airways]] in 1980 as the world's largest air cargo carrier after acquiring its rival cargo airline [[Seaboard World Airlines]] on 1 October 1980. It also operated military contract services, most notably DC-8 routes between [[Travis Air Force Base]], California and Japan in the 1970s, followed by weekly 747 passenger service between [[Clark Air Base]], Philippines, and [[St. Louis, Missouri|St. Louis]], [[Missouri]] via Japan, [[Alaska]], and Los Angeles during the 1980s. Covert flights for the military were not uncommon throughout the airline's history, given its roots in [[Civil Air Transport]] (CAT), as with its sister airline [[Air America (airline)|Air America]], originally owned by General [[Claire Lee Chennault]], commander of the Flying Tigers fighter squadron in Southeast Asia.

[[File:Boeing 747-200 (Flying Tiger Line) 01.jpg|thumb|right|Ex-Flying Tiger Boeing 747-200F (there is a tiny FedEx logo aft of the cockpit window; Japan required FedEx aircraft to retain the Flying Tiger paint job for several years)]]

At its peak, the Tigers employed approximately 251 flight attendants and carried up to a record 594 passengers and crew on its [[Military Airlift Command|MAC]] all-coach passenger flights. Approximately 998 pilots worked for the airline based throughout the US. Large crew bases were situated in Los Angeles, New York City and [[Lockbourne, Ohio]] ([[Rickenbacker International Airport]]). The Los Angeles headquarters operation included its own engine shop and jet maintenance business. Flying Tigers also made livestock carriers for airplanes, some comparable in external size and shape to the standard [[Unit load device#Common prefixes|AMJ container]] used in the FedEx flight operations. They operated a recording company subsidiary, [[Happy Tiger Records]], from 1969 to 1971.<ref name="denny_hall_bio">{{cite web| title =Denny Hall| publisher =The Nite Cafe| url =http://www.thenitecafe.com/denny.htm| access-date =2009-03-24| archive-date =2012-08-18| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20120818200839/http://www.thenitecafe.com/denny.htm| url-status =dead}}</ref><ref name="ray_ruff_interview">{{cite web| last =Long| first =Donald John| title =Interview with Ray Ruff & Donnie Brooks| publisher =One-Way.org| date =2003-07-31| url =http://one-way.org/jesusmusic/index.html| access-date =2009-03-24| archive-date =2018-10-05| archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20181005224148/http://www.one-way.org/jesusmusic/index.html| url-status =dead}}</ref>

Charter and scheduled passenger operations were flown by their subsidiary, '''Metro International Airlines''', which was formed in January 1981, and ceased operations in 1983, when it was sold to [[Tower Air]].<ref>"Airlines Remembered" by B.I. Hengi, Midland Publishing</ref><ref>http://www.timetableimages.com/ttimages/ft3.htm, Nov. 1, 1982 Metro International Airlines system timetable</ref><ref name="auto"/> The scheduled [[Boeing 747]] passenger service route was [[New York City]] [[JFK Airport]] - [[Brussels]] - [[Tel Aviv]] operated several days a week.<ref>http://www.departedflights.com/BRU83intro.html, July 1, 1983 Worldwide Edition, Official Airline Guide (OAG)</ref>

After [[Airline Deregulation Act|airline deregulation]], stiff competition buffeted profits and, with some unsuccessful diversification attempts by parent Tiger International, the airline began sustaining losses in 1981.<ref name="nst" /> Then-CEO [[Stephen Wolf]] sold Flying Tigers to [[FedEx Express|Federal Express]] in December 1988. On August 7, 1989, Federal Express merged Flying Tigers into its operations.