Vance International Airlines was an American supplemental and air-taxi airline that started operations in 1949.

History

Vance was headquartered at

Boeing Field Boeing Field, officially King County International Airport , is a public airport owned and operated by King County, five miles south of downtown Seattle, Washington. The airport is sometimes referred to as KCIA (King County International Airpo ...

(officially ''King County Airport'') in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a port, seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the county seat, seat of King County, Washington, King County, Washington (state), Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in bo ...

.Flight International 26 March 1970
/ref> Its founder and president was Vance B. Roberts. In 1962 the US

Civil Aeronautics Board The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) was an agency of the federal government of the United States, formed in 1938 and abolished in 1985, that regulated aviation services including scheduled passenger airline serviceStringer, David H."Non-Skeds: Th ...

granted interim authority to Vance International Airways as an air taxi operator and supplemental carrier within the continental United States of America . As of April 1967 the company's fleet was itemized as one

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...

(N57131), one

Douglas DC-7 The Douglas DC-7 is an American transport aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1953 to 1958. A derivative of the DC-6, it was the last major piston engine-powered transport made by Douglas, being developed shortly after the ear ...

, and one Curtiss C-46, with two DC-7s on order. In 1968 the company had received permanent operating authority. In 1969 the company's fleet was still listed as one DC-3, one DC-7 and one C-46. In 1969 the company received authority to operate flights to Mexico and Canada.

McCulloch International Airlines

In 1970 Vance was purchased by McCulloch Oil Company. The McCulloch group issued $30 million in convertible subordinated debentures, in order to finance this acquisition. At that time the airline company's name was changed to McCulloch International Airlines, and its main function was to fly potential land purchasers to the McCulloch properties at

Lake Havasu City, Arizona Lake Havasu City (, ) is a city in Mohave County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 57,144, up from 52,527 in 2010. It is served by Lake Havasu City Airport. History The community first started as an ...

. McCulloch International operated a small fleet of

Lockheed L-188 Electra The Lockheed L-188 Electra is an American turboprop airliner built by Lockheed. First flown in 1957, it was the first large turboprop airliner built in the United States. Initial sales were good, but after two fatal crashes that led to expensiv ...

turboprops as well as

Boeing 720 The Boeing 720 is an American narrow-body airliner produced by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Announced in July 1957 as a 707 derivative for shorter flights from shorter runways, the 720 first flew on November 23, 1959. Its type certificate was ...

and

Douglas DC-8 The Douglas DC-8 (sometimes McDonnell Douglas DC-8) is a long-range narrow-body airliner built by the American Douglas Aircraft Company. After losing the May 1954 US Air Force tanker competition to the Boeing KC-135, Douglas announced in Ju ...

jetlinershttp://www.airliners.net, photos of McCulloch International Airlines Lockheed L-188 Electra and Douglas DC-8 aircraft and previously operated a

Lockheed Constellation The Lockheed Constellation ("Connie") is a propeller-driven, four-engined airliner built by Lockheed Corporation starting in 1943. The Constellation series was the first pressurized-cabin civil airliner series to go into widespread use. Its press ...

propliner which was named "

Lake Havasu City Lake Havasu City (, ) is a city in Mohave County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 57,144, up from 52,527 in 2010. It is served by Lake Havasu City Airport. History The community first started as an ...

". The airline was based at the

Long Beach Airport Long Beach Airport is a public airport three miles northeast of downtown Long Beach, in Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is also called Daugherty Field, named after local aviator Earl Daugherty. The airport was an operating base ...

in California.

Fleet

McCulloch International Airlines operated a

propliner,

turboprops, and

and

jetliners.

References

Defunct airlines of the United States Airlines established in 1949 American companies established in 1949 {{US-airline-stub

History

McCulloch International Airlines

Fleet

See also

References