Posted 8 years ago
tippedframe
(3 items)
I don't get it. I have this stock certifcate dated 1935 with the company name Mid-Continent Airlines but as I understand it Hanford's Tri-State Airlines was not renamed to Mid-Continent Airlines until 1938. Is this stock certificate for the same airline or a different one that went out of business? I know Mid-Continent merged with Braniff later on in the 50's.
I emailed an aviation Professor and here is what she said:
"The most encyclopedic accounting of airlines in the US is R.E.G. Davies, US Airlines Since 1945, published by the Smithsonian Institution Press. I consulted it and its history of Mid-Continent Airlines matched the details you had -- that Hanford's Tri-State became Mid-Continent in 1938.
There is a short mention of a Mid-Continent Air Express, but it was sold to WAE in 1931.
I suspect that your certificate might be from a very short-lived airline created to take advantage of the small opening that came in the wake of the Air Mail Scandal of 1934 -- which opened a few air routes to smaller airlines. Even so, if it had operated as an airline at all it should have been in Davies's book.
If you know where the airline was incorporated, you might see if that state has any state aviation organization -- a hall of fame, a state museum or even a state aviation office within the state government. One of those places might have information to help you find out about this airline."
I was able to find some information in some online newspaper articles. The airline was active from 08/30/1935 to 09/13/1935. They were losing $80 a day so they ceased operations. It looks like they had at least two planes. One was a Stinson tri-motor seating 10 and the other was a wasp powered Mercury. Although they ceased operations, I did find some newspaper articles were they did fly around in 1936. It appears they just made appearances at fairs and such. The names on the stock certificate are R.H. Clement and John Euans or Euons.