Chalk's Grumman Mallard at Bimini circa 1977.

Twilight view of PBA DC-3 N136PB at Key West in 1985, courtesy of Mike Sparkman.

Dramatic view of Mackey International's DC-6B N37580 circa 1976.

Shawnee Airlines DC-3 N1301 sporting its stunning tropical paint scheme in 1975.

Air Carolina BN-2 Islander N30BN in 1978. 

Vero Monmouth Airlines Piper Aztec N5647Y.

Vero Monmouth's DH-114 Heron N14146 is pictured at St. Petersburg - Clearwater International Airport circa 1974.

This formerly noisy, lo-res image of USAir Express B99 N99GH, operated by Chautauqua Airlines (courtesy of Todd Scher) is now crystal clear.

A great example of how old graphics can be cleaned up. This is an AI enhancement of a photo I took of a Golden Isles Airlines poster many years ago. It now looks brand new.

Using the poster seen above as a reference, combined with the magic of AI, I was able to transform this extremely low resolution newspaper photo from 1960 into this gorgeous color image. Any images of this type will clearly be labeled as AI enhanced on the website.

And, finally, I've also been experimenting with AI as a way to create route maps for many of the obscure airlines profiled in Sunshine Skies. This Winnipesaukee Airlines example is my first attempt at AI mapmaking.

I'll be posting more of these on Facebook and Instagram.

Here's an example of what I've been working on. This is good shot of Aero Coach's Bandeirante N134EM, but it's a typical bad scan from the early 2000s. It's pixelated, has too much contrast, the slide was dirty, the color has an annoying blue tint, etc.

After a little tweaking in Photoshop and some AI noise reduction and white balance, the photo magically looks like it could been taken last week. I'm really happy with the result. It almost looks a little too perfect and smooth, but the alternative is that it would probably never be seen again.

This is a more extreme example. This scan of Air Miami Heron N121G at Marathon, Florida is a mess, but it's an incredibly rare photo and one of the few I've ever found of their short-lived service to the Keys.

Once again, the restored photo looks like it could have been taken last week. It does look slightly unreal, but it's certainly a better representation of the real thing than the deteriorated slide seen above.

To use AI or not?  I think it's an amazing tool when the alternative is being stuck with a photo that is otherwise unusable.

I'd love to know your opinion.

Today's new webpage is about Albany Airways, one of the earliest commuter airlines in Georgia. Albany Airways began scheduled service on June 6, 1946 and was initially known for their unique daily "Shopper's Special" flights that provided day trips to Atlanta for shopping and business, returning to Albany in time for dinner. They also served Columbus, Moultrie, Thomasville and Valdosta. Scheduled service was halted in 1949 when Southern Airways began flying the same routes with DC-3s in direct competition with Albany's 3-passenger, single-engine Bonanzas.

Air South, Inc. was a Fort Lauderdale-based charter company that operated day trips to Walt Disney World (via Kissimmee) and Key West from 1976 until 1984. The scheduled nature of those day tours prompted the FAA to classify the carrier as a commuter airline, even though they never applied for that status. Tap or click the photo to learn more about Air South, Inc.

The next Air South was based in Mobile, Alabama and operated Metroliners along the gulf coast from a hub at New Orleans during 1981-1982. Tap or click the Metroliner photo to visit the new page.

Lastly, I took this opportunity to add a recently acquired photo of yet another Air South, the Homestead, Florida-based carrier that flew from 1984 to 1987. Tri-Islander N905GD is pictured at Marathon, Florida circa 1986.

Much, much more to follow!

I removed all Google ads from the site. They had become progressively more annoying and revenue had dwindled to pennies a day. I maintain Sunshine Skies for fun, not profit. If you care to donate to the website, please feel free to "Buy Me A Coffee".

I've seen this photo of Atlanta airport on social media well over a hundred times but nobody seems to agree when it was taken or whose plane is in the foreground. Hopefully this settles the confusion!

Luke Curtas, owner of N28AA (known to many of you as PBA's N139PB during the glory days of the 1970s and 80s) kindly sent these photos and video. Luke wrote, "I thought you would like to see N28AA and its new paint scheme as well as its new name. It is now the “Shannon Air Express”. It’s almost ready to fly." The video shows a recent test run in preparation for its return to the skies. N28AA is located at the Shannon Air Museum in Fredericksburg, VA. Thank you Luke!

This was taken during a test run of N28AA in December 2023 in preparation for her return to the air. That sound is AMAZING!

As mentioned earlier, approximately a hundred new images have been added to the site this week and they're spread over dozens of pages. Here's a random assortment of a few favorites. Each photo links to the corresponding page. Check facebook for more updates and links.

Southeast Airlines Martin 404 N40424 on the ramp at Marathon, Florida circa 1972.

North American Airlines DC-3 N3XW in October 1983.

Atlantic Gulf Convair 580 N73168 in Frontier colors at Atlanta on December 30, 1983.

Pompano Airways Piper Aztec N62743 in December 1981.

Gull Air timetable cover from July 1, 1984 with a particularly goofy but charming drawing of a CASA 212.

National Commuter Airlines Nord 262 N274A at Miami in February 1982.

Mackey International Shorts Skyvan N3419 at Ft. Lauderdale circa 1972.

Slocum Air BN-2 Islander N32MN in Munz Northern colors at Ft. Lauderdale November 1, 1981.

Southeast Airlines Martin 202 N93205 (msn 14075) at Miami circa 1970.

Atlantis Airlines Metroliner N1013G at Atlanta.

National Florida Metroliner N602AS at Miami.

More updates soon!

Vero Beach
Todd's photos of Breeze's planes are at the end of the article.

Modern day Key West International and the newly constructed gravel runways in 1928. The original Pan Am hangar can be seen in the first view.

Jacksonville's Imeson Airport in 1963 and the current Google Earth view of the Imeson Industrial Park. Commercial flights moved to the present-day JAX when it opened in 1968 and Imeson was closed the following year.

Here's a golden oldie that appeared on the website several years ago. This is a 1920 view of the old Candler race track that was located on what is now the north side of Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson Airport along Virginia Avenue. Delta's headquarters now occupies the site.

Check the updates soon for the histories of airline service at Key West and Jacksonville Imeson.

Thank you Final Jeopardy!

THE ANSWER HERE, OF COURSE

A wealth of new material has made it necessary to split the history of airline service of Marco Island into 3 pages. There are lots of great new images courtesy of the Marco Island Historical Society (including the one above), Gordon Werner (who runs the Fly PBA and Marco Island Airways pages) and a few photos and advertisements from old newspaper clippings.