PANHANDLE AIRWAYS
Panhandle Airways began service in November 1976 between the Florida panhandle cities of Pensacola, Panama City and Tallahassee. The route was extended north to Birmingham, Alabama and south to Tampa in 1977. Headed by Ray Morgan of Morgan Air Transport, the airline flew two Beech 18s and also leased a Douglas DC-3, N4996E (s/n 12141), from Florida Airlines for a brief period. Panhandle Airways ceased operations in mid 1978.
Many thanks to Tony Diez for providing nearly all of the images on this page. Tony wrote, "I was a pilot for Panhandle in the late 70's during their short run. These pictures show the DC-3, our Beech D-18 and our Beech H-18, which was previously a Japan Airlines trainer. We also briefly operated a Beech 99 when we began Tampa service in the fall of 77."
Here's a shot of DC-3 N4996E in action. This aircraft formerly flew with Frontier Airlines.
Here's a shot of DC-3 N4996E in action. This aircraft formerly flew with Frontier Airlines.
Tony Diez continues: "I flew both of the Beech 18's and the DC-3. That's me in front of the H-18 (N99799 s/n BA-758). I had just begun to fly the DC-3 when we stopped service. We worked in conjunction with Florida Airlines to fly the Tampa route while our crews were in training. I don't remember ever having more than about 10 passengers on board. We hadn't been operating the DC-3 on the Tampa route very long when Air Florida launched service on the Tampa-Panama City-Pensacola route. That ended our chances and seemingly the owner and backers were out of money and we were forced to close."
This is N80387, a 1946 vintage Beech D18S, s/n A-287. Courtesy of Tony Diez.
Panhandle Airways timetable effective November 1, 1977 courtesy of Tony Diez.
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Route map based on the November 1, 1977 timetable. Map generated by the Great Circle Mapper .
This Panhandle Airways advertisement for evening DC-3 service to and from Tampa appeared in the Monday May 29, 1978 edition of the Pensacola News Journal. Only 4 days later, Ray Morgan announced that the airline would immediately cease operations due to the Public Service Commission's decision to approve Air Florida DC-9 flights between Tampa, Panama City and Pensacola. Friday June 2, 1978 was Panhandle's day of service.
Here's a side view of Panhandle Airways DC-3. Shortly after the end of its airline career, N4996E was destroyed during a drug smuggling run when it ground looped in a Florida sugar cane field on December 14, 1978.
