A new page about Miami-based Gold Coast Air Taxi / Gold Coast Airways has been added to the website.

The PBA DC-3s - Where are they now? page has been revised with new photos and information on 8 of the 12 aircraft. It's been a busy couple of weeks for several of the former PBA DC-3s. Here are a few highlights:

N137PB, the only DC-3 that retains the late 1980s paint job and passenger cabin, returned to the skies on May 4, 2017. After spending over 2 years on the ramp at Thomaston, GA, N137PB was flown to Cape Cod Airfield near Barnstable, MA where it joins PBA sister-ship N35PB (now registered N61981). Thanks to Richard Hancock for these wonderful photos.

The Breitling DC-3 HB-IRJ, formerly N34PB, is in the middle of a round-the-world tour and is currently undergoing planned maintenance until May 18, 2017 in Kobe, Japan. Here it is above Mount Aso, Japan's largest active volcano, on May 2, 2017.

Check out PBA DC-3s - Where are they now? for the latest news on all 12 planes.

A new page about Del Airways which flew between Jacksonville, FL and Valdosta, GA during 1971.

Something different on the website today: six decades of vintage travel posters advertising Atlanta.

New on the website: a two part look back at the history of airline service at Marco Island, Florida

Part One: 1960s-1970s
Part Two: The 1980s

I'd like to welcome a new contributor to Sunshine Skies: Hans Wiesman, better known to aviation enthusiasts as The Dakota Hunter. Hans has spent a lifetime tracking down DC-3s across the globe and is the author of the excellent book The Dakota Hunter: In Search Of The Legendary DC-3 On The Last Frontiers. He will be sharing his incredible adventures with us in this and upcoming posts. This one holds particular interest for me as I spent a lot of time finding and photographing old mosquito sprayers in south Florida during the 1990s. The yellow and white aircraft in the second photo, Monroe County's ship 13, flew over my wife's and my outdoor wedding ceremony in the Florida Keys in 1995 (luckily with the sprayers off!). We considered it a good omen. Anyway, I'm sure you'll enjoy this and future stories. Thank you Hans! 

The second installment of our five part look back at Panama City Bay County Airport is now online. We take a look at the 1970s and the early effects of deregulation at Fannin Field.

Lots of new material on the Ocean Airways page: additional and larger photos, route map and timetables.

This is the first of a five part look at the history of airline service at Bay County Airport at Fannin Field which served Panama City from 1945 till its closing in 2010. Many thanks to Brent Mooney for his assistance with this!

New page about Sunair, an ambitious Florida commuter airline that stayed in business for less than 24 hours!

A new page about short-lived Ft. Pierce, FL-based commuter airline Golden South, which operated flights in east central Florida during the first half of 1979. Also added a route map to the GP-Express page.

Ocean Reef Airways was the southern division of Montauk Caribbean Airlines of New York. The airline flew during the winter months between Miami and the Ocean Reef Club Airport at the northern end of Key Largo between 1970 and 1982. Click the map to read more...

Added a beautiful photo of DC-6 N4354B and additional information to the Mackey International Airlines page.

New on the Dolphin Airways/Airlines page:
A great photo of Dolphin Airways pilots posing with a Bandeirante shortly before the airline began flying in late 1981, sent in by Bill Bagley.

Also added several Dolphin timetable scans courtesy of the always helpful Arthur Na.

A new page on another obscure commuter airline, Southern Airlines of West Palm Beach. Thanks to regular contributor Arthur Na for pointing out this airline.

We take a look back at 10 abandoned and forgotten airports of metropolitan Atlanta.

Added an additional timetable to the Valdosta Phoenix Airlines page, courtesy of Arthur Na.

Added new photos and information about Elite Airways CRJ-200 service from Vero Beach to Newark. This is the first airline service at VRB in nearly 2 decades. Photos and information courtesy of Todd Scher, the Assistant Director of Vero Beach Regional Airport.

35 years ago today, Atlanta opened the world's largest airport terminal. Originally nicknamed "Midfield" because of its central location between the runways, the terminal is still in use today. In honor of this anniversary, I added this before and after comparison, taken from the October 1980 issue of Delta Digest. More HERE.