JJ Skippy
Well-known member
I know those flew intermittently with the DC-9s in the 90s.
Retro Sioux Falls Airport
- Thread starter JJ Skippy
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Purpleplane
Well-known member
Yes, IND got those in the 90's...727-100's and 200's...DC-9-30/40/50s and even some 757-200s.
JJ Skippy
Well-known member
Waffle came in clutch last weekend amid a massive collection sale being listed. Consisting of over 2,000 models and multiple Retro FSD models, I could not afford to get them all. But, I did stumble upon this Northwest F-27, a checkmark missing for the 1990s. These Mesaba planes were one of the first Airlink aircraft to operate to FSD, alongside the Metroliner, following NWA's acquisition of Republic Airlines. Only the Saabs from what I have found were painted in Republic colors; everything else was in NWA colors. The F-27 was eventually replaced by the DHC-8-100 by the latter part of the 90s.
Purpleplane
Well-known member
Nice model. Great addition for your FSD project.
JJ Skippy
Well-known member
Thank you! Now in search of a Twin Stripes DC-9-30 and an American Fokker 100… those two are going to need their own documentaries once the dust settles
Purpleplane
Well-known member
Yes, looking forward to seeing those. I have those 2 models, but they're vital to my IND airport project.Thank you! Now in search of a Twin Stripes DC-9-30 and an American Fokker 100… those two are going to need their own documentaries once the dust settles
JJ Skippy
Well-known member
Another Retro FSD asset has landed! I was originally advertised N963N, which is a Republic DC-9-30 in the normal colors. When the package from Waffle arrived, it ended up being N945N, which is a North Central hybrid livery. I'm not too certain if this livery was more or less common in the fleet throughout Republic's short life (mainly from 79-84) or if this is rarer than the normal colors, but this will be helpful for the project. Despite that, this is still a solid model from Aeroclassics!
Purpleplane
Well-known member
Nice model, and a great addition to your collection. I'm not sure about the DC-9-30s, but I do have photos of several different DC-9-50s that were in this hybrid scheme, so I would assume there were a similar number of 30s in this scheme also.
JJ Skippy
Well-known member
Continuing with periodic research stints, I came across a true gem of information for the project. As mentioned before, Western Airlines was a longtime airline at FSD, beginning service in 1955 and ending in 1987 following their merger with Delta Air Lines, who would take over Western’s routes for a few more years. But when exactly in the year did they start, I wondered… until now.
Thanks to this webpage from the Airchive, listed in Western’s 1955 Annual Report mentions their new service to Sioux Falls beginning on July 16 of that year. Very happy to have gotten an exact date for this finally.
Thanks to this webpage from the Airchive, listed in Western’s 1955 Annual Report mentions their new service to Sioux Falls beginning on July 16 of that year. Very happy to have gotten an exact date for this finally.
JJ Skippy
Well-known member
Happy Easter to those who celebrate it! As a kid, Easter has always been a holiday filled with little easter eggs hidden around the house, and waking up in the morning to go find them all. I have gotten some nice airplane models over the years through Easter, but this year, I figured I would treat myself.
This Aeroclassics two-pack of Braniff International Airways popped up a second time in a collection sale. Knowing I couldn't miss the opportunity and not feel defeated after missing it, I took it. For a collection sale, these models arrived in immaculate condition, and came with all the GSE too!
This Aeroclassics two-pack of Braniff International Airways popped up a second time in a collection sale. Knowing I couldn't miss the opportunity and not feel defeated after missing it, I took it. For a collection sale, these models arrived in immaculate condition, and came with all the GSE too!
JJ Skippy
Well-known member
The next installment for Retro FSD is now out, as I redo the 2000 airport update that I did last summer.
In addition, here are my plans for the project as we move into the summer:
- The next update will bridge the gap between this and my 1998 update, featuring some new models.
- After May, the acquisitions I make at Airliners International will strongly influence what I plan on doing next for the project. Further details to follow after the convention.
In addition, here are my plans for the project as we move into the summer:
- The next update will bridge the gap between this and my 1998 update, featuring some new models.
- After May, the acquisitions I make at Airliners International will strongly influence what I plan on doing next for the project. Further details to follow after the convention.
JJ Skippy
Well-known member
A cool picture from a news story a local television station did last night, going through the decades as they celebrate 70 years of being on the air. Richard Nixon walks off a Braniff Convair 240 at the Sioux Falls Airport ca. 1960 during a presidential campaign. He and eventual President John F. Kennedy both made stops in Sioux Falls on their respective campaigns. N3423 looks to be the aircraft in question in this image judging by the 423 fleet number found near the L1 door.
Hopefully more photos are to come!
Hopefully more photos are to come!
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JJ Skippy
Well-known member
Another news clipping find, this time coming from my archives! This was from a home DVD made many years ago, and at the end of one of the clips was this brief frame of a story about an air service hearing, possibly related to Northwest as shown by the photo. The actual news clip covered a different story, but based off when the other story took place, this was dated sometime in 1986.
Based off a Northwest timetable in June 1986, F-27s were serving Sioux Falls. It’s possible the story shown above is related to Northwest wanting to expand their operations into FSD with mainline as they were in the process of acquiring Republic Airlines at the time (the merger was completed by October). By November they began 727 and DC-9 service.
Based off a Northwest timetable in June 1986, F-27s were serving Sioux Falls. It’s possible the story shown above is related to Northwest wanting to expand their operations into FSD with mainline as they were in the process of acquiring Republic Airlines at the time (the merger was completed by October). By November they began 727 and DC-9 service.
JJ Skippy
Well-known member
One of my best acquisitions for the project yet...
Today marks the arrival of the TWA DC-9-30 Twin Stripes into my collection. A model that's escaped my sights for so long, I finally found one on eBay for a good deal. TWA sent the DC-9 from 1986 to 1992, stopped flying in October of that year due to their bankruptcy, then resumed flying to FSD sometime in late 1994 (a December route map was the earliest I found FSD to have returned to TWA's network). The carrier's final livery was introduced in 1995, though some Twin Stripes flew for longer (possibly up until the AA merger).
Today marks the arrival of the TWA DC-9-30 Twin Stripes into my collection. A model that's escaped my sights for so long, I finally found one on eBay for a good deal. TWA sent the DC-9 from 1986 to 1992, stopped flying in October of that year due to their bankruptcy, then resumed flying to FSD sometime in late 1994 (a December route map was the earliest I found FSD to have returned to TWA's network). The carrier's final livery was introduced in 1995, though some Twin Stripes flew for longer (possibly up until the AA merger).
Purpleplane
Well-known member
Nice!! I have this one also. Critical for my IND retro airport as well.
GeminiJetsMyTravel
Member
Very nice, I'm still on the look out for it for my STL project.
JJ Skippy
Well-known member
Currently, I’m visiting family for the weekend and I was told they have a big archive of newspapers from the Argus Leader, which is Sioux Falls’ daily newspaper. I found a few stories pertaining to the airport that I’ll share soon once they’re scanned.
However, I did find this story that I couldn’t resist sharing now, coming from the Sioux Falls Business Journal, dated November 19-December 2, 2003. This announces a special service to Cancun, which would operate four flights during the winter of 2003-04; aircraft were provided by Ryan International Airlines, an operator I’ve never heard of.
However, I did find this story that I couldn’t resist sharing now, coming from the Sioux Falls Business Journal, dated November 19-December 2, 2003. This announces a special service to Cancun, which would operate four flights during the winter of 2003-04; aircraft were provided by Ryan International Airlines, an operator I’ve never heard of.
Aviation Enjoyer
Well-known member
Sounds like the ansestor (Please ignore spelling) of Ryanair.
JJ Skippy
Well-known member
Unfortunately I still don’t have those newspaper clippings scanned; I’m out of town again for the next several days, but once I return home I’ll be sure to get them all scanned ASAP!
In the meantime however, when I was going through the archives, I decided to take some photos of some slides which featured some aircraft at FSD, taken by family. While they’re all military-related, I do want to expand into this area with the project in the future, as the 114th Fighter Wing has occupied FSD since it was activated in 1956.
1) SD ANG F-16C 86-0237, 1992.
2) A pair of F-18s and a C-141 Starlifter parked during an airshow, 1986.
3) Same time as #2 but now shows one F-18 and an F-4 Phantom.
In the meantime however, when I was going through the archives, I decided to take some photos of some slides which featured some aircraft at FSD, taken by family. While they’re all military-related, I do want to expand into this area with the project in the future, as the 114th Fighter Wing has occupied FSD since it was activated in 1956.
1) SD ANG F-16C 86-0237, 1992.
2) A pair of F-18s and a C-141 Starlifter parked during an airshow, 1986.
3) Same time as #2 but now shows one F-18 and an F-4 Phantom.
JJ Skippy
Well-known member
Here are some of the newspaper clippings. Additional ones talked about 9/11’s effects at FSD, so I’ll save those for another time. I’ll be sure to utilize Newspapers.com in the future to further my research. I recommend zooming on the photos to read the story. All below are from the Argus Leader, a Sioux Falls-based newspaper.
1) A United Express advertisement from 1995, displaying the routes to/from Denver and Chicago. Seems like they used the EMB-120 at this time, likely before the CRJs became more active in the fleet.
2) Front page of the Argus Leader dated March 27, 1997, with the first story reporting on the extension of Runway 15/33. The plan was to reroute the Big Sioux River further north to give way for the additional runway length, and additional plans talked of building another concourse. A parking ramp was also in the works, being planned to open in 2006. Now, we are getting a parking garage constructed, which is slated to open next fall (2024).
Also mentioned is United ending mainline service to Chicago by June 1997.
3) An advertisement for the 2003 Sioux Falls Airshow, featuring the Thunderbirds. They would not return to the airshow until 2019, the most recent event as of June 2023.
1) A United Express advertisement from 1995, displaying the routes to/from Denver and Chicago. Seems like they used the EMB-120 at this time, likely before the CRJs became more active in the fleet.
2) Front page of the Argus Leader dated March 27, 1997, with the first story reporting on the extension of Runway 15/33. The plan was to reroute the Big Sioux River further north to give way for the additional runway length, and additional plans talked of building another concourse. A parking ramp was also in the works, being planned to open in 2006. Now, we are getting a parking garage constructed, which is slated to open next fall (2024).
Also mentioned is United ending mainline service to Chicago by June 1997.
3) An advertisement for the 2003 Sioux Falls Airshow, featuring the Thunderbirds. They would not return to the airshow until 2019, the most recent event as of June 2023.
