Unknown (to me) airlines fascinate me more, especially the ones that had lasted and provided service for decades. Today, while reading a bit about cargo a/c and cargo airlines, I came across a name I knew before, Arrow Air, a Miami based Cargo airline. I distinctly recall, from our SIM, Arrow Air DC-8s, probably because, in its fleet, the airline had operated as many as 23 DC-8 freighters (-50/-60/-70 variants), in addition to other heavy-lifters such as L-1011s, DC-10s, B707s, B747s etc. Cargo fans (or should I say Cargo fanatics...🙂...) might recall the attractive color of Arrow Air, the livery consisting of a white forward fuselage, with blue and green to the rear of the aircraft, and with "Arrow Cargo" title in green, with a blue (bird-like) logo near the the title...

This post, however, is not about Arrow Air, but about Fine Air, another (bygone) Miami based cargo airline. Arrow air had operated cargo business, for 63 years, and Fine Air, for 26 years. Fine Air, at its (official) inception. in 1994, was the largest international air cargo carrier at Miami International Airport. For most of its existence, the airline was wholly owned by the Father and Son team of two Mr. Fines. The airline, started as a support system for the Fine family business of Agro farming operations, had acquired a fleet of 15 DC-8s, by 1997, and was already operating as a major international cargo carrier.

There is a strange twist of events connecting Arrow Air with Fine Air. On August 6, 1997, Fine Air had conducted an IPO (Initial Public Offering). But, a (grave) misfortune and a (most ill-timed) tragedy would strike just the day after the IPO, on August 7, when one of its DC-8s crashed shortly after takeoff (root cause attributed to the lack of adherence to proper cargo-loading procedures). Consequently, Fine Air was forced to rescind the IPO the day after the crash. And, while still suffering from the lingering effects of this misfortune, Fine Air, in 1999, announced that it would acquire Arrow Air. Fine Air, with this purchase, acquired 13 of the Arrow Air DC-8 jets. However, under the stress of continued (and multiple) financial and economic factors, Fine Air's fortune would quickly further deteriorate after the acquisition.

So, a year later, on September 27, 2000, Fine Air filed for bankruptcy, after which "Fine Air" name would be left behind, and only the name of Arrow Air (the object of Fine Air's acquisition) would survive (i.e. ironically, following the acquisition and bankruptcy, Fine Air would be renamed as (and merged into) Arrow Air). That (merged) entity would also not last long. Less than four years later, Arrow Air itself filed for bankruptcy protection, and, though it managed to exit bankruptcy for several years, eventually, however, Arrow Cargo would cease all scheduled operations on June 30, 2010, and would be liquidated.

For this post, while actually looking for an Arrow Air (DC-8) Cargo, I was instead led to the Fine Air (DC-8) Cargo. So, here is, Fine Air DC-8 departing Miami (KMIA) on a fictitious flight for KDCA (Washington, D.C.) - see SimBrief MAP, below. Opting, here, to do a bit of old-fashioned INS navigation, appropriate for DC-8; (btw, lately, this virtual pilot, has been a bit spoiled by the feather-touch (touchscreen) convenience and ease of the GTN 750 navigation...🙂...), for this flight, I've converted the en-route waypoints of the SimBrief route (essentially the beginning and ending waypoints of the applicable airways) to their corresponding LAT/LONG co-ordinates, as listed below, and, then manually uploaded into the (Capt.) side INS CDU. A FAA Fix/Waypoint database, provided me with all the exact (LAT/LONG) data I needed. In that FAA dB, it was interesting to note, e.g. my first (INS) WPT1 (for VALLY Int), located off-shore (see MAP), identified as "OFFSHORE ATLANTIC" under U.S. "State", whereas e.g. my 4th INS WPT4 (for ILM VOR), is, of course, a ground-based navaid, located 3 miles NE of the (coastal) city of Wilmington, in the "State" of NC, where I've re-entered land, from the Atlantic Ocean.

KMIA [WPT0] -> 25.4743N/080.1724W; VALLY [WPT1] -> 26.2456N/079.0819W; LENDS [WPT2] -> 29.2157N/078.4012W; SEELO [WPT3] -> 32.0124N/078.1525W; ILM (VOR) [WPT4] -> 34.3516N/077.8744W; TANJA [WPT5] -> 36.3009N/077.3716W; KATRN (ILS Fix) [WPT6] -> 38.4054N/077.0114W (Altitude Constraint 2,500 ft)

I've included a close-up shot of the INS CDU, at the transition from VALLY to LENDS [WPT CHG: 12]. Also, a shot of the (conveniently placed) DC-8 Autopilot controls, just below the pedestal, is shown. The (close-up) shot of the primary 6 gauges on the Capt. side, shows the (RADIO/INS) switch, which is set as needed for e.g. Oceanic/INS or Land/VOR based navigation. This short but peculiar route of my chosen flight (i.e. Land-> Ocean-> Land) has made good use of both modes of navigation. Please also note that, purely for my simplicity, I've set the last INS WPT6 [KATRN], in this set, to be the entry point Fix to the ILS 01 Approach for KDCA. So, I've planned to transit directly to the (109.90) LOC/GS guidance, for ILS Rwy 01, just nearabout my final INS navigation WPT (WPT6).

Hope you enjoy these pictures of this Classic Douglas quad-jet (called the "Magnificent 8", one that had certainly given its arch-rival, the legendary 707, a fierce battle for market-share...),...flying, here, in the color of Fine Air...from the fine family of Mr. Fines...🙂...!

In my last but one shot, if you strain your eyes, you may spot, the Washington Monument under the left engines, and the Capitol Dome, under the right engines...

Thanks for your interest and comments...!!

[AS (DC-8-50), Drzewiecki Design (KMIA/KDCA)]

I was in a P3 Orion squadron back in late 70s, Arrow flew us to 2 deployments,from Brunswick Maine to Rota Spain and then Bermuda, the pilots let us get some stick time in cruise.

Hi Jim: A nice bit of reminiscence...!

Some stick time in cruise sounds good...of course, your cruise would have been a bit different from my imaginary cruise here...🙂...

BTW, was it on an Arrow Air DC-8...?

 

Very nice set of shots! 😉 

56 minutes ago, P_7878 said:

Hi Jim: A nice bit of reminiscence...!

Some stick time in cruise sounds good...of course, your cruise would have been a bit different from my imaginary cruise here...🙂...

BTW, was it on an Arrow Air DC-8...?

 

I think they were Super 63's pretty ragged looking ,one had a big puddle of Skydrol hydraulic fluid under the jet,I have often wondered if one of the jets I flew on ,was the one that crashed at Gander in 85.

1 hour ago, BIGSKY said:

I think they were Super 63's pretty ragged looking ,one had a big puddle of Skydrol hydraulic fluid under the jet,I have often wondered if one of the jets I flew on ,was the one that crashed at Gander in 85.

Thanks....such things, one probably remembers even after a very long time...🙂...

Yes, looks like, the DC8s were effectively (already) done by early 80s...if not earlier...I read that some of the -61/-62/-63s were converted to -71/-72/-73, by replacement of the JT3D with newer CFM56 engines...(those ones might have continued into the 90s)...

 

1 hour ago, Alaska738 said:

Very nice set of shots! 😉 

Appreciated, Alaska738...!

Your mouse issue is resolved...🙂....it appears...so, you are hopefully back up and running again...(I mean flying...again...)....

15 hours ago, Alaska738 said:

Very nice set of shots! 😉 

I am with him..😎

cheers 😉

14 hours ago, P_7878 said:

Thanks....such things, one probably remembers even after a very long time...🙂...

Yes, looks like, the DC8s were effectively (already) done by early 80s...if not earlier...I read that some of the -61/-62/-63s were converted to -71/-72/-73, by replacement of the JT3D with newer CFM56 engines...(those ones might have continued into the 90s)...

 

Appreciated, Alaska738...!

Your mouse issue is resolved...🙂....it appears...so, you are hopefully back up and running again...(I mean flying...again...)....

Yeap buddy i solved my problem! I'm now ready to go back in the air! Thanks 😉 

21 hours ago, BIGSKY said:

I was in a P3 Orion squadron back in late 70s, Arrow flew us to 2 deployments,from Brunswick Maine to Rota Spain and then Bermuda, the pilots let us get some stick time in cruise.

Hmmm.....P3 squadron, late 70s, Rota.  My Dad was stationed there in the 70s and I was with him on an accompanied tour...lived there for 4 years.  72-75 I believe.   There was VQ2 (the Batmen) at Rota when I was there....could that have been your squadron?

I got to fly thru Rota on my way back from the Persian Gulf when I was there from 85-87 on a C141.  Didn't get a chance to hop off and see my old stomping grounds when I was there as a you kid, but MSFS has faithfully reproduced places I still remember there...was an incredible experience to fire up the sim and see places in a distant land, I lived at decades ago, still there.

Here is the Drive-in theater that we all went to as kids...across the road was the stables where all the cute girls rode their horses. 🙂.   

One of the many reasons I love the sim....I've been looking for all the places I've lived in the world...found just about every one of them....very well represented. 🙂

 

11 minutes ago, Steve Dra said:

Hmmm.....P3 squadron, late 70s, Rota.  My Dad was stationed there in the 70s and I was with him on an accompanied tour...lived there for 4 years.  72-75 I believe.   There was VQ2 (the Batmen) at Rota when I was there....could that have been your squadron?

I got to fly thru Rota on my way back from the Persian Gulf when I was there from 85-87 on a C141.  Didn't get a chance to hop off and see my old stomping grounds when I was there as a you kid, but MSFS has faithfully reproduced places I still remember there...was an incredible experience to fire up the sim and see places in a distant land, I lived at decades ago, still there.

Here is the Drive-in theater that we all went to as kids...across the road was the stables where all the cute girls rode their horses. 🙂.   

One of the many reasons I love the sim....I've been looking for all the places I've lived in the world...found just about every one of them....very well represented. 🙂

 

Hi Steve,I was an Aviation Machinist Mate in Patrol Squadron 10, the Red Lancers.I remember VQ2 having an A3D Electronic Skywarriar in our hanger at Rota,you couldn't get near it,need to know security stuff.I think it had a black spy insignia on the tail?

Edited July 31, 20214 yr by BIGSKY

On 7/29/2021 at 1:25 PM, ChaoticBeauty said:

 

 

 

Edited July 31, 20214 yr by BIGSKY

9 minutes ago, BIGSKY said:

Hi Steve,I was an Aviation Machinist Mate in Patrol Squadron 10, the Red Lancers.I remember VQ2 having an A3D Electronic Skywarriar in our hanger at Rota,you couldn't get near it,need to know security stuff.I think it had a black spy insignia on the tail?

Hey Jim, yeah I recall VQ2 had both Skywarriors and EP3's.   Their missions were real hush, hush, and I recall getting a tour of the airport as a school field trip, we drove by the EP3's and there were armed guards standing around them.  One can only speculate why. 🙂   

I worked on SH-3s during my stint in the Navy, so we both hunted the same prey. 😉😉  We did it 40 feet above the water, in a hover, dipping our sonar. 🙂 

@P_7878 Great story and series of shots!  You never disappoint!
 

Keeping my jaunt down memory lane with Jim relevant to this thread....when we left Rota in 75, we flew on an Arrow Air DC-8, yet another in the many military-contracted companies to fly personnel around the globe.  Maybe you could showcase that airline in a future post? 

5 hours ago, Steve Dra said:

@P_7878 Great story and series of shots!  You never disappoint!
 

Keeping my jaunt down memory lane with Jim relevant to this thread....when we left Rota in 75, we flew on an Arrow Air DC-8, yet another in the many military-contracted companies to fly personnel around the globe.  Maybe you could showcase that airline in a future post? 

Thanks, Steve...!

You and Jim both are most welcome...! Nothing like, reviving some old memories like this...from a half a century ago...over bits of mnemonic help from MS...🙂...

Yes, many of these early airlines,...cargo or/and charter, played critical parts in such contractual roles...Arrow Air was founded in 1947, and, another favorite of mine, the Flying Tiger Line, was founded in 1945. I recall recently seeing DC-6 in that uniform. And, I also recall, a while ago, I'd done a story about Flying Tiger "Pole Cat" 707...(INS had featured there, too, just as here for this DC-8...🙂...)...