Here, in this post, I wish to illustrate three items that have been always of interest to me, which I've been meaning to explore a bit via our virtual world...

1. Western Airlines
2. Mountains of UTAH
3. DC-10-10 (the very first output after Douglas-McDonnell merger; DC-10-30 was more common, though size and capacity wise -10/-30/-40 variants were all almost identical)  

First of all, the unique distinction of being "the oldest continuously operating airline" is a prestigious honor for an Airline e.g., it's said that the KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, founded on October 7, 1919, makes it the oldest airline in continuous operation in the world. Of course, nearly 18 years ago, back in 2004, Air France and KLM (officially) merged together, though they have since continued to operate independently, maintaining the brand identities for the sake of their respective (loyal) clientele. When Western Airlines merged with Delta in 1987, it was the oldest continuously operating airline in the U.S... The company was incorporated, on July 13, 1925, as Western Air Express, dating back to an origin earlier than those for the likes of Pan Am, TWA and Continental (Delta was also founded in 1925, but started commercial operations 3 years after Western). Western Airlines launched its first commercial (air mail) flight on Apr 17, 1926, and then, the following month, same year, inaugurated the “first scheduled airline passenger service” in U.S., flying from Salt Lake City to Los Angeles. Apparently, there were just two (dignitary) customers, on that historic flight, in addition to mail cargo, and those two travelers had to seat on the mail sacks while on their way in the Douglas M-2...so, we presume, it must have been a bit of an uncomfortable ride...!

Western's fleet evolution history, from Pistons to Jets, is one of the most fascinating, beginning with Douglas M-1 (mail planes) and ending in the Douglas DC-10s trijets. Just before the merger with Delta, Western had 10 DC-10-10s (10-10-10, so to speak...🙂...no other DC-10 variant) in its fleet. These DC-10-10s would be soon eliminated (and replaced) since Delta was already operating the "other" famous Trijet, the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar.

Below, you will find a Western DC-10-10 lifting off KSLC (Salt Lake City), from where the airline had operated its very first commercial passenger flight. Interestingly this (shown) DC-10-10 (Reg. N901WA) never got to be acquired by Delta. Just ~2 years before Delta merger, this DC-10-10 would go to American Airlines, fly for ~15 years with AA, then get acquired by FedEx, and serve with FedEx for a few more years, before ending its life (scrapped) there. To illustrate the fact that the Western DC-10-10s did wear the Delta uniform, post-merger, I've also shown, below, five (sample) images with a Delta DC-10-10 (in the iconic Widget livery) landing in KSLC. This Delta DC-10-10 (Reg. N912WA) was indeed originally a Western DC-10-10, with same Reg. No. You may search for "Images for N912WA Western Airlines DC-10" to see a few (RW) pictures of it.

Now, the state of UTAH, is home to some of the most varied landscape (of mountains and deserts) in the U.S., dominated by mountain ranges rising right next to the Capital city itself (see e.g., shot #8 below after lift-off), (my only (and limited) exposure to this state, was via a visit to Salt Lake City). The most impressive of the Utah mountains is the (peculiar) east-west running Uinta Mountains of Northern Rockies, extending eastward from Salt Lake City towards the Colorado border. Much of this region, I read, is "roadless wilderness where vehicles are prohibited...with only a handful of rugged 4X4 tracks..."...However, here, high atop in the cockpit of my DC-10-10...🙂... I've captured and shown, below, a couple of screenshots, from this range of mountains (see shots #10/#11). The Uinta Range is the highest in Utah and contains well over a thousand lakes, few of which you may spot in my pictures. The other significant mountain range of Utah is the (normal) north-south running Wasatch Mountains, from the Idaho-Utah Border, extending south from Salt Lake City. I also flew over these mountains and shown a couple of screenshots of it (see e.g., shot #12).

Hope you enjoy this collection of pictures, relating to the historic Western Airlines, flying its classic Douglas Trijet, over some of these spectacular (must be clearly so in RW) mountains of UTAH. For this flight, I've lifted off 34R (KSLC), turned eastward, and then, after the aerial tour across the state, have landed back in 34L (KSLC).

Thanks for viewing...!!

Awesome post mate !! . 

Beautiful set of shots, always like a DC- 10..

cheers 😉

Great set of photos!

Very nice shots! 😉 

johnb, pmplayer, rmier, Alaska et al.:

Many thanks...appreciated the comments...!!