You will receive the exact certificate pictured
Over 35 years old
Common stock
May 26, 1983
Issued, canceled
Security-Columbian Bank Note Company
Machine printed signatures
12" (w) by 8" (h)
NA
Historical Context
Capitol Airways was founded by Jesse F. Stallings (1909–1979), an airline captain, and Richmond Mclnnis, his associate. The company was incorporated in Tennesee on January 11, 1946. Capitol's Letter of Registration (what such airlines had at the time in lieu of a certificate) was issued August 11, 1947. During the first few years, Capitol Airways operated a flight school and aircraft sales agency at Cumberland Field in Nashville, Tennessee.
By the early 1950s Capitol operated a fleet of piston engine transport planes including DC-3s and Lockheed Lodestars. Capitol Airways began to transport priority freight for the U.S. Air Force in 1954. By 1956, Capitol was operating a fleet of more than twenty Curtiss C-46 transport planes, and had become a primary civilian carrier for the military's Logistic Air Support (LOGAIR) program. Capitol then entered the international charter flight market, operating a fleet of Lockheed Constellations. By the late 1950s, Capitol moved all of its flight operations to Wilmington, Delaware at New Castle Airport.
In 1963 Capitol Airways was one of the first charter airlines to operate jet aircraft in the form of a new Douglas DC-8. In 1964, a Capitol-operated DC-8 set a world record in commercial aviation by flying nonstop from Tokyo, Japan to Wilmington, Delaware in 12 hours and 25 minutes. During the 1960s, the airline's civilian and military air cargo operations increased.
In 1967 Capitol added "International" to its name and was operating six "straight" DC-8 jets and three "stretched" Super DC-8 versions along with their fleet of piston engine propeller aircraft. In 1971 Capitol International Airways moved to Smyrna, Tennessee, at Sewart Air Force Base. Capitol remained strong as a military contract air carrier.
During the late 1970s and early 1980s it operated international and domestic scheduled passenger service in addition to charter flights. It was founded by former Army Air Corps pilots, Jesse Stallings, Richmond McGinnis, and Francis Roach, following the end of World War II. Executive Vice President was Frank J. Sparacino. European Director of Operations was Chuck Carr, the Director France Michel Lelièvre and the LBG Airport Manager, P. Landelle. Gatwick Ops was the European Office. In the late 1970s, Capitol Air became a scheduled air carrier following the passage of the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978. The airline was incorporated in Delaware but headquartered in Smyrna, Tennessee.
Capitol Air maintained a large presence in the eastern United States and Europe. Its hubs were John F. Kennedy International Airport Hangar 11 in New York City, Brussels, Belgium and San Juan, Puerto Rico. From New York/JFK, Capitol Air served Los Angeles (LAX), Chicago O'Hare (ORD), Brussels (BRU), Frankfurt (FRA), Paris, France (LBG) Aguadilla (BQN), San Juan (SJU) and Puerto Plata (POP). From San Juan its served Miami, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston and Santo Domingo. Even though Capitol commenced scheduled passenger operations, charters were still a big part of its operations. Many of the charters operated into San Juan, Puerto Rico, were for Canadian tour operators that required passenger air service in conjunction with cruises that departed San Juan every Saturday.
Capitol Air also operated many charter flights for the United States military. One major trunk route in the mid-1970s connected Rhein-Main Air Base (Frankfurt), Germany to Charleston Air Force Base, South Carolina with a refueling stop at Bradley Air National Guard Base (co-located with Bradley International Airport) in Windsor Locks, Connecticut.
Capitol Air declared bankruptcy in the mid-1980s after George Batchelor, now Capitol's owner, had largely dismantled the airline in favor of his newly acquired venture, Arrow Air, another formerly all-charter air carrier that eventually initiated scheduled passenger airline operations.
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