GENERAL AVIATION (1): United States (1930). General is established at Elmira, New York, in late spring 1930 to offer scheduled passenger services to Syracuse. A Ryan B-1 Brougham is acquired and flights commence in June. The operation is not a success and ends in July.
GENERAL AVIATION (2) (GREENEVILLE AIR): United States (1974-1988). Former Magnavox corporate pilot Scott M. Niswonger and insurance broker S. Wylie Milligan form Greeneville Air at Greeneville, Tennessee, in 1974 to provide short-haul contract and charter freight services on behalf of package express and courier companies, particularly Emery Air Freight. Revenue cargo operations commence with Beech 18s leased from Little Mountain Air in North Carolina.
During the remainder of the decade, the leased Beech fleet, which at its zenith totals 14 aircraft, is gradually replaced with three Cessna 404 Titans, three Navajos, and two Convair CV-240s. Greeneville Air provides regular and reliable freight service to Greeneville, South Carolina, Raleigh, North Carolina, and other points throughout the Southeast. Passenger charters are also operated employing the Piper equipment. Investment is found in these years from the W. W. Williams Company of Columbus, Ohio, and two company divisions are formed, one concentrating on air freight and the other on ground transport with mediumsized trucks.
Following the onslaught of the 1981 recession, Greeneville Air is dissolved. Partner Niswonger sells his interest to Milligan and forms Landair Transport; his firm will provide scheduled trucking services to air freight forwarders, fully integrated air cargo carriers, and domestic and international airlines, becoming Landair Services in September 1993. Partner Milligan disposes of the company’s assets, including its aircraft, to Raleigh-based General Aviation (2), which operates on behalf of UPS (United Parcel Service). General Aviation (2) adds to the former Greeneville Air Convair fleet over the next three years, eventually owning six CV-240/440s and a Grumman Gulfstream G-159.
In 1984, the company acquires a major contract from Kitty Hawk Air Cargo. All of the aircraft are now dedicated to transporting freight around the Eastern U. S. on behalf of the Dallas-based operator.
During its initial climb away from Nashville Metropolitan Airport on the evening of May 31,1985, Flight 115, the G-159 with two crew, loses power on its No. 1 engine and crashes 100 ft. beyond the end of the runway; there are no survivors.
Flights continue without fanfare during the remainder of the year and through 1986-1987.
In 1988, General Aviation (2) is sold outright to Kitty Hawk, which transfers all of the freighters to Texas. Pilot Niswonger goes on to found Greeneville-based Forward Air, a leading national expedited trucking concern serving air freight consolidators.
In something of a piece of irony, Air Cargo World reports in its June 2000 issue that Forward Air has put together a team of former air freight executives, including several from defunct Roadway Global Air, to review newly bankrupt Kitty Hawk Air Cargo as a potential takeover target. No merger will occur this year.
World History
