Stop by the 1940 Air Terminal Museum on Saturday, January 21, and join us for this month’s Wings and Wheels! We’re recognizing the valuable contributions of Business Aviation this month.

Though the popular image of a business ‘jet’ is that of a luxury icon, these planes are real workhorses, and often are not even jets at all. From piston craft through turboprops to jets, these planes get valuable personnel resources where they’re needed, or provide the meeting room themselves enroute, to keep businesses nimble and to keep businesses in business. Especially in today’s economy, where a contract can make or break a deal, and a deal can make or break a business, an airplane is an important asset.

And if you didn’t know, Houston and Business Aviation are very closely connected. Oil companies of the thirties and forties knew that the way to manage their holdings across the vast state was to do it by airplane. You could go inspect the pipelines, sign a contract and be home that same day.

Join us on the third Saturday of January at the 1940 Air Terminal Museum at Houston Hobby, and help us celebrate the valuable role that aviation has played in business. See our beautiful Lockheed Lodestar, a fine example of business aviation from the 1940s through 1960s.

We will also have a bunch of fine automobiles from the Gulf Coast Region of the Antique Automobile Club of America (AACA) on display. See some beautiful cars just like those that would have visited the Museum when it was in full swing as the gateway to the world for Houston fliers.

Imagine yourself being driven to our art deco building in one of these beauties to board the Lodestar for the big meeting! You had better have all your charts and figures ready, because we’re going over them the whole way to Chicago!

While you’re here, take a look at our latest Raffle Plane! This is the $50 ticket that could get you your own plane!

Our fifth Raffle Plane is a beautiful polished-aluminum, white and black 1958 Cessna 172, and is fun to fly. As with all our raffle planes, Raffle Plane 5.0 is a vintage plane that is in great shape and is ready to keep bringing the joy of flight to its owner for a long time.

Find out more about N4285F!

The Museum opens at 10 and Wings and Wheels officially starts at 11. Admission is $7 for adults, $3 for children, and includes access to the Museum, static aircraft and vehicle displays. Fly your plane in and admission is free! Have a vintage car? Come on by and get free admission too! Lunch is served separately by a locally operated mobile food vendor.

Lunch will be available around noon, just in time to rest and enjoy our regular 12:30 presentation on aviation history by volunteer Michael Bludworth. Learn about the early days of Houston Municipal Airport as well as Houston’s rich aviation history.

The museum will be closed on the following days in observance of Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Years Day:

November 24, 2011
December 24th and 25th, 2011
December 30th – Open 10-2 (Closing at 2 for a private event)
December 31st – Open 10-3
January 1, 2012

We hope everyone has a joyous holiday season and thank you for your continued support of the 1940 Air Terminal Museum!

We were recently featured in a series of articles about some of Houston’s museums by Texas Highways Magazine.

Check out the article about us, along with the other museums here.

Enjoy!

Initally, Southwest Airlines began their flying service on June 18th, 1971 on routes that were entirely intrastate, flying the Texas Triangle. First service to Houston was to the still new Intercontinental Airport, KIAH. However, SWA would shortly make one of their famous decisions that would forever change the nature of airline service in the future, and change how Houston used it’s airports.

After IAH opened in 1969 the city’s old airport, Hobby Airport (KHOU), sat deserted and increasingly forlorn. Left to the various FBOs and charter outfits, it was hardly being used and was a drain on the tax coffers of the City of Houston.

Meanwhile at IAH, SWA saw considerable competition from it’s arch-rivals Braniff and Texas International. Frustrated and losing money, SWA flew the coop at IAH and set up camp at HOU – having the entire airport to itself! SWA and their passengers quickly found that the quiet, close in airport was a relief from the long trip to the “big” airport and it’s congestion.

First SWA service to and from their new gates at Hobby Airport was on November 14th, 1971, just five months after their initial start up at IAH. Hence, the Happy Anniversary to both SWA and Hobby Airport!

In a series of photos provided by SWA we can see their initial ticket counter which was located inside the 1948 International Arrivals Building, located adjacent to the 1940 Air Terminal on the west side of Hobby Airport.

SWA would eventually settle into the “A” Concourse in the main terminal at Hobby Airport after renovations had been made, in 1974.
The rest of the story is now history!

Now both SWA and the City Of Houston benefit from the close in versatility of Hobby Airport, making it an important part of the SWA route system and a star for the Houston Airport System. Currently 87% of all airline traffic at Hobby Airport is performed by Southwest Airlines.

Michael Bludworth
1940 Air Terminal Museum

Officials at introduction of service, 1971 L-R Bill Rosene Asst. Airport Mgr; Joe Foster Dir of Aviation; Paul Koonce Airport Mgr; City Councilman Frank Mancuso

Interior of SWA ticket counter in 1971 in old International Building

Interior of SWA ticket counter in 1971 in old International Building

View of the SWA ticket counter near A Concourse in 1974

On November 5, the raffle plane traveled to DeRidder, LA for the Wings & Wheels fly-in at the DeRidder Army Air Base.

There was nice mix of cars, planes, as well as emergency vehicles on display.

Check out the photos below!