Northwest Airlines History Center

So many projects, not enough hours / volunteers!

Not Hughes… Just Air West, in the tan/orange scheme. Note there’s a little bit of white just above the roof line that lines up woth where the text is on the tail. Puts the date somewhere 1970-72? northwestairlineshistory.org/wp-content/u...

We’ve come into a substantial collection recently; will take a while to catalog / scan / post. (Just putting a note out tonight to our members asking if anyone’s into philately & wouldn’t mind helping us @ the archive, in fact.)

Pretty underwhelming.

We remember quite well!

This is a black-and-white magazine advertisement for International Harvester tractors used at airports. The main photograph shows the nose and left side of a Northwest Airlines Douglas DC-4 passenger aircraft parked on an airport ramp. An International I-9 tractor, driven by a worker, is towing the aircraft by its nose landing gear. The airline’s name and round logo are visible on the aircraft’s fuselage. Below and to the left is a smaller photograph of an International Super-A tractor being driven outdoors, illustrating grounds-keeping use. The text promotes International tractors as dependable mobile power for airlines and airports, emphasizing towing, pushing, and maintenance tasks. The advertisement is branded “International Industrial Power” and identifies the manufacturer as International Harvester Company of Chicago.

1950 International Harvest Advertisement
.
With Northwest DC-4 N95415.
.
#InternationalHarvester #avgeek #AviationHistory #DouglasDC4 #NorthwestAirlines #VintageAdvertising #Tractors #AirlineHistory #Airlines #AviationIndustry #aviation @northwestairlines.bsky.social

And manufactured nearby in Rock Island!

Yesterday’s announcement about Sun Country was a gut punch - we had just opened a new exhibit case talking about them. We’ll be reaching out to see what we can preserve & display as our museum’s scope expands to all commercial aviation in the Northland.

The postcard shows a side view of a turboprop passenger airplane parked on an airport ramp. The aircraft is a Fokker F-27 Friendship operated by Bonanza Air Lines, with the registration number N754L painted near the tail. The fuselage is silver with “Bonanza” written near the front and “Bonanza Air Lines” along the rear. The vertical tail is painted bright red with black and white Bonanza branding. The plane has high-mounted wings with two propeller engines, one on each wing. A small red ground vehicle is positioned near the nose of the aircraft. The background is flat, open airfield terrain under a pale sky, with no terminal buildings visible.

Bonanza Air Lines F-27 Postcard
.
N754L
.
#BonanzaAirLines #FokkerF27 #TurbopropAircraft #VintageAviation #travel #Postcards #CivilAviation #Oldpostcards #AirportRamp #Avgeek

I talked with the VP at Bemidji Aviation a few years ago & she says she prefers to just drive from there to MSP - that’s about 5 hours each way. And they run the UPS feeder service! (And an EAS airline back in the 1980s!)

This is a horizontally oriented vintage color postcard showing Minneapolis–St. Paul International Airport at night or very early dawn. Along the bottom margin, printed in simple black lettering, is the caption: “Minneapolis – St. Paul International Airport.” The foreground is dominated by a wide expanse of airport tarmac, textured and slightly reflective, suggesting cold weather or recent moisture. The surface stretches from the bottom edge of the image toward the aircraft, creating a strong sense of depth and openness. Centered slightly left is a large Northwest Orient Airlines jet, likely from the early jet age. The airplane is parked at a gate and viewed from the side at a slight angle. Its fuselage is long and cylindrical, painted white with a bold red tail fin. Along the side of the aircraft, the words “NORTHWEST ORIENT” are clearly visible in dark lettering. The cockpit windows are visible at the front, and the engines hang beneath the wings, appearing heavy and metallic. The aircraft’s landing gear is down, firmly planted on the tarmac, giving the impression of weight and stillness. Small ground-service vehicles and equipment cluster near the plane, lit by artificial lights but without visible human figures. To the right of the airplane stands the airport terminal building, low and modern in shape, with clean horizontal lines. Large windows glow softly from within, emitting warm yellow light that contrasts with the cool tones of the sky. Several tall floodlight poles rise above the scene. Their bright white lights flare outward, creating starburst effects and illuminating the plane, terminal, and pavement below. These lights are among the brightest elements in the image. The sky fills the upper half of the postcard and transitions smoothly from golden yellow near the horizon to pale blue and then deeper blue overhead, suggesting either sunrise or sunset. This gradient adds a calm, expansive atmosphere to the scene.

Good night from - Minneapolis, Minnesota Airport Postcard.
.
Northwest DC-10 N144US.
.
#Minneapolis #Minnesota #Airport #Postcard #Aviation #NorthwestAirlines #dc10 @northwestairlines.bsky.social

A color postcard view of the Yakima Air Terminal in Washington, dating to about 1960, showing West Coast Airlines Fairchild F-27 Friendship turboprops parked on the ramp. The modern terminal building reflects postwar airport design trends of the late 1950s, emphasizing clean lines, large windows, and a welcoming civic presence. West Coast Airlines was in the midst of transitioning from piston aircraft to turboprops, and the F-27 symbolized faster, quieter, and more reliable regional air service across the Pacific Northwest. Scenes like this illustrate how medium-sized cities such as Yakima were fully integrated into the emerging turboprop airline network, linking agricultural and industrial communities with major hubs like Seattle and Portland during the jet age’s opening years.

1960 Yakima Air Terminal Postcard
.
West Coast F-27s
.
#Avgeek #Yakima #YakimaAirTerminal #WestCoastAirlines #FairchildF27 #FriendshipF27 #Turboprop #Avation #AirportHistory #AirlinePostcard #AviationPhotography #PacificNorthwest #1960sAviation #TransportationHistory @northwestairlines.bsky.social

Yikes!

Nice! Wasn’t aware the museum had commercial frames!

I know the folks who created the game! Great job how they’ve adapted it for other markets, holidays, etc., and nice folks.

Flight Attendants across the industry are proud of the heroic actions of aviation’s first responders on NWA Flight 253 on December 25, 2009. This AFA crew successfully stopped the Christmas Day “pant bombing” attempt.

L. S. Holstad (1939)
Source: Hennepin County Library

Leonard Holstad, assistant treasurer of Northwest Airlines

For the size of the building they pack quite a lot inside!

Had a lovely visit to the San Diego Air & Space Museum today (taking a quick getaway from the Northland):

The 1990s Northwest logo (of the “Bowling Shoe” scheme) against a red-and-green background and with a triangular Christmas tree substituted for the compass triangle.

Happy Holidays to all and much gratitude to all our supporters and members!

Our museum will be open regular hours this Friday and Saturday, but we’ll be closed today.

(Should we do Xmas logo gear on our online store next year?)

That’s totally grilling weather in Minneapolis!

The 1950s era Northwest Orient Airlines logo with a Christmas tree swapped in for the traditional compass rose, and some color changes to make it a festive graphic for the holiday season.

Festive holiday greetings to all from our little museum! A gift membership or financial contribution helps us spread the wonder of commercial aviation to kids of all ages! northwestairlineshistory.org/join-us/

The last Delta 747 performs a go-around before its final landing at Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport Dec. 20. Air Force Photo/Paul Zadach

Crowd standing in the snow next to the runway waving to the 747 as it makes a low pass. Some are waving, some are on ladders, many taking photos. There is also a dog.

#OnThisDay Dec 20 2017: The last Delta Airlines Boeing 747 performs a low go-around before making its final landing at Minneapolis-St Paul International Airport. A homecoming of sorts, the jumbo jet was originally purchased by Northwest Airlines in 1999. It is retired in Atlanta later that day.

Model of the tram that runs inside the main concourse at Detroit Metropolitan Airport, with a Northwest Airlines logo as NWA had designed and built that facility. The tram wears a cheerful Santa hat. The tram is not for sale.

We are running a promotion on shop.northwestairlineshistory.org thru Friday night this week: 20% off and free shipping for orders of $75+ with the promo code HERMAN2X at checkout.

We’ve got exclusive artwork and designs on gear and clothing across the whole NWA timeline & set of carriers!

1968 Boise Airport Postcard - Note the ex-Bonanza Air Lines DC-9, which has moved through the AirWest system and is working an ex-West Coast route.
.
#Airwest #UnitedAirlines #BonanzaAirLines #DC9 #b727 #BoiseIdaho #Airport @northwestairlines.bsky.social @airportarchitecture.byerussell.com

Have not seen a Bonanza in transitional colors done like that! Got the job done, though.

Or at least get the Wave going along the fuselage.

Still enough range even then for MSP/DFW/IAH to either coast.

31 steel map “flat file” cabinets acquired this month at auction for about $2000 (including transport and setup). At list, this is well over $23,000 worth of storage!

We will be using these cabinets to house not only posters & artwork, blueprints, training diagrams & signage, but also wings & service pins, dishes & flatware, uniform accessories and much more. They are a major upgrade to our storage setup that will help us take better care & also make artifacts more easily accessible.

Hey, we’re another Minnesota nonprofit with a #GTTM25 fundraising appeal today! Why pitch in toward our $5K goal for storage cabinets?
* Aviation history is cool
* We don’t get even $1 of support from government (or Delta)
* Full project is coming in $3K below budget!

www.givemn.org/organization...

At least one should be in a museum (not ours though)