Collection is open for research.
Donated to the Whitman College and Northwest Archives by Inland Airways in October, 2004. The accession number associated with this donation is retro-0074.
Inland Airways was founded on April 5, 1947 by Rex Vaught and Gerwyn Jones. Its first flight carried seven passengers from Kennewick to Seattle on March 22, 1947 on a Beechcraft D18C. A one-way ticket was fifteen dollars. Inland Airways was created after the Walla Walla Junior Chamber of Commerce proposed air service from Walla Walla to Seattle. It offered flights between a variety of towns and cities in the state of Washington.
The Inland Airways Incorporation Records, which date from 1946 through 1880, consist of documents relating to the incorporation of Inland Airways; various reports on air transportation; a service instruction manual and an operating instruction manual for the Lockheed Lodestar (AC model C-57); flight operations manual and procedures for Inland Airways (1948); newspaper clippings on various aspects of air service; financial and operations reports from 1948 and 1949; correspondence; schedules, brochures, and related ephemera; and a scrapbook by the Walla Walla Jaycees on aviation, featuring the establishment of Inland Airways and including information on a model airplane meet.