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N171PS on a pre-delivery promotional shot. (Lockheed Martin)
     

In 1958, Kenny realized that PSA would need new equipment to remain competitive, as the DC-4s were aging rapidly. After looking at the Caravelle, and failing to arrange financing, Friedkin turned to the Lockheed Electra and placed an order for three new aircraft.

Financing was still a problem, as Friedkin could pay for the initial deposit but nothing else. After much searching, he found Barron Hilton (of the hotel fame) was willing to finance the first three aircraft and engines under a lease arrangement. Hilton formed ElectraHilt corporation as the financing vehicle, lending PSA more credibility.


First flight airmail sleeve. (Webmaster collection)

Electra deliveries happened late in 1959, with the DC-4s rapidly pulled out of service. The Electra was the perfect aircraft for PSA, and cut flight times dramatically ove the three-city network. PSA was now even more competitive with arch-rivals United and Western.

After the tragic Electra crashes, a meeting between FAA administrator Elwood "Pete" Quesada and operating airlines occurred. The meeting was quite boisterous, with Northwest's Don Nyrop advocating a grounding. All the argument ceased when a female voice was heard, saying "We're opposed to the grounding". Quesada said only airlines operating the Electra were allowed to attend, with a reply "I'm the Vice President of PSA, and we oppose the grounding." It was Jean Friedkin. Quesada apologized, and the meeting continued. Jean Friedkin was the only female vice-president of an airline at the time.

As PSA's traffic grew, they could afford additional aircraft. The fourth aircraft was the first prototype, refurbished by Lockheed. It was the only A-model in the fleet. The fifth and sixth aircraft were repossessed from their original owner by Lockheed, and sold to PSA after overhaul.

In 1975, PSA started service to Lake Tahoe airport. To do this, they bought/leased 4 Electras (again!), but kept them in service only when needed to serve Tahoe, which is unsuitable for 727s. Service to Lake Tahoe directly ended in 1979, and the Electras were retired permanently.

The fleet statistics listed below are from PSA archives. They do not correspond with what I have seen in production list books. In this case, I have elected to use PSA data over the production list data.

Fleet Information
FLN REG TYPE MSN LN HISTORY
171N171PSL-188-C1091PSA 11/6/59-8/29/68
Holiday N971HA 10/16/68-6/75
PSA 8/26/75-2/15/79 (FLN 071, 'Cindy')
Evergreen Intl N5539 3/1/79-/84
Channel Express G-CEXS 10/90-3/03
Air Spray C-GZCF 5/6/03 '90'
172N172PSL-188-C1109PSA 11/30/59-3/7/69
Bill Murphy Buick 5/20/70 LT Holiday Flamingo
Bluegrass Ventures 12/28/73-5/74 LT Flamingo
MCA Leasing 6/19/74-5/75 LT Guyana
LACSA TI-LRN 'Cocon' 12/76-7/6/77
Hawaiian N340HA 8/7/78-9/2/80
Zantop 9/2/80-, WFU YIP
173N173PSL-188-C1110PSA 12/9/59-5/14/68
Universal Airlines N862U 5/14/68-5/5/72
ONA N289F 6/28/72-4/19/74
Zantop 4/25/74
Lynden Air Cargo /95-/98
Renown Aviation /98, WFU ROW
Segers Avtn SA 4/02, not seen since
174N174PSL-188-A1001Lockheed 12/6/57-5/11/61
PSA 5/11/61-10/22/68
Holiday 10/22/68-/75
BU Oakland 1975
175N175PSL-188-C1130Capital N181H NTU
US Navy 7/60-1/26/61
PSA 1/31/62-2/29/68
King Resources N595KR 2/29/68-5/5/72
Omni AC sales 5/15/72 LT NCAR 5/18/73
NCAR N308D 12/1/75-2/01, Neptune Aviation 2/04-11/06
Air Spray C-FLXT 11/06-, still in NCAR c/s
376N376PSL-188-C1133Capital N182H NTU
Sports Aloft N181H 1/31/62-12/27/62 (repo)
PSA 5/17/63-5/24/68
Universal N863U 5/24/68-5/5/72
ONA N290F 5/28/72-4/26/74
Zantop 4/26/74-, WFU YIP
LT Hawaiian 4/26/77-10/78
72N6130AL-188-A1121American 'Flagship San Francisco' 2/12/60-4/23/69
McCulloch 4/23/69-10/29/75
PSA 10/29/75-3/19/79 'Toto'
Evergreen Intl N5532 3/19/79-4/23/81
Galaxy Airlines 8/83
CR Reno, NV 1/21/85
73N6118AL-188-A1072American 'Flaghsip Hartford' 7/25/59-5/15/68
McCulloch 5/15/68-11/17/77
PSA 11/17/77-2/7/79 'Prince'
Evergreen Intl N5534 2/7/79-9/9/83
Argentine Navy 6-P-104 9/9/83-
74N6106AL-188-A1028American 'Flagship Dallas' 1/27/59-1/18/68
McCulloch 1/18/68-1/18/78
LT PSA 4/75-6/75
PSA 1/18/78-5/1/79 'Annie'
Honduran Air Force HR-EMA 8/1/79, Stored

 

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