Mohawk Airlines  Fairchild F24W   N81248               (c/n  W46-149)

                                          

                                                Not exactly an "airliner" in the true sense of the word, but included in this pictorial essay since
                                                it was the first aircraft flown by Mohawk Airlines (or at least its predecessor, Robinson) and is
                                                indicative of the types used by small commuter lines when they started up, immediately after
                                                WW II.   This Fairchild carries its registration on both fuselage and rudder, indicating that this
                                                image was probably taken around 1956 when the FAA required aircraft owners to start putting
                                                their identity markings in numbers at least 18 inches high, and they hadn't got around to removing
                                                it from the tail.  Anyway, the F24W was clearly not in passenger service at that late period and
                                                hence N81248 was either a company "hack" or had been restored to Mohawk markings for
                                                historical purposes.   Mohawk began life as Robinson Airlines and operated Beech D-18s in
                                                addition to the Fairchilds.  Its original route extended from Buffalo to New York City (Newark)
                                                via Ithaca (where the company headquarters were located), Binghampton and Albany.   The airline
                                                name was changed to Mohawk Airlines in 1952.  Incidentally, this F-24 is still currently
                                                registered to an owner in Pennsylvania.