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Archives at The Museum of Flight


Lindell and Dianne Vinson Commercial Airline Collection

 Collection
Identifier: 2018-09-20
The Lindell and Dianne Vinson Commercial Airlines Collection contains textual materials (which are the bulk of the collection), six (6) photographs, and one (1) videocassette related to specific airlines that the Vinsons worked for over their careers, including US Airways, Piedmont Airlines, and Braniff Airways. The bulk of the material is from 1984-1998, though some fall within the 1960s. The collection is organized in three series.

Series I, Commercial Airline materials, consists of three sub-series: US Airways, Piedmont Airlines, and Braniff International Airways. The US Airways sub-series is the largest and consists of textual materials, including employee documentation, such as saftey guidelines and operations bulletins; checklists, instructional materials, including a booklet "Handling Disruptive Passengers;" timetables, two pages which have been torn from USAirwaves, a staff publication, that discuss jumpseat updates and a safety alert regarding "LAHSO" (land and hold short operations); and manuals for flight operations as well as two volumes of Jeppeson Route Manuals, which include navigational charts as well as ramp and ground guidelines. There are also three oversize color diagrams of Douglas DC-9 instrumentation, including for the control stand, forward instrument panel, and overhead instrument panel.

The Piedmont Airlines sub-series is comprised of six (6) photographs of in-flight Piedmont Airlines aircraft. Two of the images are black-and-white, the remaining four are in color. Two of the images are 11x14", the remaining photographs are 8x10". Only two provide a caption, both printed on the front, "Piedmont Airlines DC-3 Pacemaker" and "Piedmont Airlines Boeing 727-200." There is also a 1987 videocassette titled, "Piedmont: A Model of How Good an Airline Can Be," timetables, and assorted ephemera, including a large decal, blank flight passes and luggage tags, blank notecards with envelope and two sets of blank notepads, a photographic postcard, and a brochure about Piedmont's Presidential Suites at airports.

The Braniff Airways subseries is the smallest and is comprised of a paper airplane kit (3 copies), a blank photographic postcard featuring a Braniff plane in flight (3 copies), and four boarding pass envelopes, two of which are marked with "Shannon" and one with "Shannon/D." One of the "Shannon" envelopes also includes a Braniff passenger coupon for employee "Dianne Shannon." It was likely issued in 1967, as its expiration as noted as May 3, 1967 and it was stamped on March 29 [no year].

Series II, Maps and ephemera, consists of twenty-one Jeppesen high and low "altitude enroute charts" for the United States. There are also three Jetrivia road maps for the southeast (#1), western (#3), and northeast (#5) United States. These are billed as "jet-travelers points of interest reference map" and were part of a six map series. Also included are three non-airline specific decals. Each features a Boeing aircraft: the 727, 737, and 737-300 and are done in an illustrative, almost cartoon style.

Series III, Personal materials, is comprised of a single item, an international vaccination certificate booklet for Lindell Ray Vinson, 1964-1969. This was related to Vinson's military service, as the pages either say "military" or "naval recall" above the dates of vaccination and re-vaccination.

Dates

  • circa 1960-1998
  • Majority of material found within 1984-1998

Creator

Language of Materials

All materials are in English.

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research and is accessible in the Dahlberg Research Center by appointment. For more information contact us.

Conditions Governing Use

The Museum of Flight (TMOF) Archives is the owner of the physical materials in the archives and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from TMOF archives before any publication use. TMOF does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners. Consult repository for more details.

Extent

1.35 Cubic Feet (2 full-width legal size document boxes, 1 half-width legal size box, 1 oversize folder and 1 videocassette)

Abstract

Lindell Ray Vinson (1938-2005) was a United States Naval aviator and a commercial airline pilot. Dianne (Shannon) Vinson (1940-2006) worked for Braniff Airways, likely as a flight attendant.

The collection primarily contains textual materials, six (6) photographs, and one (1) videocassette related to the specific airlines that the Vinsons worked for over their careers, including US Airways, Piedmont Airlines, and Braniff Airways. The bulk of the material is from 1984-1998, though some falls within the 1960s.

Biographical Note: Lindell Vinson

Lindell Ray Vinson was born on November 18, 1938. Vinson served as a United States Naval aviator during the Vietnam War and attained the rank of Lieutenant. He also flew as a commercial airline pilot for Braniff International, Piedmont Airlines, and US Airways. He married Dianne Shannon and they had a daughter named Amy. Lindell Vinson died in 2005.

Source:

Biography derived from collection materials and donor information.
Biographical Note: Dianne (Shannon) Vinson Dianne (Shannon) Vinson was born in 1940. She worked for Braniff Airways in the mid-1960s, likely as a flight attendant. She married Lindell Vinson, who was a pilot, and they had a daughter named Amy. Dianne Vinson died in 2006.

Source:

Biography derived from collection materials and donor information.

Note on Arrangement

The collection has been arranged into three series: Commercial airline materials, Maps and ephemera, and Personal material. Series I: Commercial airline materials has been further divided into sub-series by specific airline.

Series I: Commercial airline materials
  • Sub-series: US Airways
  • Sub-series: Piedmont Airlines
  • Sub-series: Braniff International Airways
Series II: Maps and ephemera

Series III: Personal material

Immediate Source of Acquistion

This collection was donated by Amy Vinson Oswald, the daughter of Lindell and Dianne Vinson.

Accruals

No further accruals are expected.

Separated Materials

The following items have been separated from the archival component and are kept in the Library:

  • Pilot's Manual for ACARS/ARCOM data link system, undated
  • Pilot's Manual for RDR-4A Airborne Weather Radar System, 1980
  • Fokker F-28 Operations manual, circa 1980s
  • Boeing 727 Operations manual, 1988
  • Boeing 737 Operations manual, 1981
  • Handbook for operating instructions for computer, air navigation, and fuel management, 1965
  • Piedmont, a USAir publication, May 1989


Additionally, four sets of Piedmont Airlines branded cocktail napkins, including a Halloween set and a Christmas set, have been separated and are kept in Objects storage.

Creator

Title
Guide to the Lindell and Dianne Vinson Commercial Airline Collection
Status
Completed - Level 3
Author
J.Parent
Date
2019
Description rules
dacs
Language of description
English

Repository Details

Part of the The Museum of Flight Archives Repository

Contact:
9404 East Marginal Way South
Seattle Washington 98108-4097
206-764-7874


The Museum of Flight | 9404 E. Marginal Way South | Seattle WA 98108-4097 | 206-764-5874
Contact us with a research request
curator@museumofflight.org