The Raymond L. Bouas Braniff Airways Collection contains primarily textual materials relevant to the career of Raymond L. Bouas, a pilot with Braniff Airways from 1957 to 1989. The collection has been divided into two series: Military and reserve service and Professional career. Due to its size, Professional career has been further divided into subseries. Materials are arranged chronologically within series with undated materials at the end.

The first series, Military and reserve service, is largely made up of Bouas’ military records, including military orders, forms, flight record, and related correspondence, 1952-1965. Additional materials include training materials and notes, his pilot logbook, certificates and commissions, and diploma and graduation event program. Also present is a photocopy of Bouas’ 1961 mobilization order while in the Reserves as well as a photocopy of his health benefit application, post-reserve service. Of interest in this series are materials related to Ross Perot’s mission to Vietnam in 1969. Materials include a contemporaneous newspaper clipping and a retrospective article about the mission. There are also two color photographic prints of Perot and the flight crew that took him to Vietnam. Bouas was a member of the crew and is depicted in both prints.

The second series, Professional career, forms the bulk of the collection and has been further divided into subseries, the first of which is Pilot training. Materials include training and instructional materials, such as notes, booklets, diagrams, photographs, and related correspondence. Additional materials include flight and airport qualification charts and recurrent training documentation. Specific aircraft include the Airbus A320, BAC One-Eleven, Boeing 727, and Douglas DC-3. There are also materials relevant to Bouas’ helicopter training and certifications.

Braniff employment documentation is by far the largest subseries. Materials include a company history and timeline booklet, an employee handbook, memos and correspondence, policy and procedure guidelines, employee benefit documentation, minutes and notes, assorted clippings and articles about Braniff Airways, flight plans, airport approach charts, bid packages and schedules, telephone and seniority lists, and accident and incident reports. Also present are materials related to the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) and the Braniff International Silver Eagles (BISE), including correspondence, reports, and rosters.

Additional materials include photocopies of Bouas’ licenses and medical certificates as well as a color photograph of Bouas in the cockpit of an unidentified plane. There are also several daily planner notebooks used by Bouas from 1971-1988, although 1980-1985 are not present. Entries are often brief and may include names, flight numbers, flight times, or notes such as “500 BRF dental forms” or “727 recurrent.”

The Braniff bankruptcy subseries is quite small and includes Bouas’ furlough letter, claims forms, and legal documents. There are also newsletters and correspondence from ALPA to former and retired Braniff employees to keep them abreast of the proceedings.

The final subseries is also quite small and contains Assorted documents. Materials include non-Braniff job applications, Bouas’ resume, and related correspondence as well as various clippings about the general aviation industry. There are also documents relevant to the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Northwest Airlines age discrimination for pilots’ court case from 1986-1991. Materials include a photocopy of Bouas’ deposition, a pay summary statement, correspondence, and legal proceedings.