The Roy Franklin Jones Early Alaska Aviation Collection pertains to the life and career of Roy Franklin Jones, a pilot in early Alaskan aviation, founder of Northbird Aviation Company, and co-founder of Pioneer Airways. The collection includes textual, photographic, and audiovisual materials, with most dated from 1923-1930s. It has been divided into three series: Military materials, Professional materials, and Personal documents.

The first series, Military materials, is relatively small. Most of the materials pertain to Jones' World War I service. Materials include original and photocopies of military records, orders, service appointments and certificates, a separation report, and related notes and correspondence. Also related to his World War I service are 84 black-and-white photographic prints and 24 negatives. They depict Roy Franklin Jones in dress uniform, next to and in aircraft as a cadet, military aircraft in flight formation and on the tarmac, and other unidentified cadets.

Jones' World War II service is primarily documented through a 1943-1944 diary titled "Alaska." Entries often include the date and a description of the day's activities. Examples include "Departed Great Falls, 12:15, May 12. Delayed when ready to take off..." and "December 18, -38 degrees Fahrenheit, warm up tests included helicopter. Woolen mits[sic] with shells becoming uncomfortably cold..." The diary is accompanied by a faded photograph of what appears to be a dog sled team, found in the back cover.

The second series, Professional materials, contains textual and visual materials that pertain to Jones' aviation career. The bulk of the material focuses on Northbird Aviation Company (NAC) and includes a reconstructed log of operations for the company, an aircraft registration certificate, clippings, and blank letterhead. 164 photographs and 43 negatives depict the activities of NAC. The majority of the photographs depict "Northbird" in flight and on the water. A few images include Jones and passengers. Four prints depict Gerald Joyce Smith, the "Northbird" mechanic who accompanied Jones on the first flight from Seattle, Washington to Ketchikan on July 17, 1922. One photograph depicts the exterior of the NAC booking office in Ketchikan, Alaska. There is also a small amount of commemorative philatelic materials to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the first flight of "Northbird" into Ketchikan in July 1922.

Jones's involvement with Pioneer Airways is represented with a business card. Also included are 27 prints and three negatives of the Alaskan airline Pioneer Airways. Images depict the Stinson SM-8A "Sea Pigeon," in flight and in water and a crashed Pioneer Airways aircraft. Some images include Jones and Pioneer Airways pilot Loren McHenry. Additional materials include assorted clippings and articles related to Roy Franklin Jones' career and a 1932 resolution put forth by Jones for an air base in western Alaska.

In addition to documentation of Northbird and Pioneer Airways, the collection also includes materials more broadly about Alaska and Alaskan aviation. For example, there are 14 prints and two negatives that depict street scenes and buildings of Ketchikan, Alaska from 1922 to circa 1930. There are also 23 prints and seven negatives of the search in Siberia for lost pilot Carl Ben Eielson. The prints depict searchers in the snow, a snow house, and an aircraft identified as the "Hamilton in which Ben Eielson was lost."

The final series, Personal materials, holds textual, visual, and audiovisual items related to Jones, his non-aviation endeavors, and the Jones family.

Materials include articles by and notes for articles by Jones, some of which focus on his interest in history; a Boy Scouts of America charter and membership card for Troop #1 (Jones was troop leader), correspondence, and assorted ephemera. There are also biographical materials, including a chronology of Jones' life, a list of his residences, award and recognition materials, an oral interview transcript, and related notes. A small number of items pertain to Jones' death, including obituaries, a memorial program, and copies of eulogies given at his service. Also present is "Flight of the Northbird: the story of bush pilot Roy Franklin Jones" on a VHS videocassette and audiocassette.

Additional materials relate to Jones family members and include a memorial program for Grace, Roy's wife, clippings, and correspondence and holiday letters as well as 79 photographs and 11 negatives of family members, including Roy Franklin Jones and his wife, Grace; son, Douglas, and daughters, Dorothy, Carol and Gwen. There is also a folder of notes compiled by Jones' daughter, Gwen Whyte, who donated the collection. Her notes, which help provide context, appear throughout the collection as well.

In addition to the personal and family-related materials, there is also a small number of photographs collected by Jones related more broadly to aviation. Images depict aviator Lincoln Beachey, an unidentified wingwalker mid-stunt, an Aeromarine aircraft, and a ship docking in Ketchikan, Alaska. The assorted negatives in this series are film strips and mostly depict images elsewhere in the collection.

Many of the photographs in the collection are modern prints and not vintage. They are a mix of casual snapshots and posed portraits. The photographs vary in size, from 3x5-inches to 12x14-inches. Not all prints have a corresponding negative and not all negatives have a corresponding print. Duplication occurs.