Colgan Air

Charles Colgan

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The other day, a Virginia State Senator succumbed.  Charles Colgan managed to become a nonagenarian, so his life was complete.

Colgan served the people of Prince William County from the moment moved to the Commonwealth – and continued to do so for some 40 years, until he retired.  Prince William County is now considered part of Northern Virginia, but back when Colgan first got elected, his part of the state was a rural, agricultural area- with one exception.  (I’ll get to that soon enough.)

While Charles Colgan was a Democrat, which meant a completely different thing in Virginia than in the rest of the country.  But, even with his moderate to conservative views, it was his collegial attitude that helped propel his political career.

Colgan was the instrumental force that led to the establishment of a George Mason University location in Manassas, as well as campuses in Manassas and Woodbridge for the Northern Virginia Community College system.

But, I want to recall his other career.

Colgan Air

As a young man, Colgan was a member of the US Army Air Force.  (You should know that this was THE US Air Corps during World War II.  And, I was privileged to know the individual who was the motive force behind the US Army Air Force, General Jacob E. Smart.  I really should write about his exploits, too.)

That is where Colgan learned his airplane mechanical skills and how to fly.   So, it wasn’t surprising when he founded a fixed base operator (FBO) after compoeting his military career at the Manassas airport (1965).  His FBO included a flight school and also serviced [private] aircraft.

But, by 1970, he snagged a contract to service the newly opened IBM semiconductor facility in Manassas.  Running flights to and from IBM’s headquarter operations in Poughkeepsie (NY).

Back when I became a frequent flyer (that was a 4 time a week commute between Charlottesville, Virginia and Long Beach, California), I had to drive to either Dulles Airport or National Airport to make the trip.

But, Colgan was alerted to the fact that the Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport was going to grow- from just a handful of flights to some 25 a day.  And, like Waring Aviation (which flew four-passenger planes from Charlottesville to Dulles), Colgan began offering commuter flights to Dulles, White Plains (Poughkeepsie), and the like.

Colgan eventually made deals with Continental Airlines to become its feeder.  That meant I (and a lot of other folks) could buy a ticket on Continental to take me from home all the way to Long Beach (plus other destinations) and back.

Colgan Airways was on its way to the big time.  By 1986, Colgan sold his operation to Presidential Airlines, which provided  regional carrier service for several majors.  (Presidential folded soon afterwards; Colgan bought back the rights and expanded his old service.)  Eventually, Colgan managed to provide commuter flights for United Airlines and then for US Airways (the name for the newly merged Piedmont-Allegheny airlines combination).

Presidential Airways

By 2007, he sold his operation to Pinnacle Airlines in 2007 for $ 20 million.  The operations continued for another 5 years, before Pinnacle bit the dust.

This whole thing made me sentimental.  Tomorrow, I will tell you a story of a wonderful woman I (and my children) met and loved.

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7 thoughts on “Charles Colgan”

    1. He was an interesting fellow. When I was serving on the Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport Authority, I had the opportunity to see how he operated first hand.
      And, yes, I did fly four times a week cross-country. To be with me kids as often as possible and still grow my business. (They went on a few of those trips with me…)

    1. Martha:
      I recognize that I have been blessed with meeting a slew of interesting folks and having the opportunity to work with or on a variety of different concepts.
      Part of that comes from having an open (vacant?) mind. A quote from the Talmud? Who is wise? One who can find something to learn from every encounter.

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