But actually FedEx (Federal Express)
was started in Little Rock. Fred
had bought Little Rock Airmotive,
a corporate aircraft interior decorating,
customizing,
repair, and lube and tune shop.
He dreamed of FedEx, and in a back room
got a Dassault DA-20 Fanjet Falcon,
popular executive jet, 28,660 pound
max take off weight, two GE aft-fan
turbo jet engines (originally designed
for drones; used in the F-5; but with
an aft-fan), a relatively rugged
airplane, e.g., no frame fatigue life,
worked on the modifications
to make it into a suitable cargo
plane, rewrote the official flight
manual for the modifications, and
got the FAA to approve the modifications
and issue the appropriate certificate.
FedEx rushed to 33 such Fanjet Falcons;
that was the initial plan for the
full fleet, serving 90 US cities.
The fleet schedule I did
with my software and Roger Frock
one night was for the 33 and 90.
That schedule overcame some Board
objections that were blocking
some crucial equity funding,
pleased the Board, "Solved the
most important problem facing
the start of Federal Express"
(Fred, at a senior staff meeting),
enabled the funding, and saved the
company.
When I joined, the company was still in
Little Rock.
Yes, the fact that Fred knew Memphis
well was likely also relevant. But fully
likely FedEx would have been in Little
Rock if it had had a suitable airport.
There were some concerns about the
Ohio valley: The whole place could
get socked in with fog, quickly,
nearly unpredictably.
For the hub location,
I observed the decision making;
the description I gave here is
accurate enough;
my criticism that the site selection
was not just a geometry problem
is fully correct; but I was not
involved in the decision itself.
But actually FedEx (Federal Express) was started in Little Rock. Fred had bought Little Rock Airmotive, a corporate aircraft interior decorating, customizing, repair, and lube and tune shop.
He dreamed of FedEx, and in a back room got a Dassault DA-20 Fanjet Falcon, popular executive jet, 28,660 pound max take off weight, two GE aft-fan turbo jet engines (originally designed for drones; used in the F-5; but with an aft-fan), a relatively rugged airplane, e.g., no frame fatigue life, worked on the modifications to make it into a suitable cargo plane, rewrote the official flight manual for the modifications, and got the FAA to approve the modifications and issue the appropriate certificate.
FedEx rushed to 33 such Fanjet Falcons; that was the initial plan for the full fleet, serving 90 US cities. The fleet schedule I did with my software and Roger Frock one night was for the 33 and 90. That schedule overcame some Board objections that were blocking some crucial equity funding, pleased the Board, "Solved the most important problem facing the start of Federal Express" (Fred, at a senior staff meeting), enabled the funding, and saved the company.
When I joined, the company was still in Little Rock.
Yes, the fact that Fred knew Memphis well was likely also relevant. But fully likely FedEx would have been in Little Rock if it had had a suitable airport.
There were some concerns about the Ohio valley: The whole place could get socked in with fog, quickly, nearly unpredictably.
For the hub location, I observed the decision making; the description I gave here is accurate enough; my criticism that the site selection was not just a geometry problem is fully correct; but I was not involved in the decision itself.