Founder and leader of Southern Airways for its entire history
Born in September 1912 in North Augusta, Georgia, Frank Wilson Hulse III as a young teenager was captivated by exploits of the era’s heroes of flight like ‘Speed’ Holman, Charles Lindbergh, Charles Kingsford Smith, and Amelia Earhart. Hulse, like so many other air-minded youths, would work at the local airport (starting in 1927) in exchange for flying lessons, eventually buying a used aircraft, and then putting it to work. He graduated from Georgia Tech in 1935, returning to the Augusta airport and buying a fixed base operation (FBO), named Southern Airways, the next year – and also worked as the station manager there for Delta Air Lines. Opportunities to duplicate the operation across the South emerged, and his multiple FBOs also became Beechcraft sales offices.
His headquarters moved to Birmingham, Alabama in 1938 and then to Atlanta in 1942. A member of the Alabama National Guard, Hulse was called to active duty in 1939 as a pilot. At the request of the government, however, he was released the following year to establish flying schools throughout the Southeast, and when WWII began, contracted with the U.S. Government’s Civilian Pilots Training Program to educate over 25,000 Allied pilots.
From his travels and dealings across the communities of the South, and witnessing the massive growth of industry taking place, Hulse saw the need for regional air service that could leapfrog the disjointed road and rail systems there. In 1944, Hulse put in an application with the CAB for a certificate to serve the eight southeastern states with scheduled service. During and after the war he continued lobbying, acquiring used DC-3 and C-47 equipment, and setting up stations in the small cities and hubs he already had a presence in.
Finally in June 1949 approvals were granted and Southern was able to begin initial scheduled services. For the next twenty years Hulse led gradual growth in routes and equipment to fill in much of his envisioned network but also gained a reputation for contentious labor relations. Addition of DC-9 jets in the late 1960s and more-generous route awards would propel Southern into markets like New York, Chicago, and Miami.
From a modest beginning of hopscotch service between Atlanta and Memphis, Southern ultimately grew to serve 65 cities in 14 states, the District of Columbia and the Cayman Islands. The mid-seventies brought the largest single-year growth period of any scheduled airline and an extensive building program for base operations, training and maintenance in Atlanta, as well as a hub in Memphis.
Route and operational growth were not matched by profitability, however. Weighing the options, Hulse and the Southern board elected in 1979 to merge with North Central to form Republic Airlines. Hulse would serve as Vice Chairman on the Republic board into 1984.
Hulse also served as Chairman for Hangar One, Inc., an Atlanta FBO and aircraft sales company; and was a Director for Fuqua Industries, American Fidelity Life Insurance Company, and Associated Distributors, Inc. In public service he also was a member of the National Advisory Board of Georgia Institute of Technology, and was Chairman of the Industrial Development Committee of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce.
Retired to Birmingham, Hulse lived until 1992 after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.
