MIDWEST AIR CHARTER / CHARTER EXPRESS

In 1968 Airborne Freight Co. of California merged with Pacific Air Freight (based in Seattle) to form Airborne Freight Corporation. By the late '70s Airborne Freight Corp. made the decision to launch their own Air Cargo Airline, taking full advantage of provisions for new start-up carriers present in the 1977 Airline Deregulation Act. The search for a prospect carrier suitable for their needs ended in Ohio with the acquisition of an airline already contracted to haul Airborne freight. 

The seed airline for Airborne Express was Midwest Air Charter, a modest Part 135/121 operator based originally at Lost Nation Airport (LNN) in Willoughby, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland. Midwest moved out of LNN in 1974 and relocated to nearby Lorain County Regional Airport (LPR) south of Cleveland where they began operating a mixed fleet of 11 different types of twin-engine aircraft involved in air freight service, hauling mostly bank-to-bank cancelled checks. 

Dave Milo, an early Midwest Mechanic and presently a FAA employee at the Pittsburgh FSDO, remembers working on two Beech 18 twin-engine radials, along with Learjets, a Cessna Citation, Aerostars, many Piper Aztecs, a few Piper Twin Comanches', two DeHavilland Doves, and a Piper Navajo. Dave's recollection of primitive Lorain County Maintenance facilities  was that it was superior to Lost Nation in that the snow no longer blew sideways through cracks in the hangar doors.

During the 1975 time frame Michael J. Garrihy was President of Midwest; Gilbert (Gibby) Singerman serving as Vice President, with Jack Beedy appointed as Director of Operations. 

In June of 1978 Midwest announced plans to purchase Clinton County AFB located in Wilmington, Ohio (south-central Ohio). The first wave of employees moved from the Lorain area south to Wilmington in September of that year. Overseas National Airlines (ONA), a large 121 supplemental passenger/cargo carrier, had been leasing hangar space and the single runway in ILN as a heavy jet maintenance base during much of the late '70s. By 1976 they were replaced by Ohio Air Center another  heavy jet repair station who continued to operate for a short time after the arrival of Midwest, only ceasing operation in 1980 when it became apparent that Airborne Express was intent on purchasing Midwest and the Clinton County Air Park. During this time the company was known as Midwest or Charter Express through their contractual agreement with Airborne Freight Corporation.

By early 1979 all Midwest dispatch and maintenance operations had been moved to Wilmington from Lorain. Airborne Freight Corporation would subsequently purchase the Part 121 airline certificate of Midwest Air Charter on April 16, 1980, and with it all air/ground assets of Midwest, to include Clinton County Airpark. 

The birth of Airborne Express - the Airline - began with the 1980 acquisition of Midwest Air Charter and the facility located in Wilmington. Later that year Clinton County Airpark was officially transformed into Airborne Air Park.