History

Red Baron Airlines was a small U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 regional airline

Regional airline

Regional airlines are airlines that operate regional aircraft to provide passenger air service to communities without sufficient demand to attract mainline service...

 based out of Palm Beach International Airport

Palm Beach International Airport

Palm Beach International Airport is a public airport located 3 nautical miles west of Palm Beach, Florida, in West Palm Beach, Florida, and serves Palm Beach County. The airport is operated and maintained by Palm Beach County Department of Airports. Road access to the airport is available...

 and operating solely within Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

. It was started as a joint venture between Clive E. Roberson and Rudolph P. Scheerer. It was a member of the Commuter Airline Association of America. It offered weekday flights starting in the morning from West Palm Beach, FL and stopping in Gainesville, FL before continuing to Tallahassee, FL. In the afternoon the route was the reverse. The airline was expecting to benefit from the large number of students that would travel to/from The University of Florida

University of Florida

The University of Florida is an American public land-grant, sea-grant, and space-grant research university located on a campus in Gainesville, Florida. The university traces its historical origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its present Gainesville campus since September 1906...

 in Gainesville and Florida State University

Florida State University

The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...

 in Tallahassee. In May 1980 an FAA Special Investigative Team found discrepancies in the company's maintenance manuals and recommended that a recertification be required. On May 23, 1980 the company voluntarily ceased operations while the discrepancies were corrected. An on-scene inspection verified these corrections and its air carrier certificate was returned on May 30, 1980. On June 13, 1980 Scheerer Air acquired 100% of Roberson Air Inc.

The airline later became Florida Commuter Airlines

Florida Commuter Airlines

Florida Commuter Airlines was a small U.S. regional airline based out of Palm Beach International Airport that evolved directly from Roberson Air, Inc. which did business as Red Baron Airlines. This happened when Dr. Rudolph P. Scheerer bought out Dr. Clive E. Roberson for a 100% stake in the...

. The airline name changed to Southern Airlines in 1981 shortly after their Douglas DC-3

Douglas DC-3

The Douglas DC-3 is an American fixed-wing propeller-driven aircraft whose speed and range revolutionized air transport in the 1930s and 1940s. Its lasting impact on the airline industry and World War II makes it one of the most significant transport aircraft ever made...

 crashed in the Bahamas on September 12, 1980..