1941 In addition to Hale Field, Missoula now has two airports as the newly completed Missoula County Airport opens (Missoula’s first airport next to Mount Sentinel is long gone by this time). Northwest Airlines executives are present at the inaugural ceremonies. Harry Bell, in a letter to the Missoulian, states that the new airport would be one of the twelve best in the nation as soon as some remaining construction is completed. The Army Examining Board comes to Missoula to determine if a bomber training base can be located at the airport. The idea is ultimately rejected due to the height of the rising mountainous terrain that surrounds the valley. The terrain would not have provided the desired gliding range for the bombers. Boeing Aircraft Company was seriously considering building a manufacturing plant at the new airport, but ultimately chose not to.

1942 Johnson Flying Service trains more than 4,000 pilots for the U.S. armed forces.

194? Bob Johnson, returning to Hale Field one night in a Tri-Motor, loses his patience when he discovers the newly installed runway lights have not been turned on for his arrival. Johnson banks east and buzzes his Beckwith Avenue home. His wife, who knew what was wrong, promptly telephones the airport and asks them to turn the lights on.

1945 58 year old Dick Johnson is killed near Jackson Hole, Wyoming after his plane crashes during a snowstorm.

1946 The venerable Douglas C-47 (the military version of the DC-3) becomes a permanent fixture in the Johnson stable of aircraft. N24320, originally owned by the U.S. Army Air Forces, is purchased by Bob Johnson to be hangered at Hale Field.

1949 Hale Field continues to grow. Now located at the airport are a new and modern maintenance facility, three large hangers, two tee-hangers, offices, a cafe, carpenter shop, a parachute loft, a classroom, and 32 aircraft. This was also the second most active fire season to date, and would be remembered as the year twelve Smokejumpers lost their lives in the Mann Gulch Fire after parachuting from Johnson's C-47, N24320. The Mann Gulch fire occurred when a wildfire in the Helena National Forest spread out of control and ultimately claimed the lives of 12 smokejumpers. The fire was spotted by a forest ranger around noon on August 5. James O. Harrison, the recreation and fire prevention guard for Meriwether Canyon Campground had given up his former job as a smokejumper to find a less dangerous profession. On this day, however, he fought the fire on his own for four hours before he met the crew of smokejumpers who had been dispatched from Missoula in the C-47. Foreman Wagner Dodge led the team towards the Missouri River. The fire, however, spread faster than anticipated and had already cut off the path to safety and the men had to turn around. When Dodge realized that they would not be able to outrun the fire, he started an escape fire and ordered everyone to lie down in the area he had burnt down. The other team members hurried towards the ridge of Mann Gulch instead. Only two of them managed to escape through a crevice and found a safe location, a rock slide with little vegetation to fuel the fire. Two other members survived with heavy injuries and died within a day. Unburnt patches underneath the bodies indicates that the rest of the team, including Jim Harrison, suffocated before the fire caught up with them; Missoula aviation pioneer Walter Beck dies in Long Beach, CA.

1950 Twentieth Century Fox begins production of Red Skies of Montana, a motion picture depicting the new Smokejumper program.

1952 Congress authorizes $700,000 to construct a new aerial fire depot west of Missoula near the new airport; Red Skies of Montana is released in theaters. The film portrays the dangerous lives of Smokejumpers who battle fires in the Pacific Northwest by parachuting into the flames below. Richard Widmark stars as the team leader, under suspicion after he is found to be the sole survivor from a group of Smokejumpers killed in a raging fire.

1953 The Region One Smokejumpers and Johnson pilots record 994 jumps to 236 fires; The Missoula County Airport has some of the longest runways in the state at the time. The main runway 11/29 is 200 x 7000 feet long. The remaining three runways are 5900, 6400, and 5620 feet in length. The airport is used frequently as an alternate destination when other airports in the region are fogged in; Bob Johnson announces the formation of Johnson Airlines, offering scheduled service between Seattle and Spokane in DC-3's. The airline would also serve Pasco, Richland, and Kennewick, Washington. The day after the inaugural flight, fire broke out in the hanger at Hale Field, destroying irreplaceable equipment and tools, as well as the hanger and machine shop. The venture was ultimately scrapped.

1954 After a failed attempt by the city of Spokane to have the aerial firefighting depot relocated to their town, President Dwight Eisenhower arrives in Missoula in a Lockheed Constellation to dedicate the newly completed facility. The president calls it the most up-to-date operation of its kind. The dedication and air show draw 30,000 people to the airport. President Eisenhower departs Missoula at 6:45PM; Hale Field's days all but over, Johnson Flying Service reluctantly begins moving an 80 x 82 foot hanger and two smaller T-hangers to the new Missoula County Airport eight miles away. Hale Field closes its runways forever. The former airport property is now the site of Sentinel High School, Playfair Park, Splash Montana Waterslide Park, Bancroft Street, and surrounding neighborhoods; December 22, Johnson's C-47 N24320, on a civilian-air-movement-of-military-personnel (CAM) flight from Newark to Tacoma, crashes into the Monongahela River, two miles southeast of the Allegheny County Airport in Pennsylvania. 10 people, including pilot Harold Poe, die in the icy river waters.

1955 Johnson Flying Service repairs the C-47, N24320.

1957 At the age of 72, Harry O. Bell resigns from the Missoula County Airport Board. Bell is called a "guiding genius" of the airport, and a man who never gave up hope of making Missoula a port-of-call for the world’s greatest airliners.

1958 The new terminal at the Missoula County Airport, a 2,738 square-foot two story concrete reinforced structure designed by Missoula's Fox and Ballas architectural firm, is completed. Northwest Airlines, the airport manager, and the restaurant, occupy the main floor, while the Civil Airways Communication Service and Weather Bureau office occupy the second floor. Total cost: $155,000.

1960 On October 28, Northwest Orient Airlines flight 104, a DC-4 on a scheduled flight from Spokane to Missoula, crashes into mountains during snow showers while descending to MSO. The aircraft enters a steep left banking turn while the nose is raised in an apparent attempt to turn and climb out through an intersecting valley, however, the aircraft continues to sink toward the ground, rolls to the left and crashes inverted. All eight passengers and four crew members are killed.

1961 The Missoula air traffic control tower opens.

1962 Missoula aviation enthusiast Dick Hale dies in his home from a heart attack at the age of sixty-five.

1964 The Missoula County Airport employs 110 full time employees, including 20 FAA employees, 19 at the weather bureau, eight at Northwest Airlines, three in the airport manager’s office, four in the restaurant, four at Missoula Aerial Service, and 50 at Johnson Flying Service.

1966 Smokejumpers make 1564 jumps to 355 fires throughout the west and Alaska.

1967 Smokejumpers set a record with 1687 jumps to 371 fires within Region One's area of responsibility. Personnel from Regions 4, 5, and 6 are brought in to assist.

1968 On a warm Memorial Day afternoon, Bob Johnson and Harry O. Bell both step out of a Johnson Flying Service Ford Tri-Motor. Greeting the two aviation pioneers are several members of the Missoula Chamber of Commerce, who escort them to a nearby reviewing stand. In a ceremony which follows, the Missoula County Airport is officially re-named Johnson-Bell Field; Twin Otter aircraft are used for the first time for smoke jumping flights; a twin engine Johnson plane crashes and burns near Salmon, Idaho while dropping cargo to smokejumpers. Both pilots are killed.

1969 The US Forest Service ceases using Johnson's Ford Tri-Motors. Replacing the Fords are the DC-3, Twin Otters and other air tankers. Johnson’s last two 1929 Tri-Motors are sold to collectors in Florida and South Carolina.

1970 November 1, a Cessna 180 and an Ercoupe collide in mid-air over a lumber yard in the middle of the city. As the Cessna was on a skydiving flight, one passenger miraculously was able to parachute to safety, landing near the 50 yard line at Rollin Field. Ironically, he was later killed in another skydiving accident.

1971 Missoula businessman and aviation visionary Harry O. Bell passes away.

1974 Morten S. Beyer is named Chief Executive Officer of Johnson Flying Service.

1975 Bob Johnson sells Johnson Flying Service to Evergreen Helicopters of McMinnville, Oregon. Johnson Vice-President Jack Hughes replaces Morton Beyer as president of the firm.

1977 Johnson Flying Service, after a half-century of being a world leader in perfecting mountain flying techniques, is officially disincorporated. Bob Johnson continues to serve as a consultant for Evergreen Air of Montana, Inc.

1978 Bob Johnson's activities at the airport end when Evergreen sells its Missoula operation to Minuteman Aviation, Inc; Big Sky Airlines is formed in Billings, MT.

1979 In order to accommodate additional air carrier service and passenger traffic, the passenger terminal is expanded to approximately 53,180 square-feet. At a cost of $2.5 million, the new terminal features a bronze plaque honoring Bob Johnson and H.O. Bell for their achievements and contributions to Missoula's aviation history; Johnson Flying Service's C-47, N24320, is sold to Basler Aviation of Oshkosh, Wisconsin on February 12.

1980 Bob Johnson passes away. "When Bob Johnson was just getting started flying in 1923, aviation and airplanes were considered absolutely a thing for fools, daredevils and irresponsible playboys," said aviation historian Steve Smith of Missoula, whose book Fly the Biggest Piece Back chronicles the history of Johnson Flying Service. Johnson had accumulated over 17,000 hours during his flying career.

1981 Seattle based Horizon Air is formed. The first route is from Seattle to Yakima, WA; Empire Airlines purchases Executive Aviation at MSO; St. Patrick’s Hospital initiates the Life Flight medical helicopter program.

1985 Horizon Air purchases its first jet, the Fokker F-28; the old Johnson C-47, N24320, is sold to McNeely Charter Service located at West Memphis Airport, Arkansas. While at McNeely, the C-47 is smashed against the ground during a severe storm. The aircraft is repaired and returned to airworthy status.

1986 The east general aviation ramp is rehabilitated. New lighting is installed. Seattle based Horizon Air is purchased by Alaska Air Group. Horizon begins service to Missoula.

1987 Construction begins for the new air rescue fire fighting and snow removal equipment building. The new 16,850 square foot public safety building is located at the north end of taxiway Golf, which allows ARFF crews to reach the mid-point of the farthest runway within three minutes from the time an alarm is received; Minuteman Aviation begins construction of a new 33,000 square foot aircraft hanger and passenger reception terminal; Delta Air Lines purchases Western Airlines.

1990 A portion of runway 11-29 is rehabilitated. The airport main entrance road is expanded and widened; Medium intensity runway lights are installed on runway 7-25.

1991 Rehabilitation begins on main runway 11-29, including replacing the high intensity runway lights and installation of new taxiway guidance signs.

1993 Black Hills Aviation of Alamogordo, NM, is acquired by Mark Timmons. Neptune Aviation is founded in May.

1994 The passenger terminal is again expanded to 102,430 square feet due to double digit growth of passenger enplanements. The expansion includes additional baggage claim area, ticket lobby area, passenger boarding area, ticket counter, and public waiting area; Neptune Aviation’s P2V Tanker 04 crashes northwest of Missoula, killing Randy Lynn and Robert Kelly; C-47 N24320 is involved in a ground accident when its tail is struck by the wing of a FedEx Cessna Caravan at Memphis International Airport.

1996 Taxiway Alpha, the main taxiway for runway 11-29, is extended to full runway length. When the runway was extended from the original length of 7000 feet to its current length, Alpha was not extended with it, leaving almost 3000 feet of new runway without taxiway access. Aircraft had to taxi down the runway, then execute a 180 degree turn at the end to line up for departure. The project included grading, leveling, drainage, paving, marking and lighting; Taxiway Foxtrot, which connects Alpha to the air carrier ramp, is re-aligned to provide for more efficient use.

1997 Mark Timmons moves Neptune Aviation from Alamogordo to a brand new hanger complex at Missoula International Airport. Neptune Aviation Services is an aerial firefighting company with headquarters in Missoula, Montana. Base operations are conducted out of both Missoula and Alamogordo, New Mexico. The FAA repair facility at Missoula is the largest in Montana. Neptune’s current tanker fleet is eight active demilitarized Lockheed P2V-5 and –7 Neptune tankers. A distinct advantage is that airframe times are low; fleet average is about 10,000 hours, and some airframes have as little as 2,500 hours total time. With virtually every component overhauled or replaced, the end products are effectively new airplanes.

1998 NASA Space Shuttle astronauts David Brown and Kalpana Chawla arrive in Missoula aboard a NASA T-38 Talon. Both are lost in 2002 as the Space Shuttle Columbia breaks apart over east Texas during re-entry; the new $10.5 million Airway Boulevard and I-90 interchange officially opens, providing a direct link to Missoula International Airport from Interstate 90; Delta Air Lines adds an additional 737 flight to Salt Lake City.

1999 The landing pad for Life Flight helicopter moves from the rooftop of the third floor of St. Patrick’s Hospital to the newly constructed pad on the seventh floor. The new facility has room for two helicopters, as well as a new lighting system, and a coil heating system to prevent snow and ice from accumulating during the winter months; a single engine Mooney, on an IFR flight from Spokane’s Felts Field to Sioux Falls, SD, encounters engine problems and disappears from radar near Missoula. The wreckage is discovered by a Minuteman Aviation helicopter pilot in the Rattlesnake wilderness.

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