Rural Air Service
After 34 years of flying deep into the Central Idaho backcountry, Arnold Aviation won’t be carrying mail bags anymore fore the U.S. Postal Service. Arnold delivers to residents in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness. Mail delivery by bush plane in Central Idaho will end June 30, according to a letter the Postal Service sent to patrons in late March. It could have pretty negative effects businesses in the area that rely on mail getting to their customer base. It is believed that mail delivery by plane began in Central Idaho in the 1930s. The reason for the dropped service is financial. The Postal Service, which operates on revenue from postage, is in dire straits. Years ago, when the economy was better, Ray and Carol Arnold moved up to Cascade, Idaho. They were both teachers but apparently Ray got antsy and wanted some adventure. “Ray took flying lessons just because he wanted to, and that kinda grew from there. When this mail contract came up for bid in 1975 we bid on it and got it, so we quit teaching and went full-time into the flying business. The mail contract has been in effect for about 50 years and before that time mail was transported by dogsled.”
