Con-pilot
I believe the Mr. Hess involved during my time was named Fritz Hess. The chief pilot was Marfred (Marv) Clark. He has since retired from the FAA.
They had 3 Beech 18's and 2 Aztecs on the east coast and 2 Aztecs on the west coast.
Their business was a very good money maker as they charged the government for road miles, and we made multiple pick ups and deliveries on all the flights.
As an example, we might pick up something in New York bound for Tucson, and pick up another load in Bloomington bound for Yuma. Both would get charged for the mileage even though we were going there anyway.
Nothing different than trucking today, but it made them a lot of $$$.
We flew a lot of classified stuff and couriers.
Their demise was that they did not handle the shipments very well, and of course, maintenance issues.
It was after I had left, but I was told that many pounds of class "A" stuff was found in a storage room at their Tappahannock location, just across the street from a school.
I posted to see if there were any of the aviators of my vintage, who might be on this site.
Regards,
OBD