Imperial was founded as Visco Flying Service in 1964, but later the scheduled passenger service portion of the company changed its name to Imperial Airlines. Visco Flying Service continued to operate as a crop dusting service in the Imperial Valley, for a number of years utilizing Stearman bi-wing biplane aircraft and later added helicopter aerial application as well as a turboprop powered mono-wing crop dusting aircraft. Imperial's passenger carrying operations were operated under FAR135 that initially focused on services from its home base at Imperial County Airport (IPL) in El Centro, CA to San Diego's Lindbergh Field (SAN).