1988.08.TARPA_TOPICS by TWA Active Retired Pilots Assn.

REPORT ON REUNION IN TUCSON MORE ON CONNIES by ED BETTS

JOHN B. (JACK) LECLAIRE — TARPA AWARD OF MERIT WINNER

TARPA TOPICS PUBLISHED QUARTERLY BY THE ACTIVE RETIRED PILOTS ASSOCIATION OF TWA GRAPEVINE EDITOR RICHARD M. GUILLAN 1852 Barnstable Road Clemmons, NC 27012 919 945 9979

EDITOR A.T. HUMBLES Rt. 2 Box 152 Belhaven, NC 27810 919 964 4655

HISTORIAN & CONTRIBUTING EDITOR EDWARD G. BETTS 960 Las Lomas Pacific Palisades, CA 90272 213 454 1068 OFFICERS & DIRECTORS OF TARPA JOE BROWN, PRESIDENT LLOYD HUBBARD, FIRST VICE PRESIDENT PHIL HOLLAR, SECOND VICE PRESIDENT JOE McCOMBS, SECRETARY/TREASURER

A.T. HUMBLES, SENIOR DIRECTOR RUSS DERICKSON, DIRECTOR BILL PROCTOR, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR AL MUNDO, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR

ARPA is incorporated as a non-profit Corporation under the non-profit corporation law of the State of Nevada. As stated in Article II of the By-Laws , its purpose is social, recreational and non-profit, with a primary oal of helping its members to maintain the friendships and associations ormed before retirement, to make retirement a more productive and rewarding experience and to assist those active pilots approaching retirement with he problems that are inherent in the transtion from active to retired status.

P R E S I D E N T ' S

M E S S A G E June 30, 1988

As your new President, I am alternately honored, scared, flattered and apprehensive. Honored to have been chosen from among so many qualified retired pilots. Scared to have to fill Russ Derickson's shoes after the great job he has done. Flattered to have such respect from my peers. Apprehensive that I may not be able to live up to the expectations of those who elected me. I'll do my best. As my dear old sainted Irish Mother would say, "Angels can do no more" In the June 1984 issue of TARPA TOPICS, the newly elected President, Russ Derickson, quoted a history of TARPA. It seems an appropriate time to review the formative years, especially for our newer Members, and update the history to record some of our later accomplishments. The following is quoted from Russ' letter. "The beginnings are rooted in the Retired Pilots Association which was formed in the late ' 50 ' s to communicate with the TWA-MEC on matters of concern to retirees. Phares McFerren was the first Chairman, followed by Chic Dyer, then Roy Van Etten. Although the committee was formed to help retirees as much as possible, the people who were still working at that time were the real beneficiaries of the committee's activities. In December 1976, Harry Mokler, who was Chairman of Council 24, wrote Dave Richwine and said that, unlike some retired pilot groups, TWA pilots didn't have a formal organization. He thought it was possibly a good time for "a title and active leadership". At a Seniors Club meeting in Madeira Beach, Florida, Dave Richwine and Cliff Abbott discussed formation of an organization and, on May 31st, Cliff Abbott sent a letter to retirees inviting them to join him at Glenwood Manor in Overland Park, Kansas for lunch on June 14th to discuss forming a retired pilot's group. All during 1977, there were letters back and forth between the interested parties. In December 1977, Roy Van Etten, in a letter to retirees, called attention to the common problem of inflation and underperformance of the B Plan and, among other things, said: "We must become a more cohesive group and we must take the time to act". He then said that shortly he would attempt to put together a Quasi-formal organization. The First Annual Convention convened May 30, 1979 in Scottsdale, AZ. TARPA was a reality. We have come a long way. Some names come to mind. Cliff Abbott who started the ball rolling. Roy Van Etten who set up the first convention. John Ferguson, our first President. Dave Richwine, who took over from John and served for two terms during that formative time. Joe Tunder, a two term Treasurer and initial mover toward our tax exempt status. 1

Lofton Crow, who was our first Secretary. Alf Clay, able Editor of our indispensable TARPA TOPICS. ( Ed: We miss him!) Ray Craft, who served us well as Treasurer. Lyle Spencer, who handed me (Ed: Russ) the gavel after serving two terms as President and once as Convention Chairman. Dean Phillips, now in his third term as Treasurer (Ed: 1984). A. T Humbles, the super-worker of TARPA. He's some Secretary. (1984) Paul McCarty, who has provided us with so much statistical information and performed the monumental feat of compiling our ( Ed: first) Directory. "Ole" Olson for helping us keep in touch and who also served as Chairman of the second convention in Kansas City. Ed Betts for reminding us from whence we came. Charley Strickler and Ed Kallina for their work on our By-Laws. Dick Colburn, Lyle Bobzin and Bill Townsend, convention Chairmen who made it possible for us to have such good conventions, and Carl Dowling, who was co-chairman with Dick. Working together, these men have contributed many hours to TARPA sometimes under trying personal conditions. TARPA has done and continues to do many things: Through our TARPA TOPICS, we stay in touch with one another and our past. When asked, TARPA provides alcoholic counseling. We maintain liaison with RAPA and provide information on RAPA insurance and legislative activities. (Ed: TARPA now supports its' own Supplemental Medicare and Life Insurance Plan) We monitor fringe benefits and do what we can to improve these benefits. The TWA Pilots (Retirement) Foundation and the Award of Merit were established." The 1986 Convention held at the Adams Mark Hotel in STL was chaired by Sam Luckey. It was well attended and we had a great time. In 1987, Phil Hollar chaired a "grand" convention in Anaheim, CA at the Grand Hotel. This year (1988), we had the best turnout ever at the El Conquistador in Tucson. Jack Miller did an outstanding job as chairman. Russ Derickson (Uli's husband), our President for four years, brought as over many rough spots and accomplished many constructive things including, but not limited to, a better rapport with TWA management and the TWA-MEC. A. T . Humbles is doing a tremendous job as Editor of TARPA TOPICS. We 111 enjoy his finished product and his down-to-earth comments. Phil Hollar continues to perform as 2nd Vice-President and Chairman of the Alcoholic Counselling Committee. Hope he's not too busy in this area .

Lyle Spencer has made many constructive suggestions as Past President and Chairman of the By-Laws & Policy Committee. "

Bob Sherman keeps us up to date on

B " plan performance.

Sorry to loose Hal Miller from the BOD. He has been a big help. Lloyd Hubbard, as 1st Vice-President, and Al Mundo, as Associate Member, join the Board in 1988. Only a few of us have any idea of the work hours and devotion our Secy/Treas, Joe McCombs, puts on TARPA business. At least 4 hours per day, 6 days per week. I can personally vouch for this time and devotion. All of our records, both financial and statistical, have been computerized. These records are in TARPA's computer at Joe's home. Backup discs are kept in another location with a qualified operator available in the event of an emergency. We now have the best Retired Pilots Organization with 1549 Members. Recently, we reduced the Board of Directors from 13 to 7 members. This has reduced expenses for a BOD Meeting and has worked well since the change. TARPA now has its' own Supplemental Medicare Insurance Plan - the best in the industry. Thanks to Capt. Ed Hall. Present plans are to have our semi-annual Board of Directors meeting in STL in early October. If you have any questions or suggestions for your representatives, direct them to any Board Member. Mark your calendar for future Conventions: 1989 - New Orleans, LA - April 10 to 15th. John Lattimore, Chairman. 1990 - Hershey, PA - April 7 to 10th. "Vic" Hassler, Chairman. 1991 - Site not selected at this time. Russ Derickson may have a plan. Sorry this got so long! Though not intentional, I am sure I have left out some deserving members. I'll try to give them credit in future issues of TARPA TOPICS. TARPA By-Laws, Article-II, Sec. 1. states: " The purpose of TARPA is social, recreational, and non-profit with a primary goal of helping its' members to maintain the friendships and .associations formed before retirement, to make retirement a more productive and rewarding experience and to assist those active pilots approaching retirement with the problems that are inherent in the transition from active to retired status." We have a great organization. Let's keep it that way.

Brown

S E C R E T A R Y /TREASURER REPORT It will be mentioned elsewhere in this issue but I wanted to express our appreciation to Jack & Jane Miller and their brood of workers for a very, very successful "Convention 1988". The price was right; the accommodations and service were excellent; the hospitality of them there "desert-livin' Tucsonites " was great and the congeniality of those attending the best. The 10th Annual was the largest to date. Without question, we all had a good time. Although the Business Meeting activity, as reflected in the Minutes printed elsewhere in this issue, consisted mainly of Committee Reports and an interesting and humorous reflection of the "Golden Years" by Bob Buck, the Board of Directors, meeting May 25th, were quite busy. Major changes to TARPA Policy are reflected ( by italics) in the revised copy of the By-Laws & Policy printed in the 1988 ANNUAL DIRECTORY which you should have received last month but will be detailed here. The AUDIT and the EXPENSE section of the Policy Manual have been revised and combined into a common section now referred to as FISCAL POLICY. 1. Annual internal audit of the financial records shall be completed by a Committee of two Members (other than the Secretary/Treasurer) with a report and recommendations (if any) to be submitted to the President 30 days prior to the next Convention. 2. The Secretary/Treasurer shall obtain a Fidelity Bond in an amount of $10,000. This policy is long overdue considering the amounts now handled by this Officer. 3. Reasonable actual expenses including meals, hotels and authorized transportation (in addition to normal budgeted expenses) will be available for Officers, Directors and Committee persons when conducting TARPA business. Possibly, this will encourage others to join the "business end" of TARPA affairs. Previously, these persons have been expending more than personal time on our behalf. Para 3 of the RETIREMENT Section of the Policy has been revised to request the TWA-MEC to select the TARPA President as Chairman of the MEC Retired Pilots Committee. Further, the President of TARPA shall recommend to the TWA-MEC a qualified TARPA Member to act as " Observer " at meetings of the MEC Investment Committee. If accepted by the MEC, this will allow an Officer, familiar with current internal activities of TARPA, to attend the MEC Meetings and then allow the President to select a person, who might be more qualified in this area, to attend the meetings of the Investment Committee. The ultimate goal would be to have a TARPA person designated as a full member of the Investment Committee with a voice and vote.

The Board, unanimously, agreed to continue TARPA's affiliation with the Retired Airline Pilots Association (RAPA). The Board discussed the possibility of using " permanent" Membership cards. Since the cost is minimal, Annual Membership cards will continue to be included with a dues return envelope in the November issue of TARPA TOPICS. Hoping to reduce expenses (and labor), the aforementioned card & envelope will be stapled inside the November TOPICS thus eliminating the use and cost of the large brown manila mailing envelope. My how time flies ..... that's the next issue. Financially, TARPA is in good shape. If you would like to receive a copy of the financial report presented to the Convention comparing income & expenses for '86 & '87, drop the S/T a note. Of concern, the recent postal increases raised the cost of mailing the May issue of TOPICS by 44% per issue. An increase in postal rates was anticipated when setting up the 1988 budget but not to this extent. A planned surplus for the year will be reduced considerably. Maybe, I say maybe, this added expense will silence those few who objected to the dues increase for '88. Other minor Board action removed inappropriate portions of the FRINGE BENEFITS section; cleaned up language in the DUES section; approved a standard Expense Report form. A major problem. The Board had difficulty finding an opportunity to isolate the watchful eyes & ears of "Mother Hen" Derickson. The Board, meeting in the "head" and hallways, approved a small token of appreciation for the devoted four years of service by our incumbent President. The S/T, on behalf of the Membership, presented a pocket watch to "Uli's Husband" at the close of the Awards Banquet. Our thanks Russell. You have accomplished a lot during your time in the barrel. Relax and enjoy. No need now to rush your daily walks with "Oscar" (his dog); you can spend more time at the shooting range; you can skim the leaves and bugs off the new pool several times a day; possibly, even learn to cook in your spare time. I'm sure we will be in touch seeking your advice as Past-President. If you get lonely, give one of us a call. With the additions to the Board of Joe Brown as President; Lloyd Hubbard as 1st Vice-President and Al Mundo (coming on the Board as an Associate Member) joining veterans Phil Hollar, A. T . Humbles, Bill Proctor and the undersigned, I know we have a group of dedicated persons who will continue to work towards improving the Association. Stay healthy!

Plan now for Convention '89. N

Orleans April 10-15th.

McCombs,

GENERAL

MINUTES MEMBERSHIP BUSINESS MEETING Sheraton Tucson El Conquistador Resort Hotel May 26 - 27th, 1988

May 26th Meeting called to order by President Derickson at 1:37PM. Approximately 235 Members in attendance. Guests: Dan Otten, RAPA Secy/Treas; Tim Crowley, NALAC Insurance. Convention Chairman - Jack Miller. Welcome and last minute arrangements. Secretary/Treasurer - Joe McCombs. Corrections to Minutes of 1987 Anaheim Business Meeting reflecting proper dates of 1986 Business Meeting. There being no further corrections or additions, moved by Vern Olson/Plumridge to accept the Minutes of the 1987 Business Meeting as published in the June 1987 issue of TARPA TOPICS. PASSED Since 1987 Convention, 16 Members lost by death; 19 by delinquency. 121 new Members in 1987; 28 new Members to date in 1988. Retired 1105 Associate 207 Eagles 117 Honorary 120 Total 1549 Finances in good shape. 44% postal rate increase in bulk mailing costs justifies 1988 dues increase. Tim Crowley - NALAC Insurance Program. Over 300 now insured within the TARPA Plan. Plan costs to Underwriter and Members satisfactory. New brochure will be mailed to all Members shortly. Attempts to improve coverage will continue . Retired Airline Pilots Association (RAPA) report was to be presented by Al Clay who passed away last week. Derickson announced that Board of Directors reaffirmed affiliation with RAPA yesterday then introduced Dan Otten, Secretary/Treasurer of RAPA. A. T .

Humbles - TARPA TOPICS Editor

Alcoholic Counseling Committee - Phil Hollar. Continued success. Investment Committee - Bob Sherman. Situation not as grim as anticipated when compared to October total market losses. Expect 2% increase July 1st. Mokler addressed Convention extending gratitude expressed by Al Mundo. Motion to recess until May 27th by Happy/Phillips at 3:14PM. 6

Business Meeting reconvened May 27th by President Derickson at 1:40PM. President Derickson introduced Alonzo Morado, Administrative Assistant to the Mayor of Tucson. Mr. Morado welcomed TARPA to the City and presented a plaque to the President. President advised, as is the custom, the plaque will be presented to Jane & Jack Miller. Convention Chairman - Jack Miller. Thanks extended to those Members who have devoted so much of their time to making this gathering a success. President Derickson introduced Guest Speaker Capt. Bob Buck. Buck recalled his early days as a copilot injecting the philosophy of humor, precision, confidence and cockpit authority instilled by our predecessors and retained throughout our own careers. dominating Committee Chairman - Harry Jacobsen. With the concurrence of other Committee Members, Moe Hansen & Bart Anderegg, Jacobsen presented the following slate of Officers & Directors for the 1988-1989 term of office: President............ 1st Vice-President . 2nd Vice-President . Secretary/Treasurer . Senior Director . . . Associate Director . Associate Director .

. . . . . . .

Joe Brown, Jr. Lloyd Hubbard Phil Hollar Joe McCombs A. T . Humbles Bill Proctor Al Mundo

There being no response to three requests by President Derickson for nominations from the floor (dead silence), motion by Granger/Schemel to close the nominations. PASSED Vote to elect slate of Officers & Directors as presented. PASSED UNANIMOUSLY Dean Phillips expressed appreciation of the Membership to the incumbent Board and to those elected for the new term of office. 'WA Pilots Retirement Foundation - Harry Jacobsen. Appreciation of cooperation by TARPA Members and line cockpit crew members. Advise knowledge of a deserving person or widow needing assistance. 'resident Derickson thanks Membership and Board for cooperation received during his four years in Office. here being no further business before this session, motion by Lindsly to adjourn 1988 Business Meeting at 2:30PM. A A PASSED

JOSEPH S. BARTLES 13 May 1988 * * *

ALFIA J. CLAY, JR. 19 May 1988 * * *

RAYMOND M. DUNN 26 May 1988 * * *

RICHARD A. HEIDEMAN 18 February 1988 * * *

JOSEPH McPHERSON 30 June 1988 * * *

ARTHUR NELSON 27 June 1988 * * * WALTER B. STOUT 4 July 1988 * * *

We have some very good obituaries of some of the above following this page thanks to Ed Betts and others along with some good pictures. Our hearts go out in sympathy to the surviving loved ones of those departed fellow airmen listed above. Your editor found that in his work through the years on the ALPA Safety Committee and over ten years as an ALPA Council Chairman that Ray Dunn was always most cooperative and open in his dealings with us on our mutual problems. Ed Hall has graciously consented to do an article on Al Clay but Jo Clay, Ed and I agreed it would be too rushed for this issue of TARPA TOPICS so we plan to have Al's picture on the cover of the November issue cover along with the article by Ed. Captain Alfia J. Clay, Jr., will be sorely missed by us all. He was a true Southern gentleman and so dedicated to his fellowman. * As to of of

your editor, I don't like to use all space so will take this opportunity thank Ed Hall for his many years of work in our behalf as First Vice President TARPA, as RAPA LIASION, his fine work in the insurance area for the good us all and all the other things he did for the good of TARPA. *

RAYMOND M. DUNN

RAYMOND M. DUNN by Ed Betts Raymond M. Dunn, who began his career with TWA as a mechanic and thirty-four years later retired as the Senior Vice President, passed away on May 26. He was 74. TWA served about 20 cities and the DC-2 was a year old when Ray went to work for the company. When he retired, TWA was an all-jet round-the-world carrier, and within a few months of inaugurating service with the Boeing 747. Ray was born in New York City on March 2, 1914. His father, who was a detective with the city's Police Force, died when Ray was age 14; his mother went to work as an operator for AT&T. Ray played football for, and graduated from, the DeWitt Clinton High School in 1931. He attended the NYC University studying engineering (mostly night courses) while working for Curtiss Wright driving a gas truck. His first big chance as a mechanic came in 1933 when he went to work for a brokerage firm in Jackson Heights putting planes in working order so they could be resold. In 1934 he worked for Marine Air Transport, a 3-man 3-airplane airline operating flights out of 157th Street and Hudson River to Providence, RI, and local scenic hops (such as a tour of the ships in the harbor when the "fleet was in" for $5). There was a company president, one pilot and Ray was the mechanic. The airline's fleet consisted of 3 light airplanes equipped with pontoons. The following year he worked for the North Beach Air Service operating out of Municipal Airport No.2 (LGA today). On April 9, 1935, Ray went to work with TWA...the pay was 60Â˘ an hour, and he supplied his own tools. For the next several years it was a nomadic life for him as he was based at various stations such as MKC, PIT, STL and ICT working as a mechanic as well as handling baggage, gassing the planes, tickets or any other odd job to keep the planes moving. Ray's first license by the Department of Commerce (before the CAA or FAA) was dated November 9, 1935. Ray and "Frankie" Parent (also hired as a mechanic in 1935) once set an all-time record for changing an engine on the DC-2 in one hour. In 1936 "Tommy" Tomlinson was doing TWA's high altitude research using the Northrop "Gamma". Ray got to ride along on several flights as an observer (taking notes of the 400 odd instruments in the compartment located ahead of the pilot) as TWA prepared for a pressurized aircraft which could fly "over the weather". In 1938, while based at PIT, he met and married Ann Anderson. In later years they had three children: Tom, Martin and Patty. Later he was based at ICT as combination mechanic, passenger agent and radio operator. In late 1939 TWA finally arranged (through Howard Hughes) the financing and delivery of the 5 Boeing " Stratoliners", the nation's first 4-engine pressurized airliner. This was also the first to have a new station in the cockpit, the Flight Engineer. There were 30 applicants from the TWA mechanic ranks for the new position, 5 made it for the license, including (alphabetically...as there was no official Flight Engineer seniority list until 1946) Al Brick, Ray Dunn, Lloyd Hubbard, Frank Parent and Fred Pirk. In addition to the extensive training on the aircraft and engine, they had to complete the course in Morse Code (16 words per minute) given by Howard K. Morgan. All five had a Flight Engineer seniority date of May 5, 1940. The men had been assigned to the Boeing factory for the training and acceptance flights for many months prior to the delivery of the planes to MKC. Ray was with Tomlinson on a delivery flight which was set up to go nonstop to MKC...however, since Ray had been away from home and had not seen his new son (Tom, born on April 29), Tommy made a stop at ICT for a very quick visit. TWA introduced the " Stratoliners" on July 8. In December Ray was appointed Chief Flight Engineer by Otis Bryan, the System Chief Pilot.

RAY DUNN

In June of 1941, TWA opened its "Eagles Nest Flight Training Center" (at ABQ) to train, under government contract, trans-Atlantic ferry crews on multi-engine equipment. Otis Bryan headed the operation and selected Ray as the Chief Equipment Instructor. He returned to KC in August of 1941, as Chief Flight Engineer, continuing in that position until he was assigned as Training Supervisor of the Advanced School for Army aircraft mechanics. In December 1942 he was promoted to Administrative Manager. TWA received the final CAB authorization for a post-war international route in July 1945. It had been decided to operate the new International Division separate from the Transcontinental Division; Ray was appointed head of International Maintenance and Overhaul on October 1st, by Otis Bryan who was now VP of the new division. Ray was sent for several weeks to Lockheed and other factories to observe their methods of production and maintenance. The first overhaul base was at DCA, then temporary at EWR and finally at Wilmington. In August 1948 Ray was appointed Director of Domestic Engineering and Overhaul, and supervised the consolidation of the two division's work to be done at the KCK (Fairfax) overhaul base. TWAers will well remember the disastrous flood in July 1951 when the Missouri and Kaw Rivers overflowed their banks and the overhaul base was inundated. Up to 10' of water flooded the base and damaged the six aircraft which could not be ferried out, spare parts, shop equipment etc. ($6,000,000 damage). The operations at the base were not back to normal until September. One thing was certain; TWA needed a new location for a larger and modernized overhaul base to service its ever-expanding fleet of Constellation and Martin aircraft (and a few DC-3 and DC-4s), preferably in the KC area. John Collings and Ray Dunn spearheaded the program to make arrangements with the officials of Kansas City for the selection of a site for a new airport, the construction of the required buildings and the leasing of same to TWA. Negotiations were slow (a bond issue etc.); it wasn't until 1954 that a contract was made and construction began (on the site of the present Mid-Continent Airport). On March 19, 1956, John Collings, Frank Busch and Ray Dunn participated in the official opening ceremony of the most modern overhaul facility in the world. Ray was now the Vice President of Maintenance and Overhaul. Many of his ideas and suggestions were incorporated in the new facility which was considered by TWA as well as outsiders as a paragon of efficiency. It was due to Ray's supervision and direction that the move from the old to the new base was made without interruption of service; the move with the engine department started in 1956 and the move for the airframe department was completed in 1957. TWA's fleet consisted of 190 aircraft at the time. Already the planning and preparations were going on for the coming jet age. For the next ten years, until TWA became an all-jet airline in 1967, the overhaul base had to be tooled to service both the piston and jet fleet engines and airframes. The first Boeing 707 was delivered at MCI in January and the inaugural flight was on March 20, 1959. A new department had been created, Technical Services, with Ray the VP which was independent of Sales and Transportation (but served both) and reported to Oz Cocke (System General Manager). Technical Services was in charge of the maintenance and overhaul program and was responsible for Engineering, Stores, Purchasing, Communications & Properties and Facilities.

RAY DUNN Ray had adopted a maintenance philosophy of "specialization", with five sub departments: Power Plant, Elec t rical & Instruments, Radio & Electronic, Systems and Structure & Interiors. Specialty foremen were given intense training and were available every day, at all times, to provide their expertise at each of the major bases (domestic and international) as TWA expanded its service. In 1960, Technical Services employed 6,500 mechanics and technicians, over half were based at MCI. TWA's maintenance practices were commended by a special committee of the US Congress for their excellence with jet and piston aircraft. The jet performance reliability started when there was just one airplane and ran for about 2 weeks of scheduling without a major delay; and, in 1960, was 15% better than any competitor and its maintenance the best in the industry. The FAA gave TWA the highest jet engine reliability rating ever granted, and extended the time required between major overhauls of jet engines (to 1,000 hours) and the airframes (to 2500 hours). Another program which saved TWA as much as $1,000,000 a year was the arrangement with ten international carriers for the pooling of jet spare parts. This was extended to US stations in 1961. Another improvement, which speeded up the overhaul of a jet engine by as much as 10%, was the installation of a monorail assembly line. For several years into the commercial jet age TWA averaged 2 hours more daily utilization of its jets than its competitors...the equivalent of two extra aircraft. In June of 1960, Ray spearheaded a unique attempt in a way to cut the rising costs of aircraft parts and supplies. 150 representatives from 50 manufacturers and suppliers met with Ray and his staff in Kansas City to have an open discussion about the problem plaguing the industry. Numerous parts were laid out on tables (with a tag noting the price to TWA) and comparisons made with what a similar part might cost from a different manufacturer. There were hundreds of examples as Ray "read the riot act", such as, why a toilet seat cost $122 for a jet plane which sold elsewhere for $3. Ray's symposium had an effect as a short time later John Stennis, Chairman of the Senate Preparedness subcommittee, launched a full scale inquiry regarding price gouging with government contracts. The Overhaul Base also showed a profit as, in 1962, an additional $3,500,000 was generated by doing overhaul work for a number of other airlines and the USAAF Boeing 707's (such as AirForce One). Ray was known as a tireless worker and a stickler for detail. He promoted the morning briefing sessions with his staff (conference-type telephone) keeping track of the status of every airplane on the system. There was always the possibility of other conferences in the middle of the night or on a weekend if special problems developed. One of his favorite opening remarks was: "I had an idea while shaving this morning". As his close friend "Parky" remarked; Ray's motto was "QUALITY, SERVICE and CLEANLINESS. TWAers still remark about the white corners painted on the steps at MCI to make certain they were spotless. In September 1960, Ray was among the group of 9 men (plus an interpreter) who were members of the U.S. Civil Air Transport Exchange Delegation to Russia on a 3 week visit to exchange technical advice and information. The delegation was sponsored by the Department of State, and headed by Elwood Quesada, then Administrator of the FAA. Ray was the expert on Technical Services. In 1961, at the age of 47, Ray suffered a series of three heart attacks which hospitalized him for awhile, but didn't slow him down after he recovered. The story is told how Ray used his expertise to re-design the hospital carts for greater efficiency.

RAY DUNN

Ray was the Chairman of the ATA Engineering & Maintenance conference in 1963. In December of that year he succeeded Floyd Hall as the Senior VP and System General Manager. He was also elected a director and a member of the Executive Committee at the time, positions he held until his retirement. When Pope Paul VI and his entourage chartered a TWA Boeing 707 to visit the United Nations and the USA, in October 1965, Ray personally designed the private compartment for the Pope (just behind the cockpit) in addition to other special furnishings and equipment. Due to his own and Ann's health reasons, in late 1968 Ray announced his early retirement. His official retirement date was August 1, although he left the NYC offices in early 1969. Another long-time TWAer, Oz Cocke (also a Sr.VP), retired about the same time and a joint retirement party was held on July 7, 1969, which was the 40th anniversary date of when TAT inaugurated its 48-hour coast-to-coast service. It was a fitting ceremony for two men who had started their TWA careers from the ranks; Oz a passenger agent with TAT, and Ray as a "grease monkey" with TWA. The two men had been leaders of the company during many trying years, and had progressed to be Senior Vice Presidents. TWA donated $5,500 to the Ray Dunn Scholarship, to be awarded graduates of New York's Aviation High School for study at St.Louis University's Parks Air College. A similar scholarship was established with a Pennsylvania school in honor of Oz Cocke. TWA President Charles Tillinghast was host for the affair and made the following statement: "The educational grants will serve as a lasting reminder of their unique contributions to aviation and TWA". Retirement for Ray and Ann was the opportunity to live in the beautiful home they had built in Mountain Home, Arkansas, overlooking the lake. Ray was an avid fisherman and his favorite spot was along the White River. Like all good mechanics he was adept with tools and spent some of his time working in his well-equipped shop. One of his creations, a stainless steel barbecue, brought about a lot of good natured kidding from guests as Ray was known for being super cost-conscious during his years with TWA. Ray's full retirement was not for long as, in 1971, Ernest Breech talked him into becoming a director of Ozark Airlines, as well as serving on the Executive and Audit Committees. Ozark, at the time, had some internal problems at the top management level and Ray was instrumental with the change of leadership. He continued to serve on the board until the merger with TWA in 1986. This was despite another serious health problem of blood circulation in one leg. After 14 operations the leg had to be removed in the fall of 1976. For awhile he made the commuting by air to St.Louis, later friend "Parky" drove him to the board and committee meetings. On a personal note: Although Ray wasn't able to attend any TARPA conventions, he was very interested in reading about the activities through the "Topics". He was a big help with a number of my past articles and I recall one question I asked during a phone call late last year with regard to the article on the Connies: if he would object to my using the title "Dunn's Foundry", which the flight crews sometimes used with reference to the overhaul base when he was in charge? His answer was: "Hell no!, tell it the way it was...we had more than our share of problems keeping certain "Connie" engines running, but we all did our best under the circumstances." Ray is survived by Ann, their three children and five grandchildren. He also left a legacy with TWA of technical accomplishments which can be credited to his constant desire for the flight crews and passengers to fly with the best: aboard a safe, comfortable and reliable airplane.

JOE BARTLES

CAPTAIN JOSEPH S. BARTLES by Ed Betts

TWAers were sad to learn that retired Captain Joseph S. Bartles passed away on May 6, 1988, at the age of 82. Joe was one of the "originals" with the company and one of the pioneers in the commercial airline industry, both in the cockpit and in top management positions during most of his career. As an aviator, there were few aircraft ever used in the company fleet that he wasn't fully qualified to fly...from the Ford and Fokker tri-motors to the Boeing 707. Joe was born on August 24, 1905, in Coffeen (Illinois) and was a mid-Westerner during the next 38 years. He attended the University of Illinois. He began his aviation career in 1927, learning to fly with the Army (the Air Corps was part of the Signal Corps in those days) at Brooks and Kelly Fields in Texas. He was stationed at Selfridge Field in early 1929, when John Collings flew in with a a Ford tri-motor recruiting copilots for Transcontinental Air Transport (TAT). Charles Lindbergh was one of the founders of the company, and was Chairman of the Technical Committee. TAT had spent over a year preparing for the inauguration of their 48-hour coast-to-coast service, which combined flying during the day and train by night. Joe's seniority date was May 22, 1929, which was within a few days of a number of other TAT copilots who were to have lengthy and productive careers with TWA, including: Cliff Abbott, Otis Bryan, Harry Campbell, Bill Campbell, Howard Hall Les Munger, Fred Richardson and Jack Zimmerman. Joe was based at STL flying to either Waynoka (Okla.) by way of Kansas City and Wichita, or east to Columbus via Indianapolis. TAT inaugurated service in early July. In September Joe and Alice Elso were married. They had two children; Joseph and Mary Alice (Leary). The fall of 1929 was not a good one for the nation's fledgling airlines (the Stock Market crash), particularly TAT as they were operating without the benefit of an air mail contract with the Post Office, and passenger loads were poor. The future didn't look promising for Joe to fly as Captain or if the airline would survive (both Joe and Cliff Abbott did resign in favor of another airline with immediate openings for first pilots. However, this didn't materialize and they were re-hired by TAT without loss of seniority). TAT and Maddux Airlines merged and there was an expansion in the Eastern Region with an opening at Columbus for additional pilots. Joe's first trip as Captain was on February 2, 1930, which established his pilot seniority date. Besides the Fords, Joe was also flying the Curtiss "Condor", a twin-engine biplane that was used in the Eastern Region only. TAT-Maddux and Western Air Express merged to form Transcontinental & Western Air(TWA), which had been awarded the coveted contract for carrying the air mail on the central route between NYC and Los Angeles (the new TWA was an all-air 36 hour transcontinental trip, including an overnight stop at Kansas City or Tulsa). TWA inaugurated its passenger and mail service on October 25, 1930. There were three sections departing west from Newark: two Fords and one single-motor Fokker F-14 (one parasol wing, open cockpit and mail only) flown by Joe. There was no way the F-14, which could only cruise about 90mph, could maintain the scheduled flying time based on the faster Fords (115 mph)...he was late arriving at Philadelphia, Harrisburg and Pittsbugh enroute to Columbus...a TWA first! Cliff took the flight on to Kansas City. Just a few months after TWA began operations the speedy Northop "Alpha" was introduced (one of several varieties of single-motor monoplanes used for carrying the mail)...mail could get across the country in less than 24 hours. It was up to the pilots on these flights to complete the schedules in all kinds of weather and other adverse conditions or TWA couldn't meet its payroll. The risk was high, the number of planes lost proved this. Joe was one of the first to pilot the mail planes (usually on a night run).

JOE BARTLES

One example, and it was a very minor incident, was on January 1, 1934, when Joe landed at Harrisburg (with an "Alpha") and hit an obstruction which put a small dent ($140.37 damage) in the lower side of the left wing. He was exonerated of any "pilot error"...the field manager (Mr.Tucker) was held responsible for not having made any notification that a boundry light had been moved. The DC-2 was introduced in mid-1934, and the mail planes phased out by the end of the year. May of 1935 was an eventful month for Joe and Alice, now living in Kansas City where Joe was flying the DC-2: daughter Mary Alice was born, and Joe was chosen to be the co-Captain with "Tommy" Tomlinson for the record-breaking flights using the one (and only) DC-1. This was during a period when the US was attempting to regain world-wide prestige against European-built (transport type) aircraft for speeds over measured distances with various payloads. The course they flew was a triangular pattern between NYC, DCA and Norfolk (621 miles) with NAA observers on the ground making certain no corners were cut when they passed around the established landmarks for the triangle. The weather was lousy (low ceilings and rain) in the Norfolk area the first day, but they completed the required 5,000 kilometers (with a 1,000 kilogram or about 2,205 lbs) in 18 hours and 23 minutes. An average speed of 169.03 mph. The next day, with a 2,000 kilogram load, they covered a 2,000 kilometer circuit with an average speed of 190.906 mph. The two flights broke 6 and set 2 world records; broke 3 and set 8 American records. The US had been a poor fourth with the number of world records held (110 recognized)...it now was ranked second (with 39) behind France's total of 40. In 1937, Joe was appointed Flight Superintendent (dispatcher) at Chicago, the beginning of his 23 years in management positions. He was also the Operations Manager for the Central Region (based at Chicago) until he assumed the position of General Manager of the Western Region, in 1943, with his office in downtown Los Angeles. Although his duties were primarily a "desk job", Joe managed to keep his pilot qualifications current (semi-annual instrument checks, a flight on the line etc.) with the DC-2, DC-3 and 4-engine Boeing "Stratoliner". He was one of the first to be checked out on the post-war version of the Lockheed 049 model "Constellation" and (with Howard Hughes) piloted the inaugural flight on February 15,1946, eastbound from Burbank to LaGuardia. The normal schedule was for a stop at Kansas City (for fuel and a crew change); on the inaugural flight they went nonstop with a VIP list of well known movie personalities. In 1960, soon after TWA entered the jet age (and 5 years before he would retire at age 60), Joe made the decision that he was going to fly the line rather than be anchored to a desk. He was one of the few "originals" to make the transition from the Ford tri-motor to the Boeing 707, and he enjoyed every minute flying the 600 mph jet. In November of 1963, following "Mo" Bowen's retirement, Joe was the #1 pilot on the TWA system. His favorite flight was 18 (return on 19) nonstop to Dulles...there was seldom a problem with other aircraft traffic, and it was a relaxing drive to the hotel downtown. Joe retired in August 1965, his last flight was to DIA with Alice among the passengers. The biography of Joe Bartles from 1929 to 1965, is a thumbnail sketch about the history of TWA. Retirement for Joe and Alice was a chance to travel and see the world; using their pass or driving with their RV north to Alaska or south into Mexico. They also joined close-friend Frank Busch on his boat with trips around Mexican waters. Joe was an avid and an adept golfer, his favorite pastime until about four years ago when a chronic lower back problem cut down on his activities. Joe is survived by Alice, their two children, 7 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren...and missed by a host of admiring TWA friends.

DICK HEIDEMAN READY FOR HIS LAST FLIGHT ON TWA IN 1966

RICHARD A. HEIDEMAN

My father was born in 1905 in Appleton, Wisconsin, and he was raised through high school in Appleton and New Jersey. Subsequent to high school, he attended Columbia University for a while before joining the Navy and being stationed at Pensacola, Florida. Upon discharge from the Navy, my father joined TWA on July 2, 1934, and was stationed in the New York area, where he remained until the mid-1940's when he transferred to being based at LAX. During his career he flew just about every type of plane that was being flown at the time. In the latter part of his career, he flew exclusively international. One of his uniforms is in the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., due to the fact that he was considered one of the pioneers of commercial aviation. Upon his retirement , he donated many of his flight logs, maps, etc. to the University of Wyoming to aid them in their history of flight. His hobbies during his lifetime included golf, the building of his home, collecting various memorabillia from his travels around the world, and building stereo equipment. He is survived by his four children, Walter of Los Angeles, Lynda of Los Altos, Richard of San Jose and Marguerite of Whittier and four grandchildren. (submitted by Richard L. Heideman) ARTHUR NELSON Retired Captain Arthur Nelson passed away on June 27 at the age of 73. Art was born on November 22, 1914, right in the heart of the gold rush country at Colombo , California, located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains (about midway between Stockton and Lake Tahoe). He took to flying at the Oakland / Alameda Airports when he was about 13 years old, and had to wait until he was 16 before he could obtain the government approval to solo. He joined TWA on June 21, 1938, and three years later was flying Captain on the DC-2/DC-3s. He married Alta Mae Middlesworth in June of 1939. They had two sons and a daughter. Prior to WI Art was in the Marine Reserve. During the war he spent 3 years in the Office of Flight Safety with the USAAF and retired with the rank of Major. After his return to TWA he was based at SFO here he was a supervisor pilot on the DC-3, Martin and Constellation equipment. He flew the MAC and commercial trips when TWA was flying the Pacific. Following this he flew the Boeing 747 out of JFK until he retired. In 1974, the year he retired, Bob Buck was #1 pilot on the system seniority list followed by Marv Horstman and Nelson. Bob retired in January, Marv in August and for the next several months Art was #1. The Nelsons had been living in Alameda, CA, until about 1969, when they moved to Jackson, also a famous gold rush town in the foothills of the Sierras. Art retired from TWA, but not from flying. He had his own "Bonanza" and, in 1982, received a Helicopter Rating by the FAA. In 1964 he took up the sport of parachute jumping (solo or in group formations) and he had a total of 553 jumps by the time he 'retired' from that hobby in 1981. Art kept busy with a number of other interesting hobbies, such as building his own sailboat, scuba diving and astronomy. Art is survived by Alta, their three children and six grandchildren. (submitted by Ed Betts) 18

TARPA INSURANCE PLANS

TO:

All Members and Affiliate Members of TARPA

FROM:

TARPA Insurance Plans

In June, TARPA Insurance Plans mailed the 1988 insurance brochure to all TARPA members. This full color brochure describes the health benefits available through Hospital Indemnity and Medicare Supplement Insurance. For those members who attended the 1988 Convention in Tucson, a question and answer period provided information to those individuals considering enrolling in the plans. Any individual who has questions regarding this coverage is now encouraged to call our toll free 800 number for explanation or assistance in enrolling in the program. We are very encouraged by the initial response to this mailing. The solid base of insureds, coupled with new enrollment, has put TARPA Insurance Plans on an even stronger track. In our continuing effort to provide information and benefits to TARPA members, we have arranged for a Prescription Drug Buying Service. This program allows any TARPA member and their families to purchase maintenance drugs at deeply discounted prices. If you would like more information about this program, please call our office. We have also been asked by many members to provide information to affiliate members and younger retirees on an alternative source of life insurance. If you are considering retirement within the next 8 to 10 years or are recently retired, we suggest you contact our office to receive more information about life insurance as a source of retirement benefits. Many retirees have found that this approach to retirement is more beneficial than the spousal pension option. We look forward to providing service to all.

P.O. Box 310 120 Mineola Boulevard Mineola, New York 11501

800-645-2424 Toll Free (516) 294-0220 N.Y. Call Collect

EDITOR'S DESK

I believe a good time was had by all at the convention in Tucson, Arizona. The accomodations were superb. Spirits were dampened by the death of Al Clay a few days before. Also Ray Dunn passed away shortly before. Floyd Hall had planned to attend but had an operation and was unable to be there. As guest speaker at the business meeting, Bob Buck gave a most interesting speech we all enjoyed much. He spoke of his early days flying co-pilot with the old timers. I had always thought he was born a senior Captain. His theme was that erosion of the Captain's authority and dilution of his command has a direct bearing on safety. We also heard that Lum Edwards was under the weather while at Tucson. Had the following note from him; Hi A. T., Thanks for your nice note. I received a great number of cards from the guys that went to TARPA convention...Guess someone made an announcement that I had a problem. Well, the whole thing is behind me and I am sure glad that it is over. Had a couple of weeks that I didn't care if school kept or not. Have just got back to the golf course and I guess that helps. How is Betty? Sorry to hear that she had a problem. Please give her my best. The enclosed copy [of a tour] will appear in the TWA Seniors newsletter but I guess that some of our people don't get that so if you would like to use this, please do. Regards, Lum * * * * * * * * And from Mrs. Cliff Abbott; Dear Sir, I wasn't sure to whom I should write, Mr. Humbles, Editor, or Ed Betts. I guess you will receive it either way. [She sent a check for postage in the amount of ten dollars which I returned]. I want to say how much I enjoy getting TARPA TOPICS which you are still sending to me. I am including a check to help pay for postage. When they had the first memorabilia luncheon here in Kansas City I was very proud of the display of Cliff's things which John Roach made of them. I am looking forward to the one in October. In the May issue of TOPICS I enjoyed reading of the "Connie" as I am sure that was the last plane Cliff flew before retiring. They asked to recall your first flight with TWA. I am not sure it was my first but it was one I vividly recall. In those days the Captain could take passengers up front. Earl Fleet was Captain between K.C. and Albuquerque. He asked me

EDITOR'S DESK ( Mrs. Abbott's letter continued) to come up and we were flying above a storm with much lightning. I had never seen such a beautifuly sight. I have been ill most of this year, in the hospital twice, but I am doing better day by day. I was looking forward to going to the "Connie" celebration on July 9 but will be unable to. Or July 10 at 2:30 the new Health and Rehabilition Pavilion of the Baptist Medical Center in Kansas City will be dedicated and is to be a memorial to Clifford V. Abbott. His daughter and husband from California and his son and wife from Illinois will be here. This will be a very proud moment for me. I hope to be able to go to the memorabilia luncheon here in K.C. in October. I do want to be a part of the Save A Connie. Sincerely yours, Virginia Abbott * * * * * * * And a note from Gordon Parkinson, sometimes known as Parky, A. T., I hope to have a picture of this soon. [What he is talking about is the Baptist Medical Center's Clifford B. Abbott Health and Rehabilitation Pavilion.] Virginia was in tears of love as we drove out there and saw Cliff's name already carved in the marble front. It is an outstanding rehab and wellness center. Parky The $1.7 million dollar Pavilion will feature health promotion and wellness assessments, physical, occupational and speech therapies, Cardiac and pulmonary rehabilitation, occupational Medicine and community education. All clinical areas within the Pavilion will maintain high healthcare standards under the medical direction of leading physicians who are board-certified in their specialty. The Open House will involve a ribbon cutting ceremony followed by guided tours. The tours will include demonstrations of computerized circuit exercising equipment and water aerobics. The Clifford V. Abbott Health and Rehabilitation Pavilion, so named because of the generous support by the Abbott family, will be also used as a health club during non-clinical hours. The Pavilion contains an NCAA size swimming pool, a whirlpool, a 1/15 mile track circuit exercise equipment and a court for volleyball and basketball. * * * * * * * * Russell G. Derickson was presented a gold watch at Tucson in appreciation of the fine job he did as President of TARPA. We enjoyed working with and for Russ. He put many long hours in our behalf. On second thought we should have given him a pocket watch. I remember back when Russ and I were on the TWA ALPA MEC he was one of the few people with a pocket watch. He and Fred Austin were on the Uniform Committee and when the new uniforms came out the pants had a pocket just for pocket watches. 21

EDITOR'S DESK Dear A.T. - It was a great convention. I also enjoyed the TWA Seniors annual meeting in Phoenix on June 7 & 8. I didn't take many pictures this time but you are welcome to use any of the enclosed you might like. My best, Bill Dixon Dear A.T. & Betty - To bring you up to date on our doings here goes. We sold our house in Lakeland and moved to Atlanta (family problems) some years ago and as they were resolved we couldn't wait to get back to Florida. Never did like Atlanta much. We have a condiminium (on a golf course, naturally) here with four bedrooms. We like it here very much and would love to see you both at any time if you are in the area or, better yet, make a special trip. That's the good news. The bad news is that Julie has serious medical problems. She is in good spirits, though, and seldom gets depressed. David and Randy both live in Atlanta. David works for the FAA and Randy for the City of Marietta. We have a little place in the mountains in Front Royal, Virginia, and are getting ready to go up there around the first of June. Maybe we could get together with you all while we are up there. Well that's about all the news. Hope we can see you both soon. P.S. Sure enjoy TARPA TOPICS. Regards, O.T. Smith

And from R.W. Goldthorpe; Dear A.T. - I'll bet you're getting tired of hearing from me but there was an error in the May 88 TARPA TOPICS I'm sure you would want to be corrected. It also gives us an opportunity to present a "bird's eye view", so to speak, of the Flight Radio Officer for the benefit of those who never flew with him. In the May 1988 issue of TARPA TOPICS there are some excellent photos of the 049 Connie cockpit. However, the top right hand picture on page 66 is erroneously captioned: "Navigator's Station-International". This is incorrect on two counts: (1) It is the Flight Radio Operator's station, not the navigator and (2) It is the FRO station on the C-54, not the Connie. The Connie FRO station is correctly shown on Page 67. The radio gear of those days consisted of quite a collection of hardware. The long range transmitters (ART-13's) are mounted to the left of the FRO's seat and required precision, manual tuning. The two all-wave receivers (BC348's) also manually controlled, were positioned directly in front of the radioman. The portable typewriter is shown as well as the ADF (MN62) control head and, if you look closely, the telegraph key bolted to the right hand rear corner of the desk. This was truly an airborne Communications Center from which contact was maintained on all aeronautical circuits voice and code, weather reports copied and even with commercial shore stations for handling "public service" messages for passengers. The flight could contact surface ships on the 500 KC international distress frequency(remember the triple antennas?) and secure bearings from marine D/F stations.

EDITOR'S DESK FRO by Goldy continued; Some of you may ask, just what is a Flight Radio Officer? Well, the FRO is now an extinct species of birdman. Unknown on Domestic flights, he once inhabited the cockpit of all International trips. He was known for the peeping and clicking sounds he made when working his telegraph key and for the tap-tapping of his typewriter when copying messages. He provided communications with stations far and near; on land and sea. A rare bird who, like the railroad telegrapher and the seagoing "Sparks", is gone but by no means forgotten. Sincerely, Goldy Goldthorpe *

* * *

Received an ad re the off-season rates of the Sheraton Tucson El Conquistador Resort. Doubles are $70 so the rate Jack Miller got us of $45 was a real bargain! ** I would like to call your attention to the tear-out form whereon you can let our Grapevine Editor know what is going on with you. Believe me, we are all interested in your activities. Please make it a point to talk to us, hear? * * * * * * * * * * * RETIRED AIRLINE PILOTS ASSOCIATION Daniel Otten attended our convention and spoke briefly at our business meeting. Dan is Treasurer of RAPA and a retired Republic pilot. Brooks Johnston is President and is a former North West Airlines pilot. They are quite profuse in their praise of Al Clay's work as President of RAPA. Al did a lot to make this a more meaningful organization. Your TARPA Board of Directors was unanimous in declaring their continued support and affiliation with RAPA. We wish them success in their endeavors in our behalf. *

Dear A. T. - We always enjoy your writings no matter what the subject is. The one on railroads is a humdinger. You evidently did a lot of research. Sincerely, Gordon Lambert * * * * * * * * Dear A. T. - I just received the May 1988 TARPA TOPICS and was amazed and very pleased to see my "railroad letter" to you and my I.C.D. story; "Azores Anxiety" were both included! Hope the readers like them. I am planning some other "true stories" about incidents I experienced as an ICD radio operator while serving on the crews of Captains Earl Fleet, Joe Grant, Don Terry and others. Thanks again, A. T., for considering my stuff suitable for TARPA TOPICS and especially for your kind words about my training schedule efforts. It was a pleasure and a privilege to work with you and all the other professionals. Looking forward to seeing you in Tucson, my favorite American city. Sincerely, Goldy

EDITOR'S DESK From Capt. Bill Malone, First Vice President of the Retired Eastern Pilots Association and Editor of Repartee, their very professional type news magazine; Dear A. T. - Our copy of TARPA TOPICS just arrived and you are to be congratulated for another fine issue. Of special interest to me was your piece titled RAILROADING. What a great picture of number 2766, "balling-the-jack". One can almost hear the clang of the bell and the wail of the whistle. My Dad started out as a telegrapher on the railroad at Barton, Alabama, and in my boyhood years, I was privileged to ride all the famous lines from coast to coast. The Union Pacific was my favorite because it took us up the Feather River Canyon. I still have my 950-B Hamilton. Here in Atlanta, we have the New Georgia Railroad, operating with a steam engine around the City and out to Stone Mountain. The Atlanta Chapter of the National Railway Historical Society is restoring A & WP number 290, (4-6-2) (Lima), which I rode many times between Atlanta and Montgomery while in college and in the Navy. They plan to use her on the Fall Leaf Special up Southern's tracks to Toccoa. We also liked the article by Ed Bett i s, THE ORIGINAL CONNIES, and his picture gives the cover real eye appeal. I have moved up to 1st VP/President elect, but they are letting me continue as Editor of our magazine, REPARTEE, which I like best. Thanks for remembering us and keeping us on your "extra" list. Yours, Bill Malone (Bill, Thanks for the pat on the back re last issue of TARPA TOPICS. And it is nice to hear from an old railroad family. I originally wrote it for my four sons. As editor I am lucky to have Ed Betts contribute so much for me to publish. He is sure one hard worker and does a monumental job of research. Our plans are to continue through the Connies and on to the Martins and others. Our Secretary/Treasurer Joe McCombs forwards your REPARTEE on to me and I find it most interesting. I even fast read the letters to you. I only wish our members were as good about writing in as to what goes on with them. Thanks again for your kind words. A. T.) *

Gordon Hargis sent me a copy of Headquarters Tenth Air Force orders dated 21 July 1949 placing the following on fifteen days active duty at Camp Atterbury, Columbus, Indiana, Captains Jack E. Clark, Alfred T. Humbles, Gordon W. Hargis, Robert E. Hancock, Charles W. Hutcheson and Donald L. Keplinger. *

Met an old time pilot last year on U.S. Air named Gus Crawford who retired from U.S. Air, flew with Mohawk and flew a New York police helicopter. He was a good friend of Willie Miller. *

Blessed is the man who has a skin of the right thickness. He can work happily in spite of enemies and friends.

EDITOR'S DESK Your TARPA Board of Directors will miss Don Heep. As President of the TWA Seniors Club he attended our meetings and was helpful with advice when asked. The TARPA President also attends the Seniors meetings. Don just completed two terms as President of the TWA Seniors Club. Ralph McClenahan is now President of their organization. *

From Ed Betts; Dear A. T. - It was quite a convention, one of the best, in spite of the heat and some-times shortage of ice cubes. My golf score of 118 the first day was highest for the TARPA group and 12 more than the temperature. I did better the second day with 103, which matched the temperature. We weren't home but a few days and it was the drive back to Phoenix for the Seniors convention. About 400 attended the banquet where Joe Corr was the guest speaker (he must be at least 6'5" tall). You might recall how my camera went haywire at the convention. I asked Mary (Mrs. Al) Lusk to take some pictures which she did. Hers are the smaller photos. In the meantime I took a couple of rolls with Donna's camera, most of which turned out pretty fair. I have tried to identify each individual, but there are a few missing and a few in question. I can't find the banquet program which might have Clark Billie's wife's name. I haven't too much prepared or ready for the next issue although I am working on one about the Stearman aircraft used by TWA and the predecessor airlines. I talked quite a while with Joe Corr [President of TWA] at the Seniors convention and still hope to get a picture of him with his 1930 Stearman. I also talked quite a while with Clark Billie at Tucson. It seems that the MEC voted not to co-sponsor a new book, so TWA wants to do it anyway with a July 1989 target date. I agreed to help. The other project I worked on, a 10 page article about the combined history of TAT and the CMH airport has been put off until July 1989, which will be the 60th. anniversaries of TAT and the Columbus airport. They plan a big joint celebration as the old original (and restored) terminal building will be dedicated as a "historical landmark" at the time. In the meantime, Ron Reynolds called and has invited me to be a guest (passenger) on a DC-2 flight he will be piloting (with a former Ozark man the copilot). I don't know what is the occasion, who the other guests are or the complete itinerary other than we depart here August 1st to PHX and overnight at ABQ, next am to ICT and overnight at MKC and third day to STL. The plane is owned by Douglas (and restored by them). It should be an interesting trip and I hope to have an article about same for the November TOPICS. We are getting ready for a busy summer. I am not certain at this time if I will go along, but Donna plans to spend a couple of weeks in Germany with our son and family (plus driving to Paris). We are set up to go on a National Parks tour with the Seniors which starts out from Denver on August 31 and return about September 14th. A short time after that is my B-25 Wing annual reunion to be held at Orlando. In the meantime our daughter and her 4 little girls plan to come here for most of August while work is done on their house on Long Island.

EDITOR'S DESK Betts continued; However, we are presently getting bids to completely remodel our kitchen...which could take weeks or drag into months with various craftsmen. There is quite a shortage of space in the near vicinity of the ocean. The price of houses has more than doubled in our area in the past two years and the average sale is in the $300. per square foot range. We don't have any intention of selling at this time, but if some rich Arab makes an offer that I can't refuse???? Ed Betts *

DONNA & ED BETTS

GOLF An ineffectual attempt to direct an uncontrollable sphere into an inaccessible hole with instruments that are ill-adapted to the purpose.

CHAMPION SHOOTER BOB SMITH & WIFE

CONVENTION HOSPITALITY COMMITTEE From Chairperson Katie Buchanan Greetings, Dear TARPA People, Another beautiful TARPA convention has ended and as your "Saloon Keeper" I would like to extend my congratulations to Jack and Jane Miller and all who participated in making the '88 reunion a big success. My involvement in the Hospitality Room is something I lock forward to each year. I can't think of a better way to renew old friendships and to make new ones. Everyone associated with TARPA are the greatest. I want to say "thank you" to all the wonderful people who volunteered and worked so hard in the Hospitality Room, especially Louise Vestal, Bobbi Kirschner, Mike Trischler and Betty Lattimore, my Tidy Gals, who kept the ash trays clean, glasses picked up and the snack dishes full. Also Chuck Hasler, Ev Green, Joe and Ellie Creswell for the errand and delivery service and to the additional persons who gave their all; John Soule Tommy Carroll Mickey Wind Larry Fauci Earl Lindsly Frank Stumpe Terry Rager Willy Burrell Bill Kirschner Joe Salz George Duvall Herb Traylor

Al Vandevelde Dick Guillan John Happy Roger Salmonson George Toop Walt Waldo Ben Young Duke Ellington Carl Schmidt Jack Rowe Jack Miller Jane Miller

If I have forgotten anyone, please forgive me. As you all know that during "Happy Hour" no one was idle. Thanks again, you all were GREAT!!! My beloved Irish father had a "toast" that I would like to extend to all, "Kindness". God Bless and see you all in New Orleans next year. Katie Buchanan

KATIE Wonder who she is about to throw that on?

WELLS

BOB BUCK GUEST SPEAKER

HAROLD NEUMAN LARRY DECELLES BOB BUCK PAST AWARDEES OF TARPA AWARD OF MERIT

EV Green

CHUCK HASLER, VIC & JANET HASSLER

DOROTHY SPENCER, LLOYD HUBBARD

TARPA AWARD OF MERIT WINNER Jack LeClaire & Wife Jill

Left to right; Clark Billie Vice President, Flying, TWA His wife Bev Stitt Don Stitt

Joe Brown, TARPA President John Ferguson, First President Lyle Spencer, Past President Russ Derickson, Outgoing President

1988 Convention GOLF TOURNAMENT CHAIRED BY BERT SCHAAR Winners Men - Low gross - Bill Townsend (The younger) Second Bob Earley Third Bert Schaar

158 159 159

Net Division First Second Third

126 130 136

Jay Schmidt Dick Long Bill Aman

Eagles Champion - Phares McFerren

156

Ladies Low Gross Ladies Net

Maxine Ellington First - Stella Schaar Second - Betty Hood Third - Noreen Cawley Fourth - Helen Graham

181 146 147 150 152

Closet to Pin Men Thursday - Dub Youngblood Friday - Bert Schaar Ladies Thursday - Stella Schaar Friday - Helen Graham On Friday we had a chance for an automobile for a hole in one, needless to say, no winner. Golf was played at the Canada Hills Country Club, Oro Valley, Arizona. It was a nice facility, the weather was warm but pleasant. Great service was provided by the Pro and his staff. George Duvall suggested a perpetual trophy in memory of Jim Polizzi. He purchased it and provided desk set trophies for the men's low gross and low net winners as well. He will provide these trophies in the future. Barbara Polizzi,Jim's widow, made the presentation. Bert Shaar And from Bridge Tournament Chairperson Louise Vestal I left all the notes with the bridge results in Tucson. I apologize to you and to the winners. To the best of my recollection, we had approximately 34-36 players. We had a fine time and I wish to thank TARPA for the opportunity. Great convention!, Sincerely, Louise Vestal

Lee Butler Betty Humbles

Entertainment in the Sheraton lobby

RECEPTION DESK Jane Miller Betty Hawes Margeret Thrush Ruby Lynch

Earl Lindsly Howard Hall

Above Judy and tarry Fauci

Left Patsy and Bud Cushing

Snorky Clark Chuck Hasler Ev Green

REPORT ON CONVENTION AT TUCSON A big time was had by all. More people attended than ever before and the facilities were fantastic. Many remarked about how courteous, friendly and cooperative all the personnel were at the Sheraton Tucson El Conquistador. We all owe Jack and Jane Miller a sincere vote of thanks for working so hard to enable so many to have so much fun. Everything ran so smooth and the banquet was great with good food and entertainment. We just feel so sorry for those who were unable or unwilling to attend. LADIES FASHION SHOW The Ladies Fashion Show and luncheon was held at the El Conquistador Sheraton Resort on 26 May. 135 women attended. The menu was pure Southwest Mexican food. The style show was presented by the Cele Peterson Store of Tucson. Three models were from the TARPA group (Jean McCombs, Ulie Derickson and Jane Miller). The other models were local friends of Jane Miller. The show was a huge success-everyone enjoyed the food and the clothes (price range from $100. to $1100), a little steep but fun to see. Jane Miller TARPA TENNIS 1988 The 1988 TARPA Convention Tennis Tournament was held May 26, 27, 1988 at the courts of the El Conquistador Hotel, Tucson, Arizona. Twenty two people signed up for the tournament, sixteen men and six ladies. This year's women's division winner was Phyllis Robertson and the runner up was Aggie Jones. This year's men's winner was Clancy Green and the runner up was Mickey Wind. Ted Hereford, one of our Eagles, played very well and added class to the tournament by showing up in new shorts. Last year's women's division winner, Adrienne Sturtevant, did not keep a score card. She seemed to have more fun upsetting some of the men contenders. There were many good points and games. The players all played with enthusiasm and a great time was had by all. Lee Butler TRAP AND SKEET AT TUCSON OR SHOOT OUT AT THE TWA CORRAL This awesome group had Robert B. (Bob) Smith of Tucson, Arizona, and Ulster, Pennsylvania, as overseer or manager or herder or sheriff. OVERALL CHAMPION TRAP & SKEET - Bob Smith - 93 out of 100 WINNER, HIGH TRAP - Russ Derickson - 48 out of 50 WINNER, HIGH SKEET - John Happy - 46 out of 50 Rob Smith reports that they all threatened to be gunning for him come next year in Bayou country.

Robert Montgomery & Billy Tate

Dick Long & Billy Tate

Pam Mueller (Pictures by Bill Dixon)

Above Harold Neuman Above right Chuck Hasler George Duvall Center right Kory Youngblood Ginnie Converse Lower right Joe McCombs Dcn Stitt Bob Smith Larry Haake Phil Hollar Ted Herman (Shooters)

Bert Cooper Margeret Cooper Ted Hereford

Uli Derickson Mrs. Clark Billie Capt. Clark Billie

General Russ Bowen Gay Bowen Bert Cooper

Bill Fischer, Harry Willis, Ed Betts, A. T. Humbles

Bart Anderegg, George Searle, Dean Phillips, Chuck Tschirgi

Yes, I know, too many pictures of Chuck Hasler but couldn't pass this one up of him taken with Katie Buchanan by Capt. Edward G. Betts.

Gene Jones - gave your editor 1011 transition. Ed Rowe

Dan Otten RAPA Treasurer

Andy Beaton, Joe Tunder

Larry Fauci, Neuman Ramsey

Lyle & Dorothy Spencer

Ole Olson, Larry DeCelles

Busch Voigts, Harold Neuman

1988 TARPA CONVENTION ATTENDEES Ainsworth, Arky, Betty Davis, Rusty, Jean Hereford, Ted Aman, Bill, Marguerite DeCelles, Larry Ament, Weston H. Herman, Ted, A.T. Derickswon, Russ, Ulie Hippe, Ken, Nell Anderson, Tom, Virginia Hoesel, Charles, Roomie Anderegg, Bart, Mary Fran De Veuve, Jim, Bobby Hollar, Phil, Joyce Bainbridge, Bill, Evelyn Dixon, Bill, Jean Dowling, Carl, Marguerite Hood, Clark, Betty Baker, Jack, Donna Dowling, Moriene Hooper, Jacqueline, A Bartlett, Robert Drew, George, Milly Hubbard. Lloyd Bassford, Steve, Martha Drosendahl, Russell Humbles, A.T., Betty Beaton, Andy Duvall, George, Joyce Huntley, Lyle, Rosella Bebee, Dale, Zella Dyer, Chic, Thelma Huttenberg, Al, Verne Beck, Dick, Lou Earley, Bob, Ginny Hylton, Frances S. Beck, Tom, Diane Edwards, Frank, Jennie Ives, Larry, Connie Betts, Ed, Donna Ellington, Duke, Maxine Jacobsen, Harry, Flo Billie, Clark & Wife Elliott, Ed,Lucy Jarvis, Bill, Sarah Bjork, Cliff, Chris Elliot, Wendel, Virginia Jones, Cecil, Thelma Blaney, Ford, Jane Emmerton, John, Donna Jones, Gene, Aggie Bolden, Rollie, Grace Judd, Lew, Vicki Evans, Keith, Donna Borgmier, George, Trudy Kallina, Edmund, Evelyn Exum, Gene, Sue Bowen, Russ, Gay Kalota, Chet, Marge Fauci, Larry, Judy Brome, Denton Kelly, Paul, Millie Faulds, Dick, Chris Brown, Joe, Eliese Ferguson, John Kennedy, Mary Ellen Brubaker, Robert, Kathryn Fischer, Mel, Marjorie Kieper, Robert, Ruth Brundage, Dean, Mary Fischer, Bill, Rhea Kirschner, Bill, Barbara Buchanan, Katie Koughan, Jack, Jean Flynn, Ed Buck, Robert Garrett, Ruby, Beth Kroschel , Tom, Carol Budzien, Ward, Muriel Geisert, Leroy, Pat Laakson, Ed, Sally Burkhalte, W., Wife Gettings, A.H., Helen Lachenmaier, Bob, Dorothy Guest of C. Rice Lamprell, James, Margo Whyte Girard, Larry, Phyllis Burrell, William, Teddy Glazier, Frank, Marjorie Lattimore, John, Betty Butler, Lee, Jeanne Goldthorpe, Goldie, Julia LeClaire, Jack, Lil Bybee, John , Ginny Graham, Jack, Helen Lindsey, Bob, Dorice Cantrell, Warren, Doris Granger, Gordon, Angela Lindsly, Earl, Bee Carneal, Ed, Norma Green, Clarence, Betty Locke, Lyle, Leslie Carroll, Tom, Terry Green, Ev Lokey, Charles, Yolanda Carlson, John, Helen Greer, Bill, Arlyne Long, George W. Carter, Dean Long, Richard, Alice Gruber, Ed, Cleone Clark, Chris, Carole Lorentz, Arthur Guillan, Dick, Peggy Clark, Harry, Lee Haake, Larry, Terri Luckey, Sam Clark, John E, Ruth Lusk, Al, Mary Haggard, Wayne Cochran, James, Ruthe Hall, Howard, Bernece Lutz, Ray H. Colburn, Dick, Georgia Hanson, Glen, Jeanett Lynch, Ruby Conley, Tom, Colleen Manning, Tex, Margo Happy, John T. Conway, Dick, Annemarie Martin, Ed, Franci Cook, Lou, Lorraine Harpster, John, Marie Harrison, Bill, Mary Matney, R.E., An Cooper, Bert, Peg Mattke, Cleo A. Hasler, Chuck, Pat Coughlin, James, Lee May, Thad, Janet Hassler, Vernon, Janet Craft, Ray, Martha Hatcher, John, Sally McClimans, H.F. Crede, Joe, Marcy McCombs, Joe, Jean Hawes, Betty Creswell, Joe, Elinor McFerren, Phares, Edith Headstrom, Al, Dee Cushing, Bud, Patsy McNew, Paul, Eloise Hemsted, Bob Dahl, Jack, Marjorie Miller, Dean, Alice Hendrickson, John, Doris Dail, Max, Betty Hendrix, Jim, Claire Miller, Harold, Doris Davis, Cliff C.

1988 TARPA CONVENTION ATTENDEES Miller, Jack, Jane Miller, William, Dorothee Mitchell, John. E. Moffitt, Bill, Peggy Mokler, Harry, Fran Montgomery, Robert, Glad] Moorhead, Bunky, B.J. Morehead, Clem W. Mueller, Robert, Pamela Mundo, Al Murchan, Larry Murray, John R. Myrs, Russell, Irene Neuman, Harold E. Norris, Scott, Marilyn Olson, Orville, Carol Olson, Paul, Carla Olson, Vern Guest Phyllis Parent, Jane Parkinson, Gordon Patrick, H.A., Pat Peters, Don, Nancy Petry, Loren, Frances Phillips, Dean, Bobbe Pike, Joe, Joy Piper, Bill Pletcher, Paul, Debby Plumridge, Reggie, Ruth Polizzi, Barbara S. Pretsch, Ernie Proctor, Bill Pusey, Ralph L. Query, Charles Rager, Terry, Betty Ramsey, Neuman, Micky Rathert, Paul, Colleen Raub, Clifford, Betty Reed, Victor, Opal Rice, Charlie, Guest Rice, Marsi Richardson, Del, Rena Rimmler, Phil, Ellen Risting, Mel, Donna Robertson, Jack, Phyllis Rowe, Ed, Helen Ruff, Elmus L., Mildred Russell, John, Nancy Ryan, George F. Sailors, Roger W. Salmonson, Roger, Joy Salz, Joe W., Ada

Schaar, Bert, Stella Schemel, Gerhard, Peggy Schmidt, Carl, Vicki Schmidt, Jay, Barbara Schumacher, Gene Seaborg, George Searle, George, Edna Seasholtz, Betty Sherman, Robert, Alice Shoalts, A.D., Shirley Simmons, Dale, Carmel Slaten, Kenneth, Rosemary Smith, Frank, Carol Smith, Robert, Delores Sorensen, Norman, Francis Soule, John Gisela Sparrow, Cliff, Mary Spencer, Lyle, Dorothy Stanton, Jim, Virginia Stitt, Don, Bev Stitzel, Harry, Ruth Strickler, Charles, Alice Stumpe, Frank, Hilary Sturtevant, Hank, Adrienne Tate, Billy, Jane Thompson, Lew, Judy Thrush, Margaret Toop, George, Ginnie Towner, Bill, Teddie Townsend, Bill, Marianna Townsend, Bill, Alva Traylor, Herbert A. Trepas, Ron, S.R. Trischler, Mildred Tschirgi, Chuck, Betty Tunder, J.R., Kalita Turner, Bill, Dauby Valacer, Stan Vance, Sally, Von Durham Vandeveld, Al, Mary Van Etten, Roy, Noreen Cawley Van Winkle, Charles, Miriam Vestal, Louise Voigts, Busch Waldo, Walt, Ellie

Wallace, Bill, Doris Ward, Harry, Suzanne Wells, Eddie, Claire Werner, Fred, Betty Whitford, Paul, Verna Widholm, Bob, Fay Williams, Hubert, Celine Willis, Harry, Pauline Wind, Mickey, Betti Wright, Lewis, Younce, Russ, Jean Young, Ben, Didi Youngblood, William, Korky Zimmerman, Bob 478 in attendance.

THE TARPA

GRAPEVINE AUGUST 1988 The Tucson Convention is history and what a wonderful get together it was. I personally enjoyed meeting and talking with many old friends and especially receiving the comments and suggestions about this part of the TOPICS. If we continue with the GRAPEVINE, I shall try to incorporate some of the suggestions. Thanks again. It was interesting learning that several members had flown in in their own private aircraft for the occasion. Among them were DICK AND ANNAMARIE CONWAY from Calif., LOU AND JUDY THOMPSON from North Carolina and HARRY STITZEL from Florida. I still think you folks with your own planes should get together for a TARPA "Fly-in". A sad note to the meeting was the news that AL CLAY had passed away suddenly, just a few days before the convention. He shall be sorely missed by all, not only for his pleasing personality and humor, but for his tireless efforts on behalf of TARPA and RAPA. ******** All of us who flew out to Tucson via TWA experienced the STL Hub. The following was received from DAVE KUHN and reflects his thoughts on the "Hub" : THE HUB AND SPOKE SYNDROME

R. M. Guillan 1852 Barnstable Rd. Clemmons, N. C. 27012 919-945-9979

I suspect that George Will has a word processor. I need one to set forth my opinion on the Hub and Spoke idea that major airlines employ to move folks around. If there is any merit in this operation, it eludes me. These airlines have cities designated as hubs. UAL has Denver and Chicago. EAL and Delta have a huge hub in Atlanta. TWA has St. Louis and New York with American holding forth in DallasFort Worth.--so on and on. From the hubs there are spokes to various cities each airline serves that go to and come back. Looking at a TWA map with St. Louis as the hub, passengers wishing to fly TWA in Peoria, must fly to St. Louis, hub it with hours of waiting for a connection, then spoke it to Chicago. Passengers in Kansas City headed for the West Coast, must fly to St. Louis, hub it, then westward ho. To shorten, people wishing to fly TWA to the West coast from Salt Lake City, Denver,Colorado Springs, Las Vegas Albuquerque, Phoenix and Tucson must fly to the 45

DAVE KUHN Cont'd hub, wait for the connecting flights, then to the coast cities. Remember the Las Vegas TARPA bash? I talked with several West coast retirees that flew to St. Louis then spoked it to Las Vegas. An all day excursion for a thirty minute flight. A reverse going home. One may use the wait at the hub to people watch. In the ebb and flow of humanity there is an unusual number of fat women. Most wearing stretch slacks and dragging two or three moppets. Dresses do not come in that size. We ran into a retired Flight Engineer at the St. Louis hub. I have flown many trips with him. His name is Walt--something or other. His classic remark was " If you are going either to Hell Or Heaven on TWA, there is a three hour wait at St. Louis.". Some may remember that flying Transcontinental and Western Air Inc. was rather simple. Pat Gallup would start them Westward from Newark, Camden, Harrisburg, Pittsburg, Columbus, Dayton, St. Louis and Kansas City. There was a spur from Dayton to Ft. Wayne, South Bend, Chicago then rejoined the mainline at Kansas City. If memory serves me, there were stops at Wichita, Amarillo, Albuquerque, Deep Lake(when the flag was up) Winslow, Needles the Burbank. Joe Bartles met us at Chicago and Lee Flanagan had the welcome mat at Burbank. Also at Winslow, flights flew via Phoenix to Burbank, with others to Grand Canyon, Boulder, City , Las Vegas, Fresno, Oakland and San Francisco. Andy Andrews was there to check the reported time on. The Sky Chief and the Sky Queen flew the same routes eastbound. To digress a bit. Kansas City was not a hub. It was the Home Office where John Collins ran the airline. He sat in his third floor office at 10 Richards Road and observed all of the goings on below. The airport boasted of two short concave strips protedted by two unpredictable rivers. When Mr. Collins observed any departures from the MP&P manuals, there was termination on the spot. The many years that I served on the System Board of Adjustment, I always called him Mr. Collins, as did others. He had to be reminded that the Taft Hartley Act as well as our Working Agreement provided a hearing before any disciplinary action is taken. He would have a hearing then fire the offender again. I did save a few jobs after Mr. Colli ns found that termination is not the only form of punishment. Remember? It was rise and shine for the Lindberg Line. Sonny Boy Hall gave us--"On time all the time." There was no airways traffic control. As the air became more crowded there was an obvious need for an ATC. At first a Captain could elect to let ATC handle the flight or not. If so the Co-pilot would get writers cramps copying all the essential traffic. With ever increasing traffic, ATC became mandatory. "See and be seen " became a joke. Two jets closing faster than the speed of sound is like dogging a rifle bullet. There is a need for a referee. American Airlines boast of being the ontime machine. Without doing any research (I am lazy), I suspect that AAs' Dallas-Ft.Worth hub is a small part of their operation. At the hubs, the beleagured ATC had to assign slots. There was no way they could clear ten

DAVE KUHN Cont'd landings and ten takeoffs at the same scheduled time. If a slot is missed for any of a bunch of reasons, it may take hours to get sandwiched back into the program. Thus more delays for the already long day. And lastly: When a hub is closed (and they do close) for fog, ice, snow, hurricanes, power outage , ATC snarls and what not, it may take days before normal operations can be had. There is no way to overfly the hub. Complicated ? Yes. Simply put; The hub and spoke operation as observed, can be an EGREGIOUS happening--in the worse sense. Dave Kuhn. ********* You will recall that back in the January 1987 issue of the TOPICS we carried a letter by HARRY WARD about ferrying 1049H for the "SAVE A-Connie" group in KC. I learned from Harry,while in Tucson that he,FRANK FITZGIBBON, STAN SCROGGINS and HAP CHANDLER were called upon last November to ferry another surplus Connie. This time it was a C-121, you know, the type with all the radar domes, top and bottom. They took the aircraft from Davis - Monthan AFB in Tucson to Warner Robbins AFB, south of Macon, Georgia where it is to be put on static display at an Air Force Museum. Frank informed me that although much work had been done on the plane prior to their arrival on the scene, they spent 3 1/2 days preparing the aircraft ( and themselves) for the flight which took about 7 hours. Again they lacked radio equipment and had to resort to a hand held VHF and to pilotage to make the trip. On more than one occasion they had to depend on other aircraft to relay their position to the FSC. On departure from Tucson, the military controllers refused them permission to circle the base for altitude so they had to go out over the desert and take about three circles to get the old machine high enough to clear the mountains. From there on, since they weren't pressurized and lacked oxygen equipment, they cruised at 9500'. Harry told me it didn't fly too well and that they used max power most of the way but Frank said the engines were in better shape than their previous ferry and wished he had them for the SAC. And what was their compensation for this adventure? Expenses and a case of beer. Thats dedication! And at that, the contractor complained about paying for a fourth man. ********* Later on the same group was contacted to bring a 1049 from Van Nuys to Dulles. This aircraft was donated to Smithsonian for the new annex being built at Dulles. HAP CHANDLER was the only one of the group that worked that flight. ********* DICK BECK submitted the following, about the water problems in Southern California. He did such a nice typing job we'll print it as received. Enjoy! - - 47

COULD THIS BE FROM THE HOSPITALITY ROOM IN TUCSON?

Courtesy HERB BECKER, Prescott,AZ

Our S/T received a very nice note from MAXINE SMILEY thanking him for the contribution to the Retired Pilots Foundation in WALTs name. She says that she and WALTs 16 fine grand children will be happy to see his name listed in the Memorial section of TARPA. ******** ARBY ARBUTHNOT sent Joe a new address and 'phone number. Says how much he enjoyed the 049 Connie story. It brought back alot of mem ories as he said he was in the first group of Domestic pilots to go to the International Division in New Castle. *********

Remember Aloha Airlines? ********* BOB MIDDLEKAUFF, (Eagle) sent a note to our S/T along with a check. Says he enjoys reading the TOPICS and seeing names in print of many of the friends he made during his 30 years with TWA. It brings back many memories and he is happy that he qualifies for membership being a former ICD Radio Operator.---Thanks for your contribution, Bob. ********* More about flying 1O49s in this jet age from HANK GASTRICH: " As you know I have been doing a bit of traveling; in December I left this area for Koror, Republic of Palau...and actually flew a 1049H Constellation...until it was seized by the government ( or the fuel company in Manila) for unpaid fuel bills. So ended a pretty good adventure as well as a relatively lucrative one. I flew 4 trips from Palau to Nagoya, Japan and back (once via Manila) carrying 33,000 + (mostly plus) of live tuna for Sushi. The plane was formerly a Navy plane and I was surprised to find it so much like TWA's...even had an hydraulic cross-over valve. I had two touch-and-gos landings and a full stop...with no brakes. We had the #3 Hyd Pump in "By-Pass" because of a leak, and when I landed I only reversed 2 and 3. No. 4 quit in idle...and tho' I called for "Emergency Brakes both the co-pilot and the FE moved the selector handle...from Gear to Brakes to Gear. We stopped with re51

HANK GASTRICH (Cont'd) verse before I thought of the X-over valve. We used 100 octane and 0430 take-offs at 130,000+ (Mostly plus) were not unlike flying a simulatorâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;including the building. The airspeed got to 105 Kts and would stay there until we cleaned up... climbing at 100-300' fpm. Our track was 003 degrees and while I couldn't see Polaris, I could see most of the big dipper and just headed toward where the North star should have been until dawn... then another 2+ hours until we could get a Loran fix. Lucked in at 16-20 miles of course ' everytime . I was on my way back when we lost the plane. My co-pilot later told me his last pay-check bounced AND he had to pay his own expenses back to the US. I had been paid in cash AND had a ticket since I was supposed to pick up another plane in Camarillo. Of course, I was unable to contact anybody here and finally after my co-pilot called, drove up to Camarillo. NOTHING had been done on the other plane...so obvously it wasn't ready to ferry back to Palau. I enjoyed (to a point) flying the Connie again...my girl was supposed to be out in February...and I probably would be there yet. WE ( World Fish and Agriculture) were getting $1.10 a pound to fly the fish...which sold at auction in Japan for between $15/25. Fuel in Japan is $4.50/gallon, so , we used $24,000 fuel per trip... and there was no way to even break even. (Our expenses in Palau, Japan and Manila were paid. Captains got $50/hr., F/E's $40 and one co-pilot got $30+...the other 20 or so). We also used considerable oil, hydraulic fluid and "used tires". The plane had NO auto-pilot or de-icing boots. We had not problem with that in Nagoya, but they were there to be had. We would leave Palau in the 70's and temps in Japan were in the lo 40s. The G/S was inop and the life-raft was behind the cargo and would have necessitated going outside the plane to open the cargo doors from the outside...if the need arose. " G/V Editors note: Hank also had a few notes in his letter for the S/T which I did not include. I thank Hank for this report and hope that it will inspire others to send in accounts of their activities. ********* I heard a story about a pilot who ditched his airplane near a deserted Pacific Island and for fifteen years survived alone. One day while strolling the beach he saw this apparition appear close to shore. Finally this figure emerged from the water and after taking off mask and breathing equipment equipment, turned out to be a beautiful girl. Their initial conversation went as follows: Girl: How long have you been here? Pilot: 15 years. Girl: How long since you had a cigarette? Pilot: 15 years. So she reached into her wet suit and pulled out a pack of Camels and offered them to him. Girl: How long since you've had a drink of liquor? Pilot: 15 years. So she reached into her wet suit and pulled out a flask and offered it to him. 52

DESERT ISLAND (Cont'd) Girl:( Unzipping her suit) How long since you played around? Pilot:Don't tell me youv've got a set of golf clubs in there too! ********* A note from A. T. regarding deadlines, also included a report that when he and Betty returned from Tucson, Betty was experiencing some serious back pains. After a visit to the local Doctor they discovered she had a fractured vertebrae. She has been fitted with a brace and must forego the water skiing for this season. A. T. says he has no idea how or when it happened but guess it will teach her not to talk back to me. NOW COME ON A. T. ! Speedy recovery Betty! ********* Just 10 days after returning from Tucson, Peggy and I went to Nashville, Tenn. to attend a Hardware show sponsored by Coast to Coast Hardware. The site of the show was the famous Opreyland Hotel, a fabulous place, consisting of almost 2000 rooms with several restaurants, shops,etc. and a beautiful conservatory with all sorts of tropical plants. If you are considering a trip to Opreyland Park, I'd certainly recommend staying at this hotel which borders the Park. It isn't cheap but if you like luxury accommodations you'd enjoy this place. It might be a consideration for a future Convention site for TARPA. ********* I hope that many of you will respond to the"Membership News Request" which first appeared in the May issue of the TOPICS. The response so far has been very disappointing. I know you folks out there are doing interesting things that our membership would like to hear about. So PLEASE use the form provided or send me a card or letter. The next issue of the TOPICS will be out in November, so please try and get the material to me by the last week of September. We are considering printing the GRAPEVINE in every other issue unless more items are received. Its up to you. I enjoy doing the section and from talking with people in Tucson know you enjoy reading it. Hope all of you have a good summer. AND PLEASE PRAY FOR RAIN! *********

SENT IN BY PARKY

TARPA TALES From Cleo Mattke; My first trip with TWA was from Kansas City to Alberquerque on 11-7-44 with Captain Jack Asire. My most memorable trip was from KC to AB on 11-10-44. My second trip was with Captain Bob Overman and he let me fly from Wichita to Amarillo. It was VFR and I was really watching the beacons. Nearing Amarillo I got a little left and had to make a complete pattern to land to the southeast. There was a lot of wind and I really struggled with the DC-3 in the air as well as on the ground. It appeared that my three landings at KC didn't help me very much. It was difficult for me to unlock the tail wheel. The cross wind on the runway, then parking it was an experience. On engine shutdown Capt. Overman arose from the right seat and said, "Mattke, I am not sure you'll ever learn to fly this airplane, in fact, I'm not sure you'll ever learn to taxi it!". He let my past and future life pass though my mind for about ten seconds, and then said, "Let's get off this S.O.B. before it burns!". I then knew he was only partly serious and I have always considered him to be a good friend since that day. I don't know why I should have worried; I was an apprentice member of ALPA and in a year I would have one half vote. Sincerely, Cleo Mattke * * * * * * * * From Barry Otto; Still living on Long Island in Northport. Will put the house up for sale one of these days. Will move on down to Stuart, Florida, to the home we've had here since 1978 - permanent residence. Doing the usual retirement things. Also driving for London Ride, a limosince service based in Northport. Use London cabs converted in Coventry to limos. Have had to learn everyone else's terminals at Kennedy and Manhattan not to mention many different places on Long Island. Going for my glider license, try something new and different. *

Don't know how your editor ended up with the following; Interoffice Correspondence TRANSCONTINENTAL & WESTERN AIR, INC. October 24, 1936 First Officer Busch Voigts Kansas City, Missouri Effective November 1, 1936, you will be transferred to Newark, New Jersey. You will be allowed expenses of $.03 per mile and $4.00 per day, for maximum of four days, for driving your car through to Newark. L.G. Fritz Supt., Eastern Region CC: H. H. Gallup, J. A. Collings, Harlan Hull, Lee Flanagin *

MAY 2, 1947: HOWARD HUGHES MAKING A "CANYON APPROACH" WHILE DEMONSTRATING HIS TERRAIN WARNING INDICATOR

THE

CONNIES

049

by Ed Betts The first part of the "Original Connie" article (February 1988 "Topics") dealt with the first 6 years, from July 1939 to late 1945, which was the development period from Howard Hughes' idea for a "Super Airliner" to the military version dubbed the C-69. TWA's wartime ICD used a few for test and evaluation purposes until the war ended (August 1945), when the military abruptly cancelled all of their contracts. The second article (May 1988 "Topics") covered the introduction of the civilian version (dubbed the 049) in February 1946, and ended with Jack Frye's Christmas message to all employees (in the "Skyliner") predicting a bright future for the company in 1947, and spiking the rumor of his resignation. The year 1946 was the best in the company's history so far as operating income (number of passengers, revenue miles flown, income etc.); but it was the worst ever so far as losses...a net loss of $14,348,000. The loss was due to several reasons: the cost of starting the International Division, the grounding of the Connie fleet, the pilot's strike, the loss of four Connies, the postwar inflation and an over-estimate of the potential domestic market. The following CAB statistics of net incomes by the 16 major airlines in the US shows the magnitude of TWA's loss, after four years of an operating profit: NET INCOME OF UNITED STATES AIRLINES (000 omitted) 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 $(252) American Airlines ...... $1,859 $2,473 $3,852 $3,193 $4,396 $4,399 34 Braniff Airways ............ 75 (84) 635 958 774 850 128 169 Chicago & Southern ......... 30 (112) 129 128 (1,006) Colonial Airlines ......... (21) 53 108 16 (29) 109 (375) 199 344 312 Continental Air Lines * 281 37 (35) 56 Delta Air Lines * .......... 60 (86) 359 404 429 551 362 Eastern Air Lines ....... 1,575 1,610 1,886 1,427 1,499 2,126 3,505 171 263 Mid-Continent Airlines..... 46 (159) 69 171 139 National Airlines *........ 29 10 170 193 3 170 227 Northeast Airlines ......... 10 (56) (51) (97) (77) (166) 191 Northwest Airlines *...... 296 327 430 300 518 728 989 Pan American Airways .... 2,256 3,361 3,780 1,930 1,619 7,566 2,983 Penn-Central Airlines ..... 143 127 408 280 405 441 (2,550) Transcon'l & Western Air (98) (488) 2,176 2,051 2,753 1,814 (14,348) United Air Lines .......... 453 598 3,134 4,203 6,615 4,204 1,087 Western Air Lines ......... 140 6 694 90 136 208 (943) TOTAL $6,890 $7,545 $17,835 $15,528 $19,507 $23,684 (9,521) ( ) Deficit. * Fiscal years ended June 30. TWA's operating expenses during 1946 totalled $72,281,000, revenues (with an 84% passenger load factor) were $57,361,000...it couldn't meet the payroll toward the end of the year without borrowing more money. Equitable Life had it in the contract that TWA could not obtain any further loans without their permission. Also, during the pilot strike, TWA was forced to cancel the order for 8 (out of the order for 13) undelivered 049 Connies, and shortly after the strike the order for 18 of the model 649's. It was no secret that Equitable Life and Howard Hughes (through Noah Dietrich) were dissatisfied with the TWA top management.

THE

049

CONNIES

On 1/1/47, Senator Owen Brewster took over as Chairman of the Committee to Investigate the National Defense Program (once headed by then-Senator Harry Truman). A month later he chose to probe the Hughes Toolco wartime contracts with Hughes his "star witness". According to several accounts, including testimony by Hughes, Brewster had offered a deal to Hughes; to call off the investigation if he (Hughes) would consent to a merger of TWA with PanAm. Hughes made a flat refusal to any such deal. As it later turned out, Brewster was the one who received the "roasting". This was about the time when Hughes made a deal with Equitable to rescue TWA: Toolco would lend $10,000,000. Toolco, in return, would receive notes payable (convertible into common stock) and the power to name the majority of the airline's directors. If TWA defaulted on the payments, Toolco's TWA stock would go into an Equitable voting trust (which would give the insurance company control of the airline). TWA stock, during 1946, had dropped from $71 to $9 per share. In 1948 the $10,000,000 loan, plus $344,230 accrued interest, was converted to TWA stock at $10 a share. There was a great deal of fluctuation in the years that followed; the value peaked in 1966 at $101 a share, which was the time when the Hughes Toolco sold all of its 6,584,937 shares at $86 each. There have been many variations written of the reasons why certain TWA executives, such as Board Ch'm. T. B. Wilson, Pres. Jack Frye and Vice Presidents Paul Richter, Lee Talman and Jack Franklin resigned in early 1947...the above is just an outline of the financial situation at the time. Starting in January 1947, the International schedules (with the DC-4) extended to Bombay. The 049 was still used on the LGA-Shannon-Paris daily flight, and on Friday went on to Rome (and returned Sunday), and the Wednesday flight went to Geneva. The Domestic 049 schedules had one LGA-LAX (with a fuel stop & crew change), one LGA-MDW-MKC, one LGA-MDW-MKC-LAX and one LGA-MDW-MKC-LAX-SFO. The Stratoliners were operating in the Eastern Region only (east of MKC). Starting in January was an all-cargo DC-4 flight (one day a week, dubbed "The Shanghai Merchant"), operating DCA/LGA (with all of the stops) to Palestine. The four engine fleet, after one year of operations, consisted of 20 Connies (12 Domestic, 7 International and one C-69 for crew training), 13 DC-4's, and 5 Stratoliners. The LA (LAX) Airport became a regular stop for TWA in December 1946. Several record times were set in early 1947. On January 2, the crew of Roger Don Rae, Jack Schnaubelt and Ted Mrencso made the trip from MDW to LAX in 6 hr 48 min (schedule time was 8 hr 25 min including a 30 min fuel stop at MKC). On January 28th, the crew of Wendell Peterson, Elwin Bavis and Larry Applegate on Flight 36 set a record of 3 hr 48 min (average speed 369 mph, top 418 mph) on the leg from LAX to MKC. This record didn't last long. That afternoon the crew of Busch Voigts, Don McKenzie and Ken Kidd made the same trip in 3 hr 28 1/2 min (average speed 405 mph,top 425). The same flight (94) continued to MDW in 1 hr 20 min flying time, and to LGA in 2 hr 12 min for a total coast-to-coast time of 7 hr and 30 seconds. The record for the fastest trip MDW-LGA had been made by Bronson White of 1 hr 55 min (on December 24, 1946). On April 6, the crew of William Miller, Walt Eason and Dick Trischler regained the westbound Atlantic crossing record for TWA when they flew (non stop) from Shannon to LGA in 11 hr 55 min (the old record of 12 hr 16 min was held by American Overseas). The fastest eastbound time had been set by Dale Fulton, back in December, with a nonstop 10 hr 16 min LGA-Shannon trip.

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On March 11, 1947, a rare (and only) incident / accident occurred when Navigator George Hart was literally blown out of the airplane on a flight between Gander and the Azores while taking a position fix through the plexiglass astrodome (a bubble located on top of the fuselage and just behind the cockpit). The exact cause was not known, other than a fault in the installation, as the astrodome was permanently bolted to the fuselage and not of the removable type. This was the first incident involving a pressurized cabin where a window (or astrodome) had failed and the resulting tragic consequences. The "fix" was to have the Navigator wear a cumbersome body harness, which was bolted to the cabin floor, when he took a celestial sighting through the astrodome with the sextant. The astrodome also had a tendency to fog up with outside freezing temperatures and the best way to clear the buildup of frost on the interior side was to use a rag soaked with whiskey borrowed from a cabin attendant. There was no antiicing or de-icing method for the exterior. The one addition to the International fleet of Connies came in late March with #561, a converted Army C-69 (the one formerly used for pilot training), which had been purchased in December for $350,000 (as is, a "fixer upper"). The modification to 049 status was done by TWA's overhaul base at KCK. Bob Loomis had received special permission from the Executive Committee for his department to do the work cheaper than the estimate of $275,000 by an outside contractor. It took over two months (a total of 48,779 man hours) to take the plane apart and rebuild it: the engines, wings and landing gear removed and the plane stripped to the bare. The engines were reworked (including fuel injection) at a cost of $5,000 each. The plane was beefed up for the 90,000 lb maximum gross weight. A total of 5 1/2 miles of new electric cables were strung throughout the wings and fuselage. The windows were re-arranged to TWA standards, and new soundproofing insulation installed. 48 new seats, at a cost of $19,000 were installed. The total cost for the conversion was $193,000, which included some 500 engineering changes (some were major, others minor such as carpet attachments, shifting a radio position etc.) which TWA was making to the fleet. A new "Connie" cost about $800,000. The cost of #561 (including purchase plus modifications) was $553,000. Starting April 1, The Connies were scheduled (two days a week) beyond Rome, to Athens and Cairo. On Domestic there were three transcontinental trips between LGA and LAX (one on to SFO), two by way of MDW and MKC and the one direct with the fuel stop. On April 27, the domestic fleet of Connies had some stiff competition; United and American simultaneously inaugurated service with the DC-6. The DC-6, which cost about $720,000, was powered by 4-P&W R-2800 Twin Wasp (2,400 hp) engines. On a demonstration / publicity flight (on March 29) a DC-6 flew from California to New York in 6 hrs 47 min (an average groundspeed of 364 mph). A month after the DC-6 was introduced, Eastern inaugurated service with the "Gold Plate" 649 model Connie (the same as the later 749 model, except for shorter range capability). The 649 was powered by the new Wright 3350-BD engines (2,500 hp) and with 1,200 hp for cruise could keep up with (or pass) the DC-6. When the DC-6 was introduced, TWA lowered the surcharge for a transcon trip to $13.50. At the April meeting of the TWA stockholders Warren Lee Pierson was elected to be Chairman of the Board of Directors, and LaMotte Cohu the company President.

HOWARD HUGHES IN COCKPIT OF CONNIE

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Also in April, Howard Hughes was again flying a TWA Connie, with Bob Loomis as Copilot and Bill Brandes the F/E. A large group of aviation writers, from all over the nation, had been brought to LA (at Toolco expense) to witness a first hand demonstration of Hughes' latest project, the "Terrain Warning Indicator". This device, using the principal of the radio altimeter (which was perfected during the war for dropping paratroopers, and used by the International fleet for "pressure pattern flying" over water) was developed by Dale Evans of TWA's Electronics Department. The 16 pound instrument would sound a warning horn located in the cockpit, plus a brilliant red light on the pilot's instrument panel the instant it sensed an object in a zone 2000' in front of, to 2,000' below the aircraft. A toggle switch allowed the pilot to set the warning for 500'. Hughes made a series of 3 flights (2 hours each) with his guests taking turns in the cockpit observing as he flew into canyons until the alarm sounded and the light flashed; he would then "pour the coal to it"...with a very steep climbing turn to a safe altitude (maybe this is the origin of the "canyon appoach" which was a standard maneuver during an instrument check). He also flew over some of LA's tall buildings to show how the alarm worked at the 500' setting. It would go off when 75' above ground on a normal approach to land. Hughes announced the device would be available, at cost, to all airline operators, as soon as he could produce the equipment...naturally, TWA was a ready market. There were modifications to the production model, such as an additional selection for 1,000', smaller warning lights which didn't jar the pilot out of his seat and the loud bell was replaced by a gentle chime. The TWA pilots generally accepted the indicator as a part of their instrument panel. It was a warning device (and was not a required item for dispatching a flight). During the early days of checking out a pilot on the airplane there were a few maneuvers required by the CAA (or the company) which the pilots considered unnecessary or dangerous. These included losing two engines (actually feathered) after take off, an approach and landing with 3 engines out (simulated), and a "dead stick" landing where all 4 engines were pulled back to idle on the base leg and no additional power was used on the approach. A landing with no flaps was not considered dangerous. However, a landing with no-boost (all 3 flight controls) was (under the best of conditions such as: no weather, turbulence, a crosswind, engine out etc.) considered risky. It took several very hard landings causing engines to droop over an inch or so from the top of their mounts on the nacelles, before the CAA consented to simulate this maneuver at a safe altitude above the ground. On 4/11/47, Check Pilot Robert Weeks was giving transition to Domestic Captain Patrick McKeirnan, who was checking out on the International Division (and the Connie). F/E instructor Luke Vollack was training his student, Melvin Heller, at the panel. What actually happened was never determined, only surmised, as the plane crashed into the Delaware Bay (Cape May, NJ, near the lighthouse at Brandywine Shoals), killing all aboard. There were no radio broadcasts of an emergency, or any clues to the cause, other than observers from the ground who saw the plane start a turn at about 2,500' which gradually tightened and developed into a spiral. The spiral was stopped, but the aircraft continued into a steep descent (a 45 degree angle), and just before the crash there was a loud roar of the engines. The suspected cause was a malfunction with the elevator boost system. Warren Pierson issued a statement to the press: "At this stage of a check-out program the plane is deliberately placed in unusual positions in order to qualify new pilots in command. None of these maneuvers are performed in commercial operations".

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TWA's order for Connies had varied during the years: four more 049's (domestic configuration) were delivered in May of 1947. Fleet #515 (NC90826 ) was the last of the total of 88 C-69/049 series produced by Lockheed. Although the financial arrangements were not completed (until almost delivery time in mid-1948), TWA ordered 12 of the modern 749 series Connies for its International fleet. Starting 5/19/47, TWA began hiring copilots again, the first since February of 1946. The hiring continued until July 1948, with about 1,000 hired (before the big furlough which lasted until May of 1951). During this period there were 26 F/E's hired in 1947, 97 in 1948 and 18 in 1949. With the additional Connies for domestic use, the June schedules had six daily flights originating from LGA; four were nonstops to MDW (3 continued west) one to CVG-STL-MKC, and the transcon (with fuel stop). One flight originated from MKC to LA with a PHX stop. Nonstop service between SFO and MDW (Flights 38 and 37) was inaugurated, a 1925 mile trip. The ALPA stood by its ultimatum whereby any flight scheduled for over 8 hours flying had to have a relief pilot aboard or an intervening rest period. TWA circumvented this requirement by scheduling the westbound Flight 37 for just under 8 hours (7:55 summer and winter)...this was possible with just a 15 mph average headwind, which was rare in the winter and many a flight was about an hour late arriving (plus many a flight took the southern route in order to make a fuel stop). Although there were CAA airways on the MDW-DEN-SFO and DEN-LAX routes, they were considered "off airways" for TWA flights, which required a minimum cruise altitude of 17,000' west of DEN and 13,000' to the east. This restriction made it difficult, or impossible, to cruise at low altitudes where the winds (sometimes) were more favorable. The second group of SFO Captains to check out on the 049 went to LAX for their training (using the Palmdale Airport). Pilots with previous 4-engine time received 3 hours day and 3 hours night transition time, those without received 6 additional hours. Rudy Truesdale told of numerous engine problems; all of his approaches (under the hood) to LAX were with an engine actually feathered with a malfunction. John George was receiving his final line check from Bob Larson: over Tucumcari (NM) they had to feather an engine, and headed for Amarillo... before they had finished the checklist a second engine had to be feathered! Long before Denver and Salt Lake City became part of the TWA system, they were popular alternates for landing with an engine out (the Captain's choice rather than proceeding on to destination or nearest TWA station). George Duvall told of a SFO-MDW trip with some heavy thunderstorm buildups as they approached the Rocky Mountains. They climbed to 23,000' to try and top them. Over Wendover the #1 cabin supercharger bearing overheated, and they had to feather the engine (still the direct drive without a disconnect). Over the Ogden area they were in and out of the tops and George hoped to get beyond the Cheynenne area and then proceed to MKC or possibly on to MDW. However, after passing Rock Springs the #4 engine lost a valve and had to be feathered. There was no choice but to return to SLC...descending through thunderstorms, with the tower reporting the runway flooded. A range approach was made (with all of the usual static conditions), and they landed in several inches of water. George told of another flight on the SFO-MDW run where a valve broke in the #3 engine after passing Cheyenne. The weather was reported good east, so he continued towards Omaha were he could make the decision to divert to MKC or go on to MDW. All went well and over Iowa City he requested a slow decent to MOW... over Moline the #4 got rough and had to be feathered. The two-engine landing was routine, and he was able to taxi to the terminal and gate without the help of ground equipment (much to the tower operator's amazement).

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An engine-out landing normally doesn't make the headlines of the press, unless there is a well known personality aboard. Rudy Truesdale told of one trip on the MDW-SFO run, with Thomas Dewey a passenger, when they lost an engine over Des Moines (while Rudy was eating his lunch). They diverted to MKC where they changed planes and continued on to SFO. That night Rudy was home and listening to the radio when Walter Winchell came on the air screaming: "DEWEY IS SAFE!, DEWEY IS SAFE!", with a harrowing account of how Dewey's life was in danger. Lex Klotz was piloting a trip while the F/E was having trouble with the cabin pressurization system, when suddenly a hostess came up to the cockpit with the announcement that a female passenger was stuck to the toilet seat! As it was later determined; Fleet Service had not properly secured the fitting where the toilets are emptied and serviced on the ground...the cap had blown off and the lady's bottom was now serving as the stopper to keep the cabin pressure from dumping overboard through the drainage system. The "immediate fix" was to depressurize the cabin, and the lady was freed from her embarrassing situation. Frequent departure or arrival delays and accidents plagued the airlines during the year due to overcrowded airports and an antiquated airway/approach control system which couldn't handle the volume of traffic (regardless of the weather) at the major airports. For example: in June, which is regarded as a month with good flying weather in the NYC area, 41% of all departures from LGA were late (16% at least an hour) and 89% of all arrivals (46% over an hour). There had been a number of DC-4 accidents during the year. On May 29th a DC-4 flown by United crashed at LGA, the next day an Eastern DC-4 crashed at Point Deposit (Md) and on June 13th, a PennCentral DC-4 crashed at Leesburg, Va. All airline loads were affected with a drop of 50,000 passengers in June. On June 15, President Truman appointed a committee (headed by Judge James Landis) to investigate the problem of airline safety. The committee found the accidents had nothing in common (nor a pattern established) and no recommendations were made for improvement at the time. The year 1947, as it later turned out, was one of the worst in the history of the US carriers: 199 fatalities on Domestic operations and 15 on International. The CAA yardstick for safety, the number of passenger fatalities per 100,000,000 passenger miles flown, went from 1.24 in 1946 to 3.21 in 1947 (1.30 in 1948). The 15 killed on International occured on June 19, when a PanAm Connie made an emergency crash landing near Mayadine, Syria. They had been cruising at 18,000' when they feathered #1 engine. With added power the other 3 were overheating, and descent was made to 10,000'. About 75 miles from Habbaniya a fire broke out in #2 engine and they initiated a rapid descent but, within a few minutes, the engine fell from the airplane and the wing continued to burn. The wing was burning as they bellied in on the hard-packed desert sand, and the plane was i mmediately engulfed in flames after it stopped. #1 engine had failed due to a broken exhaust rocker arm, #2 due a thrust bearing failure, which had blocked oil from prop feathering motor to the prop dome. It, in turn, ruptured due to the high pressure buildup when they feathered the propeller. On July 26, a TWA Connie was damaged after landing at Shannon on a wet runway (the weather at the time was a 300' to 400' ceiling with 1 mile visibility and moderate rain). The brakes were ineffective and about mid-way down the runway the right gear started to fail (the two tension straps on top of the gear were later found mid-way down the runway). The plane was slow to decellerate as all 4 engines were idling too fast (just out of overhaul). The plane had slowed to a speed where a turn could have been made with a steerable nosewheel, had one been available, but the right brakes also failed and the plane slowly slid off of the end into the mud (the tail of the plane was still above the concrete), and the gear collapsed. There were no injuries.

Top Row; Russ Black, Don Smith, Russ Dick, Jim Eischeid, Amos Collins, Les Munger, Spike Poquette, Dick Heideman, Unknown, George Brill. Bottom Row; Jack Wade, Charlie Kratovil, Ken Woolsey, Howard Hall, Cliff Abbott, 3 unknowns, Earl Fleet.

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As a result of this incident, TWA immediately began modifying the Connie landing gear assembly with a Drag Strut Damper which would absorb the fore and aft shock loads on the gear during landing. This was known as the "walking gear". This protected the main gear strut from failing where it was attached to the wing spar (or popping rivets) and it made smooth landings more frequent as the main strut wasn't so rigid. The term "walking gear" could be illustrated with the following example: the parking brakes have been set and the engines are at idle (such as waiting for takeoff at the end of a runway); when ready for the "mag check" the 1 & 4 (or 2 & 3) engines are run up and, with this increase in power, there is a lurch with the plane's fuselage when the gear moves forward against the hydraulic pressure of the Drag Strut Damper. There was no movement of the wheels at the time, but the fuselage moved forward (and a bit up) about 18" (and moved back when the power was decreased). In August of 1947, Northwest Airlines introduced the 40-passenger Martin 202. This two-engine (unpressurized) transport was the first (US built) to gradually replace the venerable DC-3 for short haul work with the major airlines. The 202, however, was to have major structural problems about a year later and was grounded twice for modifications and a third and final time when the pilots of Northwest refused to fly the plane. On November 12, 1947 (until March 21, 1948), American and United voluntarily grounded their fleets of DC-6's for extensive modifications. This followed two in-flight fires (United's resulted in a fatal crash landing at Bryce Canyon, and American an emergency landing at Gallup, NM), which were attributed to a fault in the fuel system. When fuel was transferred from the auxiliary to the main tanks, gas (or the volatile fumes) was sucked into the cabin heater. On November 18th, a TWA Connie crashed during a training flight landing at New Castle (Wilmington). The weather was clear and according to eye witnesses on the ground, the approach appeared normal until the plane struck a ditch short of the runway and burst into flames. All on board were instantly killed which included Check Capt.Francis Winkler, Student Capt.(from Domestic) Virgil Kennedy, Student Capt.Emery Christensen (from Domestic on board as observer), F/E Richard DeCampo and CAA Inspector Herbert Dowsett. There was no definite evidence as to the cause other than they were practicing a "no-flap landing", and the CAA Inspector (Dowsett was in the left seat at the time) was piloting the plane. It was a common practice, after a check ride had been completed, to allow the CAA Inspector to fly the airplane for a brief period (usually a takeoff and landing) as a favor to him (the Inspectors were qualified as pilots on the equipment). This "favor" helped to insure their presence (if required) for a rating ride or other qualification check. This was not done on the line with passengers aboard. During 1947, there had been a great deal of progress with the development and installation of ground and air equipment needed with the ILS approach system, as well as the installation of radar at certain airports (and the training of the operators) for GCA (Ground Controlled Approach). TWA's program for testing and evaluation of the two systems began in September 1946, when Joe Mountain headed the company's All-Weather Research (reporting to Jack Franklin). At the time, the minimum ceiling was 500' and 1 mile visibility for a low frequency range approach. ILS had been developed before the war, but had not been perfected. GCA was a product of the war (commands from a radar controller as to desired headings, position and altitude for an approach to land), having been successfully used to get allied aircraft on the ground during fog or other instrument conditions on the North Atlantic route (or returning from a bomb mission over Germany).

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The first radar-equipped control tower in the US was installed at Indianapolis in March of 1946. In January of 1947, Dave Spain was the pilot (with the DC-4) demonstrating to a number of aviation authors approaches with both the ILS and GCA (at Wilmington). By April the GCA was available at MDW and DCA, and within a few months the CAA installed ILS at a few airports (TWA was using ILS at 17 stations by the end of the year 1947, with 300' and 3/4 mile minimums). The expected growth for the nation's airlines in 1947, as predicted by various sources and the government, failed to materialize. The passenger load factors dropped from an average of 80.3% in 1946, to 65.1% in 1947 (TWA's from 84.2 to 68.2%). TWA's operating revenues had increased, from $57.36 million to $78.52 million in 1947...but operating expenses had increased, from $72.29 million to $85.35 million for a net loss of $6.83 million for the year (compared to the loss of $14.9 million in 1946). On January 1, 1948, TWA was the first carrier to go off government subsidy on its International operation. There were more resignations of TWA executives by mid-1948, including LaMotte Cohu, Otis Bryan and Bob Loomis. Ray Dunn succeeded Loomis as the Director of Domestic Engineering and Overhaul, and Al Jordan the same for International. John Collings was VP of Operations and Oz Cocke VP of Traffic, as TWA continued the program to consolidate the two divisions (part of a master cost-cutting plan). The hiring of pilots stopped (July 6) and a few months later there was a large furlough of many employees. One of the very few 049's on a scheduled flight with passengers aboard to make a flight from LAX to LGA, non-stop, was Flight 12 of February 3, 1948. The crew was Roger Don Rae, Jack Schnaubelt and Watt Smith. Jack tells the story:

Starting in late March and continuing until the end of July 1948, the 12 model 749 Connies were delivered to TWA, the flight crews checked out, and were used on the International flights (until about early 1950, when they were also used by Domestic Operations). The 749 had the same exterior look and shape of the 049 (wings, fuselage, tail etc.), but it had most of the refinements included which had been requested by TWA with the original post-war order of 049's. The major improvements were numerous (such as the Pioneer PB-10 auto pilot); most important was the 3350-BD engine (2,500 hp). With the addional power and fuel capacity (plus higher takeoff and landing weights), the 749 far out-performed any commercial aircraft of its day. There were initial problems with the Curtiss Electric Propellers. The BD engine proved to be the most reliable of any piston-powered engine TWA ever had in its fleet. With the introduction of the 749's, the six 049's were modified and transferred to the Domestic operation.

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On April 15, a PanAm 049 crashed while making an approach for landing at Shannon during fog conditions. They were making an ILS approach (a second attempt) and hit the ground about a 1/2 mile short of the runway. There was only one survivor of the crash (they hit a stone wall, wiped out the gear and a fuel tank exploded). No definite cause was determined other than they were too low, and the failure of the fluorescent lights for the pilot instruments may have been a contributing factor. This was, as it later turned out, the first of 3 accidents during 1948 which involved an 049 Connie during an instrument approach. In June 1948, after nearly 3 years of construction, the Idlewild Airport was partially open to commercial operations (TWA's International flights) with two runways completed. TWA's original agreement with the city of NY was for the aggregate cost of about $16 million for hangars and other facilities be paid off over a 25 to 30 year period, The first 2-engine transport with cabin pressurization, the Convair 240, was introduced on July 1, by American. It was powered by the P&W Twin Wasp engine (2,400 hp). On October 21, a KLM 049 flew into some high-tension cables on the approach to Prestwick (5 miles ENE of the airport), caught fire and crashed. There was one survivor. Among those killed was KLM's Chief Pilot. The weather report, at the time, was a 700' ceiling (and deteriorating). They had made a GCA approach to runway 31, aborted due to strong crosswind, and were making a circle to land on runway 26 when they hit the power cables. Other than the deteriorating weather conditions and possible disorientation by the pilots, there were no positive clues as to the cause of the accident except: the altitude of the obstruction which they hit was listed on the approach chart as 45' instead of the actual 450'(a "typo error" in printing!). In September 1948, the CAA approved a new hydraulic-driven cabin supercharger system with a disconnect available from the cockpit. This replaced the former mechanical drive shaft. Most important, it could be disconnected in flight. Two more 049's were added to the domestic fleet in late 1948. Both planes had been among the original C-69's built for the Army, purchased by Hughes Toolco in early 1948, and completely modified by Lockheed Air Service for TWA. Fleet #516 had been #10317 in Army colors and had a total of 274 flying hours at the time of sale. Fleet #517 had been #94549 had 286 hours, and is the plane that TWA volunteers later helped restore for the Pima Air Museum in Tucson. The TWA flight crews (except cabin attendants) took on a new look in November with the double-breasted grey uniform. The Domestic crews were identified with dark grey stripes on their sleeves, International crews with gold stripes. Also in November, the service charge for domestic Connie flights was dropped. The standard (still all-First Class) transcon fare was $143.15. TWA introduced an all-sleeper flight with the 749 in October (NY-Paris without the usual stop at Shannon); the eastbound flight was dubbed "The Paris Sky Chief", westbound "The New York Sky Chief". A special surcharge of $125 was charged for this delux service and berth ($150 for double occupancy, no proof of marriage needed), There is no accurate comparison with the fares in 1948 and those in 1988, when inflation and other factors are taken into account, such as: the total scheduled enroute time, comfort, quality of service etc. However, the following comparison will give an idea of what it was like "then and now" for a First Class trip between NYC and Paris.

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FIRST CLASS NEW YORK CITY to PARIS (or roundtrip) 1948... CONSTELLATION 1988...BOEING 747 Eastbound schedule 15 hrs 45 min .............. Eastbound schedule 7 hrs 10 min (includes 1 hr ground time at Gander) ......... (non-stop 747) Westbound schedule 18 hours ....................Westbound schedule 7 hrs 50 min (includes 1 hr ground time at Gander) ......... (non-stop 747) First Class fare was $370 one way ............. First Class is $1927 one way $666 round trip................................ no round trip discount. TOTAL one way with berth (single) $495 ........ $1927, no berths available round trip " $916 Round trip $3854. The 1948 figures do not include the government transportation tax, or the 1988 charges for security or airport departures. There are, of course, many cheaper fares available with TWA in 1988 between NYC and Paris, such as: Ambassador ($1021), Coach ($700) and the special Apex (with certain restrictions) rates of $660 (round trip) in the high season ($525 in the low season)...both of the special Apex rates available in 1988 (for a round trip) are less than the 1948 fares and take less than half the time to travel. In addition there is a more comfortable cabin, inflight entertainment, jetways for boarding in any kind of weather conditions, radar for the pilots to avoid severe weather and the electronic aids for navigation or approaches to near zero-zero weather. What other industry can boast of such progress in the post-war years: a better product at a lower price after 40 years of inflation? On Thanksgiving morning, November 25, Flight 211 (DCA-DAY-MDW-PHX-LAX) departed PHX on the last leg to LAX with a load of 18 passengers. The cockpit crew was Evan Lewis, Leon Pierson and Virgil "Bud" James. The LA weather was forecasted to have variable fog conditions, and the weather report they received when arriving over the area at 5:30am was one mile visibility. However, the remarks section of the report had been omitted, which added: ground visibility 1/2 mile variable 1/4, estimated 10 to 50' deep. As was a frequent custom in the early AM hours, and traffic permitted, they made a pass over the airport to observe the conditions below and then returned to the east, and made an approach to runway 25L. Although small puffs of clouds were encountered, the approach lights were visible, as were the high-intensity runway lights (which extended 1,160' down the runway). Where the high-intensity lights ended a patch of fog was encountered, and the plane hit the ground about 2,300' down the run way with a force strong enough to deform the wing structure and deflect the #4 engine downward. The propeller struck the runway, and a fire was observed in #4 nacelle. Brakes were vigorously applied and they stopped 1,500' from the point of landing, and 197' from the left edge of the runway. Flames rapidly engulfed the right wing and fuselage, but all passengers were evacuated without serious injury. The tower had observed most of the approach until the flare for landing; after that the plane was obscured by the fog. Several attempts were made to contact the flight by radio as a red glow was observed in the area. There was no answer. The tower then called PanAm operations (located in the area) and was informed "something is burning". It was 6 minutes after the landing before the fire department was called, and another 2 minutes before they arrived. By that time the plane was completely engulfed in flames! What took place inside the cabin of the plane during the few precious minutes used to evacuate all passengers and crew can best be described by quoting from a letter Leon Pierson sent:

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CONNIES

This emergency evacuation proved what the flight crews had contended from the beginning of the Connie operations: the "Jacob's Ladder" was a lousy arrangement. The term "Jacob's Ladder" has two sources: biblical and nautical. With TWA it was a flexible rope with solid rungs...which took a trapeze artist to negotiate with both hands and feet. Although it wasn't a panacea, and it took some time for the modification, chutes were eventually installed near the rear cabin door and the crew door in the cockpit. For the second year in a row the expected gain in passenger travel had failed to materialize for the major US airlines: in 1946 there was a total of 6,068 million passenger seat miles occupied, 6,308 in 1947 and 5,963 in 1948. Passenger load factors had dropped from 80.31 to 65.12 in 1947, to a low of 57.87 in 1948. Total operating revenues (domestic operations) were $343,289,730 in 1948, operating expenses were $431,634,277 for a net industry loss of $88 million. TWA's load factor for the year was 57.9%; the total operating revenues were $101,049,959, operating expenses $99,727,313 (a net gain of $1,326,646). However, other charges (loan interest etc.) of $3,220,811 made a net loss for the year of $1,277,591 (not a good year, but a big improvement over 1946 and 1947). The Domestic Division had a net loss of $1,135,000 for the year, International had a profit of $656,000. There had also been the continued rise in the number of charter and "Non-Sked" operators (and the frequency of their operations), which were more than just a thorn for the scheduled airlines with their cut rate fares on the more lucrative routes. TWA had plenty of competition on the North Atlantic to Europe and Cairo as the airlines now included: Air France, American Overseas, BOA, KLM, PanAm, Sabenia and SAS...one or more were operating from the east coast to the same cities served by TWA as far as Cairo. All except AOA served Rome, all except AOA and PanAm served Paris (using Lockheed or Douglas aircraft). Quoting figures from the "Skyliner" with regard to the direct costs of operating the fleet in 1948: the DC-3 was based on a block-to-block speed of 152 mph and cost $65.15 an hour, the Stratoliner at 172 mph cost $151.10 and the 049 at 237 mph with a $276.65 cost. By percent the 049 direct flying cost broke down to: crew (15.3%), gas/oil (24.6%), insurance (8.7%), maintenance (26.2%), depreciation or rental (19.5%) and passenger supplies (5.7%). On January 25, 1949, Ralph S. Damon was elected President and Chief Executive Officer of the Company, a post which had been vacant since June 1, 1948.

THE

049

CONNIES

With the addition of the six 049's from the International Division, the Domestic fleet now totalled 24. By early 1949 there were a total of 9 flights originating and terminating at LGA, 1 from DCA and 1 from MDW; with a total of 9 which were transcontinental trips (3 to SFO). The oneway fare for the NYC-LAX (or SFO) trip was $157.85 (5% discount round trip) plus 15% Federal tax (and no pets allowed aboard a Connie). The Stratoliners were still in use between LGA and MDW with 4 flights a day, and one to MKC. Normally Eastern did not fly BUR to LGA, but they did make a record-setting trip with a 649 on February 5th when they made it nonstop in 6 hr 18 min (average speed 390 mph) The best ever for a piston-type transport was 5 hr 10 min, set by an American Airlines DC-7 in March 1954. In addition to the 6 Connies, several DC-4's were transferred to Domestic and modified to an all-coach configuration. Effective February 6, TWA began its first "Sky Coach" service competing against the "Non-Skeds", with two nightly flights between MKC and LAX. This was a "Dawn Patrol" operation: Flight 5 departed MKC at 10:30pm and arrived LAX at 7:05am, after stops at ICT, AMA, ABQ and PHX; Flight 7 departed at 12:10am, with the same enroute stops and arrived LAX at 8:25am. The eastbound flights were also "all-nighters", but not as late departures: Flight 6 left LAX at 7:05pm, Flight 8 at 9:00pm, with the same enroute stops to MKC. The one way fare for the "Sky Coach" MKC to LAX was $59.50 (standard fare was $91.40 with a 5% roundtrip discount) plus 15% tax. Starting in early 1949 all maintenance and overhaul was consolidated at the KC (Fairfax) base. Also International and Domestic Traffic and Sales Departments were combined in the NYC office. In 1949, the CAA released a bit of information to the press with a list of the nation's 50 most experienced airline pilots so far as logged flying time. All had more than 20 years of flying with the airlines at the time. Basil Rowe, of PanAm headed the list with 30,021 flying hours followed by United's E.Hamilton Lee with 27,811 (he retired that year). Tops among the TWA group (#6) was Jack Walsh with 23,407 hours. Others from TWA were: Felix Preeg (#16) with 21,800, "Dutch" Holloway (#18) 21,385, Russ Dick (#20) 21,000, Amos Collins (#26) with 20,210, Ted Moffitt (#30) 20,049 and Lex Klotz (#31) 20,046. The last 19 listed all had more than 20,000 hours, but the exact time was not known; which included Ted Hereford (who never could keep his records straight!). In March TWA announced its order for 40 Martin twin-engine model 404 aircraft. Pending delivery of the 44-passenger (pressurized) version, arrangements were made to lease 12 of the 202A models (40-passenger, unpressurized) for delivery in 1950 (they were later purchased). The last of the post-war 4-engine airliners, the giant Boeing "Stratocruiser", was introduced by PanAm in April, on their SFO-Honolulu route. The double deck plane was powered by the 3,500 hp P&W "Wasp Major" ("Corn-Cob") engines. In December of 1949, TWA inaugurated coast-to-coast all-coach service (1 stop at MKC) with the 60-passenger DC-4. The fare was $110 one way (First Class was $157.85) plus tax, which was as low as any of the current "Non-Sked" rates. A special waiver by the CAA permitted the DC-4 to be operated without a Flight Engineer; they were used in that crew configuration on the Domestic Division. On December 18, a TWA Connie was severely damaged landing at MDW on a wet runway. The crew was Stan"Toots" Kasper, Herb Shively and Dudley Grimes. They had made one attempt to land and on the second landing, it was impossible to stop and they plowed through a fence, hit a concrete abutment and wound up at the intersection of Cicero Avenue and 63rd Street. There were no injuries. This was another incident which might have been avoided with reverse pitch props.

CAPT ORM GOVE, FIRST OFFICER GEORGE GAY AND INTERNATIONAL CREW

THE

049

CONNIES

In 1949, the first since 1945, TWA had a net profit, and this was with an average load factor of only 61%. Earnings from the Domestic Operations totalled $722,543, from International $2,986,302. Operating revenues were $105,985,000 and expenses totalled $98,864,000; the net earnings for 1949 was $3,709,000. Also in 1949 (for the second year in a row) TWA received the National Safety Award (from the National Safety Council) for operating without a passenger fatality. A total of 3,440,872,000 passenger-miles had been flown during 1948 and 1949 in achieving this record. In late 1949 an extensive modification program was started on the 049 aircraft which increased the maximum takeoff weight from 93,000 to 96,000 lbs, and the max weight for landing to 83,000 lbs. No increase in power; which made for a lot longer takeoff run, slower climb and a longer period to get sufficient cruise airspeed to keep the engines cool! Normal cruise was 1,100 hp per engine, but with weights above 88,000 lbs, or on the MDW-SFO flight, 1,200 hp was authorized. The increased weight allowances made it possible for higher payloads for the Traffic Department even when high fuel loads were necessary. Other modifications included the addition of 3 more cabin windows and 8 more seats (total of 57), plus a change from the light beige and maroon seat covers to a green and cream motif. The modifications were in preparation for a future change in the 049 fleet; to the all-coach configuration. Hughes Toolco had purchased three 049's formerly used by Air France which were sent to Lockheed for a complete overhaul and modification to the 81-passenger configuration. The galley was moved back to the rear cabin; the "new look" was nothing but coach seats (5 per row with a narrow aisle between) all the way to the cockpit door. The planes had from 4,316 to 4,986 flying hours at the time of overhaul and were sold to TWA by Hughes, at cost. The all-coach service was the pet project of Oz Cocke and, within a few years, all of the 049 fleet plus additional purchases of used planes, would be modified the same way. In April of 1950, and continuing until June of 1951, TWA added 25 of the model 749A's to the fleet (plus another 3 purchased from Delta in 1954). The 749A was basically the same as the 749, with added improvements such as: increased max gross weight for takeoff to 107,000 lbs (landing 89,500), the Hamilton hydromatic propeller (reversing type), electrically heated (NESA) cockpit windshield panels, NACA under-cowl air scoop (instead of alternate A) and a periscopic sextant to replace the astrodome atop the fuselage for the navigator. The Stratoliner had it's last flight with TWA on May 19, on a trip from LGA to MKC. They were retired with a perfect safety record and a year later all five were sold for $525,000. Also in May, TWA officially changed its title to Trans World Airlines, Inc. On June 1, TWA inaugurated all-coach service with the converted (81 passenger) 049 Connie. Bill Campbell, Evan Lewis and Jack Evans were the crew out of LAX on the first flight. There was a record 114 on board the plane, which included 5 crew, 77 adults and 32 infants under two years age (a second section, using a DC-4 was necessary to accommodate another 51 adults). The eastbound trip was a 10 1/2 hour schedule, westbound 11 hrs. The fare was $110 for a transcontinental trip (the usual First Class was $157.85, one way). In the summer of 1950 there were two accidents involving the Connies in which everyone on board was killed. On July 28, a PanAir do Brazil (48% owned by Pan Am) 049 hit a power line on the approach to Porto Alegre, Brazil. On August 31 a TWA 749A made a crash landing, and burned, soon after departing Cairo. This was the only fatal accident of a 749/749A flown by TWA.

THE

049

CONNIES

On 11/18/50, TWA might have lost another Connie (049) had it not been for the Mike"cLaughln.Ter skills among the crew of Mel "Mo" Bowen, Bert Schaar and "Mike" McLaughlin. There are many problems and emergencies which are demonstrated by a crew during the semi-annual proficiency check, such as an instrument approach with one or more engines inoperative...they had many more which were not part of a checkride. Flight 94 departed LAX with a full load of passengers (all First Class) including Liz Taylor and her bridegroom Nickie Hilton, John Ford, Nancy Olson, Ward Bond and Nate Blumberg (head of Universal Studios). It had rained steadily all night and at the time of departure the weather was bare minimums for takeoff of 1/2 mile visibility. Soon after they departed the weather went to zero-zero. When climb power was established both inboard engines had high oil and cylinder head temperatures and soon #3 became excessive. It was feathered and the climb rate decreased and the airspeed increased in an attempt to cool down #2. It too exceeded the temperature limits, was running rough, and had to be feathered. They couldn't dump fuel as radio communications were vital at the time. Another complication was the VHF radio was stuck on the LAX tower frequency...all communications had to be with LAX and relayed by them to other concerned parties. They were too heavy (without dumping fuel) to clear the mountains and proceed to a suitable alternate, and the only airport in the LA area with landing minimums was Long Beach...then reporting a 300' ceiling with light rain and a tailwind component for an ILS approach (no back course was authorized). The #3 engine was unfeathered for the approach, but since the power output was questionable it was left in the idle position. During the approach the glideslope warning flag came on and off intermittently as did the indicator. Mo made a perfect landing; but with the combination of wet runway, a tailwind and overweight conditions (and no reverse pitch propellers), it was impossible to stop by the end of the runway. They slid 300 yards beyond, hit a railroad track and abutment which knocked off the right gear and spun the plane around on the wing tip. The LGB fire department was immediately on the scene. As a precaution all passengers were evacuated from the left exits by ropes. There were no injuries and the entire crew received the highest praise for the professional job done during the 35 minutes from when the #3 engine failed to the final evacuation. Both engines had failed master bearings; on the ground they were frozen solid and it was impossible to rotate them. Ironically, the same plane (#555 NC86511) was the one on which the right gear had failed after landing at Shannon on a wet runway. The "fix" was to cease the practice of diluting the engine oil system with gas (dating back to the DC-3 days) prior to shutting down during cold weather conditions (depending on the temperature and expected time the engines would be shut down). This dilution of the oil with gas made engine rotation and starts easier (the gas was soon burned off or evaporated after starting and warmup), but it was determined the gas could loosen particles of sludge which would restrict or block oil to the bearing, causing a failure. In addition to the three all-coach 049's purchased by Toolco and resold to TWA (all were former Air France), three other standard-class planes were bought and placed into service during the year. All were "trade ins" to Lockheed (two by KLM and one Air France on the 749A model). Late in the year the overhaul base modified a fourth plane to the all-coach configuration. At the end of the year 1950 there were 29 model 049 Connies in the company fleet (4 all-coach), 12 of the model 749 and 19 model 749A. Other post-war aircraft included the 12 Martin 202A's. Five 749A's were scheduled for 1951 delivery plus 30 Martin 404's. The Stratoliners had been retired in 1950 and ten DC-3's sold. Orders for 10 model 1049 "stretched" Constellations were made in 1950 with a 1952 delivery date.

THE

049

CONNIES

In August 1951 TWA purchased one of the original Army C-69's from the CAA. TWA crews had flown it as NX54214, on lease to TWA in mid-1946, for crew training. It had 20 hours before and 82 hours after the use by TWA. At the time of the purchase the plane was based at the CAA headquarters in Oklahoma City, and had a total of 181 flying hours (most of its use had been for ground instruction). It took three weeks to ferry the plane to KCK; due to numerous problems a landing was made at Stillwater, Oklahoma, where all four engines had to be changed. It was modified to the all-coach style and entered service in October 1952. TWA purchased two other 049's in 1952 (both were former AOA/PanAm), and they were converted to all-coach which brought the total 049 fleet to 32. By the end of 1952 twelve aircraft had been converted to all-coach (all 32 by June of 1955). In April 1952 plane #520 was the first of the 049 fleet to come out of overhaul with a new cabin supercharging and other equipment which included improved ventilation and heating, a high capacity cabin supercharger, automatic control system for cabin temperature and pressure and a complete new ducting installation similar to the type used on the 749's. The improved circulation was obtained from the Garrett AiResearch supercharger unit (driven by #4 engine) that nearly tripled the former output. The 1049A "Super Connie" was introduced on September 10, 1952. One was severely damaged on December 7, after landing at Fallon (Nev) with the #3 and #4 engines out. These engines were the source of the secondary hydraulic pressure (gear, flaps, nosewheel steering etc.). The nosewheel somehow did not line up with the runway and the plane, after landing, was impossible to control with only the brakes and went off on a tangent to the runway and one gear was wiped out after hitting an obstruction. Had hydraulic pressure been available for the nosewheel steering, there would have been no problem. As a result of this accident a two way crossover valve was installed on all Connies; by use of an electric switch the crew could open the valve, making primary hydraulic pressure available to the secondary system (provided there was no fluid loss). In late 1956 the CAA gave its approval to another improvement designed by TWA's Engineering department, a refrigerator system for cooling air plus the installation of individual air outlets for the passengers and crew. Plane #515 was used for the tests and #517 was the first to be equipped. After 11 years of operating the 049's, air conditioning was available to cool the cabin (as long as #4 engine was running). Also installed at the time was the BD-type engine rear case and drive unit for the cabin refrigerator. Starting in 1959, when a BA engine went through overhaul, a major improvement was the conversion to the forged head cylinders. TWA received kits (18 cylinders each) from Wright for the modification, but they were slow in delivery and not all engines were modified by the time the 049's were phased out. The forged heads ran considerably cooler, were far more reliable and the frequencies of the chronic problems of roughness and failures were reduced. There is some question as to when (if ever) other modifications were made, such as retrofitting the original (delivered to TWA prior to July 1946) 049's with nosewheel steering (wheel in the cockpit) and reverse pitch propellers. According to Connie historian Peter Marson, the first test by TWA with the Hamilton reversible pitch props was in October 1952 (on the inboard engines only) which continued until May 1953. Bill Byard confirmed, from notes in his logbook, that he was F/E on plane #526 which was undergoing tests for TWA and the CAA in May 1953 with reverse pitch props on #2 and #3 engines. However, a number of firsthand accounts of where this feature was not available date several years later.

THE

049

CONNIES

For examples: On 2/23/55 plane #505 (NC86509, the last of the First Class 049s) had an incident after landing at LGA with up to 2" of water on the runway. The crew was Ben Gigstad, Vic Yuska and Walt Kinate. According to Walt, the plane was landed as short and slow as possible, then rocked back in a nose-high position (for maximum drag) before the nosewheel was lowered. The breaking action was nil, so a groundloop was attempted near the end of the runway. The aircraft skidded sideways, hit a ditch beyond the end of the runway, which wiped out the main landing gears and buckled the left wing and fuselage. There were no injuries. According to Walt, there were no reverse pitch props or a steerable nosewheel installed at the time. I had a minor experience on 9/22/55 (plane #560), while on a checkride with Max Parkison (and a CAA inspector in the jumpseat) landing at MKC with a very wet runway. There were no reverse pitch props, but a steerable nosewheel was available. The braking action was poor to nil, although we had slowed down enough so I could make a semi-groundloop (a very sharp 90 degree turn) to a taxiway just as the runway ended. No damage done except Max and the inspector got a few extra gray hairs. There was no criticism of my approach and landing; however, the incident was witnessed by John Collings from his office window nearby, and that afternoon I was scheduled for an 18 minute flight around the airport pattern to demonstrate (with Bob Norris) I knew how to operate the brakes on a wet runway. Dave Kuhn told of an incident he experienced landing at MKC on 3/17/56 (plane #506) using the short SW runway:

The maintenance crews out on the line also made their contributions which aided the trouble-shooting of certain chronic engine problems and speeded up the time for repairs. Larry Shannon, foreman at LAX, worked out a method of checking and setting magneto points, which was a rapid cure for certain roughness problems. Sticking exhaust valves was another problem solved: with a pressurized tank it was possible to inject kerosene into the carburetor air scoop, which was often successful in freeing sticky valves. Another source of rough engines was with the fuel injection pump or a bad nozzle: maintenance developed a testing device which was connected to any one of the injection nozzle lines and, with the engine running, it could be determined if the output to that cylinder was within limits. These remedies for a rough engine came after the usual "wand check" (a thermocouple to determine each cylinder head temperature while the engine was still hot) and a change of plugs didn't help. By late 1958, a few months before the jets were introduced on TWA, the pistonpowered fleet for passengers was utilized as follows: International was usually all 1649A model Connies (combination of First Class, Tourist and Economy). The Domestic Division also used the 1649A on the transcontinental nonstops, the "G" and 1049A's for other long-haul work (combination First Class and Tourist), the 749/749A/Martin 404 (all First Class) for the short haul flights and the 049's for the all-Tourist. First Class fare NYC-LAX was $166.25 (ow), coach was $104 (plus 10% tax). The bargain round-trip, on the 049 which made most of the local stops, was $168.40...a box lunch was available for purchase before boarding.

THE

049

CONNIES

When the Boeing 707 was introduced the 049 flights were all numbered in the 500 series (the longest leg was STL-LAX). On 6/15/59, TWA inaugurated its new version of "Sky Club Air Coach Service", with the 049's refurbished in an inviting new decor: headrest covers in alternating colors of beige, green and orange along with window curtains in pastel shades and dark blue aisle runners (flecked with gold) were part of the motif. A single seat in the rear of the cabin was removed to make room for a small food compartment...sandwiches or snacks were now available for purchase! The year 1961 saw many changes in the TWA top management: Ernest Breech was the new Chairman of the Board and Charles Tillinghast the company President. Senior VPs included Oz Cocke (Industry Affairs), Floyd Hall (System General Manager) and A.V. Leslie (Finance and Treasurer). Other VPs, from our TARPA members, included Frank Busch, Ed Frankum, Larry Trimble and the late Ray Dunn. Frank Busch, then VP Equipment Retirement, had a busy office selling all of the piston fleet which TWA didn't intend to utilize beyond the 1/1/62 deadline set by the CAA for all scheduled airline passenger planes to be equipped with airborne radar for avoiding severe weather. The schedule for retirement (and sale) was speeded up once TWA finally took delivery and inaugurated service with the CV880 in January of 1961. The last of the M202A's had been sold in late 1959, the 404 models were phased out and sold by May 1961. The last DC-4 was sold in November 1961. The 1049A's were phased out at the end of 1960, the 1049H (cargo) by September 1961. Twelve 1649A's were converted to all-cargo. Additional sales were four 1649A, two 749A, one 1049G and six 049 aircraft by the end of 1961. On 9/1/61, Flight 529 (an 049) crashed just a few minutes after taking off from the MDW Airport killing all 73 passengers on board and the crew of Jim Sanders, Dale Tarrant, Jim Newlin, Barbara Pearson and Nanette Fidger. The cause of the accident was a failure of the elevator controls; the immediate search focused on a 5/16" bolt which was missing from the parallelogram-type linkage that was part of the boost system located in the tail of the airplane. The bolt was not found in the wreckage or along the flight path prior to the crash. The "fix" was to inspect the entire fleet of Connies to insure the bolt was properly installed along with a cotter key to prevent the nut from working loose. Although it had no bearing on this accident, the same plane (#555) had been damaged when the right gear collapsed after landing at Shannon in 1947, and again when the same gear collapsed on the 2-engine landing at Long Beach in 1950. Another note by the author: my bid flight for the month of August 1961 was the combination 520 (LAX-DEN-MDW) and 529 (MDW-LAS-LAX) along with the crew of Dick Cruickshank, Jim Newlin, Barbara Pearson and Sue Kelly (wife of Joe Kelly). The return Flight 529 originated BOS on 8/31 and departed MDW on 9/1...which was my normal rotation except that Jim Sanders had requested a mutual trade (Sue Kelly had called in sick and I don't recall why Dick wasn't on it, probably a move up to a better flight). I counted my blessings. Most of the remaining 25 049's flew right up to the deadline for radar, were grounded and sold in March 1962 to Al Paulson's (former TWA F/E) Nevada Airmotive Co. After 16 full years of operating the 049's the total flying time for the fleet (according to notes compiled from TWA records by Harry Sievers) was about 1,360,000 hours. Plane #511 had the highest time with 47,542 hours. The exodus of the 049 from TWA operations was unceremonious and hardly noticed as the company and its personnel advanced to the jet age. Some of the stories and adjectives used to tell about the 049 may not have been complimentary and too much on the negative side; she was a beautiful and productive lady, but it took a lot of writeups in the logbook to make her respectable.

THE

049

CONNIES

The following brief biographies of the 049 Connies used by TWA was gleaned from records kept by aircraft historians Louie Barr (TARPA) and Harry Sievers of TWA, and British author Peter Marson. Abbreviations include: del (delivered), cc (date re-entered service after conversion to the all-coach 81-passenger configuration), w/o (wiped out or written off the books), ret (retired from service) and NevA (Nevada Airmotive).

500

NC86500 'Star of the Mediterranean'. Originally a C-69 for USAAF, converted to 049 and del TWA 11/15/45. Damaged PIT 5/23/50 left main gear and wing fuel cell. Repaired at Fairfax and cc at same time. Re-entered service 12/17/50 as fleet #524. Ret mid-1961, sold NevA 3/31/62 45,709 hours. Broken up for scrap 1964.

501

NC86501 'Star of the Persian Gulf'. Original order by USAAF as C-69 but not taken up. Del TWA as 049 12/7/45. Damaged MDW 12/18/49 overshot landing on wet runway. Re-entered service 4/16/50. cc 1/2/52. Sold NevA 3/31/62 44,479 hrs. Scrapped at LAS 1964.

502

NC86502 'Star of the Pyramids'. Del 12/20/45. cc 11/28/53 Leased to Eastern 11/17/57 to 4/26/58 Sold NevA 3/31/62 45,985 hrs. Scrapped in 1964.

503

NC86503 ' Navahoe Skychief'. Del 1/1/46 also named 'Star of California'. Inaugurated domestic service 2/15/46. Later named 'Star of the Nile'. cc 2/14/54 Sold NevA 3/31/62 46,953 hours Did some flying with ASA ('flying freight to SoAmerica) and broken up for scrap late 1969.

504

NC86504 'Star of France'. Used by Lockheed for demonstration flights prior to del TWA 2/5/46. Damaged by fire on ground (hydraulic leak) at SFO 1/31/48, returned to sv 6/3/48. cc 4/20/54 Sold NevA 3/31/62 44,777 hours. Flew for Futura Airlines 5/62-6/63. Leased to Paradise Airlines, crashed 3/1/64 making approach in snowstorm to Lake Tahoe, killing all on board.

505

NC86509 'Star of Africa '. Del 1/30/46 (original fleet #509). Damaged LGA 2/23/55 after landing on wet runway, failed to stop. Repaired at KCK and cc same time, re-entered sv 6/27/55. Hit auto with propeller at DEN 3/11/56. Retired mid-1961, sold to NevA 3/31/62 42,955 hours. Scrapped 1964.

506

NC86514 'Star of India'. Del 2/9/46 (original fleet #514) cc 4/4/54 Leased to Eastern 11/25/57 to 4/23/58. Sold NevA 3/31/62 45,459 hours. Scrapped in 1964.

507

NC86515 'Star of Arabia'. Del 2/15/46 (original fleet #515). 45,591 hours. Scrapped in 1964.

508

NC86516 'Star of Ireland'. Del 2/19/46 (original fleet #516) cc 1/22/55 Leased to Eastern 12/15/56 to 5/17/57. Sold NevA 3/31/62 44,692 hours, Scrapped in 1964.

509

NC86517 'Star of Tripoli'. Del 2/19/46 (original fleet #517) cc 5/20/53 Sold to Hacienda Hotel 5/24/61 41,924 hours. Several other owners until 1969 when used by the San Francisco School (Jr.College) system for aeronautical training (ground). Similar use until 1973 when a truck knocked off the nosewheel and fuselage was scrapped.

510

NC90817 'Star of the Adriatic' del 9/29/46 cc 6/8/52 Scrapped in 1964

511 512

NC90818 'Star of the Red Sea'. Del 10/5/46 cc 2/15/52 Leased to Eastern 11/30/47 to 4/24/58 Sold NevA 3/31/62 47,542 hours. Scrapped in 1964 NC90823 'Star of the Yellow Sea'. Del 5/27/47 cc 2/12/53 Sold NevA 3/31/62 45,523 hours. Used by McCulloch Properties Inc. to 7/5/64. Numerous owners after. Was the last 049 in scheduled service (So America) until 4/3/78. Broken up for scrap in Peru 7/80.

513

NC90824 (title not known). Del 5/6/47.

514

cc 1/1/55

Sold NevA 3/31/62

47,100 hrs

w/o landing LAX in fog 11/25/48, no injuries. NC90825 "Star of China'. Del 5/17/47. cc 5/3/53 Leased to Eastern 12/25/56 to 5/18/57 ret mid-1961, sold to NevA 3/31/62 44,754 hours. scrapped in 1964.

THE

049

CONNIES

515

NC90826 'Star of the China Sea'. Del 5/19/47. Was the last 049 built by Lockheed. Damaged PHX 1/5/51 belly landing. cc 5/2/53 Damaged on ground BAL oxygen bottle exploded and fire in cockpit and forward cabin. Damaged SFO 8/13/58 when jack collapsed during maintenance check. Sold NevA 3/31/62. 44,575 hours. Scrapped in 1964.

516

NC90830 'Star of Zurich'. Originally USAAF C-69 (used by ICD in mid-1945 as 43-10317. Bought by Hughes Toolco and modified by Lockheed. Del to TWA 11/30/48 (total time 274 hrs) cc 4/23/53 Sold to Falcon Airways 6/21/61 38,008 hrs. Flew out of Vienna, Austria, until seized by the government for non-payment of airport charges in 4/64. Stored there until 1966, then scrapped

517

NC90831 'Star of Switzerland'. Originally USAAF C-69, sold to Hughes Toolco 1948 and modified by Lockheed. Del TWA 10/1/48 287 hours. cc 5/29/53. Damaged STL 12/19/57 when ground loop occurred turning off wet runway, right gear collapsed. Damaged LAS 3/30/61 when left gear retracted while parked at ramp. Sold to Hacienda (as is) 4/13/61 37,905 hrs. Leased several times until sold to McCullock 11/65. Several owners until traded to the Pima Museum in Tucson 2/5/71 (total time 41,908 hrs). Exterior restored by TWA volunteers, after 7,000 man hours of work, was handed over to museum.

518

NC86526 'Star of Greece'. Del KLM 5/47. First model 049 to use "Speedpak" traded in to Lockheed for 749A aircraft. Sold to Hughes Toolco and converted by Lockheed for TWA. Del 2/4/50 (5,940 hrs). Used for training. Damaged St.Joseph 6/21/50 when fire broke out #1 nacelle befor takeoff (gear and wing damaged by fire). cc 2/18/53 Leased to Eastern 12/15/56 - 6/16/57 and 12/2/57 - 4/16/58. Ret mid-1961, sold 3/31/62 to NevA. 37,135 hrs. Scrapped in 1964.

519

NC6000C 'Star of New Foundland'. Del KLM 6/46. Traded in to Lockheed 11/49. Purchased by Hughes Toolco and modified by Lockheed. Used by Hughes until sold to TWA 2/26/50 6,782 hrs. Sold Hacienda Hotel 5/15/61. 39,638 hrs. Leased several companies until sold to cc 3/27/53. Damaged beyond repair while stored at Santo Domingo McCulloch 3/11/65. Numerous owners. during hurricane 8/31/79. Scrapped 6/80.

520

NC9412H 'Star of Azores'. Del Air France 6/46. Sold Hughes Toolco 2/20/50 94,390 hrs and del Resold to Hacienda Hotel. 6/3/50. cc 3/23/52 Sold to Calif. Airmotive 8/26/59 34,970 hrs. Several leases until sold McCulloch 5/66. Numerous owners until 5/76 became part of an exotic restaurant complex at Greenwood Lake, NJ.

521

NC9409H 'Star of Egypt'. Del Air France 6/46. Sold to TWA 1/26/50 4,316 hrs. cc 5/31/50. Leased to Lockheed 4/13/51 for Jet Stack tests, returned 5/17/51 as first 049 with Jet Stacks. Sold to Hacienda 5/15/61. 38,887 hrs. Scrapped in 1966.

522

NC9410H 'Star of London'. Del Air France 6/46. Sold to TWA 2/2/50. 4,986 hrs. cc 5/18/50 37,744 hrs. Leased to Eastern 11/28/57 to 4/18/58. Ret mid-1961, sold 3/31/62 to NevA. Scrapped in 1964

523

cc 5/26/50 NC9414H 'Star of Lebanon'. Del Air France 6/46. Sold to TWA 2/11/50. 4,687 hrs Leased to Eastern 12/25/56 to 5/18/57. Sold to NevA 3/31/62 41,630 hrs. Leased to Futura in 1962, Paradise in 1963. Several owners until scrapped in 1970 at Miami.

524

See plane #500 (original company serial number until 11/13/50)

525

NC54214 'Star of Piccadilly'. Originally USAAF C-69. Leased by TWA 5/15/46 to 7/27/46 for pilot training (NX54214, fleet #549). Used 62 hrs by TWA. Several uses until 6/47 when used by CAA for ground instruction at OKC. Sold to TWA 8/23/51. 181 hrs. Ferried to Lockheed Air Service (IDL) for cc 10/18/52. Sold NevA 3/31/62. 27,395 hrs. Sold to McCulloch 2/15/64. Stored at LGB and scrapped 8/65.

526

NC90926 'Star of Tunis' 11,661 hrs. cc 10/3/52. engines 5/10/53. Leased several companies until until about 10/76, then

Sold to TWA 4/15/52 Del American Overseas 5/46, to PanAm 9/50. Special test with Standard Integral Reversing Propellers on #2 & 3 Eastern 1/8/57 to 5/17/57. Sold NevA 3/31/62 38,783 hrs. Leased to 10/65. Fuselage used by Oakland Fire Department for fire practice scrapped.

THE

049

CONNIES

527

NC90924 'Star of Algeria'. Del AOA 4/46, to PanAm 9/50. Sold to TWA 5/12/52. 11,185 hrs. Used for pilot training 6/3 to 9/21/52. cc 12/7/52. Ret mid-161. Sold to NevA 3/31/62 38,586 hrs. Scrapped in 1964.

548

NX54212 C-69 del USAAF 8/45. Leased by TWA 6/10/46 to 7/30/46 for pilot training. Aircraft had 285 hours before and 472 hours after used by TWA.

549

NX54214

550

NC86505 'Paris Sky Chief'. Del 11/20/45

551

NC86506 'Star of Dublin'. Del 12/13/45. To Domestic 8/2/47 cc 5/21/55 with new Fleet #506. (applied in late 1959). Sold NevA 3/31/62. 45,671 hrs. Leased to Paradise until airline

See Fleet #525 for history. w/o 12/28/46 approach to Shannon. 13 killed.

grounded in 3/64. Several owners until 1970.

Scrapped late 1972.

552

NC86507 'Star of Madrid'. Del 12/13/45. Flew inaugural schedule LGA-Geneva 3/31/46. w/o Newcastle training accident 11/18/47, four killed. 1,256 hours.

553

NC86508 'Star of Athens'. del 12/30/45. w/o training flight 5/11/47 Cape may, NJ, killing crew of four. 2,213 hours.

554

NC86510 'Star of Rome' Del 11/30/45 Severely damaged overshot landing at DCA 3/29/46. Ferry flight, no injuries. Plane not rebuilt. 489 hours.

555

Title NC86511 'Star of Paris'. Del 12/19/45. Inaugurated DCA/LGA-Shannon/Paris 2/5/46. changed to 'Star of Dublin'. Damaged after landing Shannon 7/26/47 right gear collapsed, no injuries. To domestic 7/24/48 (4,634 hrs). Damaged landing LGB 11/18/50 on 2-engine approach wet runway, overshot and hit ditch, right gear collapsed. No injuries. 12,082 hrs. Repaired and re-entered service 3/2/51. cc 4/1/55. w/o 9/1/61 after departing MDW due to control boost malfunction, 78 killed. 43,112 hours.

556

NC86512 'Star of India'. Del 1/11/46. w/o ferry flight New Castle 10/12/46, overshot landing on wet runway and hit cars, no injuries. 1,195 hours.

557

NC86513 'Star of Lisbon'. Del 2/8/46. w/o training flight Reading, Pa, 7/11/46, fire of electrical origin in forward baggage area. Five killed, one seriously injured.

558

NC90814 'Star of Cairo'. Del 10/7/46 Navigator blown out of astrodome over North Atlantic on 3/11/47. Transferred to domestic 7/14/48 4,600 hrs. cc 1/20/54 Sold NevA 3/31/62 46,922 hrs. Scrapped in late 1964.

559

NC90815 'Star of Lisbon'. Del 9/22/46 (also known as 'Star of Detroit'). Transferred to domestic 7/18/48 4.339 hrs. Damaged 10/10/48 at LAX when left gear collapsed in a work dock. Leased to Eastern 12/15/56 to 5/16/57. Sold NevA 3/31/62 43,861 hrs. Several cc 12/20/54. owners until scrapped in early 1965.

560

Transferred domestic 7/27/48. cc 2/27/54. Sold NC90816 'Star of Geneva'. Del 9/25/46 NevA 3/31/62. 46,958 hrs. Numerous owners (not scheduled airlines). Once sold in 5/78 for $35,000 to be used in crash scene by Universal Pictures, but not done. Was fitted to 86-passenger configuration 3/79 for work out of Miami until 5/80. Was last 049 to have flown and as of 4/81 was advertised for sale at $195,000 in Florida.

561

NC86536 'Star of Rome'. Originally C-69 for USAAF del 8/31,45 (42-94558). Used for "Speed Pak" tests. Leased, then sold to TWA 10/10/46 (pilot training). Converted to 049 by KCK overhaul base. In service 4/1/47. Transferred to domestic 8/17/48. cc 3/19/54. Leased to Eastern 12/5/57 to 4/20/58. Sold NevA 3/31/62. 44,781 hrs. Scrapped 1964.

Once again my sincere thanks to the men who answered my appeal for help with the imput and editing for corrections on the series about the 049 Connies, especially Joe Carr, Ray Dunn, Bob Rummel and Johnny Guy. (Ed Betts)

IAL STA

TISTICS (000 OMITTED)

90.8%

2.30

7,661 2.30 88.8%

2,223 65,820 63,386 1,894,724 2,576,821 73.5% 184,657 17,715 29,625 2,084 234,081 66.8%

225,262 16,994 29,706 2,459 274,421 67.8%

$ 47,858 9,730 $ 57,588 $ 33,406 2,430 $ 13.75

$ 41,550 39,804 $ 1,746

2,573 71,247 69,557 2,324,318 3,154,748 73.7%

$ 3,897 $ 79,924 12,602 $ 92,526 $ 51,699 3,330 $ 15.53

$ 50,829 46,932

$ 16,000 $ 7,660

$ 53,102 12,125 61,035 $126,262

5,367 6,363 3,113 8,687 1,349 2,975 $142,262

1951 $114,408

2.36 90.2%

61.2%

143,423 13,938 26,348 1,878 185,587

1,706 60,358 60,285 1,464,188 2,264,011 64.7%

$ 34,928 26,589 $ 8,339 $ 44,008 7,878 $ 51,886 $ 25,608 2,427 $ 10.55

$ 45,382 11,263 48,860 $105,505 $ 11,461 $ 7,882

5,746 9,069 3,072 7,437 1,220 2,147 $116,966

1950 $ 88,275

1.12 93.6%

60.2%

120,154 13,133 22,951 1,819 158,057

1,513 62,846 63,309 1,226,861 2,007,493 61.1%

$ 13,653 $ 30,379 7,743 $ 38,122 $ 17,735 2,425 $ 7.31

$ 31,114 17,461

$ 98,755 $ 6,705 $ 3,736

$ 44,378 9,488 44,889

5,535 9,229 2,947 6,608 1,382 1,616 $105,460

1949 $ 78,143

(1.56) 102.9%

57.9%

109,052 12,655 20,546 1,829 144,082

1,325 66,948 67,413 1,113,368 1,921,729 57.9%

$ 24,616 15,379 $ 9,237 $ 36,844 9,130 $ 45,974 $ 10,192 2,021 $ 5.04

$ 47,803 8,577 45,142 $101,522 $ (2,853) $ (5,193)

5,589 9,292 2,355 6,115 1,398 1,494 $ 98,669

1948 $ 72,426

(1.41) 104.1%

63.7%

102,875 10,822 13,438 1,768 128,903

1,139 57,634 58,136 1,043,761 1,530,579 68.2%

$ 39,239 $ 15,265 986 $ 15.48

$ 7,478 $ 29,309 9,930

$ 19,993 12,515

$ 40,739 7,789 38,064 $ 86,592 $ (3,439) $ (4,696)

4,549 6,476 2,256 5,268 1,232 1,352 $ 83,153

1947 $ 62,020

(2.70)

.57

73.8%

83,750 8,409 7,097 1,334 100,590

918 44,152 45,532 852,998 1,012,487 84.2%

9,741 986 9.88

82.6%

51,378 16,211 4,527 548 72,664

556 33,807 31,905 513,778 568,303 90.4%

$ 18,702 985 $ 18.99

90.2%

$ 19,904 12,103 $ 7,801 $ 12,863 5,239 $ 18,102

116.0%

3,295 1,909

$ 18,644 19,823 $ (1,179) $ 30,414 9,769 $ 40,183

$ $

$ 15,517 2,048 12,916 $ 30,481

$ 33,776

$ 59,588

$ 36,924 5,775 26,448 $ 69,147 $ (9,559) $(8,987)

7,237 2,032 286 218

1945 $ 24,003

2,921 3,274 2,244 2,982 811 1,940

1946 $ 45,416

NOTE: The financial statistics published with prior years reports nave been restated to reflect in the proper year retroactive adjustments recorded in later years. *Net income or loss per share for all years has been calculated on the number of shares outstanding as of December 31, 1953.

Number of Revenue Passengers....................................... 3,140 Miles Scheduled............................................................... 83,600 Revenue Miles Flown...................................................... 81,142 Revenue Passenger Miles ................................................. 2,888,169 Available Seat Miles Flown ............................................. 4,109,628 Revenue Passenger Load Factor ....................................... 70.3% Revenue Ton Miles Flown: Passenger...................................................................... 278,432 Mail .. . 19,676 Freight and Express .................................................... 34,672 Excess Baggage ............................................................ 2,927 Total..................................................................... 335,707 Payload Factor (Ratio of Revenue Ton Miles Flown to Available Ton Miles) ................................................. 65.7%

OPERATING STATISTICS (000 Omitted)

$ 43,670 43,015 655 $ $ 65,053 13,049 $ 78,102 $ 56,804 3,333 $ 17.04

SELECTED BALANCE SHEET ITEMS: Current Assets............................................................. Current Liabilities...................................................... Net Working Capital............................................ Flight Equipment (Net) ............................................. Other Property (Net) ................................................. Total Property and Equipment (Net) ............... Stockholders ' Equity ................................................... Shares of Common Stock Outstanding ..................... Book Value Per Share ...............................................

1.5 94.2%

$176,403 $ 10,818 $ 5,064

$ 62,921 17,010 65,984 $145,915 $ 14,787

4,970 3,568 3,200 9,504 1,721 2,447 $160,702

5,742 3,823 2,784 10,635 2,022 2,337 $187,221

$ 73,906 23,465 79,032

1952 $135,292

YEARS 1944-1953 1953 $159,878

OPERATING RATIO (Ratio of Expenses to Revenues)

NET INCOME OR (LOSS) PER SHARE* ...........................

OPERATING EXPENSES: Wages and Salaries ..................................................... Depreciation, Amortization, Obsolescence ................... All Other..................................................................... Total Operating Expenses ................................... OPERATING INCOME OR (Loss) ....................................... NET INCOME OR (Loss) AFTER TAXES ...........................

OPERATING REVENUES: Passenger ...................................................................... Mail: United States-Transcontinental............................... United States-International ..................................... Foreign Governments ............................................... Freight and Express .................................................... Excess Baggage ............................................................ Other-Net................................................................... Total Operating Revenues ...................................

FINANC

TRANS WORLD AIRLINES, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES STATISTICS

.85 80.9%

86.1%

34,784 9,434 3,533 507 48,258

393 22,523 21,600 347,841 379,535 91.6%

$ 15,219 6,272 $ 8,947 $ 2,264 1,982 $ 4,246 $ 16,333 976 $ 16.73

$ 11,047 950 8,493 $ 20,490 $ 4,851 $ 2,833

5,653 1,619 285 208 $ 25,341

1944 $ 17,576

MARCH 19, 1956: OPENING OF THE NEW OVERHAUL BASE AT MID-CONTINENT AIRPORT.

VICE PRESIDENTS RAY DUNN, JOHN COLLINGS AND FRANK BUSCH.

RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS Heading our list is the TWA Pilots Retirement Foundation. Hardly a worthier cause could be found for your contributions. TARPA makes a twenty five dollar donation as a memorial to each of our deceased members. This fund provides monetary help to our less fortunate fellow pilots and their widows. THE TWA PILOTS RETIREMENT FOUNDATION, INC. ALPA Federal Credit Union 825 Midway Drive Willow Brook, IL 60521 Put Account Number 90-17470 on your check. *

For an interesting narrative of life during the Great Depression in Carolina and many good soul food recipes send $5.00 to; A TASTE OF CAROLINA P.O. Box 100 Blounts Creek, NC 27817 *

If you're sixty or better, or belong to any national seniors' organization, you can get 50% off the regular rate at any participating hotel or lodge. Simply call 1-800-634-3464 and make an advance reservation* (Or if you're in a hurry, you can still get 15% off anytime without a reservation.) As the Road Rally Official, Willard says, "This is one special -offer from Howard Johnson you don't want to sleep on:' So call 1-800-634-3464 today. "We're gettin' ol d, Jak e."

OLD TIMER: A person who remembers when people stopped spending when they ran out of money!

NEW MEMBERS & NEW SUBSCRIBERS SINCE LAST TOPICS

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(A)

BASINGER, DAVID R. CAPT. (SUSAN)

(R)

3614 CORONADO DRIVE

(H)

(E)

(S)

FRIDAY, C. ROBERT FIE (LA VERGNE) 5848 SUNRISE DRIVE

LOUISVILLE, KY 40241

SHAWNEE MISSION, KS 66205

502-425-3141

913-362-7079

HOOPER, JACQUELINE A. MRS. (THOMAS A.)

(S)

JURGENSEN, JOHN T. FSM (JOYCE)

12368 VIEWOAK DRIVE

1746 DENKINGER ROAD

SARATOGA, CA95070

CONCORD, CA 94521

408-257-1288

415-689-8764

KORF

**, EARL W. FRO (SUZANNE)

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OLDER, JOSEPH F. FRO

P.O. BOX 153

RFD #4, BOX 163

LINCROFT, NJ 07738

WARRENTON, VA 22186

201-747-3884

703-347-0357

PROCTOR, JON MR.

(S)

Rush, Dorothy Mrs.

P.O. BOX 188

HC 34, BOX 200-9

BETHEL. CT 06801

MIDLAND, TX 79701

DOR rUSH

915-682-2178

(R)

SMITH, ADRIAN R. CAPT.

(JEANE)

(A)

YECK, KENNETH R. CAPT. (JEAN)

ONE TEAL LANE

14252 CULVER DRIVE. SUITE #A623

SMITHTOWN, NY 11787

IRVINE, CA 92714

516-265-6837

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(A)

COOMES, JOSEPH D. "JOE" CAPT.

( R)

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187 SPRING OAKS DRIVE

11180 THELMA LANE

BALLWIN, MO 63011

CAMARILLO, CA 93010 805-482-2083

( R)

LOCK, RONALD G. CAPT. (MARY)

(R)

MEAGHER, JAMES F. "JIM" CAPT. (PATRICIA - "PATTI")

800 - 119th AVENUE

25436 DAY LILY DRIVE

TREASURE ISLAND FL 33706

MURRIETA, CA 92362

813-360-4186

714-677-7742

RUSH,