1989.11.TARPA_TOPICS

CREDIT UNION HISTORY BY GEORGE DUVALL LAGUARDIA AIRPORT, 50 YEARS - BETTS GRAPEVINE BY DICK GUILLAN BERLIN AIRLIFT, 40 YEARS AGO HERSHEY INFO & RESERVATION FORMS!

THE ACTIVE RETIRED PILOTS ASSOCIATION OF TWA November, 1989

LA N CASTER

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 THE ACTIVE RETIRED PILOTS ASSOCIATION OF TWA (TARPA) 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 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.

TARPA WAS FOUNDED IN 1979

DEDICATION To the pioneers of today's TRANS WORLD AIRLINES whose vision, effort and perseverance made it all possible, we express our sincere gratitude.

SAVE A CONNIE, INC.

FRANK D. FITZGIBBON (816) 452-2383

P.O. Box 9144 Riverside, MO. 64168 (816) 421-3401

The Active Retired Pilots Association of TWA

PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE

SEPTEMBER 21, 1989

We have heard many rumors and innuendos about the activities of the M.E.C. and "The B Plan Study Committee" but so far we have nothing concrete with which to work. Many promises have been made that nothing will be done to jeopardize our retirement income or our interest in the "8" Plan. Retired Pilots own approximately one-third of the assets of this plan but have absolutely no control over the administration of these assets. We are completely at the mercy of the M.E.C. and the Company thus far.

By the time you receive this, the semi-annual Board meeting of TARPA will be history. Hopefully, we will have more information by that time.

Concerning the Annual Convention in Hershey a reservation form and information sheet is contained elsewhere in the Topics. Vic Hassler has done a great job of planning and deserves our support.

Get your reservations in early. Several great tours are planned in addition to shooting, golf, tennis, bridge, etc.

Also in this issue of Topics is the envelope in which to send your 1989 dues to Charlie Dill. Use it now before it is misplaced. It costs TARPA quite a bit to send out second and third notices. Make sure your address is correct. Fill out all of the information requested even if it has not changed.

This makes the S/T's job much easier.

It is not too early to think about next years Officers and Directors. If you have any nominees to suggest, send their names to Harry Jacobsen or a member of his committee.

Have a great Holiday Season!!!

1

The Actve Retired

Pilots Association of TWA

SECRETARY \ TREASURER'S

REPORT

It has been three months now since I took over the job from Joe McCombs, and I am becoming more comfortable as the days go by. Still have a way to go, but it will get better.

During this time,we have received twelve (12) applications for membership, and have seen nine (9) of our group "Gone West " .

The dues envelope and the 1990 membership card will be in the November TOPICS. Prompt renewal payment is requested.Be reminded that receiving the card does not necessarily mean that you are paid up. Some pay ahead while others don't. So, if you are paid up, the mailing label on the magazine page that has your name,will show 89 or later. This may help you to know where you are with your dues.

Postage continues to be a big expense item. You can help greatly here,if you keep us up-to-date when your address changes. If a magazine cannot be delivered, the return postage is $ 3.28. Seven have been returned to me so far.

That's all I have for this time. Might do better next TOPICS mailing.

Best Regards, Charles S.Dill Sec'y/Treasurer

2

In Memoriam HAROLD F. BLACKBURN - 4 August 1989 OTIS F. BRYAN - 3 July MAYNARD L. COWAN - 18 July JOHN C. FRANKLIN - 31 July SALVATORE (SAM) GRACY - 9 July HAROLD J. KACHNER - 17 September GAIL A. STORCK - 23 August

LILLIAN MAE BRACKEN - (wife of Paul) MAXINE CATRON - 27 August (Bob) STUART A. DIXON - 10 August (Bill) WILLIAM M. GILBIRDS - 6 August JANET HASSLER - 8 August tVic) MEL RIGDON - 6 August ROSS C. WEAVER - 5 July

This is a section of our news magazine in which we are seriously lacking. Parky and some of you are good about notifying me when a member or relative dies. It is a pity we have to wait until our quarterly publication comes to learn of someone passing away or ailing. Also, sometimes our information is sketchy, to say the least.

Dick Guillan, our Grapevine Editor, and I were discussing this and we have a suggestion to offer albeit maybe a little morbid. Please make sure you have a picture of yourself in uniform (if you like), write something about you such as appears in most obituaries which would include date of birth, where born and grew up, schools, military service if applicable, airline service, fraternities and so forth and put it in a file accessible to survivors labeled "Obituary".

Your survivors would then have something to send me and give the newspapers.

WHY NOT DO IT NOW, TODAY?

DIXON - Stuart A. Dixon, son of Bill and June Dixon, died unexpectedly in Chandler, Arizona, on August 10, after a two-week illness. He was a captain and pilot instructor for American West Airlines. In addition to his parents, he left a sister, Leslie, his wife, Jan, and two daughters, Kristi, 8, and McKenna, 3.

350 persons attended the Memorial services, including the chief executive officer of American West and over 200 pilots, the majority of whom were in uniform.

Stuart was a past president of the Pilots Flight Advisory Board, and a fellow pilot wrote and delivered the Eulogy.

RIGDON - Capt. Melvin Rigdon of Tifton, Georgia, a veteran of World War II, died August 6 in the Valdosta Medical Center. He was 67. He graduated from Abraham Baldwin Agriculture College and Jacksonville State University. He was a flight instructor for the Army Air Corps and flew with the Air Transport Command during World War II, flying supplies from Rome "over the hump" to Calcutta.

Surviving are his mother, Leonora Chapman Rigdon of Tifton, 2 brothers; Ed Rigdon of Tifton and Dr. Charles R. Rigdon of Alpharetta and a sister, Nell Hayes, of Knoxville, Tenn. A retired Trans World Airlines Captain he had been ill for several years.

3

In Memoriam WEAVER - Capt. Ross C. Weaver, 76, died July 8, at Lakeside. He had moved to Sun City, Arizona, in 1977. He was born in Norwich, New York. He flew for Trans World Airlines for 32 years. Capt. Weaver was a member of the National Rifle Association, Sun City Sportsmen's Club, TARPA, the TWA Seniors Club and First Presbyterian Church of Sun City.

Survivors are his wife, Majorie, four children, two step-children and ten grandchildren. Services were in Tarrytown, New York.

COWAN - Capt. Maynard L. Cowan, 80, of Kansas City died July 18, 1989, at his son's home in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He was a pilot for Trans World Airlines from 1939 to 1969. A member of the Quiet Birdman, TARPA and the Windbrook Country Club. He was a World War II Army Air Corps veteran and received the Air Medal and Distinguished Flying Cross.

Survivors are his wife, Mary D., of the home, a son, Bill, in Albuquerque, a brother, Richard, of Chicago; 3 grandchildren and 3 great grandchildren.

STORCK - Capt. Gail A. Storck, 77, Lake Jackson, Texas, died August 23, 1989, at a hospital in Houston. A pilot for Trans World Airlines for more than 30 years. He was a member of TARPA, TWA Seniors Club, Quiet Birdmen and AOPA. A 50-year member of the Elks Lodge, a Mason and Scottish Rite bodies and Ararat Shrine. Member of the First Presbyterian Church of Marion, Iowa.

Capt. Storck was born in Linn County, Iowa, and lived in the Kansas City area more than 40 years before moving to Lake Jackson, Texas.

Survivors are; his wife, Ada, a son, Dr. Ken Storck, Sherry, Wisconsin; 2 daughters; Diane Kippen, Huntington Beach, CA, and Denise Troyer, Lake Jackson, and 6 grandchildren. Services were in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The TWA Pilots Retirement Foundation, Inc., has informed me of the contribution made by TARPA in my husband, Thomas Conley's name.

Thank you so much for your generosity. Tom loved his co-workers and he would be pleased to know that they remembered him.

Sincerely, Colleen Conley

4

RETIREMENT COMMITTEE REPORT

By Robert C. Sherman

EIGHT MONTH B-PLAN REPORT... AS OF AUGUST 30, 1989 MANAGER

TYPE

ASSETS

FIDELITY DOM. FIDELITY FRONTIER MELLON MORGAN STATE ST. R&M WELLS FARGO

LARGE CAP. SMALL CAP. SMALL CAP. S&P INDEX LARGE CAP. LARGE CAP S.C.INDEX

$77.1 M 1 7.5 1 8.1 161.8 92.2 87.1 70.1

PRIMCO

G. I. C.'s

236.2

PUTNAM INT'L. S.B.C. STATE ST. BANK WORLD INVEST.

DROPPED INT'L. EQ. INT'L. INDEX INT ' L. EQ.

0.3 25.1 92.5 25.0

MORGAN N.C.N.B. STATE ST. BANK T.C.W.

R.E. R.E. R.E. R.E.

21.3 28.1 25.7 1 8.9

94.0

BOS. SAFE

TRUSTEE

1 5.2

1 5.2

OPEN OPEN CLSD. CLSD.

TOTAL ASSETS *

$523.9 M 236.2

.

1 42.9

$1012.1 M

* Total is correct; rounded subtotals = 0.1 more.

CAP. = Capitalization, G.I.C. = Guar. Invest. Contracts, E.Q. = Equities, R.E. = Real Estate, S.C. = Small Cap The account now has 15 portfolios, including the trustees Money Market account.

Index of Change (Invest. Perf.) was 1.14760 Value of a Unit of Interest is $43.916, up $2.42 from June.

OPERATING COSTS Total fees to date are $2.28 M which include $108,600 of recaptured transaction commissions.

Total costs were 0.23% of average assets; 30% less than two years ago.

Money Managers fees were renegotiated lower while Trustee and Actuarial fees have gone down as the Fund Office does some of the work formerly done elsewhere; at a net saving with more timely reporting.

1990 September Index of Change was not available at press time but my guess is that we will have a substantial increase over present payments for first quarter 1990.

R. C. Sherman 1 0/89 5

RETIREMENT COMMITTEE REPORT Page 2

MEC HAPPENINGS

As reported earlier, and discussed in detail at the Convention in New Orleans, the MEC has a " B-Plan Study Comm. " The results to date is a draft proposal. The main features are the creation of a "C" Plan in which the pilot would be able to direct his own investments among 10 or more approved "mutual funds" of different types that allow money or shares to be exchanged between them by phone.

Each participant would receive a monthly statement of his particular investments, and the account would go to his beneficiary upon his death.

Therein lies a big attraction.

Participation would be voluntary, and would be funded by the pilot electing to move part or all of his equity from the B-Plan in increments of 25%, into the C-Plan in any month, but not back to the B-Plan.

Company contributions would be to the C-Plan as soon as a pilot became a participant.

New pilots could choose either Plan.

Participants could put up to 10% of their after tax salary in the C-Plan.

Each participant may borrow up to 50% of the value of his total C-Plan accounts with a 5 year payback limit, or longer if it is to buy his residence.

Upon retirement, the options are a lump sum, an annuity, or continue with the account and take periodic disbursements at his direction.

Another big attraction.

The foregoing has not been finalized and may well change.

As it now stands, the potential is there for all of the actives to leave the B-Plan along with about 2/3rds of the assets, and their monthly contributions.

Because of manager fee structure, a decreasing % for increased assets, the Plan would soon have to reduce the number of managers.

This would reduce our asset diversification; the equalizer during market fluctuations.

As the Plan continued to decrease in size, the ratio of fees and expense to assets would continue to rise, and the B-Plan would indeed become a "last man club", with reduced benefits.

When Roy Van Etten was M.C. in the middle 60 ' s he made a provision for retiree participation on the MEC. They do listen to our input, but on this matter it seems to be a case of, "Its our money and we want to handle it"; not even a vote would make any difference.

Any modifications are the sole province of negotiations between two parties; ALPA (read MEC) and TWA. ERISA allows Plan changes that do not directly diminish our equity.

They do not guarantee that there will always be a stream of new participants to keep the Plan as healthy as we might like it.

Despite our arguments, the MEC apparently believes the Study Comm. attorney, who sees no problem for the retirees.

Plan assets should be adequate to operate efficiently for the next 10 years provided there is not a mass exodus into the C-Plan.

RETIREMENT COMMITTEE REPORT Page 3 Beyond then, it is just a question of when the Plan will become too small to be efficiently managed.

When we see a finished proposal, ready for presentation to the company, all of our options will be reviewed.

UAL has had such a plan for some years.

Their retirees were "not a problem" because they accepted a fixed annuity with an apprx. 60% increase in payments, (interest rates were 12-14% then).

B-Plan annual income increased that much in less than five years and has been well above and increasing since.

Harry Mokler, who was active in retirement affairs some years ago, took my place at the August Investment Comm. meeting. The first paragraph of his report to TARPA ' s board follows.

"I was very impressed with the committee members and could only conjecture where the B-Plan would be today if 20 years ago we that kind of outside talent to call upon; that kind of company cooperation and the computer tools they have to work with from all sources to the Trust Fund Office."

Roy Van Etten attended the August MEC meeting in my place.

He echoed the sentiments of all who have been associated with retirement in the past, and his view of the "C-Plan", in his report to TARPA ' s board.

"The retirement plan is not something to play games with.

Besides the variable annuity B-Plan, the pilots presently have a fixed benefit A-Plan, a company sponsored 401 (k) Plan (pilot directed investments), and an ESOP Plan (company stock).

It is obvious that todays (active) pilots do not have a retirement problem."

To add a line, they certainly do not need another 401 (k) type of self investment plan, at the expense of the best of all of their plans; the time proven B-Plan.

The Master Chairman, Tom Ashwood, was recalled in early September, and then his renomination blocked because he did not qualify for office.

A resolution of some months ago required all office seekers to be on flight status.

Tom has not for several years, but after his recall began to requalify. At a series of MEC meetings in September, continuous from the 21st to October 4th., Tom did become a nominee along with Darrell Merrill.

After 12 continuous days of meetings, compromises, some business, and countless 6 to 6 tie votes, they agreed to resume the election process on October 17.

R.C. Sherman..10/89

7

(COPY) To Capt. Joe Brown, TARPA President, from Roy Van Etten; Bob Sherman asked that I substitute for him at the TWA MEC meeting that took place in San Francisco August 22-25. Paul McCarty and Hutch Thurston were also present. Bob had made long term plans for a vacation overseas and was unable to attend.

Bob had informed you earlier of a proposal before the MEC to negotiate an additional retirement plan which would be called the "C" plan. The Negotiating Committee presented a revised outline of their intentions to the NEC. Our "B" Plan is in effect an Insurance Company. An Insurance Company that is operated by the TWA pilots to provide retirement benefits for the members of the plan. Pilots purchase "unit of interest" in the plan throughout their working life. Upon retirement these units may be used to either receive a variable annuity under many plan options or, more recently, a lump sum single payment.

The "B" Plan presently has over a billion dollars of assets available to meet our obligations for benefits. These monies are invested wisely in all types of investment vehicles by a committee of independent, Company and Pilot members.

It is a plan that was designed to pay the highest possible retirement income while protecting us from inflation. And it does so.

Besides the "B" Plan the pilots presently have a fixed benefit "A" Plan and a company sponsored 401(k) plan. It is obvious that todays pilots do not have a retirement problem.

A retirement plan should not be something you play games with. All of us that are retired recognize the necessity for sound, adequate and prudent preparation for the retirement years. The pilots of TWA have such a plan. Why then the "C" plan? It is my opinion that the "C" plan was not designed to enhance our present retirement plan; for, as it has been proposed, it would weaken what is already established. It is a definite threat to those already retired and misleading to those who need to make adequate preparation for retirement.

Therefore, it is my opinion that, if they continue to pursue their present course of action, we have no choice but to vigorously oppose them.

Sincerely, Roy Van Etten

Wayne Stayskal/The Tampa Tribune

8

8101 E. Naseem Trail 852 October 6, To All TARPA Members Gentlemen, I filled in at a B Plan Investment Committee meeting in NYC in August at Bob Sherman's request as he was unable to attend.

This report to you is merely to provide you with a general impression of the Committee by just another TARPA member who had an opportunity for a closer look at its functioning.

The Committee is outstanding, knowledgeable , hardworking and effective.

Each member, pilots, company and independents, makes a contribution. meaningful I will not touch on a breakdown of the various plan assets and their experience but will leave that to Bob. Suffice it to say that we are in very good hands for charting a course through the treacherous shoals of the market and the economy in general.

I have two concerns.

We have a very good voice on that Committee in Bob Sherman who, though only in "observer" status, is a full working member and contributor.

There really should be two retired pilot voting members on the Conmittee but neither the Company nor the active pilots feel any inclination to accoamodate the retirees. I have no reservations whatsoever about the present Committee doing the best job possible in directing our retirement investments. But there is a turnover.

Don Urbain and Al Mundo have been outstanding me m bers but the pressu res of homelife, flying; the line and handling committee business can be overwhelming. Urbain has already left and Mundo is waiting for a replacement .

Even with the very best people on that Committee, inroads on the B Plan's assets, which were never envisioned by the founders, can be caused by MEC action (with Company concurrance) over the Committee's objections.

Which leads to my second concern. is a social organization and doe s not have representation TARPA status.

I think that is the way we want it to remain if at all possible but it is the only common voice for the retired pilots.

We are represented by the TWA M EC and therefore should be able to expect that any actions taken by the MEC with regard to the B Plan are beneficial to us. However , we i re only represented by fallout and their whole concern is for what is most beneficial for themselves, the active pilots.

An example is the tiring TWA pilots. It normal monthly annuity and which requires the

recent "lump sum" option provided for reis a drain on the B Plans assets beyond the payouts for which the Plan was constructed Investment Committee to maintain a sufficient 9

nonproductive cash position to cover the lump sum demands.

Now the MEC has directed their Negotiating Committee to secure TWA agreement to a new pilots' 'C Plan". I won't try to present its provisions but if the option is selected by a majority of active pilots there will be a very lare drain on the B Plan's assets with considerable impact. A real "run on the bank".

While every member of the 3 elan has a separate account ( units in his name), unlike a bank, our portfolio of investments is not easily converted to transferable value and leaves one group of owners, the retirees who cannot witndraw , in a depleted bank.

Ever since the day that the B elan had achieved enough growth to be coveted there has been an unwillingness by some to accept its stated purpose of providing a variable monthly annuity in retirement and wanting to get their hands on the golden egg. Also some (maybe the same) who were sure they could do a better job of investing the "wad" if given the opportunity.

Now the C Plan will provide all of the above-they hope.

The B elan was occasionally referred to as a "last man club" but has never been that because of the constant influx of members ( new employees) and. cash flow contributions to the Plan on their behalf to balance those retiring off the top. Now the lump sum drains more than the contributions and the "C Plan" withdrawals could truly create a "last man club".

I do not want to engende a sense of unease. Bob Sherman is watching this situation closely and will keep you informed. he TARPA Board. of Directors is weighin its implications and will advise you of any actions they deem necessary. In spite of the MEC (which is in a state of p olitical turmoil), the Company and the line pilots might nave too much sense to buy this bucket of worms.

In the worse case scenario with the d elan abandoned by all but the retired annuitants, the retirees would certainly be forced to contest representation and control of the Fund by the elements responsible for its depletion.

Yours truly.

THE PLEASURE OF RETIREE NON-REV TRAVEL From Howard Hall - I am told I am now the lowest seniority number in TARPA 290401.

These parents using their "active children's" class 7 throw a stick into the wheel of justice, I feel. I spent a full day and until 2 a.m. next day returning from Las Vegas. And, there are others using special privileges (management) that have only worked a short time for TWA. I want to express my great admiration of you fellows that publish TARPA TOPICS. I wish I could do something. Name it! I am so proud of you.

10

INSURANCE COMMITTEE REPORT

By Neuman Ramsey 1.

CATASTROPHIC HEALTH ACT: We have not seriously considered this subject since New Orleans, as it has been obvious this ill-advised law would never survive.

Ever since Rostenkowski was chased down the street by his own enraged citizens, and less prominent Congress persons got similar messages back home, the message is clear. We may expect total repeal. Perhaps some part of it will be retained or reinstated.

Have read that time is running out on the printing deadline for the 1990 Tax Forms, so the I.R.S. has already ordered alternate forms, without the $ 22.50 per $ 150.00 of tax due.

EXTENDED HEALTH CARE: This is of great concern to most elderly, but so many varibles.

Until sometime last year the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (Standards Board) had never issued any guidelines.

If they couldn't, who would be able to define a.SKILLED b. Intermediate, or c. CUSTODIAL (usually abbrivated ADL, for Activities of Daily Living). Medicare started this by requiring Hospital confinement first, then on to the intermediate phase by restricting this to only certain Approved facilities. As a result most policies require from 3 to 14 days in the hospital first, before the policy is in effect. All but two States require Insurance Companies to be approved by their Ins. Comm. to sell their product in their state, and are beginning to tighten up on their performance inthe area of: a. Paying Claims b. Rejection of these Claims, and why, etc. Some Underwriters have refused to comply, on the basis that they alone should determine what their definitions of the different levels of care are.(Escape Hatch) It is recommended that you check with your own State Insurance Commission to see how one youare considering stacks up. Since nearly a million policies were written before there were any guidelines, it might be wise to do so if you already have a policy. Those considerin g policy should do so as early as posible. For example: A Policy with no limit on total number of days or lifetime total Dollars, and with 5% added each year for inflation, will cost a 75 year old $ 3,000. plus annually, a 65 year old $ 1,300. plus, and a 55 year old $ 600. plus.

This is so because it, like Social Security or Retirement, is based on Life Expectancy Tables. In other words at the end of 11

their life expectancy, all three of the above examples, 75, 65, and 55, will have paid in the same amount. So why not have this coverage as early as possible? The possibility of needing it, just like "Going West", is not totally a function of age.

Two months ago we contacted Consumer Reports for a follow-up on their May, 1988 issue, and they advised it was in process.

This is contained in their October, 1989 issue, out this week.

It may not be current on news stands by the time you read this, but too all you

most libraries will have it for photocopying. It is much lengthy for our printing, but in our opinion it contains the criteria for measuring the policy you may have, or any may be considering in the future.

Chairperson

(signedNumaRsy-Ed.)

CATASTROPHIC SURTAX REPEALED Well, the U.S. House of Representatives voted to repeal the Catastrophic Health Insurance Act and reports are the Senate will do away with the horrendous, discriminatory surtax. My favorite senator, Jesse Helms, voted against it at its inception but few had his perception. Claude Pepper and the AARP were all for it and the AARP kept defending it. Senator Paul Simon said he voted for it because the AARP endorsed it. When the howl went up Lloyd Bentsen, declared friend of John F. Kennedy, said it was "only the wealthy screaming". Then he said he could support a cut, then he said projections were such no cut was possible.

Evidently, Bentsen's boundary for a line between the poor and the "wealthy" is simply whether you incur any federal income tax. The rest of our noble representatives must use $25,000 as that is the cut off on whether you pay income tax on your Social Security or not. Yet, with Bentsen receiving around $100,000 per year basic salary he and his cohorts were crying poverty and anxious to take another fifty percent rise in pay! Rostenkowski didn't care what his constituents felt as they chased him out of town.

When Congress took its summer vacation my hopes simmered down as to any correction of this Act. Some were quoted as saying they had received thousands of letters and calls, very few in favor but it was trickling down. Those of you who didn't contact your representatives have those of us who did to thank.

There was a serious lack of information to the public on this Bill. Some columnists favored our position, some didn't. I don't believe some even bothered to acquaint themselves with the details. One called us that were calling for repeal rapacious.

This surtax was scheduled to increase rapidly each year and it is anybody's guess to what heights it would have climbed. It would have set a precedent by narrowly aiming at a selected group. To me, it would be the same principle as requiring parents with school age children that are "wealthy" enough to pay income tax to pay an additional surtax. Let's hope it has been shot down.

12

SEARCHING FOR A TWA PILOT 11th BOMB GROUP, 26th SQUADRON, USAF George Kay says he is trying to locate a man that flew with his squadron during World War II. He was at that time a Sperry Technical representative assigned to our group. I am sorry to say I do not remember his name. We would like to invite him to our WW II group's reunion in 1990.

An incident occurred in 1968 that might enable you to locate him for me.

I was returning from Madrid to New York. One of the crew members passed through the plane and tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I was George Kay and I said yes. He told me that we had flown together during the war and that he was the Sperry rep assigned to our outfit. This was 1968 and he said he had been with TWA 14 years.

Would you put a note in your newsletter for this man to contact me? We would so like to see this man again.

George Kay, 208 West Virginia Road, Browns Mills, NJ 08015

RETIRED AIRLINE PILOTS ASSOCIATION Brooks Johnston, President of RAPA, requested we run something about RAPA's long term care insurance. By the time you receive this it should be approved for sale in all 50 States.

THE INDEPENDENCE LONG-TERM CARE POLICY. A new, long-term care plan with an emphasis on home health care and care at home. Including skilled, intermediate and custodial nursing home care. Guaranteed renewable for life. Underwritten by CIGNA, Insurance Co. of North American, 1600 Arch St., Philadelphia, PA 19101.

If you are interested we suggest you write RAPA's Insurance Committee for quotes and appplication. The address; Capt. William Root RAPA Insurance Committee 3956 Cedar Bayou Drive Dallas, TX 75244 214 247 8004

Senator Thad Cochrane, in reference to allowing television coverage of Senate floor debates, was quoted as saying, "The camera is a natural attraction for a politician. And, if a camera is here, we're going to be here. And we're going to say something, even if we have nothing to say". * * * The Farmers Digest says Socrates was a Greek philosopher who went around giving people good advicethey poisoned him. *

*

*

13

THE TARPA CONVENTION HERSHEY, PA

APRIL 7th to 10th or 11th, 1990

For those of you that will be flying into Harrisburg (Middletown), Pa. to the convention, TWA is still offering three flights daily from St. Louis.

Other airlines serving MDT (Harrisburg) are U.S. Air and its subsidiary Allegheny Commuter, United Airlines, American Airlines, Piedmont Airlines and others.

After your arrival at MDT, contact the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center (not the Hotel) for complimentary transportaion to the Lodge.

For those of you that will be driving, it's easy to get there: from the north and east, take Interstates 81 and 78; from the south take Interstate 81, 95, and 83; from the east or west, take the Pa. Turnpike.

Approximate driving times to Hershey: From From From From ALL

Philadelphia New York Baltimore Washington D.C.

ROADS

LEAD

2 3 1 2

hours 10 min. hours 50 min. hour 40 min. hours 30 min.

TO

95 185 80 110

miles miles miles miles

HERSHEY...

CAR RENTALS For car rentals, I suggest Payless Auto Rentals -- courtesy phone at Baggage Claim at Middletown Airport (actual location 1/2 miles from airport). These are the best rates in the airport area.

Be sure to identify yourself as a TARPA member when making reservations. Payless promises plenty of cars will be available. Please indicate on the registration form whether or not you will be renting a car.

Approximate Rates: Economy-$19.95; Compact-$22.95; Mid-size-$24.95; Fullsize-$26.95; Rates include 150 free miles/day ($.20/mile over the allowance) and special insurance rate for TARPA members at $6.95/day plus 6% state tax.

14

THE TARPA CONVENTION HERSHEY, PA

APRIL 7th to 10th or 11th, 1990

TOURS AVAILABLE Hershey Tour On Sunday, April 8th, we will depart at 11:15 am for a tour of the Hershey area beginning with lunch at the fantastic Hotel Hershey after which a tour guide will join us to visit Chocolate World, Founders Hall and many more local points of interest. This is a three hour tour and we will return to the Hershey Lodge and Convention Center at 4:30 pm. The cost of this tour is $22.00 per person and includes all of the above.

Then its off to the Hospitality Room!

Lancaster Tour On Monday, April 9th, we will depart at 11:00 am for Lancaster (one hour trip).

Upon our arrival, we will be treated to a Pa. Dutch Smorgasbord cooked to perfection with homemade desserts. At 1:30, we will begin our tour of the Lancaster farmlands where you will see the Amish farmers working much as they have for centuries.

All farming is performed without any modern equipment -- much of which is constructed by local companies.

15

THE TARPA CONVENTION HERSHEY, PA

APRIL 7th to 10th or 11th, 1990

TOURS AVAILABLE (con't) The tour of the Amish Farm and House will give you a first hand look at Amish life on the farm. You will be able to walk around the farm, pet the animals, and watch the families actually working on the farm. Again, this is a three hour tour, and we will return to the Lodge and Convention Center at 5:30 pm.

The cost of this trip is $22.00 per person and includes all of the above.

The Reception and banquet will follow this tour.

Gettysburg Tour On Tuesday,April 10th, we will depart for a tour of the Gettysburg Battlefield at 8:45 am (approx. one hour trip). Upon our arrival, we will visit the Electric Map for a full explanation of the Battle followed by a visit to the Battlefield and lunch at the Dobbin House. We anticipate returning to the Lodge and Convention Center at approximately 3:30 (in order for those who will be catching the flight out of Harrisburg to do so). The cost of this tour is $22.00 per person and includes all of the above.

Our transportation chairmen are Don and Josie Nealis.

EXTRA ATTRACTIONS The outlet stores in Reading and Lancaster are a shopper's delight, and you can schedule these trips at your leisure.

Railroad enthusiasts may want to visit Strasburg (in the Lancaster area about 40 miles from Hershey) to see the Steam Locomotives and Railroad as well as the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. The train operates at 12:00, 1:00, 2:00 and 3:00, (please check scheduled times on your arrival in Hershey), and goes on a 45-minute ride through the Pennsylvania Dutch Amish country. Those wishing to ride the train and visit the museum will also have to do so at their leisure.

GOLF Sunday, April 8th Golfers will depart at 11:20 for a short drive (2 miles) to the Hershey Country Club East Course for our first day of tournament play which will be a shotgun start at 12:30. Clubs can be stored overnight at the Country Club free of charge.

Monday, April 9th Golfers will again depart at 11:20 for the Hershey Country Club West Course for our final day of tournament play (again a shotgun start at 12:30) For those interested, lunch is available at the country Club prior to our start and can be charged back to your room at the Lodge and Convention Center.

Weather conditions generally dictate the following dress: warm trousers, turtleneck, wool sweater and light windbreaker.

The cost is $90.00 per person and includes both rounds of golf, carts and prizes.

16

THE TARPA CONVENTION HERSHEY, PA

APRIL 7th to 10th or 11th, 1990

GOLF (con't) On Saturday, April 7th and/or Tuesday, April 10th, golf is available at the Hershey Parkview Golf Course.

This year's tournament chairmen are Roy and Esther Brister.

TENNIS Sunday, April 8th and Monday, April 9th Tournament play will begin both days at 1:00pm and will be held indoors at the Hershey Racquet Club which is within walking distance from the Lodge and Convention Center (1/8 mile).

The cost is $27.00 per person and includes courts (both days), balls and prizes.

This year's tournament chairman is Mickey Wind.

TRAP/SKEET Trap and skeet will be held at the Harrisburg Hunters' and Anglers' Club which is about a 20 minute drive from the Lodge and Convention Center.

The chairman is Bob Smith, and he can advise you of the cost upon your arrival at the convention.

BRIDGE The tournaments will be held on Sunday, April 8th and Monday, April 9th beginning each day at 9:00 am lasting 2h hours.

Complete information regarding cost and tournament format will be available upon your arrival at the convention.

BANQUET

Monday, April 9th

Reception will be held from 6:30 to 7:30 (Cash bar) with dinner served at Price of the banquet includes a full course meal with wine and enter7:30. tainment provided by a three-piece combo.

HOSPITALITY ROOM The Hospitality Room will be quite spacious like New Orleans and your hostess will again be Katy Buchanan. See the Convention Schedule for exact times.

WEATHER CONDITIONS Temperatures generally range from a morning low of 40 to an afternoon high of 65 degrees. (Wools -- trousers, skirts, sweaters and jacket should provide ample comfort.)

Occasional showers or cloudy skies would make raingear appropriate. (Remember the weather in New Orleans!!). But what does the weather matter when you're with a bunch of good of HANGER FLIERS???

17

is proud to offer the following rate structure bo "THE ACTIVE RETIRED PILOTS ASSOCIATION"

Economy Ford Festiva Manual trans, Compact Ford Escort Auto trans, Midsize Ford Tempo, Fullsize Ford Taurus

$19.95 no a/c 22.95

plus a/c 24.95

Ply.

Reliant 26.95

All rates include 150 free miles per day, each additional miles is .20 per mile.

Optional collision damage waiver is available for $6.95 per day.

For additional information and reservations call collect (717) 944-1212.

18

TARPA CONVENTION SCHEDULE 1990 The dates for the convention are Saturday April 7, 1990 through Tuesday, April 10, 1990.

TIME

AGENDA

Friday, April 6 7 pm - 10 pm Saturday, April 7 9 am - --1 pm - 7 pm 2 pm - 6 pm Sunday, April 8 8 am - 11 am 8 am - 5 pm 9 am - --11:15 am - 4 pm 11:20 am -5:30 pm 12pm 1 pm - 4 pm 4 pm - 7:30 pm Monday, April 9 8 am - 11 am 9 am - 10:30 am 9 am - --9:30 am - 11 am 11 am- 5:30 pm 11:20 am -5:30 pm 12 pm 1 pm - 4 pm 3 pm -6 pm 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm 7:30 pm - 11 pm 8 pm - 11 pm Tuesday, April 10 8:45 am -3:30 pm

BOARD MEETING

BOARD MEETING REGISTRATION HOSPITALITY ROOM OPEN

GENERAL BUSINESS MEETING REGISTRATION DESK OPEN BRIDGE TOURNAMENT BUSES DEPART FOR LUNCH AT HERSHEY HOTEL AND LOCAL TOUR GOLFERS DEPART; OPTIONAL LUNCH AT COUNTRY CLUB TEE TIME 12:30 PM, EAST COURSE TRAP & SKEET SHOOTERS LEAVE TENNIS PLAY AT HSY RACQUET CLUB HOSPITALITY ROOM OPEN

GENERAL BUSINESS MEETING REGISTRATION DESK OPEN BRIDGE TOURNAMENT SPOUSES' INFORMATION SESSION BUSES DEPART FOR LANCASTER TOUR -LUNCH INCLUDED GOLFERS DEPART; OPTIONAL LUNCH AT COUNTRY CLUB TEE TIME 12:30 PM, WEST COURSE TRAP & SKEET SHOOTERS LEAVE TENNIS PLAY AT HSY RACQUET CLUB HOSPITALITY ROOM OPEN RECEPTION (CASH BAR) DINNER DANCE BAND - 3 PIECE COMBO

BUSES DEPART FOR GETTYSBURG BATTLEFIELD TOUR -- LUNCH INCLUDED THAT'S ALL FOLKS -- HAVE A HAPPY EASTER!

CONVENTION CHAIRMAN:

Vernon (Vic) Hassler, Phone: (215)777-6528 25

TARPA ALASKA CRUISE First row, left to right; ANN WAGNER, MADELAINE JURY, ANGELA LANG, GLORIA WEISS & PAT HASLER. 2nd. row; EVELYN VOVOLKA, BUD JURY, MILDRED COOKE, MARJORIE LUCKEY, COLLEEN HOFMEISTER & HELEN MEANS. 3rd. row; RUSS MEANS, MARG THOMPSON, BOB LANG & CHUCK HASLER. 4th. row; SAM LUCKEY, BOB THOMPSON, HOWARD HOFMEISTER, DAVE WAGNER & JACK WEISS.

TARPA COCKTAIL PARTY SEPT. 89 CRUISE PAT & CHUCK HASLER GUEST ENTERTAINER, TV & FILM STAR, DARREN McGAVIN KATHY McGAVIN

26

FOR ALL THOSE BORN BEFORE 1945

WE ARE SURVIVORS!!! Consider the changes we have witnessed: We were before television, before penicillin, before polio shots, frozen foods, Xerox, contact lenses, Frisbees and the PILL. we were before radar, credit cards, spilt atoms, lasser beams and ballpoint pens; before pantyhose, dishwashers, clothes dryers, electric blankets, air conditioners, drip-dry clothing--AND-•-before Man walked on the Moon!

We got married first and THEN lived together. How quaint can you be?

In our times, closets were for clothes, not for "coming out of" Bunnies were small rabbits -- and rabbits were not Volkswagons.

Designer jeans were screaming girls names Jean or Jeanne, and having a meaningful relationship meant getting along well with our cousins.

We thought fast foods was what you ate during Lent, and outer Space was the back of the local theater!

We were before house-husbands, gay rights, computer dating, dual careers and commuter marriages. We were before day-care centers, g roup therapy and nursing homes. We never heard of FM radio, tape decks, electric typewriters, artificial hearts, word processors, yogurt ., and guys wearing earrings. For us, time-sharing meant togetherness -- not computers or condominiums; a "chip" meant a piece of wood; hardware meant hardware; and software wasn't even a word.

In 1940, "Made in Japan" meant junk and the term "making out" referred to how you did on an exam. Pizzas, "MacDonalds" and instant coffee were unheard of.

We hit the scene when there were 5C and IOC stores where you bought things for five and ten cents. The corner drug store sold ice cream cones for a nickel or a dime. For one nickel you would ride a street car -- make a phone call, buy a Pepsi or enough stamps to mail one letter and two postcards.

You could buy a new Chevy Coupe for $500 but who could afford one; a pity, too, because gas was only 11 cents a gallon!

In our day, cigarette smoking was fashionable, GRASS was mowed, COKE was a cold drink and POT was something you cooked in. ROCK MUSIC was ' a Grandma's lullaby and AIDS were helpers in the Principal s office.

We were certainly not before the difference between the sexes were discovered, but we were surely before the SEX CHANGE; we made do with what we had. And we were the last generation that was so dumb as to think you needed a husband to have a baby.

NBoUTwWnEdeSrRVIaD!sochnaftubeedrthsroniscueclbaragten?rtiop!

BY CHUCK HASLER The AFRICAN SAFARI next May 22nd is filling up fast and is described in the May TOPICS on pg. 10. You should have received flyers in the mail for this trip.

We are working on a Trans Canal cruise for mid 1990. If there is enough interest we will also set up a trip to Russia for the fall of 1990. Also if there is enough interest we will set up a fall foliage bus tour to the Banff-Lake Louise area of the Canadian Rockies. If you are interested in any of these let me know.

TO THE HONORARY MEMBERS OF TARPA who hold a class 9 pass: There has been some misunderstanding about your eligibility on our tours that include positive air fare. Quite a few have asked if they were eligible to go on the Kenya Safari , with positive air on Kenya Airways from London to Nairobi. The answer is a positive YES. Also you are eligible for all our cruises at interline rates ( except Holland American ). A companion may accompany you at interline rates if the companion shares the same cabin with you. We have also had several requests from honorary members asking romate.If if I had other honorary members going alone who would like a you would like to be paired with another widow for a particular cruise or trip please let us know and we will try to pair you with someone compatible. In the meantime you are welcome to come alone and pay the single supplement. Reservation form elsewhere in this copy.

28

TARPA TOURS REGISTRATION FORM

EDITOR'S DESK Here we go again with another edition of TARPA TOPICS from your editor and amenusis. Time passes too fast at our stage in life. It seems no sooner one issue goes out but what it is time to start working on the next. No matter how diligently we proof-read our material errors, especially typographical, pop out at us when we peruse the finished copy. Hope I don't get fired.

I wonder if you all get the same enjoyment I do anymore from reading your newspapers? It is a game with me circling all the grammatical, typographical and spelling errors so prevalent in the papers I read. Is it the lack of conscientiousness on the part of the help or is it an indication of what our educational systems are turning out?

We appreciate the pats on the head for it provides us with the incentive to keep pecking away. I especially enjoy Dick Guillan's Grapevine and Ed Bett's thorough and professional articles. I don't guess anyone would argue with my observation that TARPA TOPICS is the cohesive vehicle to keep us in touch with our comrades from Trans World Airlines.

Thank you for your contributions sent in to Guillan and me. Let us know what is going on with you. We are interested. Have you been on any tours? What are your hobbies? How is your health? How are your grandchildren? What was your most memorable flight? Who did you fly with on your first trip on TWA? Do you think we were luckier to have Howard Hughes in control rather than Icon?

We are looking forward to our get together in Hershey located in beautiful Pennsylvania countryside. Those TARAP members who have never attended one of these reunions just don't know what they are missing.

Had a pleasant surprise in August when Joe and Jean McCombs spent a few days with us. Flew them in my Rockwell Commander 112TC over Cape Hatteras and Kitty Hawk where we visited the Wright Brother Memorial on the site where the first heavier-than-air powered flight was made on December 17, 1903. A few years back I flew co-pilot for Joe on the Martins so I got the feeling he might have been a wee bit apprehensive with me as captain.

Visited a couple of days early in October with Lew and Judy Thompson on their migration south in their boat. Had their three year old grandson, Ricky Thompson, with them. What a cute and sharp little fellow. They will ask him to say the pledge of allegiance and he stands at attention, salutes and says it from start to finish completely.

Now on to the news and tid-bits from our members.

From Eddie Wells; Hi A.T. - It was a great good time convention at New Orleans and I should add, as usual, and we just look forward to the next one. Actually, I have been trying trying to get a note off to you for a month or more, can't use busy as an excuse, just lazy, I guess.

One purpose for my note is to identify the mystery lady on Page 40 last TARPA TOPICS (May issue). That is none other than my wife, Claire, for the last 49 years and come November 8th will make it 50. Maybe not but almost a record for airline pilots. Ha. She has been with me at all the conventions but two we missed which were Anaheim and St. Louis. Grandkids function interfered. I think it would be very nice if you would identify her in the next issue of TARPA TOPICS. Well, A.T., that about concludes the Jerkins Journal. Things are going okay down this way and I trust the same goes for you and yours.

Kindest regards, Eddie Wells.

31

EDITOR'S DESK Your editor has read Roger Rawlings' book, The Last Airmen, and found it very interesting. Published by Harper and Row it is a good book to acquaint your offspring and acquaintances with what went on on the airline.

From George Searle; The enclosed article is for your consideration. Not using it for publication will not disappoint or offend me in any way. [Article appears elsewhere with Harry Mokler's stuff and is entitled "Physical Exams and PSA Blood Test"] You have included with your entire career a generous amount of activity for the benefit of the pilot group. If this little contribution helps fill an empty space, it will be my pleasure.

From Goldy Goldthorpe; Just a short personal note. I visited Hangar 12 recently and, as usual, enjoyed gabbing with the guys I used to work with in Flt Ops JFK. I was also amazed at how many pilots stopped me in the hall and in the "ready room" to say hello and add that they enjoyed reading the skits I've written and you've seen fit to print in TARPA TOPICS. It really made my day. They all said how much they enjoy TARPA TOPICS reading it from cover to cover as soon as they receive it. This goes for me, too, of course.

Capt. Tom Maher also told me how much he enjoyed your article on railroading.

Seems a lot of us are rail buffs, too.

However, I was very sorry to learn that Ross Weaver died July 5th. He was a wonderful guy who was liked and respected by everyone as I'm sure you know.

So I sat right down and wrote about an unusual trip I made with Ross in 1947...the Calcutta Survey Trip, including some non-routine events and which, I hope, a sincere tribute to a really great pilot. Maybe you can use it.

[Goldy, I recently visited the Southern Railroad Museum in Spencer, North Carolina, near Charlotte. The property was donated by Southern and was their main headquarters and maintenance facility. The roundhouse could handle 37 locomotives at one time. Really enjoyed it and highly recommend seeing it] From Meredith Moffett; Dear A.T. & Betty- It was good to see both of you at the convention in New Orleans. We enjoyed the festivities very much, got in some good sight-seeing and visited with folks we hadn't seen for quite a while.

After the convention, Lee and I took the cruise on the Mississippi Queen with a lively TARPA group. Lum Edwards did his usual outstanding job with the help of his able assistant, Bette. A great time was had by all and the weather cooperated.

Sorry I didn't get to talk to you a little longer in New Orleans. You were asking how my savings bank was doing, so I thought you might like a copy of our annual report for 1989. I also enclosed a first quarter report for tax year 1990, which shows we just passed $100 million in assets. I don't think that is too back for a small town operation in 11 years.

Lee and I are still looking for you and Betty to stop and visit us on one of your trips up this way. I got to see Snorky Clark just before the convention.

He was visiting a neighbor just a block down the street. That was a surprise.

Wishing you all the best and we hope to see you in Hershey.

[Moff and I used to fly together at EWR. He is chairman of the board of directors of the Liberty Savings Bank in Warrenton, Virginia.

32

OLIVIA DEHAVILAND & ENSIGN DAVE RICHWINE 1938 NAS NORTH ISLAND, SAN DIEGO, CA Re; Filming "Wings of the Navy" Cairo, Egypt 1950 left to right; Bob Werthmuller Earl Korf Their Piper Cub Korf was Chief Navigator in Cairo

33

EDITOR'S DESK From Earl Korf; I am a fairly new member of TARPA as for years I did not think the non-pilot crew members were eligible for membership. Now I am happy I was allowed membership.

Have been enjoying the many excellent articles you have printed.

I have written up a little story on a flight I made while stationed in Cairo.

Perhaps you will find it interesting enough to print. [Appears later on].

I do not recall flying with you but during 46 to 56, while I was in Cairo, quite a number of new pilots arrive on scene and you probably were not flying International during those years.

I consider myself an old timer with TWA, having joined in October, 1930, right after the merger. Some of our Captains will remember my little Piper Cub in Cairo and Neal Lytle, Gordon Lambert, Joe Carr and Bob Brower have all flown it.

Am looking forward to the get together in Pennsylvania.

I had a good job as Chief Navigator in Cairo and worked for and with some great TWA fliers; Swede Golien, Hugh Herdon, Ray Wells, Flash Gordon Granger, Joe Carr, Bob McReynolds etc.

Incidentally, my plane was American licensed as we had a CAA office in Cairo at the time. Egypt had jurisdiction on the plane and it was war surplus, that is why they had the authority to limit the operations and export permits etc.

The picture shows Bob Wertmuller and myself with N79929. [Picture on preceding page]. Bob was the Cairo foreman who handled all maintenance work including installation of the auxiliary tank. I am the one with colored glasses with my arm on the cowling.

At my age of 85, and not as active as before, I like to reminisce on the past glory days of TWA. Then again enjoy my ham radio friends.

A TARPA member and good friend of many of us, Dave Spain, is recovering from a serious prostrate operation. Had to go after it from the ouside (abdomen) and had a pretty rough time. The gland was 4 times the normal size. Dave and Bob Gowling are both on one of my ham radio networks.

Guess you were worried for a while regarding hurricane Hugo. Glad it missed you but you probably felt it Good luck, Earl * * * * * * [Sorry to hear about Dave Spain's ordeal. Hope he and Lucille are doing okay].

Condensed from an article sent in by Steve Bassford from the Tucson paper.

Mike Dillon, 54, a retired TWA pilot was having problems with Triatoma Profacta.

No, that is not a disease but a species of conenose bug also called kissing bug, assassin bugs, Hualapai tigers, or as Dillon says, vampire bugs. [Incidentally, why don't one of you Tucson dwellers take an application from the back of here and go over and invite Capt. Dillon to join us in TARPA?] These insects have invaded the Dillons' dream house. Initially, it was Mike who woke with several inflamed and swollen welts. Thought it might be mosquitoes or fleas. Had exterminator in. A few days later he became deathly ill and ended up in the emergency room with hard chills, difficulty urinating and a high fever.

Doctor diagnosed a prostrate infection and prescribed antibiotics although Dillon had mentioned the welts and the doctor said they had nothing to do with it. Later, at home and reading in bed, Dillon noticed an inch-long bug sucking blood from his finger. Like a mosquito, a conenose bug has an anesthetic in its saliva that allows it to dine without being detected. On pulling the bed away from the wall found about 50 bugs!

They say efforts to kill the bugs may be useless. Suggestions were tighten up the house, curtain bedroom windows, keep outdoor lighting to a minimum, sleep under mosquito netting. The other alternative is for them to move back into town where there are no pack rats. Meanwhile, Dillon said, he's afraid to go to bed at night. "We sleep with a can of Raid".

34

STILLS STILL FROM NEW ORLEANS

Left to Right; HERB OTTOWILL, BOB & DORIS STUFFINGS

ALINE BARTLING AND RUSS YOUNCE

35

EDITOR'S DESK From Fred & Nan Doery, Solomon Islands; Dear Friends- Hi. It's always great to get my new issue of TARPA TOPICS. Many thanks to the Editor for such a great job.

I've been retired for 3 years now and, except for occasional visits back to the States, Nan and I are still out here cruising. This past year we have visited Tonga, New Zealand, Fiji, and are now in the Solomon Islands (Guadalcanal etc.). I read in TOPICS about a planned trip that some of you are going to make to New Zealand and Australia. We spent last summer in N.Z. and thought it and the Kiwis were just terrific. We have some excellent photos.

I have given some thought to meeting with the group in Australia but will not be there until late November.

These past 3 years cruising have been really great for us in many ways.

It is a chance to see the world in a way you cannot see by other means. Quite a few places have no other connection with the outside world and getting to know some of these people is really a special experience.

There are quite a few "yachties" out here doing the same thing and it makes for a very satisfactory social life. You would be surprised how many retired pilots there are out here. Far more pleasing than we had back in the States.

It's like one large happy family.

Visited Guadalcanal, Tulagi and Gharutu battle fields last week. Still plenty of war stuff lying around. Cruising the South Pacific isn't for everyone but it sure suits me. We're having a great time here. Best wishes to all, Fred.

[Fred, We enjoyed hearing from you. How about sending me a picture of your boat, ship, vessel, sloop, clipper or what? And another account of you all's experiences.

Assume you have heard of typhoons but be careful. My baby boy had 2 months of his medical training in New Zealand in 85 and we met him in Sidney and toured Australia. He loved N.Z. and Australia is a beautiful country.]

From your editor; Hurricane Hugo is now history but it wrote an indelible scar from the east coast at Charleston, SC, through Charlotte,NC. Luckily, we were spared and we sincerely appreciate the many friends from all over who called to see how we made out. However, our son, Dr. Frank and his wife, Kim, lived in Mt. Pleasant, SC, just across the river from Charleston. The Veterans Adminsration Hospital where he was working closed down in anticipation sending what patients home they could and moving the more critical ones inland to another VA hospital. Frank & Kim got out to a safer haven at her folks' place near Myrtle Beach. When they finally got to go back to their condiminium they had minor damage comparatively speaking. 2 huge trees fell on each side of his car with no damage. Window broken and the chimney blown off puncturing the roof. However, his description of the devastation was dramatic. He said the area must look like cities I bombed in Germany. No trees standing, power lines down, yachts blown all over, cars smashed, debris everywhere impeding traffic. I am sure many of you saw North South on TV, well, Oren's plantation in the show was filmed using Boone Plantation which is about a half mile from Frank's. He said the huge oaks lining the long drive which were over a hundred years old were toppled. A week later he still had no electricity. Another son, Capt. Jeff of US Air, owns a rental home in west Charleston which escaped damage although his trees were felled onto a neighbor's house. Our plane was at Charleston but Frank moved it inland so wasn't damaged. One result from Hugo will be a more serious look at oceanside zoning. I have been saying for years that I couldn't believe people will build houses costing from $100,000 to a half million with nothing between them and that mighty ocean but a sand bar.

36

L to R MARY SPARROW MARGE LUCKEY MARGARET THRUSH

HARRY CLARK GEORGE TOOP JOHN LEIN PETER PLETCHER KATIE BUCHANAN OTHERS?

ARKIE AINSWORTH BOB BRUBAKER KATHRYN BRUBAKER

37

EDITOR'S DESK From Joe & Jean McCombs; We had an enjoyable visit to the Humbles' estates. Reflected upon most was the opportunity to catch up on the news in the paper tablecloth while chompin' on your crustacean neighbors fresh out of the holding tank. Not an entirely new experience but the first time we have followed the event from the water to the table. Now, we must find a place to crack-em here in Denver or make more trips to the East Coast.

Also, reiterated, time and time again, to our family and friends during the past ten days, Granny Jean's description of the look on my face when you announced we would be FLYING to Hatteras. That was my first time in a single engine people killer since 1943. Quite frankly, I (we) enjoyed the flight and the visit with the Wright Brothers immensely. That event made me envious and stirred up. Maybe if we win the lottery, I can get me a toy but I still have to consider Jean's "next husbum fund".

Seriously, we thank you for such a nice time with dear old friends. We have fulfilled our visit. You no longer have an excuse for not bringing Miz Betty to see the wonders of Colorado. The aspen will be in color in two weeks which really isn't too soon to continue discussing the remainder of the seniority list not covered during our conversations in Belhaven. C'mon out, rat now.

[The humble Humbles enjoyed it immensely too].

From Capt. Howard Hall; My fine friend, A.T. - Thank you for the fine service to Mrs. Earl Fleet.

[Somehow we had dropped Mrs. Fleet from our mailing list and she asked Howard to help her as she enjoyed our mag].

On the first west bound flight of T.A.T. Ford, Captain Fleet was the captain and I was the co-pilot, 1929. It was from St. Louis through Kansas City and Wichita to Waynoka. His wife was not aboard. She was in their home in Waynoka about eight months pregnant with their first child.

That was quite a trip. They christened the airplane at Wichita, "City of Wichita". It was quite a christening. The field was all grass. Landing area just mowed by mules - not tractors - no tractors then.

Fleet tried to taxi that Ford to the christening stand and he got stuck in the mud. I had to go for the mules. I got one team. They couldn't budge the plane and was scared as hell of those whirling propellors and engine noise. I went on foot and got a second team and more log chains. The driver of the second team wouldn't drive - he was afraid of the propellors so I had to. We got our only mechanic, such as he was, to sit in my seat and help Fleet apply brakes if necessary.

We finally made the stand. The job was done and we were late into Waynoka.

The passengers insisted that Captain Fleet, his wife and Hall have dinner with them at the Harvey House before boarding their "side-tracked" Pullman sleeping car.

A month later I drove from Waynoka to St. Louis to be the first co-pilot promoted. TAT had acquired two Curtis Condors - I had been flying this plane in the Army at Langley Field. The Ford pilots trained at Ford and hauling freight.

They just plain hated those big planes - 32 passengers - Landed 45 mph. So, I was the pilot when a Condor departed - not always but many times.

Not too long later along came Dave Behncke. He and I flew bombers. He was the leader and I was "tailend Charlie" in ten, fifteen plane formations. I remember one to El Paso. Then I was flying two Liberty engines with wooden props. On the turns I had a hell of a time holding my position if Behncke went too fast - lack of engine power. (continued next page)

38

EDITOR'S DESK Howard Hall continued; Later my friendship with Behnke got me into trouble. Three TWA night mail pilots got killed between Newark and Columbus. It was hard to hire pilots for this run Columbus to Newark.

Someone suggested to Jack Frye that he transfer me from KC - Fords to Newark night mail. That got me away from TAT-Western Air and Maddux pilots and the forming of ALPA. I had attended the first ALPA meeting in Chicago but had to drive my four cylinder car in mid-winter weather - only alcohol for radiator. No one would give me a pass to ride our airline to Chicago. They didn't "can" me when I got back but they did transfer me.

I lived through four years of night mail flying opposite that famous old night mail pilot, W.L. Smith. He coached me all the time - knew I was scared to death. No compensated bank & turns. No artificial horizon. Airspeed, altimeter, engine instruments. Ground looping Northrups. No tail wheel lock. No cockpit heat.

I was a "fraidy cat of the first water". Guess it was a good thing, W.L. Smith said it was.

There were no restrictions on how they used pilots. I had just come in from Columbus. In bed asleep. They called me to the field. Two pilots had turned down Ford flights with mail only account of approaching weather. I had to buckle up in a Northrup and haul a full load of mail from the Fords. After take off from Camden (Philadelphia) I hit a windshift so strong I lost control and was up to 30,000 feet. (Oxygen tube plus wooden nipple - I finally got it all turned on).

I wanted to shoot Ted Weaver, dispatcher. He didn't tell me about the weather approaching Philadelphia.

Those were the good old days. Aren't you glad you came along later when you had an experienced pilot to ride with?

But, it all was a great life. Here I am almost 88 and still telling flying stories. Well, I have always been a bragger.

Again I want to tell you and all those who help you run the TARPA TOPICS. Great bunch of fellows. We do appreciate you.

Thanks for handling Mrs. Fleet. Howard Hall * * * * * * Your editor, after reading about Sonny Boy's experience at Camden, ventures to say nowadays they wouldn't say he experienced a microburst but must have encountered a majoburst.

Mentioning Mrs. Earl Fleet reminds me that I flew with Earl on the Boeing Strato-Liners. I felt like I knew him before I came with TWA. When I came back from England during the Great War I was based at Kingman, Arizona. The base commanding officer was Colonel "Peewee" Wheeler and when I was about to leave for employment with TWA Col. Wheeler told me Earl Fleet was a friend of his and they had been classmates as cadets in the Army Air Corps in 1926. Capt.

Fleet remembered him too.

From Charles Rice; New address: 8521 Solar Place, Tucson, AZ 85715. Ph: 602 749 2316. I have a new (to me) house - all solar and overlooking the mountains. Am enjoying it very much now that the move from the old house is over. What a job!

Always read the TOPICS from cover to cover. "You all" do a great job. Thanks for all your work. * * * * * * CONGRATULATIONS!! Capt. Idus Inglis retired 1 October 89 after 45 years with Trans World Airlines all in the cockpit!

39

EDITOR'S DESK From George Duvall Dear A.T. - Got your message from the August issue of TARPA TOPICS and have just completed the story [founding & operation of credit union] after checking with Parky and Don Chapin to be sure of dates and amounts which I have no way of checking on while we are at the California address. This should ensure that it will make the November issue which should be great.

You fellows are doing a real fine job on the TOPICS and makes it something everyone wants to read immediately. Congratulations.

If you need any more information on the Credit Union let me know. They are now in their new building at KCI and should be settled in shortly.

Speaking of settling in, Joyce and I also moved when we returned from the Mediterranean cruise and we are about settled in now and ready to leave for Arizona for the winter. Just in , case you want the California address I am enclosing a copy of it. (50 Mounds Road # 415, San Mateo, CA 94402. Ph: 415 340 8640.

Right Cordially, George.

[We appreciate Capt. Duval's hard work on the history of our Credit Union. It was a God send to me many times in my 34 years. They saved us all a lot of money through the years by enabling you to bargain with cash for a new car. I borrowed the money to buy the Rockwell Commander 112TC I still own and fly. George's article appears elsewhere. I especially appreciate it arriving print ready. Letter below from Pat Patterson speaks well of the illustrious Capt. Duval.]

From Willis (Pat) Patterson; My wife and I had a great time at New Orleans, however I was sorry that I missed meeting you. Hope to do so at Hershey.

Since Captain Duval was getting some information about the Credit Union for the next TARPA, I thought the attached experiences with him may be appropiate.

During my ICD days it was my good fortune to make several Atlantic crossings with George Duval. My memories are jogged by a couple of following events occurring on one trip.

The hazard of the left seat in a C-54 was emphasized one night as we were preparing to leave Prestwick. We had a first trip Flight Engineer who sincerely was doing his very best. When the check list called for switching from external power to aircraft power it required the Flight Engineer to pull the buss bar in the upper panel from right to left.

Sometimes the buss bar was cantankerous and resisted movement. When the Engineer finally gave a healthy tug, it released and the man's hand kept on going and hit George in the side of his face so hard that George's eyes watered. Apologies were gracefully accepted by the Captain.

On this same trip we carried litters westbound, in this case from the Azores to Bermuda. The Air Transport Command did not permit smoking by the injured in the cabin. In most cases, we would have a cabin attendant stand by the patient with a cup of water and let them smoke.

But Captain Duval would adhere to the rules and would carry the patients to the cockpit area so they could smoke. On this one trip I recall so well he made dozens of trips carrying these amputees from cabin forward and back again.

[Another subject] Also, I wanted to tell you about the operator who used to fly Ford Trimotors from Port Clinton to the Lake Erie Islands. His name was Hershberger and he flew freight and passengers on the short trip to Middlebass and Kelly Islands. During the wine season he flew cases of wine to the mainland.

He advertised for and hired a pilot during this busy period. The flight duration was about 10 to 15 minutes. So when he and the newly hired pilot landed at Kelly, they spent about an hour loading on wine cases, then on their return to Port Clinton, another hour unloading. This went on all day.

40

EDITOR'S DESK Letter from Pat Patterson continued; At the end of the day the new pilot said he didn't believe he could handle the job. Hershberger asked, "Don't you like to fly?" The guy said sure, but he went on to tell Hershberger that he didn't want a pilot, he wanted a piano mover who could fly!

[That same Ford Trimotor was here in little Washington, North Carolina, for a week last year taking people for rides].

Left to right; Pat Patterson Nina Patterson Friend John Powk

L to R Corry Youngblood Nina Patterson Dub Youngblood

[Pictures sent in by Pat Patterson] 41

EDITOR'S DESK From Dick Murray of Naples, FL; Thank you for your comments on volunteerism. The editor of Wheels in Motion, Tony Mahlman, published your remarks in the September issue which is enclosed.

Thanks for a great job! Service takes many forms. Regards, Dick.

Quote; VOLUNTEERISM RECOGNIZED The editor of "TARPA TOPICS", the journal of the Active Retired Pilots Assn. of TWA, thanked a member, Dick Murray, who is a volunteer in all three of our programs, for submitting an article on Pilot License * 1, and wrote: "Glad to hear you are helping Meals on Wheels. Betty (his wife) does too. Too often retirees just sit and deteriorate, when keeping active in charity, civic and service organizations would give them the activity needed for a healthier life."

[I notice in their newsletter they stress the importance of having your house number displayed so it can be seen from the street. Betty and I belonged to a rescue squad for nearly 15 years in New Jersey and fully recognize the importance of having your name and/or house number prominently displayed from your street or road. Precious, possibly life-saving, minutes can be lost by firemen or emergency medical personnel trying to find a place. We crossed Sourland Mountain three times one night when a name or number at the end of the lane would have drawn us right to the correct house!].

From Capt. Brooks Johnston, President, RAPA: Thank you for your kind words and thank you for including part of RAPA RAPPORT in the August TARPA TOPICS. RAPA RAPPORT will come out in September. This next issue will be printed in the ALPA press room in Herndon, Virginia, thanks to ALPA Headquarters effort.

The ALPA mail out will be by "Bulk Mail" which, as you know, is a lot cheaper but also a lot slower.

One more favor, A.T., if it would not impose on TARPA's editorial policy, I would ask for a word on RAPA's Long Term Health Care insurance policy in your next TARPA TOPICS. [I asked Brooks to coordinate with Neuman Ramsey and Russ Derickson, our RAPA liasion rep, and will plan to publish the information on this insurance,] From Lars Lundstrom; Enclosed find the obituary I had spoken to your wife about, assuming that you would see to its proper distribution. As I mentioned, If I had an old seniority list I would have also sought some of his classmates for I am sure they would be interested. [Mel Rigdon]. His address; Presbyterian Home, Quitman, Georgia.

I have not as yet managed to get to one of the TARPA meetings, I thought I was going to make New Orleans, but something came up.

I have never run into Larry Welch who lives in Buford, I flew with him many many years ago on the pistons. I met Bob Springer a number of years ago at Shoney's in Gainesville. You may not recall but I conveyed some best wishes from Jack McKibbon, he made mention of having been on active duty with you and Mickey Wind in the Air Force.

Had a bit of trouble in London in June with a blood clot in my leg. Hospitalized for 2 weeks under British National Health, excellent treatment at $35O./day which included everything. Manage to recoup all but $1100. which brings to mind one should take out additional insurance to cover the shortfall.

Hope this finds you and your wife in good health. A special word of gratitude for your long tenure in laboring on behalf of TARPA.

42

Dear A.T.:

From Ed Betts

A bit of an explanation: I kindof thought the enclosed essays about the 50th anniversary of LGA, the 40th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift and a tribute to Hal Blackburn are timely for this issue of the 'Topics'. Hopefully I will have a second chapter about the Martins for the next issue. A few notes from my "mail bag": Tonight (Oct 6) I attended the LAX retirement party. It was a fine affair and there were lots of familiar faces...copilots and flight engineers who were very young as my crew members had retired.

Maybe I'm aging as they are still young!

There is one pilot who will retire in a couple of weeks (October 18) and will be the host for the STL retirement party tomorrow night that I would like to mention...Horace B. "Buck" Pratt, the GM-F (I still prefer the title Chief Pilot) at STL. Buck has hired 10/3/55 and has been in management for the past 15 or so years (including the last Kansas City Chief Pilot).

Roger Sailors (from Scottsdale) and Russ Drosendahl (from the San Fernando Valley) sent me copies of a local ad by Home Federal Savings. It was a replica of a 8/27/34 newspaper which coincided with the opening of their first branch office. Among the front page headlines was "MAIL PLANE MISSING ON TWA ROUTE" and the story told how pilot Earl Fleet was overdue on a single-engine mail plane flight between Amarillo and Albuquerque. Darkness and weather prevented a search for the plane until the following morning. I looked up the sequel to this incident in a TWA report: Earl had departed AMA at 11:44am with Fleetster #53 and was due to arrive ABQ at 2:11pm. At 1:30pm he lost the motor due to carburetor ice and glided down for an emergency landing on a clearing near Villaneuva, NM. He wasn't able to transmit this on the radio to TWA operations. The plane was located the next day. Total damage was a dented rudder ($163.47 repairs). I don ' t know if the newspapers printed the happy ending to this story, or gave credit for superior airmanship.

A current newspaper item was an obit on Walter R. Ballard who died on 8/6/89, at the age of 93. Walt had learned to fly in WWI and did the usual barnstorming until he went to work as copilot with Western Air Express in 1930.

He was among the original copilots when T&WA was formed in late 1930. For whatever reason Walt left T&WA in 1931 and flew with American Airways. During WWII he was the CO at several Navy bases and for 30 years sold real estate in the San Diego area. He was also active with the San Diego Aerospace Museum.

Another recent obit was J.C."Jack" Franklin on 7/31/89, at the age of 84. Jack started out with Western Air Express as a radio engineer in 1929 and was T&WA's Superintendent of Communications until 1938.

In 1937 , for his work in the development of the directional loop (radio antenna), he received the National Air Board Safety Award for "contributing most to the safety of aviation during the year". From 1938 to 1941, he was an executive in T&WA's Engineering Department and was a member of the selected team to work with Lockheed and Howard Hughes on the development of the 'Constellation'. Following "Tommy" Tomlinson's return to the Navy, in mid-1941, he was VP Engineering until he resigned in 1947 to be manager of the Oak Ridge operation of the US Atomic Energy Commission. In 1949 he was VP of the General Aniline & Film Corporation (Jack Frye was president). In 1967 he joined General Dynamics and, in 1970 , retired as VP Corporate Development. On a personal note: Jack was a big help to me with a number of past articles on T&WA aircraft.

During 1989 several of our TARPA members celebrated (?) their 25th and 20th anniversaries of TWA retirement. The 25 year men include Frank Busch, Lex Klotz, R.L."Lewie" Proctor and "Rudy" Truesdale. The 20 year men include Al Brick, Bert Cooper, George Duvall, Ted Hereford, Roger Don Rae, Jack Schnaubelt, John Soule and Floyd Valentine. Congratulations to all and a happy birthday or (continued) anniversary.

43

A note about Ted's record for years in the left seat...it may never be broken unless the FAA extends the maximum to age 65 or 70. Ted spent a year as copilot (4/6/30 to 4/7/31) with Western and T&WA and was captain until he reached age sixty on 11/15/69...a total of 38 years, 7 months and 7 days. There were a number of copilots hired during the 40's who were younger (Harry Ward was born 12/29/22 and hired 8/17/42), but they had to wait until age 23 to qualify for the Air Transport Pilot License (a new rule since Ted checked out and is still in effect today).

Here is a roster of the men who are being honored by TWA with the three local (LAX, STL and JFK) domicile retirement parties in October 1989: (Ed Betts) Chris A. Alexander William M. Amundson Charles P. Anderson Coleman W. Anderson James L. Anderson Richard E. Atkins Allen E. Baker Richard D. Baker Ronald P. Barnett Ernest F Barter Robert A. Batchelor Claude M. Bettinger Joseph L. Bickett Allan H. Biermann Marvin a Boney Frank E. Brown Thomas V. Brown John Buckmaster John D. Burgess James R. Caba Richard B. Cain Ronald Carford Raymond M. Carlucci Charles F Cassetty Frank C Chapin John E. Cieslak David W. Cody John W. Coote Bennie L. Crain Stanley E. Crawford Denzel L. Crist Paul R. Cushing Richard M. Dawson Benjamin R. Densieski Rose Dickeson Donald E. Dorrell Robert W Duncan William C Dunlop Wallis R. Erickson Paul D. Fairhurst Norman L. Fausett Rudolph M. Fick, Jr. Don W. Fligge Paul J. Foley Harvey G. Gibson Lloyd W. Giles Alfred M. Gustafson Donald L. Hamilton Jon K. Hanlein Donald K. Hanson John W. Hatcher 44

Robert 0. Hatten William J. Havlek Frederick W. Hazlett Dennis L. Heckerson Richard B. Heinisch Glenn Hersh George A. Hibbeler John E. Hoag Virgil J. Hoffman Albert C Homer Leonard T. Irlacher Chester L. Johnson John E. Johnston Milton D. Jones Joseph A. Kent Richard L. Kerr Gari H. Ketcham Joseph Kish Charles D. Kochanski Roger J. Lahn Charles R. Lancaster Alfred J. Lane Robert R. Lang Kenneth N. Leeuwenburgh Charles J. Logue Charles M. Lokey Roger R. Lund Charles E. MacNab Vincent J. Madden Dennis D. Manning Hollis W Martin James E. Mathes Perry D. McLean Jerry McMichael Robert D. Meacham William H. Mikels Norman 0. Miller Richard E. Murray Paul L. Myers Edwin D. Myers, Jr. Richard R. Nelson Albert S. Newton Ruth E. O'Brien Winston L. Oleson John R. Pakulski Kenneth L. Palmer Eugene E. Palsson Bert Parker Dale B. Petty Dale D. Pew

Laurence Pierce Charles R. Poley Hollis F Pollard, Jr. Donald J. Ralston Daniel D. Richter James H. Richter Robert C Rigby Philipp M. H. Rimmler James F Robbins Palmer L. Ronholm Kletus W. Rood Robert B. Roseberry Wallace S. Roze Taylor H. Sanford Edward D. Scherer Ronald F Schmitt Robert S. Schneider Stuart L. Schroeder William L. Schulz Edward C Sendelbach James H. Shotwell David L. Singleton Alton W. Sligh Ermon W. Smith Alexander M. Stanton, Jr. Clifford H. Stevens William F Stevens, Jr. Walter A. Stock John M. Stofer Arthur J. Sullivan James N. Suttles David Taylor Robert R. Thompson William R. Thorpe Bernard A. Tucci, Jr. Craig Tynan Finis W. Vaughn, Jr. William H. Waite Irving G. Walmann Paul R. Waltz Roy R. Ward Gerald R. Westhoff Thomas J. Wickham Thomas P. Wiggins Clarence T. Williams Lawson Williams, Jr. Donald W Winn Anthony J. Wise Kenneth R. Yeck William J. Zesiger

TED HEREFORD, A TWA CAPTAIN FOR 38 years, 7 months & 7 days.

45

THE TARPA

GRAPEVINE NOVEMBER 1989 may have been het and dry this summer in the rest of the It nation but in North Carolina we have experienced. the hottest and wettest in a decade. Starting with the tornado which. hit us May 5th up through Hugo which hit us on the first day of fall, we have had a most unusual summer.

But aside from the weather, life has been good for us.

Peggy and I were honored by the surprise visit of our TOPICS He and Betty were touring the mountains Editor on Sept. 18 . in visiting with their son. and the Piedmont, after Asheville, and somehow found our place (without Loran). We them to spend the night with us but they had an encouraged appointment the next day to pick up their newly purchased so hillbilly Cadillac on their way back to Belhaven declined.

The first week of August I made a trip up to Lake George, N.Y..

On the way stopped in Pennsylvania to attend an old car swap meet. Also on the way I had a chance to view, but inspect, the site of the 1990 convention in Hershey. I not was most impressed by what I saw. It is beautiful and reminded me of the setup in Tucson although a lot greener and cooler. (It was only about 90 degrees that day.) VIC HASSLER has come up with a very interesting itinerary for the Convention which will appear elsewhere in the TOPICS. He deserves all the support we can give him.

While on the subject of VIC HASSLER we were all saddenedg by the news that VICS beautiful wife JAN passed away on Au ust 8th after a very short illness. She succumbed to giant cell from a lung. Our cancer which had spread to the bone sympathies are extended to VIC and his family over their loss. We'll have a little more later on about a trip they took back in January.

Since the May Topics when we ran. a bit about the late DICK HEIDEMAN I have received many more anecdotes of this wonderful man. This from LOU BARR : "At the end of a flight from LAX in a Connie, we were nearing MDW with the WX hovering at minimums. Just before starting the approach, Dick turned to me and said...

When we start the ap-ap-approach you keep watching me.

If you see my li-li-lips mo-mo-moving and no-nonothing comes out, that me-me-means METO power."

46

BULLETIN--LE BUTLER MAKES HOLE IN ONE !!!

Reported by L.M. Butler On August 7,1989, at the Antelope Hills Golf Course, I got a hole in one! It was on the 117 yard fifth hole. I used a choked down 7 iron to carry the yawning trap in front of the green. The ball flew over the berm above the trap, bounced a couple of times and disappeared toward the stick. I wasn't sure it went into the hole, thinking it could be in a swale between the berm and the pin.

Another golfer that had just played the hole and was getting into his cart stood up and waved vigorously motioning into the hole.

I felt elated but not exactly excited. The other members of my foursome mumbled "hey congratulations" and "I've never even seen one before."

At the end of nine holes, the loudspeaker was announcing about my hole in one while I was three putting number nine.

To make matters worse, the mens club has a sign up sheet for a dollar a person you can get in the pot. Being a classy public course they put the sign up sheet over the urinal. Naturally I never had a pen in hand when I stood in front of the urinal so I never got in the pot.

At the end of the round, I offered to buy drinks for our foursome. One had tomato juice, one had lemonade, one had a Pepsi and I had a beer. I couldn't wait to get home and tell Jeanne.

She said "a hole in one, thats nice".

I tell you guys that have never had a hole in one, like alot of things in life, the anticipation is a lot greater than the experience. It really was no big deal. - - - !

VIC HASSLER advises that if you plan on flying into Hershey for the 1990 Convention DO NOT attempt to land at the old Hershey Airport as it has been closed for 5-8 years. Instead use Riegle Field, Palmyra, Pa. which is only 6 miles from the Hershey Lodge.

For those interested, I am copying the following from the AOPAs Airport USA. PALMYRA, REIGLE FIELD (58) LOCATION : 2 mi. S of city. COORDINATES:N40-17.3;W076-34.7 TELEPHONE: 717/838-5519.

HOURS: 8 am to 5 pm. ELEVATION: 489. PATTERN ALTITUDES 1489 MSL all aircraft.

RUNWAYS: 13-31, 1950 X 40 asphalt: lights dusk to 1 am; trees rwy 31.

FEES:parking overnight.

APPROACHES (VFR) FREQUENCIES: UNICOM 122.8; CTAF 122.8 CHARTS: New York Sectional.WX FSS 800/922-7433. (Call Hershey Motor Lodge 533-3311 for transportation.)

Hope many of you will take advantage of this airports close proximity to the Lodge and fly in. ********

47

From "BERNIE LLOYD"-"

First I want to thank you for encouraging me to join TARPA, along with Rudy Truesdale. I had no idea of the pleasure I have enjoyed on receipt of the TARPA TOPICS and especially the Membership Directory, reading both of them is like a trip down memory lane.

Reading the memorial list is both surprising and saddening,so many having had life cut short.

I have always considered myself fortunate in having been employed

by TWA. Harlan Hull hired me. When he was killed I thought I had lost my best friend.

I would like to express another thought regarding a man who I considered most important to TWA employee's and that was Howard Hughes. I have heard him maligned by too many people over the years.

But for his interest and money those of us hired after the late thirties might never have enjoyed the good life.

With very few exceptions, I have enjoyed every one I met on TWA, starting from the Shoe Shine Captain in operations at Kansas City in 1939 on up through the ranks.

There are names in the list of TARPA membership of people I have never seen, but I am appreciative of the good work they have done for all of us. An especial thanks to them.

Since my address is now published in TARPA's directory I hope that some of the members who remember old "Bernie" will get in touch.

With best wishes always - -

Bernie"

( Below is a picture of Bernie. Caption is his.)

An old kid having a nice day, Tombstone Leading the Helldorado Parade

48

OBITUARY n -A notice of someone's death, as in a newspaper, usually with a short biography of the deceased. So says the .

I Websters Dictionary know from experience as your GRAPEVINE EDITOR that TARPA members are reluctant to write about themselves so why don't each one of you sit down and spend a few minutes and write your "obit". Sound morbid? I don't intend to be but by doing this you will be doing your widow a favor and ease some of the pain of having to recall some of the highlights of your life.

File it away with your important papers, and include your favorite photo of yourself and be sure and tell your spouse that this document exists. At least this way you will have some control about what people say about you after you "Go West". Give it some serious thought!

GORDON HARGIS sent me a very newsy letter and included with it a copy of the 1946 Civil Air Regulations.

Remember when we referred to CAR and not FAR? Wish there was room to print from it.

He also informed me that he had been sent about 120 photos of MKC pilots, in uniform, taken about 1952. John Woodie of the STL Training Dept had asked him to help identify the individuals.

That same day he was visited by CHARLIE PETERSON and CHARLIE GATCHET who happened to be in FTW on a night layover with the Lockhhed Jetstar they fly. Over dinner, as GORDON relates, they managed to positively identify about 80% of them, "maybe'd" about 10% and didn't recognize about 10%.

With the help of Ole Olson, Walt Gunn and others they were able to ID all but two. These photos are to be displayed in a large frame in the STL T/C so if you should stop in look them over and maybe you can ID the two. ******** PARKY PARKINSON is always good about writing to me. Most of the letter will probably be items he wrote about in his latest, covered by ED BETTS, but he included a letter from Jack Franklin, who left TWA some years ago as Vice President of Engineering, and was written just two weeks before his death. His recollections of the first DC-4 flight across the Atlantic should be of interest.

"It is sad to hear of Otis Bryan's passing. I knew him for years of course but I mostly remember when he was running the ICD and the government gave us the first DC-4 "to get the bugs out of it".And bugs it certainly had! Otis kindly asked me to go with him on the DC-4's first trip across the Atlantic with Bob Loomis, Pete Redpath and Benny Howard of Douglas; there were no passengers on that first trip because of all the troubles we had been having including a had engine fire. And we had three classfications of leaks from the DC-4's inte g ral tanks: (1) a seep ( the wing was wet with gas seeping from the tanks.); (2) a drip ( discreet drops of gas coming from the win g ); ( 3) A leak ( a continuous stream of gasoline from the wing).

49

From VIC HASSLER "Just a short note about our Photo Safari to Kenya that we took on Sunday,January 22, 1989 to February 6, 1989.

The friends that accompanied Jan and I were Capt. DON and JOSIE NEALIS, Capt JACK and ROSE SHIELDS and Capt. JOHN and BEV HALE. Once in Kenya-the safari departed Nairobi and took us to Tsavo West and Amboseli National Parks,Aberdare Park, Samburu Game Reserve, Lake Nakurn, and the Masai Mara Reserve.

We were very lucky because we saw all of what are referred to as the big five, Elephants, Rhinos, Leopards, Lions and Cape Buffalos.

Of course we saw many more animals than those.

The highlight of the trip for me was watching a leopard stalk an Impala at 1:00 AM in the morning at a place called the ark in Aberdare Park. The leopard never did catch the Impala.

It was a very memorable trip and we all had a great time.

I've enclosed a negative of the group (see photo below) and the people are from left to right:VIC HASSLER, JAN HASSLER, Nancy Zach, BEV HALE, JOHN HALE, Sangi, JACK SHIELDS, ROSE SHIELDS, Phil Swartzmann, JOSIE NEALIS and DON NEALIS." ( VIC also added a reminder about Reigle Field which I reported earlier

50

From

JIM BROGDON

THE HAZARDS OF INFLATION ON A FIXED INCOME: When some of our good brothers who were negotiating with the company around 1950 for pilot benefits had the foresight to realize that if a pilot lived to age 30, that with good luck and another 30 years that he would be aged 60 and looking forward to retiring.

As I recall, this was before the FAA made retirement mandatory at age 60.

Not only did the negotiators realize that a pilot at age 30 would be 60 in 30 years, but they realized that inflation could be a hazard to a pilots' pension before most of us could even spell inflation, or even knew what it meant. Well now we are 60, and we have all found out what inflation can do to a fixed income.

Happily our "B" plan was tied to the "market", and has gone up, even if it has not "kept up" with inflation. I see my "B" plan has gone up about 115% since I retired in 1980, or about 8.88% compounded annually.

Our "A" plan of course is a fixed amount, and we have seen what inflation has done to the purchasing power of a fixed amount.

A prime example of inflation in a common item we use often, but have forgotten its slow but steady cost increase is the "penny" In 1951, a "penny" postcard cost one penny. In 1988 a postcard. "penny" postcard cost 15 pennies. That's a 15 time increase in 37 On my HP12C That is 7.59% compounded in 37 years. years.

Sadly our "A" plan diminishes at about the same rate as the penny another way, if you retired postcards increases.

To state it with a $3000 per month "A" plan payment, in 37 years at 7.59% $161.70 in compound annual inflation, it would be worth purchasing power "They" are currently projecting an inflation rate for 1989 of about "only" 5%! At 5% annual inflation compounded, your $3000 today would purchase $2321 of today's commodities in 5 years, in 10 years $1796. In 15 years $1389, and in 20 years $1075.

If you don't have an HP12C, I have supplied a formula to figure what your "A" plan payment would be worth in 5,10,15 and 20 years, with "only" a 5% inflation rate. You can do this on your $3 Japanese calculator! Multiply your "A" plan monthly check by the following percentages: For an example, lets use $3000 per month: 5 years multiply . 7736 x $3000 =$2320 10 years multiply . 5986 x $3000=$1795 15 years multiply . 463 x $3000 =$1389 20 years multiply . 3583 x $3000=$1074 Or put . 95 in M in your calculator, put your present monthly in the display, push x MR (memory recall), and you have the amount ( cont'd)

51

JIM BROGDON (Cont'd) it declines in one year, and each time you push MR x the amount you obtain the value of your payment for that period of time.

We can't change the effect of inflation on our "A" plan checks, but we can make our other investments so as to keep up with or "beat" inflation.

My thanks to Cap i n Dave Kuhn and to all of those who in 1950 could not only spell inflation, but knew it as a peril to pension checks, and were able to offset a portion of its effect by splitting our pensions into two different modes."

Your O'bdt Servant (signed) Jim Brogdon ( Your GV Editor, showing his ignorance, wrote back to Jim and asked-"What the hell is an HP12C?" He responded--" I thought that even if people did not know how to use a HP, they knew it meant Hewlett-Packard.--The HP12C has become the standard for real estate and mortgage use." So there is some information that you can put into your $3 calculator and have some fun with, (or perhaps shed a tear).--) ********

Pilot's Ten Commandments 1.

Thou shalt abstain from the intersection takeoff for verily the runway behind thee, as the altitude about thee, cometh not to thine aid when thou needest them.

2.

Thou shalt not linger on active runways lest thou become like unto ground sirloin.

3. Ignorest thou not thy checklists for many are the switches, handles, gauges and other demons awaiting to take cruel vengeance upon thee.

Thou shalt cast thine eyes to thy right and also to thy left as thou passeth through the firmament lest thy fellow pilots bring flowers to thy widow and comfort her in other ways .

4.

5.

Buzzeth not, for this shall surely incur the wrath of thy neighbors and the fury of the FAA shall be called down upon thy head.

6.

Thou shalt be euer mindful of thy fuel lest there be nothing in thy tank to sustain thee upon the air and thy days be made short.

7.

Trust not thine eyes to lead thee through the cloud lest the archangel await thee therein.

8.

Thou shalt not trespass into the thunderstorm lest the tempest rend the wings from thy chariot and cast thee naked into the firmament.

9.

Put not thy trust in weather prophets for when the truth is not in them they shall not accompany thee among thy ancestors. smiteh. 窶年orm Petersen 52

A letter from " OLE" OLSON contained this bit of sad news. Maxine Catron, wife of BOB CATRON passed away August 27,1989. Maxine was a "flight Hostess" for a few years 40 years ago, and may be remembered by some crew members. She was a very friendly up-beat woman, always with a big smile, and know that BOB and the two children are going to miss her and wonder how she could go so quickly.

We extend our deepest sympathies to BOB and his family. ******** From DAVIE KUHN --The AIRLINE TRANSPORT PILOT leaps tall buildings in a single bound, is more powerful than a 747, is faster than a speeding bullet, walks on water, and gives policy to God. The MULTI-ENGINE PILOT leaps short buildings in a single bound, is more powerful than a 707, and is just as fast as a speeding bullet, walks on water if it is calm, and talks to God. The INSTRUMENT PILOT leaps short buildings with a running start and favorable wind conditions. He is almost as powerful as a Lear Jet, and faster than a speeding bullet, walks on water of an indoor pool, and talks to God if special request is approved.

COMMERCIAL PILOT barely clears a quonset hut, loses The tug-of-war with Twin Engine Aircraft, can fire a speeding bullet, swims well and is occasionally addressed by God. leap to The PRIVATE PILOT makes high ranks when trying buildings,is run over by Piper Arrows, and sometimes handles an inflicting self injury, can dog-paddle, and airplane without talks to animals.

The SOLOED STUDENT PILOT runs into buildings, recognizes a Cessna times, is issued a parachute, can stay 172 two out of three afloat if properly instructed, and talks to water.

The NON-SOLO STUDENT PILOT falls over door sills when trying to enter buildings, says "Look at the airplane", wets himself with a water pistol, and mumbles to himself.

The CERTIFIED FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR lifts buildings and walks under them, kicks airplanes out of the hangers, catches speeding bullets in his teeth and chews them, and freezes water with a The C.F.I. IS GOD. single glance. ******** THANKSGIVING and CRISTMAS will be upon us between now and the next edition of the TOPICS. From all of us here in the Tar Heel state, we wish the very best.

And please help support us poor Tar Heel farmers by supporting two of our biggest businesses--Please have a Turkey on Thanksgiving and and a Real Tree on Christmas!

53

PARKY REPORTS Otis Bryan called me June 30th and we talked about 45 minutes about his work his book and getting the TATers together to celebrate the 60th anniversary. was feeling great and we were to have lunch together next weekend. Finally, had gotten back up-on-the-step since Lee passed away and he was quite enthuastic. was going to have a big cattle sale on July 3rd but was found dead in bed.

Howard Hall flew up from Florida and Busch Voigts drove Howard, Les Munger, Jack LeClaire and me down for the funeral in Garnett, KS, where Otis was buried next to Lee. The cemetery is about 10 miles from their ranch.

If anyone wants to write his son, Otis Jr., his address is 3611 Kirkwood Drive, Fairfax, VA, 22031. I thought he was still in the USAF as a Colonel but they say he retired and now working for some company in the DC area.

Now for some good news. Howard Hall seems to be doing much better and no longer using his cane. Les Munger is in great shape, very sharp and doing fine.

Same for Busch Voigts and Jack LeClaire. Now for the rest of the 6 living TAT pilots. Fred Richardson is living with his son, Col. J.B. (address in TARPA directory). He is working helping a friend run his business.

Ben Hoy is doing fine. Address; 629 Idaho St., Idaho Arms Apt. 3, Santa Monica, CA 90403. His wife, Liz, used to be Fred Betts' secretary years ago.

Nick Laurenzana and his wife, Pat, live in Litchfield Park, AZ 85340, P.O. Box 476. Nick just had a new hip put in. He left TWA many years ago - went with Mid-Continent which was bought by Braniff and he retired from BNF as Chief Pilot before they went belly-up.

Moye Stephens and Liz sold their home in LaVerne, CA, and it is reported they moved to Mexico.

I'm doing very well and still walk 18 holes of golf Mon., Wed., and Fri. Able to shoot my age, 81, most days - par is 70. If I don't I say what the hhow many 81 year olds do you find walking 18 holes of golf 3 to 4 times a week?

I'm still a widower and don't have anyone likely to become Mrs. P. Tommy Tomlinson and his wife were made TWIP's for their coach 747 to Frankfurt and return for the 40th anniversary celebration of the Berlin Airlift. He served as N.A.T.S. Deputy Commander. That got them moved up to first class. The TWA ground people did a great job in honoring Tommy and Peggy. It was a great tribute to a man who gave so much to TWA in his 12 years before being called back to the service. He served in WWI, WWII and the Berlin air lift.

Most of the dope on his life was told in TARPA TOPICS after he received the TARPA AWARD OF MERIT. As Tommy said to me, "At 92, I'd be shot flying over 14 hours coach." It also reminded me of how much it cost for Tommy and Peggy to fly coach, and it made me even more appreciative for our passes.

Quote from the Kansas City Star; Tommy Tomlinson, a 92-year old former U.S. Navy Captain laid a wreath at the foot of Rhein-Main's airlift memorial, a large cement monument pointed in the direction of Berlin. Tomlinson, of Silverton, Oregon, is the oldest surviving Berlin airlift pilot and was in charge of U.S. Navy squadrons VR6 and VR8 based at Rhein-Main during the airlift.

Quote from the Arizona Daily Star by George Ridge; PET PEEVE - People who knock the U.S. airlines. In addition to a good standard of on-board comfort, the American carriers know how to expedite passengers through airport confusion and still maintain security. Congratulations, particularly to TWA. Its prescreening of the check-in lines at European airports is courteous, thorough and cuts through a lot of red tape.

Also, here's a "cutting" (as the English would say) of Jack Exum and his Rock Springs, Arizona, cafe and saloon. on He he He

54

MEMORABLE FLIGHT

By Louis Barr This was Flight 980 on November 29, 1949, a 749 Connie. The captain was Debs Heath and the other flight engineer was George Twyford. Don't recall the other crew members.

We left LGA for a warm-up leg to BOS. From BOS we were cleared non-stop to LIS, subject fuel on board abeam the Azores. Our fuel release was 5500 gallons.

George and I got our heads together and agreed that a little "pocket gas" for the wife and kids would be appropiate. (Some of the younger TARPANS may not remember pocket gas, but I'm sure anyone who flew the Connies and DC-4's on International does). Anyway, the 749 carried 5820 gallons so George and I figured that would be a nice round number to go with, all tanks full.

So off we went. All was going well and abeam the Azores we had ample fuel (not counting what was in our pockets). About an hour past the Azores the navigator reported that we had lost a 35 knot tail wind and our help from the wind was now zero. A consultation was held in the cockpit and we agreed that there was no problem unless we encountered strong headwinds. This did not happen so we approached LIS with very little pucker factor.

Now comes the curve ball. LIS was reporting patchy ground fog and on one weather report the field would be above limits and ten minutes later would report below limits. Another cockpit parley was held and Debs decided to go on to MAD, a little over an hour away. His reasoning was sound, why start an approach then have the field close and use up precious fuel on a go around and climb out. The pucker factor started to increase. We received our clearance and headed for MAD. During that leg George was trying all sorts of RPM and BMEP combinations (with me kibitzing) to maximize our remaining fuel. Anyhow, we landed at MAD after 17:14 flying time with 135 gallons of fuel on board. This was spread over six tanks and was 185 gallons into our pocket gas. No wonder we all had large pockets.

Sort of anti-climactic, but to conclude the story, we fueled up and flew back to LIS where the crew was waiting to continue the flight. The station manager was there to greet us and said to Debs, "When you over-flew here I was sort of worried because I knew you didn't have much fuel left". I then found out why Debs got the nickname "Whispering". He glared at the station manager and in a voice that could be heard all over the airport roared, "You were worried !

What the hell did you think we were doing up there?"

L to R Jess Fiser Jeanne Blevins Glen Blevins

55

George C. Duvall September 15, 1989 SOME OF THE INTERESTING HISTORY OF THE TWA CREDIT UNION WHICH WILL HAVE BEEN IN OPERATION 50 YEARS ON MARCH 19, 1990.

When the TWA Club Credit Union was organized in 1940 banks were paying 4% on savings account deposits and charging 6% on loans but seldom made direct loans to individuals except for homes. Most loans for automobiles and furniture (which covered most of the purchases made by working people) were made by lending agencies which charged 18-24% interest. In those days if you had to move out of a state and had a loan on your furniture or car you had to refinance it in the state where the property would be located I had been with United Airlines for two years before transferring to TWA in 1938. During that time I had become interested in and a member of their Credit Union and found it to be an easy and convenient way to save money. When I started with TWA I asked to join their Credit Union but the employees in the employment department advised me that TWA did not have such an organziation.

It was such a good idea that I thought TWA should have one so, after I got settled in Newark, I decided to try to get one organized. On a flight to Kansas City I called on the Treasurer of TWA and tried to get him interested in such an organization.

He was very opposed to having one in TWA and stated the airline had enough problems without creating more of them if the Credit Union Union got into financial trouble. About a year later Mr. E. Lee Talman took over as Treasurer of TWA and I decided to talk to him. My first visit was very cordial and he seemed interested in the idea. He explained that the accounting department had a serious problem for some employees were getting wage assignments before the checks were distributed which required their checks be sent back to Kansas City and reissued. He wondered if having a Credit Union would stop such a problem and I assured him I believed it would for Credit Unions only charged 12% interest at that time and most of the employees would be encouraged to make their loans from the Credit Union, which not only would save them money but also assist them to meet other obligations. As long as they worked for TWA they could move about without having to refi nance their loans when they were transferred. This would save them time when they moved and the company would not have to allow them as much time to arrange for a transfer.

In those days the only comparable situation to an airline were the railroads. They usually had a small Credit Union at each Division Point and their employees were not often moved about. When an employee transferred they would close out their Credit Union account and open a new one at their new desitnation.

On an airline transfers were made quite often and I advised Mr. Talman that unless TWA permitted the Credit Union to have salary deductions it would complicate the operation seriously. All Credit Unions at that time were required to use passbooks. Early in 1940 Mr. Talman consented to allow a Credit Union to be organized by the employees and agreed to allow salary deductions to be made from the employees pay checks.

56

Prior to this time a few employees in the passenger service department in Kansas City operated what was known as the TRI-BALL Club. They would loan any full time employee $5.00 until the next pay day for a charge of $1.00. Some of the employees thought that interest was outrageous and were trying to come up with a better idea. When Mr. Talman discussed having an employee Credit Union with some of the employees they were enthused with the idea and immediately wanted to organize one.

It was possible to organize a Credit Union either under Federal or State laws and the group decided it was easier and faster to do it under the laws of Missouri which required all of the organizers to be residents of the state. The following employees, representing nearly every department of the company, signed the application to form the TWA Club Credit Union which was approved by the State of Missouri on March 19, 1940. D. R. Eldridge, G. R. Parkinson, Dorothea Allison, Alton N. Parker, Andrew O. Beaton, Ronald Duckworth, J. G. Yoder, and Marion Coger.

After the application was filed but before it was issued an organization meeting was held in the Muehlebach Hotel on March 7th.

1940 to create the organization and elect 12 Directors and 3 members of the Credit and Supervisory Committees. Mr. Parkinson, President of the TWA Club, served as the Chairman of the meeting and Mr. Price served as the Secretary. The 13 employees present were; G. R. Parkinson, MKC Operations, W. B. Price, MKC Traffic, Joe Collins, NYC Agency Dept., Leslie Mitchell, NYC Traffic, Chas.

Sinnard, IND Operations, T. W. Sarman, MKC Mail Dept., H. W. Horton, MKC Purchasing, D. R. Williams, MKC Accoumting, Charles C. Green, Bur Operations, Ronald A. Ellsworth, NYC Reservations, Allen A. Goodridge, MKC Main Stores, Charles F. Schwaneke, Cost Accounting, Charles Sessions, STL Station Manager. Mr. H. H. Viets, Treasurer of the Credit Union for Stowe Hardware & Supply Co. of Kansas City attended the meeting as a representative of the Missouri Mutual Credit League and answered questions presented. Mr. Parkinson outlined the purpose of a Credit Union and explained that the TWA Club was fostering the organization of the Credit Union for the benefit of all the employees of TWA. The following Directors were elected; Frank Brennan, NYC, George C. Duvall, EWR, William Barth, PIT, John Dungan, MDW, John Harlin, MKC, Charles Reis, MKC, Clare Foley, MKC, Dave Williams, MKC, Fritz Mohn, MKC, Charles Schwaneke, MKC, Margaret Potter, MKC, and Art Stewart, LAX,.

Three Credit Committee members were W. C. Leffel, Leroy Hodges, and Ray Jones all from MKC. The three Supervisory Committee members elected were G. R. Parkinson, W. B. Price and Ed Rose all from MKC. After the certificate of approval was received a meeting was held in the TWA offices on March 21, 1940 and it was announced that Charles Ries declined a nomination to the Board of Directors and C.L. Gallo was elected to replace him. The following officers were elected; President, C. L. Gallo; Vice President, George C. Duvall; Secretary, Margaret Potter; Treasurer, Charles Schwaneke.

Mr. Parkinson announced the TWA Club had donated $200. to aid in organizing the Credit Union, which would make it possible to get started immediately. Harry Campbell also agreed to deposit $1,500.00 in his share account so that they could start making 57

loans without waiting for money to come in.

The first loans were made to employees for $5.00 until payday for a charge of 5 cents for interest. This created a lot of paper work without much income so the minimum loan was set at $25.00. After a few months enough employees started to save by salary deduction that car loans became popular.

A few months after the Credit Union started to operate Charles Gallo decided he could not give the time to the Credit Union that it deserved so he resigned as President and Director and George Duvall was elected President and David G. Smith was elected a Director and Vice President.

Loans increased rapidly when the employees realized thesavings they could make by borrowing through the Credit Union and within a couple of years the Credit Union decided to cover all loans with life insurance which would pay off any unpaid balance of a loan if the borrower died. This encouraged more employees to carry their loans with the Credit Union instead of One of the first members to benefit from borrowing elsewhere. this insurance was Alton Parker's widow. She called Parky when Alton died to tell him she could not pay the balance due on the loan on the car and he should come and pick it up. He told her he was sorry to hear about Alton but the good news was that the loan was insured and the car now belonged to her.

Loan Protection insurance will pay off an estimated $600,000. this year of unpaid loan balances of deceased members. It pays a maximum of $25,000. through age 69. The premium of this insurance is paid by the TWA Credit Union whereas many Credit Unions and other lending organizations offer it only as a member payoption.

At the time the Credit Union was organized all Credit Unions were were required to use pass books in which all transactions were recorded and deposits were known as shares; each share had a value of $5.00. Within two years the Credit Union found pass books to be a real problem. Members outside of Kansas City would usually use company dispatch to send their pass books in to have them brought up-to-date and they frequently were lost enroute.

Missouri state rules provided, if a pass book was lost, the Credit Union could only charge 25 cents to repalce it with all of the transactions included. It was difficult to calculate dividends by hand valued at $5.00. The war was on and accounting machines were impossible to purchase but TWA was able to purchase newer equipment and we were able to obtain an old machine from them which would serve our purpose, although we could not use pass books with them. The question was would the State officials approve any system without a pass book. As President of the Credit Union and the one who developed the machine accounting system with the assistance of employees in TWA's accounting department the Directors sent me to Jefferson City to get the approval of the State Officials. At first they insisted it could not be approved because every Credit Union was required to use pass books but after several hours of discussion they began to realize our problem and not only approved the machine accounting system we proposed 58

but also approved our establishing the value of a share at $1.00.

Therefor we were the first Credit Union Lo use a mechanical accounting system issuing a printed statement twice a year and to value shares at $1.00. This improved our efficiency and immediately after the war was over the Credit Union went to more advanced accounting systems and was one of the first to use IBM equipment.

After the machine accounting system was established it provided better control of the accounts and about this time Captain " Red" Foster, Chairman of the ALPA TWA MEC, had heard of a Pilots Mutual Aid Plan which American Airlines pilots had established to provide sick benefits for any pilot on extended sick leave. He wanted to start such a plan on TWA. We met at the Pittsburgh airport on a layover and he wanted to know if our Credit Union could operate such a plan. I felt that the Missouri law would not permit such a plan but while on my way back to Chicago I got thinking about it and came up with an idea that I thought might be acceptable. It would require the ALPA MEC on TWA to manage the plan while the Credit Union would only handle the financial transactions. With the new accounting equipment this would be rather simple to do. The Credit Union already had a high percentage of pilot participation but not quite 100%, and this might make it possible to enroll almost every pilot. "Red Foster was enthusiastic when I outlined to him my proposal and urged me to try and get approval to put it into operation. I then presented my plan to the Credit Union Board of Directors who also thought it had great possibilities and asked me to go to Jefferson City again and try to get approval from the State to put the plan into operation. When I met with them they had heard such fine reports on how our mechanical accounting system was operating from their inspectors and how it had simplified their inspections that they wanted to go ahead and encourage other large Credit Unions to adopt such a system. After hearing the proposal I had for a Mutual Aid Plan they were willing to let us go ahead with the handling of the financial transactions as long as we did not act as an insurance company.

The plan provided that each participating pilot would have an account with the Credit Union and agree to deposit at least $25.00 each month in the account. When any participant was on sick leave for more than a week they would receive $250. per month if they were a First Officer or $500. per month if they were a Captain. At that time First Officer's monthly pay varied from about $190.00 to $250.00 per month and the Captain's salary varied from about $400.00 to $750.00 per month. When the ALPA MEC approved a payment to a pilot they would have the Credit Union make a prorata deduction from each participating member of the plan, and turn over the sum to the MEC for payment to the pilot. The Credit Union was to receive 25 cents each month from each member of the plan for their services. The plan met with immediate approval of most of the pilots. The monthly service charge was increased to 40 cents per account on January 1976 and at the present time there are 2200 pilots participating in the plan. It has proven to be a very low cost method of providing assistance to those pilots with extended illnesses. The plans benefits now provide

59

a minimum of $25.00 per day with a maximum payment of $14,000.00.

In recent years the organization has dropped the "CLUB" from its name for simplification and with the phenomenal growth which has taken place it now has Assets over $550 million, has the lowest cost of operation of any large unsubsidized Credit Union, and currently ranks as 16th in Assets among the 16,000 Credit Unions in the USA. The only time there has been any limitation on share deposits was during the war when there was little available to purchase and deposits started to increase rapidly with not many loans being made. The government wanted people to invest in War Boands so for about three years we established a maximum limitation on deposits of $2,500.00. This was removed immediately after the war ended.

When the Credit Union was organized we hired several young men with accounting experience but soon after they were hired they were drafted. It became so serious that we were afraid we might have to stop operating. Finally a shy young girl, just out of school, applied to TWA for a job. The Employment Dept. knew we desperately needed someone and sent Vera Sample over for an interview and we hired her for she was a gift from heaven. She became a friend to every Credit Union member and helped our Credit Union to becomeso popular with every TWA employee. She always insisted the job was beyond her capacity but she always fulfilled every After the war the growth continued request with enthusiasm. rapidly and required hiring several additional people to handle the increased work. Well trained accountants became available and Vera was put in charge of the Pilots Mutual Aid Plan where she remained until her retirement a few years ago.

When the Credit Union was organized TWA offered space in the Goebel Hangar but it was felt to be rather unhandy so space was made available on the second floor of the MKC terminal building.

Shortly thereafter this space was needed and the office was moved to the TWA Hangar, just inside from the receptionist desk in a room formerly used by the janitors for storage of their. equipment.

After the war space was made available in the downtown area until the move to Kansas City International Airport took place where it remains to this day. Originally TWA provided space free of charge as well as permitting payroll deductions but the Credit Union has reimbursed TWA for space occupied and for out of pocket expenses ever since leaving the downtown area and is not subsidized in any other way than having payroll deductions.

The Credit Union has tried to make its services available to all TWA employees and even covered USA employees of Hilton International when it was a subsidiary. It has even tried to serve foreign employees of TWA, however, the complications of dealing in foreign currencies and with foreign government laws made it impossible to serve the employees who were not on the U.S. payroll.

It has assisted a few cases where Credit Unions were established in a foreign country to serve only TWA employees in that country.

60

There are now over 50,000 members of the TWA Credit Union of which 8,000 are retired employees and account for 1/3 of the savings on deposit. Retired members of TWA are able to continue as members or, in fact, can become members after they retire. The Credit Union has loan interest rates from 9% to 13 1/2 % and pays 8 % om deposits at the present time on a quarterly basis. Outside of the pass privilege provided to employees no other employee benefit is so highly appreciated as having the Credit Union available to them not only during their employment but also after retirement Over the past 50 years many TWA employees have contributed their time and effort to make the TWA Credit Union the outstanding organization it is today. Besides Officers, Directors, Committee Members, and the Credit Union employees who have contributed many years of service the volunteer representatives located at each TWA station should be given much credit for the fine service and assistance offered to every Credit Union member. The Credit Union now occupies a new building at KCI in which the 50th anniversary will be celebrated on March 19, 1990. At this facility there is a museum portraying the early history of TWA and four drive through lanes so members may make deposits and withdrawals from their vehicles.

Are you taking advantage of these services?

GEORGE DUVALL

BOB SHERMAN

61

EGYPT TO ETHIOPIA IN A PIPER CUB

By EARL KORF While stationed in Cairo, Egypt, from 1946 to 56 I purchased a war surplus L-4 65 Continental J3C Piper Cub. After 4 years of enjoyable use, decided to sell it. First offer was TWA Maintenance Foreman Jim Schnell in Athens.

With an installation of a 22 gallon aux tank in place of the front seat and a wobble pump (DC-3) loaned me by the American Embassy, I could transfer gas to the main tank through the wobble pump. With 8 or 10 extra one gallon tins of gasoline behind my seat, I had a range of over 9 hours. Had a 1 man life raft and emergency gear for the long over water flight. Also a relief tube.

I applied for landing rights at Cyrus Rhodes and Greece which were immediately granted me. Planned on flying from Cairo to Cyrus, then Rhodes and Athens, most all over water. Also was required to obtain an export license from the Egyptian authorities. After 2 months of haggling, they refused me the permit. They thought I was planning on delivering the plane to Israel which was a no no. That washed out my adventurous plan.

My second offer came from Ethiopian Airlines Captain Bob Green who wanted to use the plane at his base in Addis Ababa. Export license was immediately granted.

Bob intended to dismantle the wings and take it to Addis on an EAL cargo flight.

I suggested he fly it down and he said no way, he was not that crazy. He agreed to let me fly it down and I thought it would be a challenge and a big adventure for me with my limited flying experience.

Applied and received landing rights from the Sudan and Ethopian Aviation authorities. The Sudanese were very explicit how I was to fly over their desert country. I was to follow their prescribed routes and on each leg of flight I would have to identify myself over certain check points by circling twice at under 1000 feet. The previous year 2 DC-3 pilots perished on the Sudan desert after becoming lost without radio.

Early morning, November 15, 1952, at Farouk Field, I climb into the cramped space of my little plane, legs straddling the aux tank and wobble pump. Stowed behind my back were the 8 empty gas cans, flares, mirror, K rations and 2 large desert canvas water bags. Bound for Ethiopia over desert and mountains. Will I make it? A distance of 2000 miles.

My first leg of 300 miles to Luxor down the Nile took 4 hours 45 minutes and remained overnight in Luxor. Had made this trip before. Next morning getting ready to leave met Capt. Swede Golien who was transiting on an EAL flight. Swede couldn't believe it when I told him I was heading for Addis Ababa. To Wadi-Halfa today in 4 hours, uneventful. RON. Next leg was down the Nile to Atbara, Sudan, in 5 hours, 20 minutes. Overnight here and next day will leave my perfect navigational check, the Nile, for the cross country across the desert with few check points.

Atbara to Port Sudan on the Red Sea was 250 miles but the roughest leg of my journey. Now I had to do dead reckoning and only guessing to locate my half way check point, a small village. I located the village after 3 hours but there was a thunderstorm in progress right over the village which I may have flown around but I wanted to make this identifying check so flew down the center of the little village. Had to fly at 500 feet to stay below the clouds with lightning all around me and heavy rain. Air was so rough I couldn't see how the wings would stay on. Did make my 2 circles watching cars go faster than me. Wind must have been 50 miles per hour or more. In the midst of the storm I had to take one hand off the throttle to work the wobble pump to transfer fuel. I needed 3 hands. But kept a steady course and was out of it in 40 minutes. Upon landing at Port Sudan after 5½ hours, I was pretty well beat. A good night's sleep at the hotel, it put me in good shape for the long 8 hour flight to Asmara next day.

62

EGYPT TO ETHIOPIA IN A PIPER CUB continues At Pt. Sud I fueled to capacity for the first time and got a real early start.

But, I got stuck in the mud taxiing to the runway. Probably due to same storm I encountered the day before. Took 2 hours to get free with help of a few strong helpers. Had mud all over the plane which had to be washed and wiped off. Finally got off the ground taking a direct course inland to Asmara 380 miles away. An hour out ran into a sand storm with only vertical visibility at times. After 2 hours hours DR flying located a land mark, a road crossing. Checking the distance I had flown, was only 75 miles from Port Sudan or 38 mph ground speed. With this kind of winds, and as I already lost the 2 hours on the ground, I would arrive Asmara after dark with dry tanks. So I made the time-honored 180 degree turn and arrived back in Port Sudan in only 50 minutes.

Now back at Port Sudan for another night's stay and I have second thoughts about trying again in the morning or calling the whole things off. Anyway, the late night forecasts showed moderating winds and visibilities.

So, on my sixth day, I arise before dawn, taxi to the airport where the forecast for today was still favorable so I fueled up again to capacity. This time 1 decided to take the longer route by following the coastline which would give me better navigation checks and by flying low (500 feet) above the water and a half mile off shore, reduce the head winds. This worked out very well and completed the flight to Asmara in 8 hours, although it was a bit rough.

Spent the night in a very nice hotel in this very nice city. Decided to spend the next day in Asmar for a couple of reasons. I had never flown the plane off a 7500 foot elevation airport before and was a bit concerned how it would get off with a full load. I took a test run with light fuel load and was surprised how well the Cub performed with that 65 horsepower engine. Climbed to 11,000 feet to get the feel of it. I needed the extra night's rest.

On the 8th day I left early as soon as dawn broke. This early morning air would give me more lift for takeoff. Was loaded with 320 pounds gasoline, 25 lbs. water, plus emergency food and gear and my own weight of 170 pounds. Quite a load for this plane at 7500 feet. Got off after the longest run I ever expect to make again. Could have used a JATO. Took me 3 circles of the airport before I got enough altitude to clear an 8500 foot pass, 20 miles down course. After crossing this mountain range, I let down to more comfortable levels for remainder of flight until I had to climb again when approaching Addis Ababa, another 7500 foot airport. Sufficient navigational checks. Passed an emergency field half way where I could have landed if necessary but my how-gozit looked good and I continued, landing in Addis 4 PM, after 8 hours 45 minutes.

I was happy to complete the flight but wouldn't try it again.

Footnote; Sadly, Bob Green only got to fly his new toy a couple of times as in three weeks the plane was wrecked. I heard that one of the EAL co-pilots borrowed the plane, took an Embassy guard along as passenger and put on an airshow for a group of Americans on a picnic outside of Addis. They failed to pull out of a dive. Plane demolished but no lives were lost, only broken bones etc. They apparently failed to switch the carb. heat off. Both men were around 200 pounds.

I felt very sad as I had flown it 4 years without putting on a scratch.

THIS MUST BE 1989 Jones, "How do you spend your pension?" Johnson, "About 30 percent for shelter, 30 percent for clothing, 40 percent for food and 20 percent for amusement".

Jones, "That adds up to 120 perecent!" Johnson, "Don't I know it!"

63

THE FLIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS "Twas the flight before Christmas and all through the sky, Not a creature was stirring, 'cept the Captain and I. The throttles were set on the quadrant with care, In hopes of beating Saint Nicholas there.

The passengers were nestled all snug in their seats, The purring of engines had lulled them to sleep.

And Captain at the wheel and I on his right, Had just leveled of for a long winter's flight.

When out in the sky there arose such a clatter, We jumped in our seats to see what was the matter.

We checked each engine quick as a flash, Glanced at the dials all over the dash.

The moonlight reflecting from the cloudbank below, Showed nothing amiss in the cold white glow.

When what to our wondering eyes should appear, But a minature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer.

With a little old pilot, so lively and quick, We knew in a moment it must be Saint Nick.

More rapid than our ship his coursers they came, And he whistled and shouted and called them by name.

Now Pratt! now Whitney! now Curtiss! and Wright!

On Franklin! on Allison! on, on through the night!

To the top of the clouds, to the top of them all, Now, dash away, dash away, dash away all!

And then in a twinkle on our wing we did hear, The prancing and pawing of each little deer.

Flying swift as the wind over a cloud, They passed right by us, nodded and bowed.

He was dressed in goggles and helmet and boot, And snow flakes were clinging to his flying suit.

A bundle of toys was strapped to his back, He looked like a paratrooper in his jumping pack.

His goggles how frosted, his dimples how merry, The wind burned his cheeks and his nose like a cherry.

He had on the earphones of his radio, And was flying the course, straight as a crow.

The smoke from his pipe his teeth held tight, Streamed out behind him into the night.

He had tightened his seat belt over his belly, But it shook underneath like a bowl full of jelly.

He was sure a good flyer, that jolly old elf, He flew even better than Captain - or even myself.

With a burst of speed from his tiny sled, He was out in front and pulling ahead.

He was looking for a break in the dense overcast, For he'd stockings to fill - an all night task.

When off to the south he saw a big hole, And banking to his right he started to roll.

He pushed forward his stick, to his team gave a whistle, And towards it they flew, like the down on a thistle.

But we heard him exclaim ere he dove out of sight, Merry Christmas to all and to all a good flight!

FROM AN OLD, YELLOWED TWA FLIGHT FACTS

64

65

THE LA GUARDIA AIRPORT ... 50 YEARS

By Ed Betts Fifty years ago, on October 15, ]939, the New York City Municipal Airport was officially dedicated although scheduled airline service didn't begin until the 2nd of December. At exactly 3 minutes after midnight on the morning of the 2nd a T&WA DC-3 flight had the distinction to be the first (scheduled) airliner to land at the new airport. It was now known as LaGuardia Airport. The event culminated one man's vision, and his ensuing fight, for a major airport to serve the nation's most populated city ... Mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia. The "experts" had predicted it would be a flop, a financial disaster and it would eventually sink into the bay. It was sometimes referred to as "Fiorello ' s Folly" or the "La Garbage Field". It did sink some, but it immediately ranked among the most productive and busiest commercial airports in the world.

Shortly after WWI ended, in 1918, the Post Office Department began experimenting with the transport of air mail (extra postage for this rapid transport) by using surplus Army equipment and veteran pilots. By the early 1920's they had established their own airway from NYC to SFO. There were 17 terminals for the exchange of mail and an emergency field located every ]7 miles along the 2,600 stretch from coast-to-coast. The major terminals had hangars, a 24" beacon to guide the pilots to the airport, boundary lights and postal employees stationed to process or handle the mail. These were Desiqnated Air Mail Fields by the Post Office and used their own postmark for cancelling stamps on an envelope.

NYC, for whatever reasons, didn't have a designated field and it was served by trucking the mail to or from Hadley Field, located at New Brunswick, NJ. (near Camp Kilmer of WWI and WWII fame).

In early I926 , per an act of the Congress in 1925, contracts were made with a number of private carriers to transport the air mail, and the government would eventually get out of the flying business. At first these contracts were to be 'feeders' to the already established 'main line'. TWA's "roots" go back to the inauguration of service between LA and Salt Lake City on 4/17/26. The first of the 'feeders' serving NYC was Colonial Air Transport (later taken over by AAL) with a flight to Boston starting 7/1/26. They operated out of Hadley, with intermediate stops at Teterboro (NJ) and Hartford (CT). On 9/1/27, National Air Transport took over the NYC-CHI portion of the main line (Boeing Air Transport the CHI-SFO portion), using Hadley Field. Pitcairn Airways (Eastern) also operated out of Hadley when they began service to Atlanta on 5/1/28.

By early 1929 the City of Newark's Metropolitan Airport was nearing completion and a number of airlines started operating out of there. A specially built 11 mile elevated highway connected the airport to the new Holland Tunnel: it made travel time to the Penn Station on Manhattan Island about 45 minutes (75t by a Cadillac Limo). NYC had its Roosevelt Field (located at Mineola, LI), but this was before the days of expressways, and the commuting time to Manhattan Island could be horrendous. Glenn Curtiss (Curtiss-Wright) had a flying field, but it also was a long drive. In 1929, Curtiss established another small field on a sandy shoal in the North Beach area. It was a combination seaplane base (with a ramp for amphibians) and landing field. Coastal Airways had a daily service that started out from 42nd Street and East River to North Beach and then on to Albany. Airvia Transportation started out from East 42nd Street by speedboat to North Beach and then by plane on to Boston. These were for passengers only, and ceased operations shortly after the Stock Market crash in late 1929s. Also as the result of the depression which followed, Curtiss folded and the City of New York took over the airport. There were no scheduled airline operations at North Beach for over a decade to follow.

66

LA GUARDIA On September 8, 1930, Newark replaced Hadley as the official air mail terminal for both cities. Shortly after, on October 25th, the new T&WA began operations out of EWR with its all-air (mail and passengers) coast-to-coast schedules on what was designated CAM#34 (Contract Air Mail). This was the central route to Los Angeles (passengers only on to SFO). The air mail was a separate schedule using speedy single-engine monoplanes. Along with the "big four" (American Airways, United, T&WA and Eastern Air Transport) airlines serving NYC via EWR, Ludington Line had a flight every hour (on the hour from 8am to 6pm), to Washington D.C. via Philadelphia (Camden, NJ) and Baltimore.

LaGuardia was sworn in as the NYC Mayor on 1/1/34, which happened to be right in the middle of the ALPA and commercial airlines worst crisis. LaGuardia and ALPA President David Behncke were close friends (both were Army pilots in WWI) and LaGuardia (then a representative in the Congress) had proven his value as an ally during the battle against E. L. Cord in early 1932. ALPA had threatened a nationwide strike in late 1933 (about the time when the T&WA pilots formed their own association) over wage issues. The strike was averted. The crisis came in early February of 1934, when the the mail contracts with the airlines were suddenly cancelled and the Army took over flying the mail.

Major B.Q. Jones, Commander of the Eastern Zone, considered the Newark facilities inadequate and moved the Army's operations to Floyd Bennett Field, located on Jamaica Bay. LaGuardia and Jones had a disagreement over the rent for buildings and other equipment; LaGuardia insisted it be on a day-to-day basis, Jones a lease for the duration. On March 12, the Army moved its operations to the regular Air Corps station at Mitchel Field. On May 7, the air mail operation was returned to the airli

NYC Mayor Fiorella LaGuardia aboard a T&WA DC-2 after landing at Newark. He refused to deplane...his ticket said New York City!

T&WA introduced the DC-2 in May of 1934. Later in the year EAL. and AAL also used the DC-2 (UAL had the B247). There was a 70% increase in passenger load factors during the first year, due to the 'modern' equipment. EWR was the "hub" of operations for the entire NYC area. By August of 1934, EAL had 7 daily trips to the south. UAL had 9 daily to CHI (3 were transcons to SF0 or connections at SLC via Western to LA). AAL had 8 to BOS, 4 to CHI and one transcon to LA. T&WA had 6 departures: 4 DC-2's (all to CHI, 2 went on to LA).

The express trip, with 3 stops, took 18 hrs. The one mail trip, with 12 stops (using the Alpha) was 24 hrs and the one Ford, 10 stops, took 28 hrs 38 min.

On November 24, 3934, Mayor LaGuardia was among the passengers aboard a T&WA flight destined for Newark. After arrival he refused to deplane...his ticket said New York! Naturally, there were reporters in the area. This showman used the occasion to demonstrate that NYC needed its own commercial airport. T&WA promptly re-dispatched the flight to Floyd Bennett with LaGuardia and a group of reporters as passengers.

67

68

LA GUARDIA In 1935, American tried operating a few flights out of Floyd Bennett but they were unsuccessful (the long drive) and the Post Office would not cooperate.

It would be 5i years before LaGuardia's (The "Little Flower") dream became a reality. The Work Projects Administration (WPA, part of the NRA etc.) had been created by the Roosevelt Administration and millions of dollars ($325,000,000 by the end of 1938) had been allocated for airport and airway improvements. On September 3, 1937, Roosevelt approved the construction of a new facility for the City of New York, to be located at the old North Beach Airport site. Six days later construction began, with the Mayor operating a steam shovel during the ground breaking ceremonies.

The statistics and logistics for the project were astounding for those days: a trestle was built from Rikers Island over Bowery Bay in order to haul in about 15 million cubic yards of trash or garbage from the city dump as fill. Another 2,320,000 cubic yards of dirt was supplied by leveling a hill in the area. The former North Beach Airport occupied 105 acres, the new airport was to be 558 acres, 60% of which was land reclaimed from the Flushing Bay. About 9,000 concrete pilings were used to support the various buildings such as the terminal, hangars etc.

The master layout included locating all of the airport buildings and public or employee parking sites in the same area, laid out in a semi-circular pattern with the main terminal in the center. The terminal was a three story building centered about a giant rotunda. Airline engineers drew up their specifications for their own hangars (T&WA had two, #4 and #6). The 6,200' apron or ramp was 400' wide and extended beyond the main passenger loading area to include all hangars for parking aircraft. The design of the terminal was one of the first to have a two-tier system for departing or arriving passenger's surface transportation. A spacious observation deck extended the entire length of the aircraft apron area that could accommodate a maximum of 15 twin-engine airliners.

On the 2nd floor of the terminal was a huge restaurant (the "Kitty Hawk") that had a panoramic view of airport operations. Service was also available outside on the observation deck. Unfortunately, other than the restaurant and observation deck, there wasn't much other space where the passengers or their friends could relax as the waiting room had a maximum of 30 seats. The rotunda, where the airline ticket and check in counters were located, had a dome-shaped ceiling where a big globe was hung under a circular skylight. Around the perimeter of the walls there were large murals (signs of the zodiac) painted by the WPA artists. It was truly a work of art. On top the front entrance to the building was another piece of artwork, a stainless steel eagle ("the Spirit of Flight") with its wings stretched for takeoff (a 17' wingspan).

In addition to the domestic terminal complex, a Marine Terminal (including the landing and docking facilities) was built at the west end of the field to accommodate Pan Am's proposed Trans-Atlantic flights (complete with US Customs and Immigration facilities). Taxi strips connected the Marine Terminal area to the main runways for landplane use.

The airport runways and lighting systems were designed according to the latest CAA specifications. Four runways gave the pilots a wide selection of direction for takeoffs and landings. All had an asphalt macadam surface. The NW-SE runway was the longest, 6,000' and 200' wide. A NE-SW runway was a mile long and 200' wide. Shorter runways included a north-south (3,532', 150' wide) and the east-west (4,500', 150' wide). In time, due to lack of space (for parking aircraft) and utilization, the two smaller runways were not used for landings and takeoffs except in an emergency.

69

70

LA GUARDIA Instead of using the old system of lighting up an airport with powerful floodlights, which often blinded the pilots, the airport was relatively dark for an approaching aircraft at night. The boundary lights outlined the perimeter of the field as well as the active runway. Tall buildings had red lights on top.

The ramp and hangar aprons were lit by low-angled floodlights directed on the area, but not in the direction of the pilots. It was quite an improvement.

During the late construction stage, but prior to the official dedication, T&WA scored a coup when one of their DC-2's made a landing at the airport: the very first! (I don't know the date, occasion or the pilots). Also T&WA's Hangar #4 was gutted by fire that started in the paint shop, but no equipment was damaged. T&WA's facilities were far from completed in time for operations to begin and, for awhile, space was borrowed in American's hangar next door.

The official dedication ceremony for the New York Municipal Airport was held on October 15, 1939. Each of the seven airlines serving the airport had one of their DC-3's (or DST's) parked at the ramp where a crowd of about 325,000 had gathered to view the planes and listen to the speeches. Overhead a Skywriting plane and another towing a banner circled the airport...the banner and writing proclaimed: "Name it LaGuardia Airport". This was picked up by the press with daily stories.

Three weeks later the Board of Estimate and the City Council passed a resolution adopting the name "New York Municipal Airport, LaGuardia Field".

The T&WA Flight Superintendent's office at LaGuardia Field. H.H.'Pat' Gallup at the desk. In the background is the 'big picture' where the board shows the location of all flights in the Eastern Region (complete with flight and plane numbers plus names of the pilots, copilot and hostess.

71

LA GUARDIA The official "scuttlebutt" was that T&WA would not be moving their main operations to LGA until June of 1940, which would coincide with the inauguration of the Boeing 307A 'Stratoliner' service. However, in late November of 1939 , Bob Wittke had finished his flying for the month a few days early and flew to Oakland to get married. He and his bride returned two days later and, much to his surprise, the flight made its landing at LGA! They spent the rest of his days off looking for a place to live near the LGA area. For those who continued to live in Newark area it was a lengthy drive through the Holland Tunnel and midtown Manhattan's traffic to get to LGA. Bob also told how the "big picture" (the huge board used in the dispatch office to monitor flight movements) had been gingerly toted by truck and a staff to keep it current. It was installed on the wall of the temporary office, located on the 3rd floor of the terminal building...it promptly fell down! This disrupted the current flight status of the entire Eastern Region. Paul Husak, meteorologist at the time, described the rather chaotic conditions: in one big room there was the pilot's ready room and the flight plan desk, the hostess's ready room, flight dispatch, meteorology, radio operator (one was a little bit hard of hearing and kept the volume up on the speakers) plus the only egress to the small inner offices occupied by H. J."Jack" Zimmerman (Chief Pilot of the Atlantic Region) and H.H."Pat" Gallup (Eastern Div.Supt.). It was quite an improvement when the work was completed and the offices were moved to the 2nd floor of hangar #6.

The sudden change of plans apparently was because T&WA wanted to have the distinction or honor to be the very first to operate a scheduled flight in to LGA on December 2, 1939. The date was set by the Mayor, he was superstitious about starting things on a Friday. Flight ]8, "The Benjamin Franklin", was set up to arrive at ]12:03am on the 2nd. Rudy Truesdale was pilot and the final stop before LGA was Camden, NJ (then serving PHL). However, he and his copilot were "bumped", as Zimmerman and Gallup took over the last leg. In those days there was no pay protection when a supervisor took your trip. LGA minimums were 500' and ] mile; the current weather was 700' and forecasted to lower with fog.

They arrived at exactly 12:03, on time and were the first! LaGuardia and about 3,000 spectators were on hand to greet them and each passenger was presented a souvenir, a parchment scroll (signed by the Mayor and L. Randall, Eastern Manager of the Area for T&WA) to commemorate the occasion. Other TWAers included LGA's first Station Mgr., Dan K.Phillips, and Maintenance Foreman Hy Crowther.

Later arrivals included AAL, UAL, and Canadian Colonial. An AAL flight was the first to depart. A persistent fog covered the field all of that day, the first T&WA flight to depart was a bit delayed...Flight ], piloted by L.M. Williams, didn't take off until 1:05am the morning of the 3rd.

As far as T&WA's mail contract with the Post Office was concerned, LGA was an extension beyond EWR, another 16 miles on the 2,625 mile central route. Except for a period in 1940 , when EWR was closed for improvements, several flights a day (each direction) made the EWR-LGA shuttle until the war years when EWR was closed to all commercial airline traffic. For example: in April 1940, eleven flights a day were scheduled out of LGA, five landed at EWR on their way west.

The same for the eleven flights eastbound, five landed at EWR enroute to LGA. Once operations began, LGA immediately became one of the nation's busiest airports with an average of 100 flights a day and about 2,000 passengers handled.

The "Kitty Hawk" restaurant was a favorite spot to dine and the 1O¢ admission charge to the observation deck reaped a lot of extra profit for the city (some 1 ,500,000 spectators the first year). The Marine Terminal, along with the inauguration of Pan Am's service to Europe, was dedicated on March 31,1940, with over 50,000 spectators on hand (no 1Oc admission fee).

73

74

LA GUARDIA By 1938 the competition for a 4-engine aircraft to serve the nation's airlines had narrowed down to the Douglas DC-4 and the Boeing 307 "Stratoliner". A prototype DC-4E had been test flown but it did not meet the airline's specifications. It was in the re-design stage. T&WA had shown interest in the DC-4, but made orders for the "Stratoliner" (in early ]937). T&WA and Pan Am each ordered six aircraft, which would be pressurized. Because of financial reasons T&WA cancelled its order (the majority stockholders were appalled at the price). In early 1939 , T&WA announced that Howard Hughes was now the principal stockholder. With the Hughes money, or guarantee of same, T&WA resumed its order for 5 "Stratoliners" (Pan Am changed its order to 3 and Hughes bought one). After a severe setback in early 1939 , following the crash of a "Stratoliner" (killing all on board a demonstration flight, including T&WA Chief Pilot Harlan Hull), delivery of Pan Am's order was made in March 1940 , and T&WA's in April. Pan Am inaugurated service on its Latin American routes (from Miami, Brownsville and Los Angeles) on July 4, 1940.

T&WA accepted the "Strats" in May of 1940, and began a series of proving runs and training flights. Lloyd Hubbard, then Flight Engineer (one of the originals before changing to copilot in June of ]94]), was part of the crew on a proving run to LGA on 6/14/40. This might have been the flight which made the papers: a station mechanic, who was directing the huge plane to the gate, fainted. The story printed was that the size of the plane scared him and he was afraid the plane's wing would hit the ramp building near the gate. Actually, he had been out in the sun all day at the beach before coming to work.

T&WA inaugurated its "Stratoliner" service on July 9, with Otis Bryan (System Chief Pilot) piloting the first flight out of LGA. Jack Zimmerman was pilot on the first arriving flight from the west. Both flights set commercial records for the transcontinental trip and were about 2i hours faster than the current schedules for an express DC-3/DST trip.

By this time LGA ranked as the world's busiest airport, with an average of 250 takeoffs and landings a day (MDW averaged 72 and DCA 67). It was no longer referred to by the critics as "Fiorello's Folly". However, it continued to sink.

One example was the entrance to T&WA's hangar: a number of steps were added to connect it to the road level outside. The dikes on the bay side of the airport had to be continually beefed up and raised to keep the water out.

Also due to the Hughes backing, T&WA had modernized its fleet of DST (sleeper) and DC-3 aircraft with more powerful engines along with the order for ten 24passenger DC-3. At the height of the pre-war schedules, during summer of 194], there were 21 daily flights originating from LGA, which included 5 shuttles by way of Newark. Two were Stratoliners (33 passengers daytime configuration or 9 seats and 16 berths at night). One was a transcontinental trip (3 stops), the other (also with 3 stops) to KC. The "Skysleeper" (DST) had 8 berths at night and 7 seats, or 15 seats by day. The "Skyclub (DC-3) 2] seats and "Skyliner" (what remained in the fleet of DC-2's) ]4 seats. Parking space at the ramp was a tight squeeze as often there would be four or more departure and arrivals at the same time. This required the cooperation of all concerned to expedite the servicing, fueling, boarding or deplaning passengers and movement of aircraft by the pilots or mechanic personnel. They got the job done.

On January ], 194], the Airlines Terminal on 42nd Street across from the Grand Central Station was opened. T&WA was among the 6 original occupants. The time for the 8 1/2 mile drive was advertised to be 35 minutes and $1.10 for the limo.

75

LAGUARDIA AIRPORT, CIRCA 1939 Courtesy of Ed Betts

Courtesy, Wally Moran JFK Domicile LGA,Ca. 1989

LA GUARDIA Jerry Condon was the Station manager for this operation which, at first, was a one day a week (Tues.) departure and arrival (Wed.) with the 41-passenger Constellation. It was also a one day a week (Thur.) departure and (Fri.) arrival) with the 40-passenger DC-4.

According to Joe Carr, for the first few months, the weather briefing for the Trans-Atlantic portion of a flight was done at the US Weather Bureau office at the Main Terminal building, and then proceed to the TWA Dispatch office at the hangar for the remainder of the pre-flight work. Later, Ed Minser (Head of the TWA Meteorology Dept.) was instrumental in expanding the company's department and much of the briefing was done by our own people. As the TWA and Pan Am operations expanded, the US Weather Bureau for international flights moved to an office in the Butler Aviation building, adjacent to the Marine Terminal. TWA's international operations office was relocated in a pre-fab building located on the ramp side of the terminal building.

TWA's domestic operation with the Connies got off with a flourish, on February 1 5, when Howard Hughes arrived with the first section loaded with noted movie Not so when TWA inaugurated service with the personalities (nonstop BUR-LGA).

Martin 202A in September 1950 (four flights a day)...it was rather low key at The Martins had a poor reputation (Northwest problems) at the time the time. and Pres. Ralph Damon felt that too much publicity would result in the press rehashing the Northwest problem with their 202 Model.

In 1947 the Port of New York Authority (later included EWR and IDL) took over the operations of the airport on a 50 year lease. Among the operational problems was the constant breaking down of the runway surfaces due to the sinking of the airport in general (plus cracks in building etc.).

Since ]939 the airport had been flooded 6 times. The runways couldn't take the newer and heavier aircraft without buckling. In 1949, Pan Am had to use the Idlewild Field located on Jamaica Bay for the Boeing "Stratocruiser" operations. Since there were no longer any giant seaplane operations, a 13' dike was built around the airport's perimeter facing the bay. This wasn't exactly a panacea.

On November 24, 1950 , all operations east of Dayton were cancelled when moderate to heavy snow began falling west of the Appalachians. The forecast for the following day didn't anticipate any major problems. However, the storm center moved up the eastern coast driven by winds up to 108 mph that blanketed the NYC area with record snow. Suddenly, the combination of an extra high tide and the waters being driven by the wind was pouring over the dikes and inundating most of the airport. Adding to the problem was the drainage systems were clogged. A last ditch effort was made by TWA maintenance men to move 10 Connies, 5 DC-4s and one Martin to a higher ground (the main ramp) and pile sandbags around the wheels. At the height of the storm, salt water rose to within 4' of the hangar on one side and 10' on the other, and covered the aircraft wheeltops parked in the ramp area.

Paul Husak was on duty at the time and had this description: "I looked out the window and saw the water coming and, since my car was parked outside of hangar 6, I made a mad dash to rescue it. By that time I could not exit by way of the freeway overpass (between hangars 6 and 8) so I started for the Junction Boulevard overpass at the west end of the field. The water caught up with me about the front of hangar 4, and stalled the engine...I had a little trouble opening the car door and had to swim to hangar 4. Later that night the waters subsided, but the relief shift had problems getting to the airport."

80

ORM GOVE RAY WELLS

BETTY WELLS

"STICK" RANDALL

DON SMITH

PAT GALLUP

PAT'S WIFE

DON'S WIFE

LA GUARDIA Joe Clay added how this created a tremendous workload when the water receded.

Maintenance crews did a great job in washing and restoring the equipment. The flood was also the turning point when a major reconstruction was pushed forward. TWA Maintenance also tended Paul's car by changing the oil and drying the ignition system. It was, however, a "total" for insurance purposes (I do not know how crew members returning from a flight made out.)

On April 29, 1951, TWA's International and certain long-range domestic Connie operations moved to Idlewild (JFK today). At the time, there were 3] domestic departures and 3] arrivals daily at LGA, and 29 weekly origins or terminations on the International Division. When the airlines entered the jet age, in late 1958, all operations were out of IDL...LGA couldn't take their weight, locals complained about the noise and the runways were too short. Although there had been ample warning in advance, there was an added blow when The FAA set a time limit: by the end of ]961, all scheduled commercial aircraft would be. equipped with radar. TWA phased out the Martins, 049 and 1049 Connies and installed the radar on the other small Connies which were not equipped. The timing happened to coincide with the cessation of TWA service out of LGA during an extensive rebuilding program which was to last about two years.

The "new" LGA was planned for the Boeing 727 jet with a $39,000,000 program to lengthen the two runways to 7,000'. This was done by erecting a 50 acre concrete pier on the Rikers Island Channel. The terminal building was now about 7 times the size of the original with 650,000 square feet of floor space. TWA's lease was for 46,000 square feet and nearly $2,000,000 was spent for improvements, including an Ambassador Room. The ramp area could now accommodate up to 36 small jets with fingers and jetways for all-weather loading. Other features included an improvement on the two-level system with the baggage carousels on the lower level and conveyor belts on the upper level for curbside checking. A major improvement was made with TWA's hangar #4; 270 steel piles were sunk to a depth of 150 ' to support the weight of the B727's. A new $1,600,000 control tower was built. The 10-story building (with office space on each floor and an elevator in the center) was shaped like an ice cream cone.

On September ]6, 1963, TWA and Boeing scored another coup by landing the first jet at LGA. This was for certain demonstration tests during the construction stage. The new LGA was officially dedicated on April 16, 1964. TWA inaugurated its B727 service (4 daily flights) on July ] of that year. Two years later (March 1966) the Douglas DC-9 joined the TWA fleet, also serving LGA. In April of ]967, TWA was the first all-jet airline on domestic service.

Fifty years has seen many changes in the TWA flights scheduled out of LGA, the DC-3 flights landed frequently enroute to MDW, or STL and MKC and on to LAX or SFO. Today you have to go via the "hub" at STL (7 nonstops) or via JFK to get to any of the original stations such as PHL, PIT, DAY, IND or ORD. The exception is CMH, with 3 nonstops. The remainder of LGA's 22 flights are to various cities in Florida and one to Dulles.

Fiorello LaGaurdia's twelve year tenure as the NYC Mayor ended on December 3], 1945. He died in 1947 , at the age of 65. Thanks to his foresight and stubborn determination the airport was created, and against what appeared to be unsurmountable odds, survived, grew with the jet age and has continued to be among the world's busiest airports. On October 15, 1952, the name of the airport was officially changed from the "New York City Municipal Airport, LaGuardia Field" to a more fitting "LaGuardia Airport".

A note by the author: many thanks to Bob Buck, Joe Carr, Joe Clay, Jerry Condon, Lloyd Hubbard, Paul Husak and Bob Wittke for their help. One item has me stumped...is it LaGuardia, La Guardia, LaGUARDIA, LA GUARDIA or LAGUARDIA?

82

J. TOMMY TOMLINSON IAGUARDIA DISPATCH

DON SMITH

JACK ZIMMERMAN

ORM GOVE

KEN WOOLSEY

THE BERLIN AIRLIFT (submitted by Ed Betts) As a preface to this article I want to apologize and explain about any errors, Airlft.I omissions and mis-quotations from the men involved with the Berlin Airlift. I started the research a week ago and I'm typing the article (hopefully) in time for the November issue of the 'Topics'. By telephone, I've interviewed all of the known (to me) TARPA members who took part in the operation for their comments and reflections about this very important "Cold War" humanitarian effort between the US and British forces against the USSR. The background centered in mid-1948: staring on June 1, the MATS (Military Air Transport Service) was formed with Maj.Gen. Lawrence Kuter the CO. This was a global air transport system for the Department of Defense that combined all of the resources between the USAF and Navy under one command, in case of need. A few weeks later, on June 26, MATS was in action when the USSR ordered a blockade on West Berlin...all surface means of transportation were shut off and the only means of transporting vital supplies to the American, British and French sectors of Berlin was by air. There were three corridors (each 30 miles wide), per a prior agreement with the Russians, for access to the three airports that were located in the West Berlin sectors: Tempelhof (US), Gatow (British) and Tegel (French). They were all, at the time, under repair from allied bombings during WWII. The approach to Tempelhof was skirting some high buildings, then over a cemetery to the one short runway for a landing. The initial operation was with the C-47 "Dakota", the military version of the DC-3. This was known as Operation "Vittles" by the Americans, Operation "Plainfare" by the British.

Within a month the entire operation was under the command of Maj. Gen. William Tunner, former commander for the ATC operations over the 'hump' to China during WWII. His initial compliment was 72 DC-4's (C-54) and 2,500 personnel. By the end of June another 73 planes were assigned which included Navy Squadrons VR-6 and VR-8. This was D.W. "Tommy" Tomlinson's entry into this story.

Tommy was a CO for the Navy's Air Transport Command in WWII in the Pacific and retired following the peace in 1945. He lacked 2 1/2 years for a military pension (20 years). His colleagues talked him into re-enlisting, which he did in June of 1948 ... just in time for the Airlift, and was assigned Deputy CO under Tunner. According to Tommy's logbook (which I have on hand) he arrived at Tempelhof on 8/2/48 and immediately began a series of flights with a C-47 or DC-4 to all of the allied airports which would serve the Airlift as departure points, arrival and unloading or possible alternate. His main purpose was to establish a system of dispatching flights so as to keep an orderly series of arrivals or departures under all kinds of weather conditions (there had already been one mid-air collision). At the time, 3 aircraft had been seriously damaged after landing and hadn't been able to stop on the short runway, which was often wet (no reverse pitch props, just a steerable nosewheeel). He took a number of men who were squadron CO's or check pilots up for a demonstration on how to make a short-field ("Carrier landing") at the max landing weight of 71,000 lbs. With the minimum approach speed, and at 1/2 flaps, he would trim the plane very tail heavy which required a strong push for the landing flare. Several months later, after his return to the US, he also demonstrated this technique at the Great Falls(MT) training base for the Air Lift Command. As a sequel, Tommy retired with twenty years of active duty (and pension) on August 1, 1951.

Compared to Tommy, the following four men who I interviewed are rather junior (anybody hired after me is junior ), but they did the day-to-day flying on the Airlift under conditions which are hard to compare with the usual commercial airline flying during the same period. Alphabetically these are Verl Holden, Bob McKnight, Perry Schreffler and Bob Van Ausdell.

84

BERLIN AIRLIFT Verl was hired by TWA in May of 1947 and, in late 1948 (when very close to the furlough), requested a 3 year military leave of absence. TWA officials considered the war-time national emergency ended (along with veteran recall rights) and this, in effect, was his resignation. As a sequel, Verl won this case and returned to TWA without loss of seniority (through the VA), which set a precedent for other returning veterans. He was based at Weisbaden (the headquarters for Gen.Tunner and staff) and flew 100 missions with the C-54 to West Germany.

The usual trip to Tempelhof was 2 hours over and 2:10 return. His loads generally were of the priority class (such as fresh food) and he often had to wait an hour or so on the ground to be loaded with local products bound for export.

Cases of fresh butter was a favorite with the Germans and often one would be " accidentally" dropped; a box or two might be missing when the mess was cleaned up, but nobody pressed charges. The accepted maximum ground time at Tempelhof, before somebody got his "butt chewed out", was 49 minutes.

Bob McKnight was hired by TWA in September 1947 and was "recalled" by the USAF (because of his C-54 experience) in November of 1948. He was based at Fassberg and flew 163 missions (sometimes three in one day) to Tempelhof. The trip over was 1 hour and the return 1:10 . His loads were a cabin full (sacks) of coal (no return load). The cabin interior (and cockpit) was usually a mess of coal dust, a sometimes serious problem for maintenance. The crews wore a neck scarf atop their flying suit plus a baseball cap for protection...their faces at the end of a day's flying were very black. They even removed the wing-exit escape hatches to help removed the dust, but this wasn't effective. After unloading a batch of planes, the Germans would sweep all of the loose coal on the ramp for their own use. Bob was also a check pilot for his squadron.

Perry was hired by TWA on July 11, 1948, and returned to the USAF in November of that year. After a month's training at Great Falls he reported to Celle. He also was flying coal to Tempelhof, and flew 164 missions until he returned to the US in May of 1949. Two trips in one day would total 5:55 hours. Perry did not remark about the coal dust, but he had lots to say about the flying conditions (more on this later).

Bob Van Ausdell was also hired on July 11,1948 (the same day as Perry) and in January 1949 was based at Fassberg, also hauling coal. He flew 210 missions to Tegel (French Sector) until he returned in July of 1949. He often flew 3 trips in one day carrying 20,000 pounds of coal.

All four pilots told about the weather flying they encountered. About 70% was instrument flying and no detours...a missed approach or landing, for whatever reason, you pulled up and returned to your home base. The landing minimums for a GCA approach were 200' and a 1/2 mile visibility (in the US during this period we were making ILS approaches to 300' and 3/4 mile)...it wasn't uncommon for a landing nearer zero-zero!

The "airways control" might sound primative if compared to the stateside ATC, but it was a smooth working operation that required precision flying by the pilots. When released for takeoff (5 minute intervals) the pilot climbed at 400 to 500 feet per minute at 155 mph to the alti180 tude assigned and then kept an exact cruise airspeed of 170mph (eastbound, mph westbound as they were lighter) through the corridor. Cruise altitudes for planes departing from Fassberg were 2,000 and 2,500 feet, departing Celle they cruised at 3,500 and 4,000 feet. 3,000 feet was the emergency altitude. There was no "stacking" (circling in a holding pattern) of planes in line for an approach as the ground radar controlled the flow of aircraft upon arrival in his area. All departures from West Berlin went through the central corridor to the west (British zone).

85

BERLIN AIRLIFT April 16, 1949, was the Airlift's biggest day with 12,940 tons delivered by a total of 1,398 flights in a 24-hour period (almost one a minute). The blockade was lifted on May ]2, 1949, but the Airlift continued until September 30 (the operation was scheduled to end on October 3]). "Operation "Vittles", by this time, had delivered 2,343,000 tons of fuel, food and other supplies by 277,000 flights.

Coal constituted two-thirds of this tonnage, and without it Berlin could not have survived. The US forces transported 1,800,000 tons, the British 543,000 tons.

Cost estimates vary from 182 to 300 million dollars. 70% of the MATS fleet was utilized: a. total of 319 C-54's which included 19 for training at Great Falls, 75 usually in for major maintenance or overhaul and 225 available to fly the line. The British utilized 140 military or commercial planes.

About 12,000 USAF personnel were envolved, another 1,000 were based at Burtonwood (England) where all 200-hour aircraft/engine checks were made. There were 800 personnel from the US Navy and 2,000 from the US Army Airlift Support who directed about 50,000 Germans in cargo loading and other support operations.

Not included with this tonnage is "Little Vittles" which started in July 1948 ,

by Lt.Gail Halvorsen...dropping candy, which was tied to a small parachute, to the Berlin children watching the airplanes on the final approach to land.

THE APPROACHES TO BERLIN DURING THE BERLIN AIRLIFT-JUNE 26, 1948-SEPTEMBER 30, 1949

It took quite a time to get names and addresses of the men (aircrews or ground personnel) who served with the Airlift for a reunion arranged by Galaxy Tours.

Starting in late September of 1989 about 550 of the veterans (including wives) began arriving in Germany for the 40th anniversary of "Luft Bruke". They were given the "red carpet" treatment everywhere they visited such as their former bases at Rhein-Main (Frankfurt, today), Wiesbaden, Celle and Fassburg. Tommy Tomlinson, the dean of the group (age 92, the youngest was 58), laid a wreath at a memorial honoring the Airlift and the 3] lives lost during the operation.

The Mayor of West Berlin held a reception for the group, after which 250 German families took couples home with them to dinner. Many were children during the airlift days and remembered the candy. The Hershey Company had sent ahead a large supply of candy as a reminder. The consensus of the TARPA men who attended...Tomlinson, Holden, McKnight and Van Ausdell was "they had a ball!".

86

CAPTAIN HAROLD F. BLACKBURN

87

HAROLD F. BLACKBURN

By Ed Betts If there were such a thing as a twenty-question quiz with regard to the near 60 year history of TWA, everybody would have the correct answer as to who was the Captain of the flight from New York to Paris on February 5, 1946, when the company inaugurated its post-war International Division...Hal "Blackie" Blackburn.

It was a routine flight, typical of his entire flying career, but it helped to establish him as one of the best known airline pilots in the nation. "Blackie" passed away on August 4, 1989, from Alzheimer's disease. He was the subject (as Captain) for a great deal of TWA's publicity by newspapers, magazines, books, radio, motion pictures, TV programs and personal appearances during his senior years with TWA as well as after retirement. There is no perfect image of what the typical airline pilot's physical appearance, personality, attiude and approach to his job should be. As far as TWA was concerned, Hal fitted the image.

Hal was born on Christmas Day in 190] at Urbana, Illinois. Most of his younger years were spent in the town of Mitchell (near Scottsbluff,NB) where his father had a dental practice. At the age of 17 he became interested in flying and two years later had his first flight in a WWI Curtiss "Jenny". In his spare time he washed or worked on airplanes in exchange for a flying lesson. He also played the piano and organized a dance band. For 5 years they traveled about the midwest circuits playing for nightclubs, parties etc. He sold the band and decided on a flying career with the Army Air Corps, but he flunked the math part of the exam. It was back to college to brush up on his math and on his next attempt he passed and was among the ]32 cadets who started training at March Field in February of 1930. His next base was at Kelly Field, where he met Martha Bondurant.

There were but 37 of his classmates remaining who received their commission and wings in June of 1931 , and started a year of active duty.

In January 1932, he was based at March Field with the 11th Bombardment Squadron flying the B-2 (the military version of the Curtiss Condor). His unit was sent on a mission of extreme urgency: thousands of Indians in Arizona were completely isolated and without food after a series of blizzards. There were no navigational aids or accurate maps of the area; Indian scouts rode in the bombers and directed the pilots to the villages. They bombed them with over 15 tons of food and supplies. The squadron received the coveted Mackay Trophy for the year 1932 (the Air Corps's highest peacetime award). Hal and Martha were married a month later and in June his year of active duty was up. He started job hunting. These were the depression years when flying jobs were scarce to nil. He rented, later purchased, a filling station about a mile from the Burbank Airport.

In early 1934, Hal was interviewed and the future was promising for an airline job, but in February there was an abrupt change when the Post Office cancelled all air mail contracts. Instead of hiring the airlines were now furloughing. He tried to return to active duty as the Army was then flying the air mail. He was still qualified on the B-2, but was rejected as the Army wanted pilots who had some experience flying the former airline routes and an instrument license; he had neither.

TWA introduced the DC-2 in May of 1934 (about the same time a new mail contract was awarded) and by August had a fleet of 20 twin-engine planes ' for its passenger service (plus a few Fords and single-engine mail planes). By the end of the year it was an all-DC-2 airline for passengers and mail. Ten more DC-2s were to be delivered in February of 1935 and TWA was hiring again. As it later developed there was a 50% expansion in pilot personnel (102 pilots at the end of 1934, 153 at the end of 1935). A number were "instant captains" if they had the necessary experience and qualifications. Hal by now had 2 children and he was desperate for a job. TWA would not consider him as the maximum age (per a company rule) for a copilot hiree was 27...he was age 33 at the time.

88

Hal Blackburn Jack Walsh, a good friend from Nebraska days (pilot with Western and TWA since May 1929), came to his rescue and arranged a meeting with Chf.Pilot Harlan Hull and Paul Richter (VP Ops). Hal was hired as copilot on May 8, 1935. This established his company seniority, but his pilot seniority was still 3 years in the future.

His first domicile was KC and then Glendale (LA). By June of ]936 he was based at Newark where Jack Zimmerman was the Chf. Pilot. Starting in January of 1938, he was with Zimmerman on a series of secret charters with a DC-2 flying J.Edgar Hoover and his FBI staff around the country. In those days pilot seniority was governed by the date of first trip in command; Hal made his on July 24, 1938 .

During the 3 years since he had been hired there had been 10 copilots promoted to captain with less company seniority. They were now ahead of him on the pilot seniority list. He was the #9l pilot (22 were in management positions) with another 15 below him who also checked out in 1938. At the time there were 52 men on the copilot seniority list for a total of ]58 pilots/copilots on the system.

Hal had already established a reputation for being a competent pilot and a good instructor with his copilots. In February of 1940, soon after the move from EWR to LGA, he was appointed Check Pilot. On April 1941 , he began what would be a series of special assignments until the end of 1947. First he was the Superintendent of Instrument Flight Training at the "Eagle Nest", located at ABQ. At the time this was a contract with the RCAF Ferry Command to train American volunteer pilots (with single-engine experience only) on the twin-engine Lockheed "Hudson" Bombers in preparation for future ferry work across the North Atlantic for our allies. The "Hudson" was a military version of the Lockheed 14, which had a notorious reputation for ground looping. An added aggravation for the instructor was the lack of flight controls on the right side of the cockpit; they were eliminated so the bombardier could have access to his station in the nose.

The instructor was powerless to override the student once a ground loop was in progress and 3 aircraft were lost in short order. The Canadians took over their own training. On September 1, 194], Hal was appointed Superintendent Operations for the Jack Frye 4-engine school (also at ABQ) that checked out Army pilots on The Army took over their own training of 4-engine pilots after our the B-24's. entry into the war. For a short while TWA operated a 4-engine Combat Training School where complete crews (pilots, navigator, flight engineer, radio operator etc.) were trained for their Atlantic crossing.

TWA ' s Intercontinental Division (ICD) was formed shortly after Pearl Harbor Day under Military contract, with Otis Bryan in charge. On 7/]/]942, Hal joined the ICD as Sup't. Flight Ops. He was promoted to Asst.Manager on 3/1/43 and to Manager on 1/1/45. During all of this period with ICD he was based at Washington, D.C. and had 'debriefed' hundreds of the flight crews after their return from a trip to Europe, Africa, Asia and the Near East.

Hal didn't exactly "fly a desk" during his 3 years on ICD as he made 44 transflights,e Atlantic trips. Besides making the arrangements for numerous "VIP" also flew them. Among his passengers were Gen. George Marshall, Gen. Hoyt Vandenberg and Adm. Ernest King to the first war meetings with Winston Churchill.

One of his 'payloads ' included a group of top German staff prisoners and a captured "buzzbomb". His most notable load of VIPs was a group of US soldiers who were wounded on D-Day. Through a friend from aviation cadet days, Col.Clarence SShoop pitfre'.H (based in England), he checked out in the P-38 and British ' flew 6 reconnaissance or photo-type missions over Germany, Italy, Crete and the Normandy beachhead.

These were during a layover, and as a civilian.

89

Hal Blackburn Once the war in Europe ended TWA made plans to set up and inaugurate service on its newly-awarded International system. On 9/1/1945, Hal was appointed Director Negotiations and Route Surveys, Foreign Routes, TWA. This impressive title described his duties and responsiblities: the negotiations with foreign countries for landing rights, route surveys, proving runs, dress rehearsals and publicity flights. On 12/1/45, he was appointed Director North Atlantic Region, TWA International Division. Otis Bryan was Vice President of the new Division and Joe Carr the Chief Pilot.

Hal and Joe were well acquainted with the C-69 Constellation from their ICD exNow they had to test the civilian model 049. On November 28, 1945, periences.

Joe and Les Munger completed a survey and provisional flight from DCA to Paris and return with a group of employees aboard. They set many commercial records en route. A week later Blackburn and Carr made the headlines when they set new records to Paris (and return) with a group of VIPs aboard including Postmaster General Robt.Hannegan.

Hal flew the eastbound trip and Joe the westbound. The big day for TWA was on February 5, 1946, when scheduled service was inaugurated to Shannon and Paris (with a fuel stop at Gander). Hal was the Captain, and was a part of the inaugural ceremonies at both DCA and LGA. "Swede" Golien was Captain on the inaugural westbound.

Headquarters for the International Division was located at Washington, D.C. in those days. In 1946, the 'Washington Post' selected Hal Blackburn as the "Ideal Father", a new recognition for Hal (shared by his four children). On December 5 of that year he was named Asst. Manager for the International Division, based at NYC. The year 1946, however, wasn't a good one for TWA, and executives such as Jack Frye and Paul Richter resigned in early 1947. There were the ALPA negotiations, a threat of strike and then a strike late in the year. Unfortunately, there were bitter arguments between representatives of ALPA and TWA management, and Hal was among those who made some enemies at the time.

Hal was offered a VP position by LaMotte Cohu, instead he resigned as Assistant Manager and on 7/1/47, accepted a special assignment with Saudi Arabia. Later he was sent to Addis Ababa as acting manager of Ethiopian Airlines. At the end of the year he returned to TWA as Check Captain. However, once again there were some "differences" between Hal and ALPA (Hal was a stickler for "flying by the book"), so he resigned as Check Captain and "flew the line". Despite whatever arguments he once had with ALPA, he was a Councilman of the LEC 24 (NY Int'l.) from 1/1/52 to 3/31/53. It was during this time, in May 1952, when Hal became a "movie star"...He was featured in a TWA-RKO movie titled "Overseas Run". In May of 1955, he was again appointed Check Pilot. In July of that year Hal was once again before the cameras (as the Captain) in a Walt Disney movie titled " What I Want to Be". When TWA celebrated its 10th anniversary of international flying, on February 6, 1956, he was captain on the flight from IDL to Paris. In the May 5, 1956, issue of the 'New Yorker' magazine Hal was profiled (along with TWA's operation) by author John Bainbridge. He started out with Hal from his home in Long Island and accompanied him on a round trip flight to Rome.

In 1956, Hal bought an 80 acre farm in the Pennsylvania-Dutch area about midway between Reading and Allentown. TWA had flights from LGA to both cities then but Hal preferred the 135 mile drive to IDL. Much of his time off between trips was spent renovating the 200-year-old farm into a rural showplace. On December ] of that year he had his chance for lots of time off between trips; he was among a dozen TWA pilots loaned to Deutsche Lufthansa (as a Supervisor of Flying). This was quite a challenge: training and checking the German pilots who hadn't flown an airplane since VE Day. The flying took him over the North and South Atlantic and the Andes Mountains. Also, by flying 90 hours in a ]0 or 1] day period, Hal had a lot more time off at home to work on the farm and spend with his family.

90

Hal Blackburn Back in the 'Eagle Nest' days Hal and Charles Lindbergh became friends and one of their topics of conversation was a jet transport. The British were the first to introduce such a plane with the ill-fated 'Comet' in the early 50's. In late 1958 they introduced the 'Comet 4' on the North Atlantic, 3 weeks before Pan Am introduced the Boeing 707. TWA began its B707-]31 in March 1959 and in November the 331 long-range version on the international flights. Hal returned to TWA on 1/1/60, intending to finish his TWA career on the Connies, but a talk with Mary Horstman convinced him otherwise. He checked out on the 707 in May, and was the oldest pilot flying jets across the North Atlantic. Once again TWA took advantage of Hal's promotional ability when he was the Captain to Paris on the 15th anniversary of the International Division on 2/5/6]. It made good copy to point out the inaugural trip took ]6 hrs 2] min, the B707-33] took 6 hrs 29 min.

TWA was a young (4i years, not including predecessor airlines) and a relatively small airline when Hal was hired in mid - 1935 , with 30 DC-2's in the fleet and a total of 153 pilots and copilots. He had moved up 54 numbers on the pilot seniority list to #37 (only ]7 had been pilots retiring near age 60) in 196], but there were now 1450 behind him (not including those on furlough). During 196 TWA had many changes in top management (C.H.Tillinghast was the new president).

All of the piston fleet that did not have radar. was retired by the end of the year. The TWA jet fleet consisted of 27 B707's (15 13]'s and 12 331's), 4 leased B720B's and 20 Convair 880's. This was during the period of the bitter fight between the ALPA and FEIA over the crew qualifications on jets and 2nd officers were riding "shotgun" in the jumpseat.

Every pilot can recall his final flight before retirement; it is something very special to him (good or bad). Hal's was well documented as Time-Life made a TV program (an hour long) of the occasion. A photographer and John Bainbridge accompanied him on the flight to Rome and return. This started out from his farm 2 days before his 60th birthday (Christmas day 1961) and included the drive to JFK, checking in with crew schedule, accepting the crew's passports, updating his navkit, reviewing the latest ' NOTAMS', the preflight information from meteorology and dispatch, the final decision for a flight plan, cabin crew briefing and all of the aircraft preflight items such as the logbook and checklist. During the flight Hal had the opportunity to reflect on his flying career and philosophize on retirement...on this day he was operating an expensive and complex piece of equipment, after returning to JFK he would be obsolete in the cockpit.

This was also the theme for a book by Bainbridge titled "Like a Homesick Angel".

Hal retired as a pilot, but not from TWA, as he was retained in the Public Relations Department as Director of TWA Air Travel Development. There were a lot of public speaking engagements and Hal became a master with PR-related projects on behalf of TWA. In August 1963 he "retired again" but, until the end of 1966, was still a consultant and made a number of speeches. On 2/5/81, he was again aboard a TWA flight from NYC to Paris as an honored guest on the company's 35th anniversary of its international operations. Hal (or "Blackie") will be missed by a host of his aviation friends; he had a prominent part in TWA's heritage as a pilot, check pilot, instructor and manager as well as helping to organize and train several foreign airlines. Whether or not he was getting paid at the time, he was always selling TWA as the world's finest airline, Martha passed away in 1975. In 1976 he married a childhood sweetheart, and family friend, from their Nebraska days, Helen Jones. They moved to Sun City, Az., in 1980. Helen died in 1986, and soon after Hal moved to live with his son Bob in Oakland. Hal is survived by his 4 children (all are in the education profession), 7 grandchildren and a greatgranddaughter. The family established a Captain Harold Blackburn Fund which will assist needy children who dream of becoming pilots. Donations may be sent to the Marcus Foster Institute, 475 34th St., (suite 1260) Oakland, CA 94612.

91

The Active Retired Pilots Association of TWA

EAGLES CONGRATULATIONS!!!

The following members will join the ranks of EAGLES come January 1st, 1990, having reached the age of 75.

Capt. Richard H. Beck Capt. Robert N. Buck Capt. Frank W. Burcham Capt. David A. Byl Capt. John A. Carlson Capt. Norwood G. Carper Capt. Ivan M. Chapman FRO Charles F. DeGeorge Capt. J. Willard Dyer Capt. J.J. Frank F/E John J. Gilbertson FRO Roger W. Goldthorpe Capt. Omar L. Hanson Capt. C. Marvin Horstman F/E Gail A. Howell Capt. Harlan V. Jesperson Capt. Urban J. Kampsen Capt. John P. Lontz Capt. M.J. Manning Capt. Robert F. Manning

Capt. Charles W. Maynard Capt. Andy A. Mcilwraith Capt. William Miller Capt. John M. Montgomery Capt. Leigh S. Moorhead F/E Glenn E. Newman Capt. John W. Niven Capt. Arlie J. Nixon F/E M Grant Peasley FRO Lowell H. Popp F/E I. George Reynolds Capt. David W. Richwine Capt. John H. Russell Capt. Gerhard M. Schemel Capt. Arlhur C. Schmidt Capt. Edward N. Simmons Capt. Charles E. Stubbs Capt. B. Keith Stuessi F/E John N. Therwanger

The list of TARPA EAGLES has grown to 171 going into the year 1990. May you enjoy all the best in the coming years.

Charlie Dill,

Secretary/Treasurer

NEW MEMBERS LAST NAME

FIRST NAME

TITLE

Anderson DeGeorge Kerr Linzay Malandro Mellon Phipps Trojan Trumpolt Gustafson Wasson White

James L. Charles F. Richard L. R.E. John W. Edward F. Robert B. Robert W. Robert H. Alfred Drew C. Fred S.

Capt.

Nay. Capt.

Capt.

Nay. F/0 F/0 Capt.

Capt.

Capt.

Nay. Capt.

92

8101 E. Naseem Tr. Scottsdale, AZ. 85258 October 2, 1989TARPA Members Gentlemen, The response to my letter o

"Topics" was truly under-whelming. Th from a trickle to a dribble.

Nevertheless, of the few that did get got lost in the mail), I offer a sampling:

Bob Garrett' s letter snows that your " be incorporated into a support exchange res bers of great value.

Ed Bett's (what a guy), George Searle' letters are wonderful. They are unadorned, This is the way it was, what I did, and the

Bob's age at the crisis point and an u has also provided us with an insight to the and its debilitating long range effects, Lar offers a classic chronology of events that w familiar to many of you that have faced the surgery. Trying to stave off facing the se roaching crisis and, in retrospect, realizi disaster.

(I'll vouch that he is stronger that spheroid.)

Three sections of the country reported shun) participation. All positive. I have ience with Chelation except for reading a c subject but I am bewildered by the fact tha of participants I've contacted are so enthus the doctors so hostile to it. On questionin had any detailed knowledge of exactly how eh or could cite any cases of harm. They usual on chelation that should have been given to Head the books and decide for yourself. Esp Bypass" by Dr. Elmer Cranton before you tal of chelation, this book should be of interes ation problems.

Ted Herman in Maine visited Dr. Cranst for a series of chelation treatments and is him if interested.

Well, it is obvious that the idea of a grab you so I will not make an effort iences. however I hope the letters include to send their experiences along to A.T. for

SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING: QUIT SMOKING!

The Active Retired Pilots Association of TWA

Capt. Marry F. Mokler P.O. Box 344 Alton Bay, NH 03810

960 Las Lomas Avenue Pacific Palisades, CA 90272 August 1989 16,

Dear Harry: In answer to your request (August '89 "Topics") for information with regard to cardiovascular problems among the TARPA members, I will pass along my medical history, including "other" problems, for whatever it is worth.

I was born on 8/31/20, which is your reference as to my age when surgery was done. All surgery was at the Santa Monica Hospital, CA. For the past 40 years I would be classified as a heavy smoker (1 1/2 to 2 packs a day). My father died, at age 64 (1952), due to angina pectoris.

If one were to trace my scars from past operations it would be almost a continuous line from my forehead to left ankle: skin cancer forehead, cist in left cheek (4/7/66), lip cancer (11/1/66), removal right kidney (cancer, 1 2/1/67), left parotid gland (my favorite spit gland, cancer on ]2/3]/7] + 6 weeks cobalt treatment) and bladder tumor (cancer, 5/8/89).

Due later this year, cataract in right eye. No symptoms of AIDS. Although it is not related to my bypass, a right bundle branch block was found in my company EKG in ]974. TWA had me see a specialist (treadmill) at the UCLA Medical Center. No big problem and no lost time.

Following my kidney operation recovery, in December 1967, I began a daily program 1 1/2 of a steady and fast-pace walk for 2i hours (about 8 miles, miles included a steep grade). I used to take my lunch with me and eat along the beach front. One day, while midway up the hill, I felt what appeared to be indigestion in the chest area. I happened to mention this to my family doctor and immediately he scheduled me for a treadmill test (on 6/28/84). This showed a blockage and was followed by an angiogram test on 7/25/84. Two arteries were found to be blocked and one was located such that it would be necessary for a bypass. The other could have been the balloon-type operation, but since I was to be sliced up anyway they did both on 7/27/84. This completed the scar line from my neck down plus the leg where they took the vein.

Since then I changed my daily walking program: a 1 1/2 hour period in the am and a 1 1/2 hour period in the late afternoon...still at the fast pace, but no extended hill climbing. I have a daily medication of Dipyridamole plus an aspirin at bedtime. I haven't had a treadmill test, but see my family physician frequently along with X-rays and EKGs etc.

All, except the operation this year, were covered by Connecticut General and I have nothing but praise for their cooperation (payments). TWA was also very understanding and cooperative. Two of the operations would have normally (per a stupid FAA rule) required me sitting on the beach for a year to make certain there would be no re-occurance...TWA's medical department argued this in my favor and no time was lost except the usual postoperative recovery. You have my permission to quote any of the above. You are to be commended for your interest.

PHYSICAL EXAMS AND PSA BLOOD TEST George Searle Harry Mokler, our illustrious Arizona luncheon's chairman, (winter only - a snowbird) asked me to compile for TARPA publication my recent, apparently successful experience with prostrate cancer.

Harry practices what he recommends as seen by his article on heart problems in the August issue.

This writing supplements an article on the same subject in a recent issue by presenting only the facts of one case - mine.

I did not believe there were any serious or definite symptoms that warranted immediate medical attention.

My grandfather and my father, both died of This originated my caution for urology related disease, the latter, cancer.

A local urologist fDllowing the finger check occasional past examinations. said come back in six months. This followed a discussion of only the usual symptoms of advancing age that I was experiencing.

After slightly more than the six months and not having had a complete comprehensive physical exam for several years, I suddenly scheduled one.

This despite it being a very inconvenient period that was otherwise scheduled. It turned out to be a great blessing.

At the new Mayo Clinic in Scottsdale, the results were all quite The blood test report would be available a few days later. satisfactory.

Within approximately the past two years a new blood test specifically for The result can be used for numerically prostrate cancer has been in use.

My test result was 19.7, where estimating the extent of cancer development.

0 to 4 is normal. The test is referred to as PSA, (memory associate Pacific SW Airline).

The positive blood test result warrants an ultrasound exam that provides information for selection of areas for biopsy tests. They took eight samples from me, four were cancer, two on each side. A bone scan followed, if the cancer had progressed into the bone area, surgery would not be attempted.

Post operative analysis Radiation therapy in lieu of surgery was offered. indicated only a matter of months without detection and the case would then be classed as most unfortunate.

The gland was found 2/3rds cancerous, starting from the lower portion at the bladder neck progressing upwards. Only 2% of the lymph glands had been entered. Those glands are also removed being probable conveyers of cancer to other areas. Thirty periods of radiation began 11 weeks after the operation.

Subsequent PSA blood This was peculiar to my case and not always required. tests now show, 0% - no cancer remaining.

Honeywell Avionics, Air Transport Division, graciously held my contract in abeyance for almost six months until my recovery. Timing was of the essence It is my belief that divine guidance caused the decision of success here. resulting in the blood test and also being at the associated available facilities at the time. If one samaritan's trip is extended as a result of the foregoing information on PSA, then it was all worthwhile.

Best regards and best wishes to all.

1489 Wilder Street Thousand Oaks, CA 91362 September 14, 1989 Harry F. Mokler Box 344 Alton Bay, NH 03810 Dear Harry, I had intended to write to you right after reading your article in the August TARPA concerning cardiovascular problems among the bretheren and hope this is not too late for your intended use.

I suffered a major myocardial infarction on February 3, 1986 at the ripe old age of 49. After several weeks recovery from that, an angiogram was performed which showed severe blockage in all three coronary arteries.

I had had absolutely no indication of any problem whatsoever until two months previous to the heart attack, and that was passed off on my part as a case of mild indigestion.

It was confirmed by four cardiologists (Two here and two in Ohio...I didn't get lust a 2nd opinion!) that the blockages were beyond angioplasty being feasible and that bypass was indicated.

I underwent a quintuple bypass in May of 1986 at Los Robles Regional Medical Center here in Thousand Oaks. I am now very glad that I had the surgery performed, for I feel 100% again and realize that I was not at that level for several years prior to my heart attack.

I, also, have read numerous articles about bypass being over used and the alternatives thereto. Unfortunately, this is not something that can always be cut and dried. I investigated alternatives and also considered future technology, such as what I call the "rotorooter laser" which is in development to parallel and/or replace angioplasty.

Three out of four opinions told me that I could probably do quite well on medication for a number of years but the learned opinion was that in the long run the bypass would have to be done.

My relatively young age made me an excellent candidate for full and quick recovery. Consideration of the quality of life, now and in future years, also was a large factor in my decision.

Although I was relatively symptomless most of the time, I did get angina pains with moderate garden work. I was required to work up to a 5-mile per day walk prior to the surgery and found out that shortness of breath hampered fairly easy activity.

With the blockages I had, what were chances of another clot, even while on medication?

I made it through one heart attack, would I make it through a second?

Then what quality of life might I have? Could I afford to wait for future technology?

There was much to consider.

My father and paternal grandfather both had heart attacks...my grandfather in his 60's (and lived to 84) and my dad at age 44.

96

My dad did well on medication until in his late 60's when angina attacks became increasingly severe. He underwent bypass at age 72 and was like a new person for many years. He passed away suddenly at age 81 just this past year from an abdominal dissecting aneurism.

I therefore had this family health pattern to help me make my decision.

Without doubt, bypasses are performed on numerous people who would probably do just as well without them. I believe, however, that a great number of those people probably did not address enough questions to enough doctors or to themselves. I therefore fully support your idea to gather the experiences of our fellow pilot group for the edification of those who are faced with similar cardiac problems.

You may feel free to use my name, Harry, and I would be happy to converse or correspond with anyone of our group who feels the need.

As you may well imagine, I also had quite a problem dealing with the abrupt and unexpected end of my flying career. With many more retired pilots in TARPA than active, this kind of predicament may or may not present itself to many. Nevertheless, there is a mental anguish which manifests itself in many forms of denial and anger...and this is well documented in a majority of post heart attack victims, regardless of age or career status. Unfortunately, it is often a trial for spouse and family as well. I, for one, knew that I was not the Lone Ranger...thanks especially to a UAL pilot friend in a similar situation...and I had all sorts of family and spousal support. It was very helpful, but I was still a mess at times.

Looking back, I sometimes wonder why they all stuck around me!!

One final word (before this is so long that you can't read it in one sitting) on the cumulative stress of our particular occupation.

Until I was completely away from it, I had absolutely NO IDEA how much stress I was feeling from the job. Mr. Icahn had just taken over in January 1986, everyone in the company had spent many months feeling about as secure as one would flying through a funnel cloud, the pilots had given up 25% of their pay, the F/A's were on a rampage, and most of us wondered what would become of TWA. I came home from trips through St. Louis (most of them!) ranting and raving to my wife about nobody minding the store and, worse yet, nobody seeming to care.

I was fit to be tied. Yet I did not recognize the stress that was there.

Additionally, whether recognized or not, there has to be stress with every upgrade, recurrent training, check ride, FAA physical, and all the other factors associated with a profession that has the Feds looking over your shoulder all the time.

The $64 Question is how cumulative that stress is.

With that I shall shut up and allow you to get back to business at hand.

Hope you have experienced no more atrial fibrillation problems and that you are now back on just aspirin like I am!

Best regards,

'97

Garrett

Ruby HC-63

Box

213

Clinton, A rkansas 72031 Phone 501-745-2820

August 19, 1989

Dear Harry, I believe your " Heart " project will prove interesting and useful to the Professional Pilots in all age groups. Let me know your reaction to the " Mag. Phos." I sent you.

My heart showed abnormal on Company Master ' s Two Step in late 1968.

Retired May 1970. Took 50 Chelation treatments at McDonagh Medical Center in North K.C. in 1978. This restored my normal blood pressure and rhythm and I felt so completely restored that I foolishly returned to my lifelong habit of eating for fun.

Five years living it up put me right back into the chest pains and again forced me to return to chelation, but this time I had achieved a 1007 blockage of a coronary artery requiring open heart surgery. That is a bad experience and really got my serious attention.

Now I take Chelation treatments every month or two at the Leslie Clinic only 20 miles from my home. This has kept everything pain-free with resting blood pressure of 120 over 70.

This Winter of 1989 Beth has gotten tapes of Nicholas Delgado, Director of " The Optimum Health Program", who worked with Nathan Pritikin on the West Coast. He eliminates all vegetable oils and animal fats except that of almonds and sunflower seeds with the goal of reducing the fat coating the insulin of the diabetic, thus preventing it ' s utilization.

This has proven to be the best move I have made.

After two months on this program, the benefits are apparent in a lowering of blood sugar level.

As Pilots, we expect our superior health to continue and I believe it can if we follow the now available nutrition guidelines.

As ever,

P.S. Feel free to use this as you wish.

98

F/E Richard E. Ludwig PO Box 3242 Arlington, WA 98223 14, Aug. 1989

Harry F. tickler Box 344 Alton Bay, NH 03810 Dear Harry: In response to your letter in the Aug. 1989 issue of "TARPA TOPICS" I am enclosing some information that I have gathered during my own experience with " Chelation Therapy " .

I have not had any heart problems myself, but did take a series of 20 Chelation Therapy treatments for pulmonary and respiraty disfunctions and am very satisfied with the results. I had my last treatment just last Friday the 11th of Aug. 1989.

During the treatments my cholesterol dropped from 237 to 198 and my blood pressure came down to 134/70 from a much higher readnig, I don't remember the numbers at the beginning except that it was much too high. I also feel much better and have a lot more pep and energy now. I am 68 years old end retired in 1981.

One of the best books on the subject is one called " BYPASSING BYPASS "

by Dr. Elmer Cranton. Published in 1984.

I have no reticence in the use of my name in this matter and will help in any way I can.

R. E. Ludwig

-

99

Dear Harry, I'll stick this in the envelope with Betty's letter and a few odds and ends I've been intending to mail to you.

My primary purpose in writing at this time is that I just remembered that I haven't complied with request for a your rundown on my cardiac experience.

I was planning to crate the word processor for the trip back to HOT! AZ when I remembered .

I was 66 when I first recognized symptoms that made me think or heart trouble.

They occurred in Arizona about a week before our scheduled annual sojourn to Park City, Utah.

It was in the evening and I was taking a brisk walk, trying to work off some of the effects of a heavy meal, when I. suddenly found it difficult to breathe.

I sat down on the curb and, after a while, the problem but I went away, was sufficiently concerned that I discontinued the walk and returned home at a leisurely pace. anotherbisk Before breakfast the following morning, I took walk.

No problem.

I concluded that it had merely been a case of indigestion; but I wasn't all that confident in my diagnosis because I didn't really remember having any of the other symptoms normally associated with that cause.

A few days later my neighbor and I drove to the golf course in back the early afternoon and when I pulled my clubs out of the seat of his car l again found myself unusually short of breath.

The problem passed however and did not recur during the game.

A few days after the golfing incident I went in fu my regular annual physical and casually mentioned the two episodes.The doctor said he would feel better about it if I would submit to a stress test.

I did and the test showed that I did indeed have a problem.

The doctor offered me a choice of options: he could refer me to a specialist or put me on medicine. If you go to the specialist, he said, he will probably want to do an angiogram and that involves a small but definite risk. I elected the medicinal route; he gave me a small canister of nitroglycerin lingual aerosol to keep in my pocket and a prescription for some Cardizem pills.

I told him I was about to leave for Utah where I would spend the summer playing golf at altitudes up to 7,000' and he said that should pose no problem as long as I didn't go mountain climbing.

When packing the car I had several episodes of the same sort related above and each time solved the problem by sitting down and spraying the nitro under my tongue.

Looking back I think I was stupid not to at least call the doctor and ask whether this was what he had in mind; but I had signed up to in a play tournament in Utah a few days after our scheduled arrival and I was anxious to be on my way.

100

During the trip Betty said I was driving like a maniac; but what do wives know about things like that?

We spent the night in Cedar City, Utah and when I awoke at two a.m. with my left arm feeling hot I sat on the edge of the bed and used the nitro again.

As before, it worked like magic and I was soon back to sleep.

An hour later I awoke again. This time there was a pressure in the center of my chest.

It wasn't too bad but it concerned me enough to call the hotel operator to ascertain that there was indeed a hospital in the town and an ambulance service.

I told her I'd call if I needed help.

After hanging up the phone, I used the nitro, waited five minutes and used it again.

Didn't work.

The pressure grew steadily more oppressive.

Finally it got so bad I had to push my fists together and I asked Betty to call the ambulance.

As soon as they clapped the oxygen mask on my face the pressure subsided.

At the hospital it was determined that I'd had a mild heart attack.

An air evac plane flew me to Salt Lake City. From where an angiogram the airport l was taken to a hospital confirmed blockage of the left anterior descending artery. the doctor said I had Angioplasty opened the blockage and damage.

A week later Betty drove me to our suffered minimal place in the mountains and I spent the next two months building a little faster and a little up my heart muscle by walking farther every day.

By mid-September I felt good as new and we took a trip on TWA to visit our kids in St. Louis and Kansas During our visit I was dismayed to note the first signs City. that I was not after all out of the woods. By the time we got back to Utah I knew I was on the brink of big trouble. After with the cardiologist in Salt Lake City, and faced consulting with another angiogram and the possibility of having to spend the I winter in the mountains recuperating from a by-pass operation, decided to fly back to Arizona for a second opinion and, if necessary, an operation. in Arizona placed me in the hospital without The cardiologist The angiogram he conducted showed that the blockage had delay. had become so extensive that angioplasty indeed recurred and The following morning I was given a singlecould not succeed. artery bypass operation.

They were able to use the mammary artery which, they told me, is superfluous in the male gender.

As a result they did not need to take any veins out of my leg.

This was a blessing: my fellow participants in the (three month) cardiac re-hab program told me that their worst post-operative problems revolved around the leg veins.

It is now almost exactly one year since my operation.

My tests indicate complete recovery. I cholesterol and stress an continue to exercise and eat sensibly.

My only medicine is City aspirin a day. I walk the mountainous golf course in Park , carrying my own bag of course, and I can hit the ball farther the game. than ever before in my fifty-three years of playing Praise the Lord!

101

August 19, 1989 Dear Harry, I read your letter in the recent TARPA Topics and am very sorry to hear that you have been having heart problems. I hope you are improving and will continue to do so. I was interested in your request from fellow pilots for information on their medical problems. As you know, TWA pilots were very fortunate to have a company medical director that was truly concerned about them. Dr. Gullett always recognized the importance of having the confidence and respect of the pilots in his goal of protecting their careers. As Aeromedical Chairman, I shared his concerns and we spent many hours trying to insure and protect that trust. Also, he realized the long term contributions to medical research of this wealth of medical data gained from a select group of screened pilots and agreed (1976-77) to furnish annual physicals, space available, to the retired pilots. Unfortunately, someone at 605 decided against this worthwhile project and forced him to cancel it. I tried to get support from the MEC for this benefit to be included in the contract, but as you know other things took higher priority. Another fact that you may or may not be aware of concerning our medical records with TWA. These records are our property and can not be given to anyone without our written permission and we have the right to copies of our records from TWA. In addition, OSHA requires that TWA maintain our records for 40 years. I made an issue of the safekeeping of these records with Dick Kenney and he assured the MEC that necessary legal steps were being followed by the company. Of course that was "Before Ichan" and I have no idea what has happened since that time. TARPA may want to look into this question and at the very least, I did and still strongly recommend that each pilot request copies of their medical history from TWA. Your idea to start an informal collection and support exchange resource for TARPA members is a worthwhile and practical cause and I would be pleased to help in anyway that I can. I have a computer and would be happy to maintain a medical database. I believe that most TWA pilots are aware of my past ALPA work and would trust me with their personal information. We could use a number system for identification and only a few could have access to the coding.

102

Also, we are very fortunate to have Charlie Gullett as a fellow TARPA member and I believe that he would lend his respected and knowledgeable medical experience to providing data evaluation. Charlie is a close neighbor of yours just over the hill in AZ. I will close for now and let you think about my suggestions and hope you will suggest your idea to TARPA as an official program for our group. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Best of health to you and your family,

Bob Garrett 1008 General George Patton Road Nashville, TN 37221 (615) 646-3323

GOING ON AT TWA Results of our fall promotion continue to be impressive. Record setting volume of domestic bookings are dramatically up over last year as are International.

Effective 1 November, DC-9's will begin flying Inter-European service with the last 727 flight in Europe planned early in December.

Operating profit of 35.6 million dollars for first 6 months of 1989. 63 million worse than same period last year. Had 8.7 percent of the market share of all U.S. carriers with a passenger count of 16.4 billion. This is an increase over same period last year.

New hire pilot classes of 8 are now being run every other week and will continue through end of year. Planned new hires over 400. Attrition of new hires is 42. Other attrition year-to-date is 107.

Adjusted index of change of B plan unit is 1.12027. Factor used for months of January through November.

Over 600 pilots are now on line with computer home access.

As of 1 Oct. TWA will no longer operate into Houston International or Toledo, Ohio.

103

ODE TO RECURRENT TRAINING You've flown a lot thru snow and ice and often when it's raining, But the time has come again, my friend, to bust your butt while "training".

First there comes the "oral" and, like I told my pard, The questions are all easy, it's the answers that are hard.

They've simplified the mental quiz and they've plugged a lot of leaks, so if you hit the books real hard, you can get it - in two weeks.

Now, if you pass the "oral", you've gained a little ground, But you get another chance to flunk when you do the "walk-around".

What is that? What's in there? How much air is in those tires?

Makes a person long again to hear the wind sing thru the wires.

What's behind? What's up front? You nearly almost guessed.

This is the one that's standardized different from the rest.

Now, if you pass the walk-around, try and conceal your fright.

You now have won the golden chance to go up for your flight.

The time has come to do your best and, to keep from getting fired, You have to demonstrate your skill to someone that you hired.

The flight is always lots of fun, there really is no heat, the reason that you sweat so much is 'cause you like to eat.

You have to do the stalls while clean and then, again, while dirty, which is just about like it was back in nineteen thirty.

Watch your heading! Hold it straight! Don't you know your proper powers?

How in hell did you slip by for twenty thousand hours?

Your past is all forgotten and your future aint too bright, If you should flub the contest on the ground or up in flight.

But, if you're full of answers, then you allay their fears, and you're allowed to carry on what you've done for thirty years.

Author unknown 2640 [Mary Hansen let Ole Olson look through Moe's papers and he found the above.

One of the fringe benefits of retirement is looking back on fond memories such as those above, eh?]

104

REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR Usually, December 7 rolls around without much fanfare or reference to the dastardly sneak attack on Pearl Harbor on a Sunday morning by the Japanese.

An attack that killed nearly three thousand men, women and children. This by a nation who had not declared war but, instead, had diplomats in Washington trying to negotiate with us to stay hands off while they invaded the rest of the Far East.

Yet, let August 6 and 9 come up and the liberals and others try to shame us for dropping the atom bomb on Nagasaki and Iroshima. I think it was a great decision by President Truman. Had this not been done estimates run into the millions of U.S. and Japanese young men who would have died on the battlefields and ships.

Now Congress comes along and apologized to those Japanese aliens who were on our West Coast for our moving them away from that area into what is referred to as internment camps and on top of that voted to give each one $20,000! This is a slap in the face of all of us who interrupted careers, lost their lives, were maimed, tortured by the Japs and so on.

On a talk show recently I heard a lady who has written a book on this and I am sorry I didn't record the name of her book but I am sure if all U.S. citizens could read the facts concerning this displacement they would deluge Congress with outrageous cries.

She said after Pearl Harbor 5,000 Japanese-Americans applied for repatriation to Japan. President Roosevelt gave the General in charge of West Coast defense the authority to do what he felt needed done to protect the security of the West Coast. This General decided to relocate the Japanese-Americans away from the coast. In view of so many openly expressing a desire to go back to Japan, how could he have done otherwise?

While these relocated people were barred from the West Coast they were still allowed to go elsewhere in the United States where they might have sought employment and even in defense industries. Nearly 4,000 of their children attended college, according to her book.

There were well-founded fears of attacks on the West Coast. As I recall, Long Beach refineries were shelled from Jap submarines.

A quote from the Florida Aviation Historical Society - Jap Plane Bombs U.S.Flying Officer Nobuo Fujita of the Imperial Japanese Navy, the only enemy pilot to bomb American soil, dropped incendiary bombs on an Oregon forest in November 1942. Fujita flew a modified Zero equipped with pontoons, which was housed in a special watertight compartment on the submarine, I-25. His mission was to set fire to the timber-dry forests, setting off a fire storm that would spread down the coast. Fujita made two attacks, the first by day, the second by night.

Though he was flying over a realatively uninhabited stretch of America, he noted that the small town of Brookings Harbor was "completely blacked out". Yet he had no trouble navigating, for the Cape Blanco lighthouse cast its resolute beam steadily out to sea. Homing in on the light, Fujita flew inland and dropped his bombs, then managed to return to his sub.

Also, from the same paper, Beginning in Nov. 1944, the Japanese released a series of large paper balloons each carrying a 30 pound bomb set to go off 40 hours after launching. ..In all some 9,000 balloons were launched...most landed in our western part but at least 1 made it to Maryland. Did cause a few deaths in Washington state. The government clamped a lid of secrecy on the bombs... purpose was to keep the Japs from gauging the success of their balloons.

Shouldn't we petition Congress for remuneration for the losses we all suffered in a war we didn't start?

REMEMBER PEARL HARBOR, 7 December 1941

105

RECOMMENDATIONS, SUGGESTIONS & INFORMATION A good place to send your charitable donation where it will do the most good and no one shortstops any for adminstrative expenses or what have you is; THE TWA PILOTS RETIREMENT FOUNDATION ALPA Federal Credit Union 825 Midway Drive Willow Brook, IL 60521 Please put account number 90-17470 on your check!

For good cook book with old timey recipes and anecdotes about growing up during the Great Depression on a tobacco farm in eastern North Carolina send $5.00 to; A TASTE OF CAROLINA P.O. Box 100 Blounts Creek, NC 27817

For a nice name plate with TARPA and your name on it to sport at our upcoming reunion in Hershey send $2.50 to; NAMES BY SAWYER 201 N.W. 59th Place Gladstone, MO 64118

We have a good supply of TARPA lapel pins now large enough to be read from a little ways away. Send $2.00 to; TARPA SECRETARY/TREASURER Charles S. Dill 11271 MacNab Street Garden Grove, CA 92641 * * * * * * REQUEST FOR INFORMATION: I would like to communicate with any crew member on TWA flight number 928 departing the Detroit Willow Run Airport (the flight originated in Chicago) on Saturday, October 1, 1949, arriving at Paris Orly on October 2, 1949. As a six year old boy, I was a passenger aboard your flight; I am interested in information about the flight. This was my first flight; now I'm serving as an L-1011 First officer with Delta Air Lines occasionally going to Paris, Orly. Please write; Jim Hoogerwerff, 1050 Ridge Tarn, Atlanta, GA 30350. Thank you for your attention.

Russ Derickson informs us that South West Airlines offers TWA employees, including retirees, a one way fare over their entire system for $20.!

TWA Hostess Marilyn Genz' book is available at a discount from her for $12.50 including postage. Write; 20,000 Men and Me, Marilyn J. Genz, P.O. Box 7130, Elgin, IL 60121

106