2006.07.TARPA_TOPICS

TARPA TOPICS

BREAKAWAY SIGN UP TODAY FOR A TARPA BASH BESIDE THE BAY JULY 2006

TWA ACTIVE RETIRED PILOTS ASSOCIATION

JULY 2006

TARPA CONVENTION 2006 SAN FRANCISCO SEPTEMBER 21-25

CONTENTS TARPA TOPICS THE MAGAZINE OF THE TWA ACTIVE RETIRED PILOTS ASSOCIATION

FEATURES:

CONVENTION

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

8

HELPING GIRL SCOUTS

DEPARTMENTS:

EDITOR’S NOTE

25

FRENISI

by Mike Larkin

37

SHOT

49

AROUND THE WORLD FLIGHTS

John P. Gratz

Ed Madigan

TARPA TOURS

Jim Schmitt

19

FLOWN WEST

39

60

by Dave Richwine

HOWARD HUGHES: TWA 63

by John Lockhart

TWA - A BRIEF HISTORY 78

by Dave Haase

61 - FOXTROT

4

SECRETARY/TREASURER 5

by Jon Proctor

by Charles Davis

Charles Wilder

21

by Bill Ashcraft

50 YEARS LATER

3

86

by Mike Larkin

Material contained in TARPA Topics may be used by non-profit or charitable organizations. All other use of material must be by permission of the Editor. All

inquires concerning the is publication should be addressed to :

John P. Gratz, Editor

TARPA TOPICS

1646 Timberlake Manor Parkway

Chesterfield, MO 63017 TOPICS is an official publication of TARPA, a non-profit corporation. The Editor bears no responsibility for accuracy or unauthorized use of contents.

PAGE ... TARPA TOPICS

Front Cover & Back Covers: San Francisco Convention & Visitors Bureau

EDITOR

ASSOCIATE EDITOR

GRAPEVINE EDITOR

HISTORIAN

FLOWN WEST COORDINATOR

INTERNET WEBMASTER

TARPA TOURS COORDINATOR

John P. Gratz 1646 Timberlake Manor PPkwy Chesterfield, MO 63017-5500 (636) 532-8317 jpgratz@charter.net David R. Gratz 1034 Carroll St. Louis, MO 63104 (314) 241-9353 drgratz@swbell.net Gene Richards 2840B Sherwood Ave Modesto, CA 95350 (209) 492-0391 gene_richards@pacbell.net Felix M. Usis III 1276 Belvoir Lane Virginia Beach, VA 23464-6746 (757) 420-5445 fusis1@cox.net John S. Bybee 2616 Saklan Indian Drive #1 Walnut Creek, CA 94595 (925)938-3492 jbybee4@comcast.net Jack Irwin 2466 White Stable Road Town and Country, MO 63131 (314) 432-3272 jack@smilinjack.com Jim Schmitt P.O. Box 494 Forest Grove, Pa. 18922 (215) 794-5305 capnjim1928@comcast.net

OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS, 2005 - 2006 PRESIDENT

FIRST VICE-PRESIDENT

SECOND VICE PRESIDENT

SECRETARY/TREASURER

SENIOR DIRECTOR

DIRECTOR

DIRECTOR

INTERNET WEBMASTER

PAST-PRESIDENT

EDITOR

Charles L. Wilder 122 Wild Dunes Way Jackson, NJ 08527-4058 (732) 833-2205 clwilder@optonline.net Guy A. Fortier Box 6065 Incline Village, NV 89450 (775) 831-3040 guy4ta@msn.com William A. Kirschner Box 3596 State Line, NV 89449-3596 (775) 588-4223 kshooter1@msn.com Ed Madigan P.O. Box 3565 Incline Village, NV 89450 (775) 831-1265 edmadigan@charter.net Robert C. Sherman 1201 Phelps Ave. San Jose, CA 95117 (408) 246-7754 rcsherm@sbcglobal.net Rockney Dollarhide #1Riverside Farm Dr. Crescent, MO 63025 (636) 938-4727 rockney@charter.net William Kientz 14981 Chateau Village Chesterfield, MO 63017-7701 (636) 527-5134 wkientz@sbcglobal.net Jack Irwin 2466 White Stable Rd. Town and Country, MO 63131 (314) 432-3272 jack@smilinjack.com Robert W. Dedman 3728 Lynfield Drive Virginia Beach, VA 23452 (757) 463-2032 rwded@cox.net John P. Gratz 1646 Timberlake Manor Pkwy Chesterfield, MO 63017-5500 (636) 532-8317 jpgratz@charter.net

PAGE ... TARPA TOPICS

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE SAN FRANCISCO! SEPTEMBER 22-25!

A fantastic convention in San Francisco has been planned by Tom Standifur and his very capable committee. All that it needs is YOU! The details are found in the following pages, but will include such tours as a Welcome Reception, Muir Woods, a Movie tour, a wine tour (should be very popular), Alcatraz and a closing banquet.

The committee has worked very hard to present you with a first class convention and, it’s located in a great tourist city. San Francisco is a city where dining, touring and entertainment are tops.

We hope that you will reserve the dates and join us there.

Tom’s committee includes John Eddy, Dave Roberts and Mike Forsythe and, most importantly, their wives. All of the planning that is required for a great convention needs the input of all 8!

Jim Schmitt has planned a post-convention tour which will include Monterey, the Hearst Castle, Salinas (home of the John Steinbeck Museum) and more. The details are found in more detail later in this issue.

We continue to urge everyone to register for our webpage and to use it. Since the last issue, “Flown West” has been improved to allow one to research the names of those who have “Flown West.” If you have any questions regarding the use of the website, contact any of our board members. We will try to get the answer to you as quickly as possible.

A related subject is our Directory. We depend upon you to keep your information updated.

When you move, change telephone numbers or e-mail addresses, please make the change on the Directory webpage. If you have any difficulty in doing so, contact one of the board members and we will assist you.

As our membership list declines, we need to bring in more eligible non-members (anyone who has served TWA in the cockpit.) Encourage those you know who are not current members to join with us and to attend our conventions!

Also remember to keep SAN FRANCISCO in your travel plans for this September.

PAGE ... TARPA TOPICS

EDITOR’S NOTE The response to our regular pleas for input has been gratifying. We have received a more than normal amount of stories, poems and humorous pages for this issue of TOPICS, but unfortunately, it appears what is given with one hand, is taken away with the other. What I mean by that is, our Grapevine Editor, Gene Richards reports that he did not receive even one single thing for his section. It could be said that our constant search to get sufficient material, is the most stressful part of our production effort. We start with a clean slate every four months and hope for “rain.”

Often we don’t get enough until the very last days before our “deadline.” We live in fear that one day we will have to call the whole thing off due to lack of “rain.”

Back to our good fortune this time, we have interesting stories of the ups and downs of TWA in earlier times. One is a story from Charles Davis about the years right after WW II. Another story, a sad one, is about the midair collision between a TWA Constellation and a United DC-7 in 1956,

by TOPICS Subscriber and frequent contributor, Jon Proctor. Dave Richwine, former TARPA President sent a report he produced about around the world flying in the 707 days. Dave Haase offers his take on the history of TWA from start to finish, and he also sent a story from a friend whose father was Corporate Treasurer in the Hughes era. Bill Ashcraft, Sr. sends a short piece about a special DC-3 flight in the fifties. Finally, as mentioned above, we include two poems from Mike Larkin and one from Phil Rimmler.

Once again, our covers feature the beautiful city of San Francisco, our Convention destination for 2006. These and the artwork inside, for which we thank Russ Day and Dave Roberts, are intended as a reminder. If you forgot to sign up after receiving the forms in the March TOPICS, you can use the ones in here.

All of the volunteers on Tom Standifur’s Convention Committee, the TARPA Board of Directors and the staff of TOPICS sincerely hope that you will join us there for a little frivolity, a modicum of sightseeing and a lot of camaraderie.

Photos in this issue of TOPICS courtesy of : Bill Ashcraft, Marc Brecy, John Lockhart, Serge Prevot, Jon Proctor PAGE ... TARPA TOPICS

SECRETARY/TREASURER REPORT May 23, 2006 As of April 30, 2006 the membership is as follows:

(R) Retired: (A) Active: (E) Eagle: (H) Honorary: TOTAL:

832 61 529 201 1,623

There are also 44 subscribers to Topics and 10 who receive complimentary copies. We have added five new members since the last Topics. They are listed later in this issue.

Following is the financial report for the period from January 1, 2006 thru April 30, 2006: 1/1/2006: Opening Balance Income Expenses Cash Flow

$55,290.29 $45,162.24 $21,222.30 $23,939.94

Balance 04/30/06:

$79,230.23

We have five new members, but would like more. Please mention to your TWA pilot friends that we would like them to join us in future events. They can contact me or go on the web site at www. tarpa.com to get an application.

Get your registration forms in and make reservations for this year’s convention that will be held at the spectacular Westin-St. Francis in San Francisco, September 22nd thru the 25th.

Respectfully Submitted, Ed Madigan PAGE ... TARPA TOPICS

Minutes of the April 21, 2005 TARPA Board meeting Philadelphia, PA Board members present: Charlie Wilder, Guy Fortier, Ed Madigan, John Gratz, Bill Kientz, Bob Sherman, Bob Dedman. Absent: Bill Kirschner, Jack Irwin, H.O. Van Zandt and Rockney Dollarhide. President Wilder called the meeting to order at 0830.

President’s Report: President Wilder reported on the site inspection for the 2006 convention in San Francisco. It was decided that the event would be held at the Hyatt hotel on Fisherman’s Wharf.

A presentation was then made by a member of the Philadelphia Convention Bureau welcoming us to the city and offering to help in any way possible Secretary/Treasurer’s Report Ed Madigan reported that at this time we are in good financial shape with approximately $90,000 in the bank. There are still 304 members who have not paid their 2005 dues. Ed will send a group e-mail to the full membership with regard to the upcoming convention in Philadelphia and a reminder to those who have not yet sent in their 2005 dues.

Director’s Report: Bill Kientz inquired about the support given for the furloughed Pilot’s fund. Ed Madigan reported that up to this time $720 has been collected.

Bob Sherman reported that he is continuing to work with the TWA senior’s coordinator to bring our honorary list of members up to date.

Bob Dedman will research the by-laws regarding the provision to award excess money from the Convention fund.

Topics Editor: John Gratz bought us up to date on the publishing and mailing of the magazine along with ideas for future issues.

New Business: President Wilder appointed a committee, composed of Bill Kientz, Guy Fortier and Bob Dedman to explore possible sites for future conventions.

A replacement has to be found for the web site master, as Jack Irwin will be resigning from that position.

There being no further business, President Wilder adjourned the meeting at 10:32 AM. Respectfully submitted, Ed Madigan Secretary/Treasurer PAGE ... TARPA TOPICS

New Members Donadld J. Cook Jr. 234 North Lake Merced Hill San Fraqncisco, CA 94132-2908 Celtic1@sbcglobal.net

478 Exeter Rd. Hampton, NH 03842 rlbavi8tr@comcast.net Buzz Pinkard (Lisl) 16304 Wilson Creek Chesterfield, MO 63005 funflyer@earthlink.net

Paul Rung 9660 E. 31st Street TUCSON, AZ 85748 Rooks Turner (Virginia) 8 Highview Ave. Barrington, RI 02806 rooksturner@cox.net Ron Bottom(Nancy)

PAGE ... TARPA TOPICS

PAGE ... TARPA TOPICS

TARPA 2006 Convention San Francisco, CA San Francisco, what can you say; one of the best-known cities in the world and now the site of the TARPA Convention in 2006. Truly, a wonderful city, San Francisco is surrounded by incredible scenery, the wine country, Muir Woods, Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge, world class shopping, cable cars, great restaurants, and great hotels. One of which will be our convention headquarters: The Westin St. Francis on Union Square. This is a great historical hotel and a new hotel all in one. The original building was completed in 1913. The hotel tower opened in 1972 and over 185 million dollars has been spent on the property in the past six years of restoration. The rooms are spacious, comfortable, and service at the hotel is exceptional. TARPA will host the Hospitality Suite each day in the luxurious State Suite on the 6th floor.

We have some fantastic events planned for your enjoyment. We’ll visit all of the “must see and do while in the city”. We have an opening reception planned at the Marine Memorial Hotel, a really special property for history buffs and anyone who has served in the military. We’ll have hosted cocktails and heavy hors d’oeuvres. Our tours include Muir Woods and lunch at Sausalito, a very unique “Moving Movie” tour of San Francisco, we’ll tour the world famous California Wine country, and of course ride cable cars, visit Alcatraz, and give the ladies time to shop at Union Square. See the complete tour information on the following pages. We have a small block of rooms available on both Thursday and Monday nights if you want to spend a few more days in the city. We are pleased to announce the Farewell Banquet Dinner this year will be held in the Alexandra’s room located on the Imperial Floor, 32 nd floor, of the Westin hotel. This very special room offers panoramic views of the city. It will be a very special evening.

With a little entertainment, hosted wine by Community America Credit Union, and good friends it promises to be a wonder event.

So we invite you to come join us for a great convention in a great city; San Francisco. We look forward to seeing you there.

Captain Tom Standifur Convention Chairman TARPA Convention 2006

PAGE ... TARPA TOPICS

TARPA 2006 Convention San Francisco, CA San Francisco is certainly one of the most romantic, beautiful, fascinating, and exciting cities in the world. Cosmopolitan flair, spectacular scenery, and an entertainment capital make this city a fabulous choice for our convention in 2006. This is a city rich in history and influenced by a multitude of cultures.

Though it encompasses only 50 square miles, San Francisco’s many pocket neighborhoods offer you an incredible experience around every corner.

Perennial favorites include: Fisherman’s Wharf and North Beach, Chinatown and Nob Hill, the cable cars, Golden Gate Bridge, and the Golden Gate State Park, with Botanical Gardens and the Conservatory of Flowers and of course the intrigue of Alcatraz Island. Union Square, the shopping hub offers the “Who’s Who” of world famous stores such as Giorgio Armani, Nordstrom’s, Macy’s, Gumps, Sharper Image, Williams Sonoma, Mont Blanc, Tumi luggage, specialty shoe stores, fine linens, art shops, and so much more. The city is acclaimed as home of the world’s best restaurants; Gary Danko’s, The Boulevard, Tadich Grille, The Stinking Rose, Plumpjack Café, Cliff House, North Beach Restaurant, the Waterfront, and Michael Mina’s is located right in our hotel.

You’ll have the evenings free to enjoy some of the finest restaurants and the most exquisite service in the world. Our tours will encompass all of the exciting and must do features of the city.

We are excited and pleased to announce we have selected one of San Francisco’s finest properties as our headquarters hotel, the Westin St. Francis.

The hotel features 1195 rooms, a full service American fare restaurant the historic “Oak Room”, for casual dining or a quick latte visit “Caruso’s” in the tower lobby, or for a fabulous fine dining experience, celebrity chef Michael Mina has opened a signature gourmet restaurant in the main building “Michael Mina’s Restaurant”. The hotel also offers in room high-speed internet access, a concierge service, complete full service health club and spa, numerous shops including fine jewelry, fine art, florist, car rental, and a gift and sundry shop. The hotel is within walking distance of all of the major theaters in the city. The best part about the all-new Westin property is the Heavenly beds, they are incredibly comfortable with fluffy down pillows and comforters. In early January Westin announced they are converting all of their properties to non-smoking hotels. The location right on Union Square will delight the ladies and give us a great central location for all of our activities and events.

Our tours will give you the chance to visit and see most of everything you must see in this fabulous city. We hope you will join us for the fabulous city and all of our friends in TARPA. PAGE 10 ... TARPA TOPICS

2006 Convention San Francisco, California Tour Information Opening Reception Marines’ Memorial Club & Hotel Friday, September 22, 2006 6:00pm – 8:00pm The Marine’s Memorial Club is located in a beautiful historic building nestled in the heart of the theater district between Union Square and Nob Hill. The Living Memorial is dedicated “To honor the Marine’s who have served and those who serve today and in the future, by exhibiting visual and tangible presentations of the Marine Corps history to visiting American military personnel and selected/interested public.”

The property is located a short two block walk from our headquarters hotel, the Westin St. Francis. Our reception will be held in the beautiful Crystal Ballroom on the 11th floor.

This elegant and sophisticated property was built in 1926 and has maintained it’s beauty and charm. You may want to linger awhile to visit the General’s library/museum filled with military articles and artifacts or view the progressive exhibit of Marine Crop history in the lobby. Join us for two hours of hosted cocktails and heavy hors d’oeuvres. Join your TARPA friends as we welcome you to the wonderful city of San Francisco.

Muir Woods National Monument, Sausalito & Lunch Saturday, September 23, 2006 10:00am – 3:00pm Until the 1800’s, many Northern California coastal valleys were covered with coast redwood trees similar to those now found in the Muir Woods National Monument.

The forest along Redwood Creek in today’s Muir Woods was spared from logging because it was hard to get to. Noting that Redwood Creek contained one of the San Francisco Bay Area’s last uncut stands of old-growth redwood, Congressman William Kent bought 295 acres for $45,000 in 1905. To protect the redwoods, the Kents’ donated the land to the U.S. government and in 1908 President Theodore Roosevelt declared it a national monument. Come stroll through the 1000 year old giant trees that tower 260 feet high. While redwoods dominate the park you will also enjoy Douglas-fir, big-leaf maples, tanbark oak, baylaurels, red alders, and buckey clusters. The park offers solitude, interpretive displays and programs, and easy hiking trails. Following our visit to this majestic forest we will return to the seaside town of Sausalito for lunch in the Spinnaker Restaurant. Situated over the water, the restaurant features panoramic views of the Bay, its famous bridges, and the San Francisco skyline. The tour will include round trip mini-coach transportation, including crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, admission to the park, and lunch at the Spinnaker Restaurant.

PAGE 11 ... TARPA TOPICS

San Francisco Moving Movie Tour & Lunch Saturday, September 23, 2006 10:30am – 3:30pm They say San Francisco has always had a love affair with the movies, and it began when they were silent. This is a fun and comprehensive motor coach tour of the movies made in and about San Francisco. Not only the movies, but the history and the neighborhoods of this great city. The tour will begin at the St. Francis hotel and Buster Keaton flying off the back of a cable car and Tipi Hedrin walking into a pet shop off Union Square (The Birds) as Hitchcock passes her with his own two small dogs. We’ll see legendary stars; Greta Garbo, Mae West, Valentino, Bogart, Fred Astaire and others in San Francisco related clips. Over 80 of the best films have been chosen. Some include Vertigo, Dirty Harry, Foul Play, Mrs. Doubtfire, The Maltese Falcon, Birdman of Alcatraz, and many, many more. The tour includes lunch at Enrico’s Café, which Steve McQueen visits in the movie Bullitt and we’ll stop for milkshakes at Mels Drive (used in the film Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?).

We’ll visit all of the great neighborhoods in the city including Union Square, the Bay Bridge and Treasure Island, California Street and Nob Hill, City Hall, Chinatown, and the Barbary Coast. This tour is specifically designed for groups and includes luxurious motorcoaches with TV’s to view the clips as you tour. The tour will include transportation, your movie buff tour guide, lunch at Enrico’s and dessert at Mel’s.

California Wine Tour – Napa & Sonoma Sunday, September 24, 2006 9:00am – 5:00pm This tour will certainly be one of the most popular at the 2006 Convention. We will visit the beautiful and world famous Napa and Sonoma Wine country. The tour will include comfortable deluxe motorcoaches, a tour guide to entertain us on our way, three stops and world class wineries, and a picnic lunch. September is harvest time so we’ll enjoy California’s premium wine producing region in full swing. The wineries will include some of California’s finest such as Chateau St. Jean, Viansa, Gloria Ferrer, or Kunde and will include tastings of their featured wines. Enjoy a variety of scrumptious wines while you learn how the wine is made from start to finish. And of course their will be opportunities to shop in their featured gift shops. The tour includes round trip motor coach transportation, admission to the wineries, and the picnic lunch. All other purchases are on your own!

PAGE 12 ... TARPA TOPICS

Alcatraz Island and Lunch on Pier 39 Monday, Septmber 25, 2006 10:00am – 2:30pm This tour promises to be one of the most interesting events of the week. We will provide Cable Car chartered transportation from the hotel, through Chinatown, and to the pier at Fisherman’s Wharf. We will then ferry over to the infamous Alcatraz Island.

The 2 hour tour includes a 35 minute recorded “Cell House Audio Tour” that feature narration by former Alcatraz inmates and guards. Their stories give a very realistic impression of life on “The Rock” home of Al Capone and Geo “Machine Gun” Kelly. The tour takes you on a path through the cell block, dining room, solitary confinement, library, and visitation areas. Also, a variety of 45-minute programs are scheduled throughout the day that describe the various periods of the Alcatraz history and may include: the military history (1850-1933), U.S. Penitentiary Alcatraz (1934-1963), Escapes, Fortress Alcatraz, Hollywood’s Alcatraz, “We hold the Rock” describes the Indian Occupation (1969-1971), and Natural Alcatraz. As we return to the pier we will be hosted to light but scrumptious bowl of genuine San Francisco clam chowder with fresh baked bread, cookie and a beverage at Boudin’s Bakery. Please note you should dress warmly and wear comfortable shoes as the walk to the cell house is steep and uneven.

However transportation will be provided for wheelchair uses and visitors unable to walk the 12% grade. The tour includes all transportation, admission fees, audio headsets, and lunch at the pier.

Final Banquet Dinner Thursday, September 29, 6:00pm – 10:00pm Join us for a truly spectacular evening high above the city of San Francisco in the fabulous Alexandra’s on the Imperial Floor. Located on the 32nd floor of the Westin, this stunningly beautiful room is surrounded in luxurious décor, a world class 360’view of the city and will include culinary masterpieces and unsurpassed service. We invite all of you for black tie optional evening which will include a no-host cocktail hour, your choice of a premier chicken or seafood entrée, hosted wine, and dance music. Please join us for this final evening of friends, memories and laughter.

Handicapped: All of the tours and sites listed are accessible for handicapped or those with limited mobility. There may be a few limitations on Alcatraz Island. If you will require assistance or have mobility issues please make a note on the comment section of the registration form.

PAGE 13 ... TARPA TOPICS

Schedule for TARPA 2006 Convention San Francisco, CA Date

Depart

Return

Event

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2006 1400 1600 Board Meeting 1800 Board of Directors Dinner – Oak Room Westin FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2006 900 1600 Registration Open 1400 1800 Hospitality Suite Open 1800 2000 Welcome Reception, Hosted cocktails, heavy hors d’oeuvres Marines Memorial Hotel – Crystal Ballroom SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2006 900 1600 Registration Open 1000 1500 Muir Woods & Sausalito for Lunch OR 1030 1530 San Francisco Moving Movie Tour & Lunch 1600 1800 Hospitality Suite Open Evening Dinner on Own SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 24, 2006 900 1300 Registration Open 900 1700 California Wine Tour – Includes picnic lunch 1600 1800 Hospitality Suite Open Evening Dinner on Own MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 25, 2006 900 1600 Registration Open 830 1000 General Membership Meeting 1030 1530 Alcatraz Tour and Light Lunch on Pier 39 1600 1800 Hospitality Suite Open 1800 1900 Farewell Reception – Cash Bar 1800 2200 Banquet Dinner, wine, music (Black Tie optional) Alexandra’s Ballroom on 32nd story overlooking the city Schedule as of January 2006 PAGE 14 ... TARPA TOPICS

TARPA 2006 San Francisco September 21 – 25, 2006 Convention Registration Form Last Name_____________________________________First ________________(for name tag) Spouse/Other___________________________________First________________(for name tag) Address______________________________________________________________________ City, State, Zip Code____________________________________________________________ Phone___________________________E-mail_______________________________________

All Attendees Must Register Optional Tours: Friday, September 22 Welcome Reception

Self

Spouse/Other

Total

Fee $45.00

$________

$_________

$_________

Fee $60.00

$________

$__________

$_________

$________

$__________

$_________

$________

$__________

$_________

E V A S

Saturday, September 23 Muir Woods & Sausalito for Lunch Fee $60.00 OR San Francisco Moving Movie Tour and Lunch Fee $60.00 Sunday, September 24 California Wine Tour And picnic lunch

Fee $75.00

$________

$__________

$_________

Monday, September 25 Alcatraz Tour and Light lunch on Pier 39

Fee $50.00

$________

$__________

$_________

Final Banquet Dinner Alexandra’s Ballroom 32 floor, Black Tie Optional

Fee $100.00

$__________

$_________

GRAND TOTAL

$_________

Choice for Dinner # of Premier Chicken Dinners # of Seafood Dinners

$________

__________ __________

Make Checks Payable to “TARPA 2006” (see other side)

PAGE 15 ... TARPA TOPICS

Convention Registration Form Page 2 We are excited to announce we have selected the beautiful Historic Westin St. Francis located on Union Square as our headquarters hotel. This property is one of the most famous, and desirable hotels in the city. For reservations, call the Westin St. Francis directly at 415-397-7000 or the Sheraton/Westin Reservation Center at 800-325-3535. Request rooms in the TARPA block at a special group rate of $159.00 plus tax. Rooms can also be reserved online, visit www.tarpa.com.

We have a small block of rooms on Thursday and Tuesday nights at our special rate if you’d like to enjoy the city for a few extra days. This is truly a special rate for this four star property. This hotel is considered one of the finest in the city and would easily cost over $200.00 per night.

Hotel Reservations – Call 800-325-3535 [Special Needs [ Are you handicapped, have dietary concerns or any special requests? Please list your special needs or comments here:

[Volunteers [ Would you like to volunteer to help? We are looking for friendly, fun TARPA members that will help us during the convention. We need assistance at the registration desk, as tour leaders, and for miscellaneous tasks in San Francisco. If you and/or your guest can help please let us know, what interests you, and how you prefer to be contacted. ______Yes, we will help with the TARPA 2006 Convention! Please contact me (phone or email):

Mail this form and payment to:

TARPA Convention 2006 Attn: Captain Ed Madigan P.O. Box 3565 Incline Village, NV 89450

Questions? Contact Ed Madigan or Vicki McGowen our Meeting Planner.

Ed: 775-831-1265 Vicki: 775-849-1377 -Page 2 of 2-

PAGE 16 ... TARPA TOPICS

TARPA 2006 San Francisco September 21 – 25, 2006 Convention Registration Form Last Name_____________________________________First ________________(for name tag) Spouse/Other___________________________________First________________(for name tag)

N R

Address______________________________________________________________________ City, State, Zip Code____________________________________________________________ Phone___________________________E-mail_______________________________________ Self

All Attendees Must Register Optional Tours: Friday, September 22 Welcome Reception

Spouse/Other

Total

$_________

$_________

$__________

$_________

$________

$__________

$_________

$________

$__________

$_________

U T

Fee $45.00

$________

Fee $60.00

$________

E R

Saturday, September 23 Muir Woods & Sausalito for Lunch Fee $60.00 OR San Francisco Moving Movie Tour and Lunch Fee $60.00 Sunday, September 24 California Wine Tour And picnic lunch

Fee $75.00

$________

$__________

$_________

Monday, September 25 Alcatraz Tour and Light lunch on Pier 39

Fee $50.00

$________

$__________

$_________

Final Banquet Dinner Alexandra’s Ballroom 32 floor, Black Tie Optional

Fee $100.00

$__________

$_________

GRAND TOTAL

$_________

Choice for Dinner # of Premier Chicken Dinners # of Seafood Dinners

$________

__________ __________

Make Checks Payable to “TARPA 2006” (see other side)

PAGE 17 ... TARPA TOPICS

Convention Registration Form Page 2 We are excited to announce we have selected the beautiful Historic Westin St. Francis located on Union Square as our headquarters hotel. This property is one of the most famous, and desirable hotels in the city. For reservations, call the Westin St. Francis directly at 415-397-7000 or the Sheraton/Westin Reservation Center at 800-325-3535. Request rooms in the TARPA block at a special group rate of $159.00 plus tax. Rooms can also be reserved online, visit www.tarpa.com.

We have a small block of rooms on Thursday and Tuesday nights at our special rate if you’d like to enjoy the city for a few extra days. This is truly a special rate for this four star property. This hotel is considered one of the finest in the city and would easily cost over $200.00 per night.

Hotel Reservations – Call 800-325-3535 [Special Needs [ Are you handicapped, have dietary concerns or any special requests? Please list your special needs or comments here:

[Volunteers [ Would you like to volunteer to help? We are looking for friendly, fun TARPA members that will help us during the convention. We need assistance at the registration desk, as tour leaders, and for miscellaneous tasks in San Francisco. If you and/or your guest can help please let us know, what interests you, and how you prefer to be contacted. ______Yes, we will help with the TARPA 2006 Convention! Please contact me (phone or email):

Mail this form and payment to:

TARPA Convention 2006 Attn: Captain Ed Madigan P.O. Box 3565 Incline Village, NV 89450

Questions? Contact Ed Madigan or Vicki McGowen our Meeting Planner.

Ed: 775-831-1265 Vicki: 775-849-1377 -Page 2 of 2PAGE 18 ... TARPA TOPICS

POST CONVENTION TOUR OF CALIFORNIA COAST INCLUDES JOHN STEINBECK, MONTEREY, HEARST CASTLE (and much, much more) Start planning your Convention Trip now! We have the perfect tour to extend your visit, give you some quality time together, and show you things you might never see again. And all without the scourge of seasickness, $5 cokes, cattle prod tours, force feeding and even scurvy.

This is what we’re gonna do... Put you on a bus (with toilet, your own catered sodas, wine, beer, etc.) Tuesday morning after the last banquet, and drive you out toward the Beautiful California Coast thru Gilroy (garlic capital of the world!), and on to Salinas to visit the John Steinbeck Museum. (Been there about four years ago - modern, lots of stuff on Mice & Men, old movies, really a great museum) then we move on to Monterey at Cannery Row for lunch and maybe the huge aquarium. The bay there is still rather pristine with sea lions making a lot of noise and sea otters sometimes enjoying their lunch whilst floating happily on their backs. Next we settle in at the Hyatt Regency hotel for TWO nights, where dinner is included at their restaurant.

Wednesday morning we have use of all facilities - golf, tennis, or shuttle downtown with our own bus. The Hyatt is only about a mile from Cannery row and lots of great restaurants. If anyone wants to visit Carmel (maybe have a hamburger at what was once Clint Eastwood’s Hog’s Breath Inn, or check out the Pebble Beach Golf course - our bus can help). At 2 PM we have a tour of Pacific Grove, 17 Mile Drive, historic Monterey, and a quick visit to Carmel. That night we dine in style - and on the house - at Cibo Italian Restaurant.

Thursday morning back on the bus and that fantastic drive 140 miles down thru the Coastal Redwoods and Big Sur to Hearst Castle. All of you know this is one of the most scenic drives in the states - and the good news is that we are NOT going to beat your brains out by snaking you all the way to LAX... At Hearst Castle you can select the type of tour YOU want, (all included) and take two if you like, or visit the village of Cambria. Then it’s a few miles further to San Luis Obispo and your second hotel. Dinner will be included.

By Friday morning we have skimmed really the best of what used to be a seven night ‘Parlor Car’ Tour (still the same company, but now our very own itinerary) so we scoot inland to the superhighway and drive 250 miles back to SFO, with a wine tasting ‘Duty-Free’ stop, lunch, and now individual handling for your return home. This is the part I really like because we Schmitts always like to save money and get the best deal. For those of you who are carless, there will be a drop-off at Four Points Sheraton near SFO so you skip the city traffic and will be set for a redeye special if you want. Or you can overnight and shoot for that Saturday Morning Space-A on AA when most folks are coming IN to SFO for the weekend, not going OUTBOUND yet. And for the many folks who will DRIVE to this Convention, our bus takes you right back to the hotel and your non-vandalized car.

This tour needs at least 24 passengers and we can go up to about 48. They can carry all your baggage but wheelchairs limited to fold-ups - not so good. Hearst Castle, Hyatt, and Steinbeck’s probably have their own... If we really get a bunch we roll out another bus... All taxes, baggage handling, three dinners, one lunch & wine tasting, and its less than $800 sharing a double or less than $1100 for the single snorers delight. . .

PAGE 19 ... TARPA TOPICS

DEADLINES - We are REALLY EASY on this! $100 per person deposit, within ten days of booking, any coin of the realm. You book direct because I’m old and might screw it up. JUNE 25 is DEADLINE, which means we will cancel everything and give back ALL your money if not enough travelers, or if you are just not enough to fill second bus.... Now, please e-mail me at capnjim1928@ comcast.net, or call me at 215-794-5305 (Bucks County, Pa.) after you call in your booking and deposit, because I’m not THAT old, and I need to know what’s happening. For booking the real deal, call Bipin at California Parlor Car Tours 415-776-4423.

Remember, if we don’t get a busload by July 25, we cancel and refund ALL your money. Refunds after that date are still quite generous and you can ask when you book. Ask for the TARPA TOUR leaving Sept. 26th.

Check out websites at: www.steinbeck.org/MainFrame.html, www.hearstcastle.org, http://monterey.hyatt.com/hyatt/hotels/

Call me Jim Schmitt after booking, or for more info. I’m usually home...and....

DON’T MISS IT IF YOU CAN!!!!

PAGE 20 ... TARPA TOPICS

Marines Memorial Club & Hotel The Marines Memorial Club celebrated its 60th Anniversary this year during the 2006 Memorial Day Holiday weekend. It started when in 1946, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, General Vandegrift decided to establish a living memorial to pay tribute to those Marines who had lost their lives fighting in the Pacific theater during World War II. It was agreed that the site for the living Memorial should be located in San Francisco. The doors were opened on November 10, 1946, the Marine Corps Birthday. The Club has grown through its 60 years to become a Museum, a Library of History as well as a full service hotel with a Steak House Restaurant, cocktail lounge and a health club with a lap pool. It is not widely known, but the Marines Memorial Club has been offering membership to Veterans of all branches of our Military for years. Today a large number of its members are from other services.

Because of its long history, ambiance and its proximity to the Westin-St. Francis, our Convention Hotel, The TARPA Convention Committee chose the Club’s Crystal Ballroom on the 11th floor as the venue for a Gala Reception. It should make for an interesting, enjoyable and memorable evening.

Images Clockwise from upper left; Crystal Ballroom, Library, and 2nd view of Crystal Ballroom.

PAGE 21 ... TARPA TOPICS

Helping the Girl Scouts get a Transportation Badge. by L.L. Ashcraft, Sr. In the year1956 my wife Ruth was leading a 20 member Girl Scout Troup. They were earning their Airline Transportation Badge. It seemed a good plan to help them get an actual experience first hand by learning about reservations, ticketing, baggage checking, boarding passes and then taking an actual flight.

Ruth and I put together a plan whereby the girls would actually go through all the procedures that one would go through on an actual flight mentioned above. When our plan was complete I took it to Captain Bill Townsend who was the Flight Manager of the San Francisco Domicile.

The plan was that we would handle their reservations at home before going to the airport where they would all check in at the ticket counter and be issued a ticket. They would go through the regular gate boarding procedures, be called for the flight and boarded through the regular boarding gate.

Capt Dick Escola was a First Officer at that time and we often flew together. He would be my F/O on the flight and we would take the Girl Scouts for a sight seeing trip around the Bay Area. We found a hostess whose name I can’t recall that agreed to handle the hostess part of the flight. With the plan complete I asked Captain Townsend if he would allow this flight to occur, reminding him that these girls would eventually become paying passengers and it would great advertising. He was very receptive to the idea and we were under way.

The passenger agents were very generous and gave us 20 of the little overnight kits for the hostess to pass out during the flight.

We had a beautiful clear day for the flight. We are all had a great time and there were 20 Happy Girls Scouts that day, which of course included their leader and the flight crew.

PAGE 22 ... TARPA TOPICS

Where to Live After Retirement As we all know, sometimes we come face to face with the fact that it may be time to relocate.

The big question is: where to? Here are some tips.

You can live in Phoenix, Arizona where....

1. You are willing to park 3 blocks away because you found shade.

2. You’ve experienced condensation on your butt from the hot water in the toilet bowl.

3. You can drive for 4 hours in one direction and never leave town.

4. You have over 100 recipes for Mexican food.

5. You know that “dry heat” is comparable to what hits you in the face when you open your oven door.

6. The 4 seasons are: tolerable, hot, really hot, and ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!!

You can Live in California where...

1. You make over $250,000 and you still can’t afford to buy a house.

2. The fastest part of your commute is going down your driveway.

3. You know how to eat an artichoke.

4. You drive your rented Mercedes to your neighborhood block party.

5. When someone asks you how far something is, you tell them how long it will take to get there rather than how many miles away it is.

You can Live in New York City where...

1. You say “the city” and expect everyone to know you mean Manhattan.

2. You can get into a four-hour argument about how to get from Columbus Circle to Battery Park, but can’t find Wisconsin on a map.

3.You think Central Park is “nature,” 4. You believe that being able to speak at people in their own language makes you multilingual.

5. You’ve worn out a car horn.

6. You think eye contact is an act of aggression.

You can Live in Maine where...

1. You only have four spices: salt, pepper, ketchup, and Tabasco.

2. Halloween costumes fit over parkas.

3. You have more than one recipe for moose.

4. Sexy lingerie is anything flannel with less than eight buttons.

5. The four seasons are: winter, still winter, almost winter, and construction.

You can Live in the Deep South where...

1. You can rent a movie and buy bait in the same store.

2. “y’all” is singular and “all y’all” is plural.

3. “He needed killin’ “ is a valid defense.

5. Everyone has 2 first names: Billy Bob, Jimmy Bob, Mary Sue, Betty Jean, Mary Beth, etc.

PAGE 23 ... TARPA TOPICS

You can live in Colorado where...

1. You carry your $3,000 mountain bike atop your $500 car.

2. You tell your husband to pick up Granola on his way home and he stops at the day care center.

3. A pass does not involve a football or dating.

4. The top of your head is bald, but you still have a pony tail.

You can live in the Midwest where...

1. You’ve never met any celebrities, but the mayor knows your name.

2. Your idea of a traffic jam is ten cars waiting to pass a tractor.

3. You have had to switch from “heat” to “A/C” on the same day.

4. You end sentences with a preposition: “Where’s my coat at?”

5. When asked how your trip was to any exotic place, you say, “It was different!”

AND You can live in Cocoa Beach where…

1. You eat dinner at 3:15 in the afternoon.

2. All purchases include a coupon of some kind — even houses and cars.

3. Everyone can recommend an excellent dermatologist.

4. Road construction never ends anywhere in the state.

5. Cars in front of you are often driven by headless people.

6. The 4 seasons are: tolerable, hot, really hot, and snowbirds.

I had a bad dream last night.

In it was the FAA, crew scheduling, bad schedules, bad management, unserviceable aircraft equipment, no extra holding fuel, ever-changing procedures, endless flight manual amendments, dead heading in the middle seat, broken luggage, lost luggage, nasty passenger agents, crabby old 170 lb flight attendants an axe-handle wide, all-nighters, foreign countries, sleep deprivation, mergers, seniority squabbles, company threats, food poisoning, no food, bad coffee, bidding, pulled away from my family for weeks at a time, fleabag hotels, late cabs and maniac cab drivers, bidding vacation, waiting for gates, weather, low visibility approaches, aircraft de-icing, PCs, PTVs, Gestapo check airman, medicals, commuting to and from work in unspeakable weather, the parking lot from Hell, parking lot buses, inter-terminal busses, spring break, Christmas rush, Easter rush, PA announcements, insurance, drug and alcohol testing, noise violations, customs lineups, dry cleaning, terrorism, security passes, rude security personnel, high gas/oil prices, pay cuts, rush hour traffic, that infernal alarm clock, crash pads, catching cold away from home, lackadaisical crew members, sexual harassment threats, flight attendants and co-pilots implying that they are a gift to aviation after being there three years, back biting, gossip, cell phones, aircraft cram courses, plus laying my job on the line several times a year with simulators, endless procedural memorization and Annual Recurrent Training days.

Then I woke up and joyously found myself still retired!

Submitted by Fred Arenas PAGE 24 ... TARPA TOPICS

Fifty Years Later Lessons from Tragedy Over the Grand Canyon by Jon Proctor A marine layer of moist air stretched over land from the Pacific Ocean, covering much of Los Angeles International Airport as dawn broke on Saturday, June 30, 1956. Obscuring the rising sun in a thin, gray haze, it produced what many called “June gloom,” an overcast condition that rose to 2,500 feet and looked like rain but produced none. Visibility was sufficient for operations and the morning schedule of airliners coming and going was not affected.

TWA Flight 24, a Lockheed 049 Constellation arriving from San Francisco, landed on schedule at 8:40 a.m., Pacific Daylight Savings Time, completing its first of five segments. It would continue at 9:15 to Kansas City, St. Louis, Cleveland and New York’s La Guardia Airport. As they left the aircraft and walked down the open-air concourse towards the terminal building, 12-year-old Bob Woodling, his parents and two brothers passed TWA Flight 2, a 1049 Super Constellation that was scheduled to leave at 9:30, also headed for Kansas City and St. Louis, then Washington National Airport. Inside the terminal, Bob’s father a TWA executive based at Kansas City stopped to chat with several company employees that were standing by in hopes of finding open seats on Flight 2.

Registered N6902C and named Star of the Seine, the first Super Constellation delivered to TWA in 1952 also held the distinction of operating the industry’s first scheduled transcontinental nonstop flight, on October 19, 1953, from Los Angeles to New York’s Idlewild Airport. That role had since been taken over by the airline’s more recently acquired 1049G “Super G” Connies, with the 1049s relegated to medium-haul schedules like Flight 2.

Most airline flights of the day were still operating with one class of service, unlike today’s modern jets. Flight 24 was an all-coach, 81-seat airliner, while Flight 2 featured the comfort of first-class for 64 passengers. On this shorter, daylight trip, the eight sleeping-berth configuration would not be used.

Although it was to depart 15 minutes behind Flight 24, the faster Super Connie was scheduled to arrive at Kansas City 33 minutes earlier. Pass-riding TWAers faced the dilemma of trying for a seat on the coach flight or waiting for the preferred accommodations on Flight 2; they would have a long sit should it leave without them. In the end, there was sufficient space on the Super Connie for all 25 “non-rev” standbys, consisting of airline employees and family members; one was an infant, technically leaving a single passenger seat vacant. Among the non-payers was Bob DeLonge, on his way to interview with the airline for an aeronautical engineering position. Almeda Williams, wife of an Ethiopian Air Lines pilot, was using an interline pass.

After saying good-bye to their friends traveling on Flight 2, the Woodlings collected luggage and continued their vacation in Southern California, visiting Disneyland and TWA’s “Rocket to the Moon” attraction, which happened to be featured on the current company timetable cover. They would return home to Kansas City a few days later on Flight 2.

On the opposite side of the same concourse, United Air Lines Flight 718, called “The Hollywood” in the airline’s timetable, was being readied for its scheduled nonstop flight to Chicago-Midway PAGE 25 ... TARPA TOPICS

Airport with continuing service to Newark via Detroit and Philadelphia. The 58-seat DC-7 Mainliner Vancouver, N6324C, had been delivered to the carrier only 18 months earlier. With 5,100 hours of time on her airframe, she was considered like-new. Fifty-three passengers and a crew of five were aboard when the airliner left its gate on time at 9:45.

Delayed 10 minutes for routine maintenance, or perhaps to get all the standbys on board, the Super Connie taxied towards its departure runway just ahead of Mainliner Vancouver. After engine run-up, N6902C lifted off from Runway 25-Left at 10:01, followed in line, only three minutes later, by United 718.

Commanding the Kansas City-bound Constellation was Jack Gandy, a 41year-old, 17-year TWA veteran with no less than 177 previous flights over this route. First Officer Jim Ritner, a four-year employee, and Flight Engineer Dean Breyfogle, with 11 year’s experience, rounded out the working cockpit crew. In addition, Flight Engineer Harry Allen hitched a ride on the flight by utilizing the cockpit jumpseat. Allen was heading back to Kansas City to collect his wife and young son for their move west to his newly assigned Los Angeles domicile.

Hostesses Traci Armbruster and Beth Davis began preparing lunch for their passengers, to be later followed by a light snack.

As the two airliners climbed through the overcast to their planned altitudes, each was flying on instrument flight rules (IFR) on assigned “airways.” Using only radio, Air route traffic control centers (ARTCs) monitored these aerial roadways, which were 10 miles wide and with clear airspace 1,000 feet above and below them. The planes took divergent routes that were to cross over Arizona’s Painted Desert. United 718 headed to 21,000 feet on a southerly course while TWA 2 was cleared to 19,000 feet and flew nearly due east, although the TWA crew asked for and received a slight change in routing soon after takeoff. The Connie’s true airspeed at cruise was specified at 270 knots (310 mph).

Forty-eight-year-old Captain Bob Shirley had been flying “left seat” for 16 of his 18 years at United Air Lines. First Officer Bob Harms, a qualified DC-3 captain, had opted for the right seat on the DC-7 two years earlier. Like most flight engineers, Gerard Fiore began his career as a United mechanic, having upgraded to his cockpit position in 1953. Stewardesses Nancy Kemnitz and Margaret Shoudt were relatively “junior” in crew parlance; both had joined the airline in 1955.

Like their TWA counterparts, they had an elaborate meal and snack service to complete, although for fewer passengers and on a longer flight. The slightly faster DC-7 would fly at a true airspeed of 288 knots (330 mph) while gulping down its fuel load of 3,850 gallons.

As Flight 718 continued its climb to 21,000 feet above Palm Springs, California, the United crew estimated it would be “overhead” the Painted Desert, Arizona checkpoint, just east of the Grand Canyon, at 10:34 a.m., Mountain Standard Time. Forty minutes later, while passing over Needles, on the California-Arizona border, First Office Harms transmitted to Aeronautical Radio, Inc. a revised estimate for Painted Desert: 10:31.

Barely 20 minutes after takeoff, TWA 2’s crew contacted its company radio operator to request a flight plan altitude change from 19,000 feet to 21,000 feet, in order to get above a cloud deck.

Gandy added that if that altitude was not available, he would like “1,000 on top,” an imprecise but routine clearance to fly 1,000 feet higher than the clouds until 21,000 feet became available. The request was forwarded to air traffic controllers at the Los Angeles ARTC. They in turn checked PAGE 26 ... TARPA TOPICS

with their counterparts at the Salt Lake City center, which monitored the airspace TWA 2 was about to enter.

The request for 21,000 feet was denied because of TWA’s converging flight path with United 718, but 1,000 on top was approved, along with a courtesy advisory that there was traffic in the area United 718 at 21,000 feet. The information was forwarded to Flight 2 and repeated back verbatim

by Gandy as the Super Connie continued its climb, leveling off at what turned out to be 21,000 feet. Unlike the messages relayed to Flight 2, no traffic information was given to United 718 by Salt Lake, nor was it required by ATC rules.

A few minutes later, Gandy confirmed his 21,000-feet altitude to a TWA radio operator at Las Vegas and estimated that Flight 2 would reach the Painted Desert checkpoint at 10:31; the information was relayed to the Salt Lake City ARTC. Following their flight plans, both pilots guided their airliners away from the assigned airways as they crossed the California-Arizona border, and began flying more-direct headings to their destinations, another common practice. Once “off airways,” the pilots were under VFR conditions and would not receive traffic advisories; (and) they assumed responsibility to avoid other aircraft. In any event, transmitted position reports from the pilots only served to provide a space flow into the next controlled airspace ahead.

Closer to the Grand Canyon, thunderstorms were building, with tops up to 25,000 feet. Both flights probably dodged the clouds and may well have been making turns to give their passengers better views of the scenery below.

At 10:31 Salt Lake ARTC controllers and a few other flights in the area picked up a barely audible radio transmission, but none could hear it clearly. Perhaps an aircraft was experiencing radio trouble.

When the TWA and United flights failed to report passing the Painted Desert checkpoint, controllers and company radio operators attempted to contact the two airliners; within a half-hour, missing aircraft alerts were issued, followed by the initiation of search and rescue efforts.

That weak radio transmission, captured on tape at Salt Lake, was later deciphered at a research laboratory, using sophisticated equipment. It revealed the chilling words: “Salt Lake, United 718

PAGE 27 ... TARPA TOPICS

… ah … we’re going in.” In the background, another crew member could be heard shouting the words, “up … up!”

Shock and Awe As he came to work at Los Angeles Airport that afternoon, 21-year-old Commissary clerk Ron Green had been with TWA barely two months. A hushed atmosphere greeted him; one of the company’s planes was missing and presumed down somewhere in Arizona. Green went about his duties on the ramp as directed by shaken managers, only to come across a United employee who exclaimed, “Hey, we’ve got a flight missing; it left here this morning.” The TWA rookie replied, “We’ve got one missing too.” The ironic coincidence struck them simultaneously: could the two airplanes have hit each other?

That evening, Grand Canyon scenic flight operator Palen Hudgin made a low pass over a column of smoke he had reported earlier in the day. The pilot spotted the distinctive, triple-fin tail of the TWA Connie a few hundred feet from a smoldering swath of wreckage near Temple Butte, at the eastern end of Grand Canyon National Park; there was no sign of life. Hudgin also reported the possible sighting of another wreck but it was too dark for certain identification. A Sunday morning flight confirmed the location of United’s DC-7, on top of and down the slopes of Chuar Butte, a mile from the Connie wreckage and near the confluence of the Colorado and Little Colorado Rivers.

On the same morning, a military helicopter approached the TWA site, landing 500 feet above the canyon floor despite dangerous wind gusts in the area. An accompanying medic had little to do but confirm what was assumed: there were no survivors. Another ’copter crew, hovering 100 feet above the United wreckage, reported the same observation; the combined 128 fatalities represented the largest death toll in any civil air disaster to date.

Businesses around the country reopened Monday morning, the first workday of a new month.

Those large TWA wall calendars given out by company public relations and salesmen needed an update. In barbershops, banks, travel agencies and offices of corporate clients around the country and overseas, merchants flipped over the large-format page, revealing the month of July and a striking color photo … of the Grand Canyon.

Grim Recovery Airline and government officials faced a daunting task, even before attempting to determine the cause of this twin-disaster. Recovering the human remains, then the wreckage of two airliners would be challenging and dangerous. The crash sites lay deep within the Canyon, accessible only by helicopter or river raft.

The Connie’s location was slightly less hazardous to reach, on a rock shelf, but helicopters still had a difficult time dealing with winds and heat during the day. Three twin-rotor H-21’copters participated in rescue efforts on Monday morning. After retrieving five bodies from the Connie site, pilots reported increased wind currents gusting up to 60 mph, making any further pickup impossible. The winds, plus a near-miss between a helicopter and civilian plane, prompted cancellation of further rescue attempts. As a result, 13 people had to spend the night in the canyon; PAGE 28 ... TARPA TOPICS

an Army chopper dropped sleeping bags to the group. Among the men were specialists from Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA), who were assisting the Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), the responsible government agency for the air accident investigations. They found paint from the DC-7’s propeller red, white and blue on the Connie’s aft cargo door. There was no longer a question of whether the two airliners had collided.

At the United site on Chuar Butte, 2,600 feet above the Colorado River, recovery crews could do little at first, other than to identify some wreckage from the air. Having hit the butte, the airplane broke apart, sending major sections into an inaccessible chimney and along sheer ledges below the impact site, while some pieces slid down the side of the cliff, towards the canyon floor. It was nearly impossible to land on the butte itself, making recovery even more difficult, and hazardous. On Tuesday, a helicopter dropped recovery personnel on a sand bar in the Colorado River. They hiked to an area a few hundred feet higher, where part of the United wreckage had tumbled down the sheer face of Chuar Butte. The first human remains from the DC-7 were removed from this area.

Meanwhile, five helicopter landings near the TWA wreck were accomplished, with more bodies recovered. Pieces of the Connie showing paint from the DC-7 were also brought out, in addition to small bits of the DC-7 itself. Immediately impounded by the CAB and placed under guard, they represented vital evidence; limited helicopter lifting capacity precluded raising major portions of the wrecks. A DC-7 wingtip assembly, found between the two crash sites, bore deposits of red TWA paint.

By the end of the day Tuesday, all human remains found at the Connie site had been brought up from the canyon floor and were flown to Flagstaff aboard a TWA DC-3 normally used for pilot training at Los Angeles. At Flagstaff, a company medical director, assisted by the FBI and other examiners, undertook the difficult task of identifying the dead.

Recovery of the DC-7’s victims was much more difficult. Except for three bodies found at the base of Chuar Butte, all of which were identified, the rest of the dead were high atop the butte and on ledges just below it. In a July 6 Arizona Daily Sun editorial, it was suggested that these remains should be left in the canyon, opining that it was too dangerous to attempt their removal.

Keeping with the tradition of airlines helping their own, United President W.A. “Pat” Patterson accepted an offer from his Swissair counterpart to immediately transport eight mountain climbers from Zurich to New York, where they would connect with United flights west. Specially trained in mountain rescue and recovery, the team was considered the only solution to the challenge of recovering bodies at and near the top of the butte. They were later joined by two American climbers and carried out the daunting task at hand. At substantial risk, a helicopter landing on the top of Chuar Butte was accomplished to drop off two mountain climbers who rappelled down the side of the butte to look for bodies.

PAGE 29 ... TARPA TOPICS

On July 9, more than 350 people attended a burial service at the Flagstaff Citizen’s Cemetery; 1,500 others watched from near by. In a mass grave, 66 of those aboard TWA Flight 63 of them unidentified were laid to rest in three rows of caskets. Four identified remains were transported to their hometowns for separate burial. In addition to Catholic, Episcopal, Protestant and Jewish clergy, TWA major shareholder Howard Hughes insisted that a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints be included in the service, a reflection of the recluse aviator’s admiration for Mormons; he employed several as personal aides. Flagstaff shopkeepers closed their businesses for an hour and a half during the service, out of respect for the dead.

Recovery efforts at the United crash site had ceased by July 10, when Pat Patterson announced that exactly half of the victims on Flight 718 had been identified and shipped home for burial.

After a short service on July 12, the other remains were buried in the Grand Canyon Cemetery, near Grand Canyon Village and the South Rim, with a later memorial service planned for their relatives. Cemetery officials allowed an exception to the practice of limiting burial there to those who lived at the canyon or were associated with the Grand Canyon National Park.

Once the human remains were recovered, along with relatively small pieces of the two airliners necessary for the investigation, all work at the crash sites ended. It was decided to leave the remaining wreckage where it lay. Airline and government officials felt they had been fortunate enough with recovery efforts that involved 76 helicopter trips to the sites; there was no reason to take further risks by trying to extract anything more from the canyon.

Both Pilots Were On Their Own A U.S. House commerce subcommittee immediately held an inquiry into the accident. California Representative Carl Hinshaw proclaimed on July 18 that the cause of the accident was sightseeing.

“They were too close,” he opined, “because they were both looking at the Grand Canyon.”

At first, the CAB chief investigator placed blame for the crash on TWA, saying it was under VFR with the ability to change altitudes. The Connie crew bore the responsibility to see and be seen, he claimed, while United was flying IFR and maintaining an assigned altitude. But the CAB’s Bureau of Safety Regulations quickly corrected the assessment, stating that United was also flying VFR and “both pilots were on their own,” During the hearings, many questioned why, regardless of the rules, ATC would not warn the pilots of conflicting courses that would cross at the Painted Desert. A controller explained the checkpoint was actually a position line that stretched 175 miles between Bryce Canyon and Winslow; it was not a single dot on the charts. Therefore, the fact that both flights planned to cross the line simultaneously did not mean they would do so at the same point. Because pilot reports did not provide tracking information; the controllers had no knowledge of where the two flights planned to cross the line.

PAGE 30 ... TARPA TOPICS

With contrasting restrictions between VFR and IFR parameters, the CAB regulations were at fault, according to officials of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA), who also pointed out the limited visibility from cockpit windows. Closing together gradually, the flights could have been flying close for some time in such a way that the pilots never saw each other’s aircraft until it was too late.

One editorial in a major aviation magazine claimed that it could be said the 128 victims of the collision had “died legally,” because of outdated and obsolete traffic control procedures. Indeed, 131 mid-air collisions between civil aircraft had occurred since 1947, although only 17 involved commercial airliners and in 10 of these instances, the airplanes landed safely. However, near misses were another matter; 452 were reported to the CAB during the last four months of 1956. Of the 131 actual collisions, all but 11 occurred in relatively clear skies with six of them taking place during daylight hours. The Grand Canyon accident was unique in that it occurred in an area of light traffic, instead of the congested skies around major population centers.

What were the odds of two airliners departing Los Angeles three minutes part and colliding over the Grand Canyon? “If we’d tried our level best to make sure they’d meet,” said an airline official, “we couldn’t have managed it in a hundred years.”

Eye Witnesses Early public hearings turned up witnesses who claimed to have seen the mid-air collision. A couple driving along U.S. Highway 66 near the canyon said that they both saw two airliners appear between cloud breaks and collide, then remain together during the few seconds they were in view. Another couple was driving in the same area but only one saw what she described as an explosion near some heavy cloud formations; no one saw the aircraft fall, and none realized the significance of their observations until they later learned of the accident.

These witnesses were approximately 70 miles away from the collision. The CAB concluded that these people were sincere in their observations, but could not possibly have seen the accident from that far away. Instead, they probably saw other aircraft in the area.

Another witness, Frederick Riley, came forward seven months after the accident and testified that he had seen the collision about 10 miles directly ahead of his position on a road near the canyon.

After thoroughly interrogating Riley, investigators decided even he was too far from the event to be of any help. And, by that time, they already had sufficient physical evidence to piece together details of the collision.

The way in which the airliners collided was determined by examining relatively small sections of wreckage. United 718 and TWA 2 were at a closing angle of approximately 25 degrees when the DC-7 overtook the Constellation. At impact, the DC-7 was rolled approximately 20 degrees right PAGE 31 ... TARPA TOPICS

wing down relative to the Connie (there was no way to determine their orientation with respect to the ground).

The United airplane’s left wingtip stuck the Connie’s center tail fin leading edge just before the DC-7’s left wing struck the top of the TWA fuselage with destructive force, tearing off the entire tail assembly. A split-second later, the DC-7’s No. 1 engine cut into the Constellation in the area of the aft cargo compartment.

With its tail gone, TWA Flight 2 pitched nose down and fell to the ground, upside down when it hit. The DC-7 descended less steeply, striking Chuar Butte nose down and right wing low. Because neither crew had advised of further altitude changes, it was assumed that the collision occurred at 21,000 feet. The airliners were about 17 miles north of where both pilots had estimated they would be at the time, not unusual in off-airways flying.

This information was determined in an effort to find if either flight crew could have seen the other airplane before the collision. Cloud build-ups were present in the area, adding to the mystery.

Based on limited evidence, investigators concluded that if the pilots made visual contact with each other’s aircraft, it was too late to avoid impact. It was pointed out, in support of ALPA’s assertion, that the crew’s normal field of vision was reduced to barely 17% when looking out the cockpit windows of a Super Constellation, and less than 14% from a DC-7.

On April 17, 1957, the CAB released its 53-page report on the probable cause of the accident, which revealed no surprises. The facts in the case were straightforward: these two airliners were flying through uncontrolled airspace in an area where the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) had no responsibility to control traffic. Their pilots were following standard procedures, having violated no rules.

The Fix At the time of the Grand Canyon accident, en route airliners were nearly all under non-radar air traffic control. Horizontal and vertical separation was based on clock time and radio reports; pilots estimated when they would arrive over very-high frequency omni-directional range (VOR) radio checkpoints. If the time separation shrunk because one aircraft gained on another, one would be assigned a different altitude. Adding VFR and 1,000 on top clearances to the mix was a ticket to disaster made abundantly clear on June 30, 1956.

A day before the accident, the Air Transport Association of America (ATA) issued a prophetic resolution. The June 29 press release announced the formation of a committee of airline representatives that would work with the electronics industry to develop an “aircraft proximity warning indicator,” which would warn pilots of imminent mid-air collisions. ATA leaders wanted the new device installed in commercial aircraft at the earliest possible date.

The U.S. government had already acknowledged the danger of mid-air collisions a year earlier, when President Eisenhower appointed Edward Curtis as special assistant for aviation facilities planning, to oversee preparation of an upgraded system that would allow safe travel in the Jet Age, including en route radar coverage at high altitudes.

A $246-million, five-year plan to modernize air traffic control was approved and Congress appropriated the first $40 million earlier in 1956. Within two weeks of the Grand Canyon accident, PAGE 32 ... TARPA TOPICS

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Sinclair Weeks announced a plan to complete the five-year strategy in 36 months. At the same news conference, Weeks admitted that air traffic was growing rapidly, well ahead of the new jets already on order. Between 1950 and 1955, revenue passenger miles had more than doubled, from 8 billion to nearly 20 billion. A revenue passenger mile is defined as one passenger traveling one mile.

ALPA had been asking for an upgrade of the ATC system for years. Following the accident, union members drew up a comprehensive plan to prevent another Grand Canyon-like disaster. Sharp curtailment of VFR flying was at the top of the suggestion list.

Ironically, on the same day the accident report was released, the CAB held hearings on the merits of a crash-survivable “flight recorder” device that would record the airliner’s altitude, compass heading and airspeed, among other things.

A week after the report became public, the government rolled out a formal plan to provide “positive control” of all aircraft flying above 18,000 feet regardless of weather conditions. Expanded use of radar was to be followed by more sophisticated equipment, such as three-dimensional radar displays. Radio transponders on aircraft would transmit their identity to computers that would display the information to the radar screens.

Not satisfied with promises, many pilots began routinely filing IFR flight plans on their own. Soon after the accident report was issued, the government moved to restrict all flights above 24,000 feet to IFR; no more 1,000 on top or off-airways flying, at least for the new jets; propeller aircraft of the day normally flew at 25,000 feet or lower.

Longer-range radar systems were ordered to cover larger areas of heavy traffic. Collins Radio Company, a major manufacturer of aircraft radio systems, began work on an instrument that would not only warn pilots of approaching planes but also adjust the plane’s flight path to avoid a collision. Similar devices, which only warned of traffic, were envisioned.

The year 1956 also marked the beginning of experimental use of computers to assist with air traffic control, although it would be several years before their use was widely applied to the industry.

Public outcry from the Grand Canyon accident prompted Congress to pass the Federal Aviation Act in 1958. This legislation brought about the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA). With independent authority and funding to modernize and run the country’s air traffic control system, it replaced the CAA.

Although progress was made over the four years following the accident, TWA and United were involved in a mid-air collision over Staten Island, New York, on December 16, 1960. Ironically, the identical model 1049 Constellation was involved, this time coming together with a Douglas DC-8. And, like the Grand Canyon accident, there were a total of 128 passengers and crew aboard the two aircraft; all perished, along with five people on the ground. The newer DC-8 was equipped with a flight data recorder, although it only provided altitude, airspeed, heading and vertical acceleration readouts.

The Department of Transportation was created in 1967 to control all aviation safety matters, including ATC. The FAA, renamed Federal Aviation Administration, became part of the department, while the old CAB was left with economic matters such as airfares and route awards.

PAGE 33 ... TARPA TOPICS

Following U.S. Deregulation in 1978, it faded into the sunset. Accident investigations were shifted from the Bureau of Safety to the newly established National Transportation Safety Board.

Many Improvements In the current climate, airliners are equipped with a wealth of safety-enhancing aids that did not exist in 1956. Cockpit voice recorders and much more sophisticated data recorders are commonplace. More recent additions include inertial navigation systems (INS), global positioning systems (GPS), Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance Systems (TCAS) and Ground Proximity Warning Systems (GPWS). Flight Management Systems automatically and precisely guide airliners through multiple, fixed waypoints to their destinations. Reduced Vertical Separation Minimum, or RSVM, has narrowed vertical separation at high altitudes from 2,000 feet to 1,000 feet.

Yet, on July 1, 2002, a Russian-built Tu-154 collided with a Boeing 757 freighter near Uberlingen, Germany. Both crews received warnings of the imminent collision from their TCAS units but an air traffic controller misinterpreted the situation and incorrectly directed the Russian aircraft to descend instead of initiating a climb. Facing conflicting instructions, the Tu-154 pilot followed the ATC instructions and hit the Boeing jet.

Even with the latest, sophisticated devices, safety analysts concede that the possibility of mid-air collisions is still not exempt from human error.

Epilogue In August 1976, TWA Corporate Communications Director Jerry Cosley stood on the floor of the Grand Canyon, near Connie’s final resting place, surveying the wreckage that still remained.

Working with Park Service representatives and a company that specialized in recovery of heavy items, Cosley would act as the airline’s representative while a substantial amount of the rubble was removed from the canyon. Twenty years had passed since the mid-air collision, and now the Parks Service wanted whatever was left of the airliners, especially the Connie debris, taken away. While the United crash site was all but inaccessible, the area where TWA went down was too accessible. Each summer, hundreds of river rafters would tie up at the riverbank and stomp through the grass and wild flowers, looking for souvenirs.

The Arizona Air National Guard assisted private contractors who agreed, in writing, that they would melt down and recycle the metal; none could be resold in another form; recovery photography was also forbidden. There were to be no ghoulish mementoes of this accident.

When NBC’s managers learned of the activities, they contacted TWA for a story. Turning a lemon into lemonade, Cosley invited the producers to let one of their reporters from the Today show travel across the country in the cockpit of a Lockheed L-1011 and report on the advances in ATC that had been brought about by the Grand Canyon accident. By doing this, he redirected NBC’s focus to the positive developments that resulted from the air disaster, rather than the grim details of the debris extraction.

More wreckage was removed four years later, and as recently as 2004, representatives of the Navajo tribe that live in the canyon requested further cleanup of what they thought might be remaining pieces of the wreckage.

PAGE 34 ... TARPA TOPICS

Today, many tourists that come to the Grand Canyon travel on commercial flights that are continuously tracked from takeoff to touchdown by air traffic controllers. Although these visitors are probably not aware of it, the enhanced safety of their flights can be traced to lessons learned from a 50-year-old tragedy that ended in this place of natural beauty.

Author Jon Proctor wishes to thank those mentioned TWA employees and friends, who shared their memories of events surrounding the accident. In addition, much of the information gathered for this story came various newspaper articles, accident reports and an excellent website: http://www.doney.net/aroundaz/grandcanyoncrash.htm

PAGE 35 ... TARPA TOPICS

Truth, Nothing But...

Question: When is a retiree’s bedtime?

Answer: Three hours after he falls asleep on the couch.

Question: How many retirees to change a light bulb?

Answer: Only one, but it might take all day.

Question: What’s the biggest gripe of retirees?

Answer: There is not enough time to get everything done.

Question: Why don’t retirees mind being called Seniors?

Answer: The term comes with a 10% percent discount.

Question: Among retirees what is considered formal attire?

Answer: Tied shoes.

Question: Why do retirees count pennies?

Answers: They are the only ones who have the time.

Question: What is the common term for someone who enjoys work and refuses to retire?

Answer: NUTS! Question: Why are retirees so slow to clean out the basement, attic or garage?

Answer: They know that as soon as they do, one of their adult kids will want to store stuff there.

Question: What do retirees call a long lunch?

Answer: Normal.

Question: What is the best way to describe retirement?

Answers: The never ending Coffee Break.

Question: What’s the biggest advantage of going back to school as a retiree?

Answer: If you cut classes, no one calls your parents.

Question: Why does a retiree often say he doesn’t miss work, but misses the people he used to work with?

Answer: He is too polite to tell the whole truth.

PAGE 36 ... TARPA TOPICS

“Frenisi” . by Michael J. Larkin Captain TW A (Ret.) Well, you know it wasn’t easy, in an airplane named “Frenisi”, In the South Pacific Theater of War; But the laps hit hard at ‘Pearl’, so we flew our little ‘girl’, A way down south to even up the score.

You see ‘Rosie’ and her girls, with their hair put up in curls, Were workin’ hard to build this -24, And with four new Pratt and Whitneys, towed out by a little jitney, This big “Boxcar” was headed off to war. ’Twas in the Spring of ‘43, in San Diego by the sea, She was born to go and fight for you and me; She was big and brave and surly, not a feminine ‘old girly’, The pride of the Consolidated factory!

Major Billings was her Pilot, Banard the Navigator, Lt. Nelson was the Bombadier, you see; Eickemeyer kept her engines runnin’ when not Top Turret gunnin’ Where he sent the hapless Zero’s to the sea!

Then across the vast Pacific, to a base that was specific, She arrived at the “Canal” as good as new; And how she’d shake and rattle, as she entered into battle, On those death defying missions o’er the blue.

She had stopped in Honolulu, and passed those many tests, ’Twas here that she first met her crew; And in her bulbous breasts, they installed machine gun nests, That would save her from the Zero’s where she flew.

Sgt. Greene became her ‘father’, and without a lot of bother Put a sexy Spanish Lady on her nose; She wore a big sombrero, boots, serape: Caramba caballero!, She hadn’t on a stitch of underclothes!

Now after mission 48, she was quite a battered crate, And the Colonel said her fightin’ days were thru; And they said she was a clunker, and were startin’ out to junk her But Lt. Moeller could not bear to say “adieu”.

He promised if they’d fix her, “some new engines and a stick, sir, Why, they’d fly her for another fifty four”, And with four new motors turnin’, soon the avgas she was bumin’ And now was headed westward back to war!

PAGE 37 ... TARPA TOPICS

Now on Mission 92, she really scared her crew,

When her second engine quit on the way back; But a Lt. named Adair, somehow kept her in the air,

And it seemed she’d seen the last of the ack-ack.

But her gallant, proud ground crew, gave her engines that were new, And she flew the hundreth mission she desired, But she was now a hero, and they couldn’t chance a Zero, Might down her before she could be retired.

So the brass made a decision, after her 100th mission, And decided she would come home from the war; And you know the Japs were wishin’, after her 100th mission, That she’d never left that sunny ‘Frisco shore!

She would be a War Bond seller, and not a Nippon killer, As she bade ‘adios’ to all her ftiends and mates; She must say goodbye to battle, and with a little tear and rattle, This mighty warrior headed for the States.

But this cunning little xiven had ideas her own a fixin’, As she folded up her gear on Zealand’s shore; At a straw she was a gropin’, and you know that she was hopin’, That they’d fix her up and send her back to war!

But she’d flown in her last skies, as we witnessed the demise Of this gallant, fearless, fightin’ -24, And before the age of two, with a lifetime in the blue, She gave up and died on D-Day, ’44.

But she’ll always be a hero, for fightin’ with the Zero, And not one man she gave them in the fray; And where ever men are free, from sea to shining sea, We’ll raise a glass, for in our hearts she’ll stay.

SENIOR EXERCISE A friend just shared this AARP exercise suggested for seniors to build muscle strength in the arms and shoulders. It’s so easy, I thought I’d pass it on. The article suggested doing it three times a week.

Begin by standing on a comfortable surface, where you have plenty of room at each side. With a 5-pound potato sack in each hand, extend your arms straight out from your sides and hold them there as long as you can. Try to reach a full minute, then relax.

Each day, you’ll find that you can hold this position for just a bit longer. After a couple of weeks, move up to 10-pound potato sacks. Then use 50-pound potato sacks, and eventually try to get to where you can lift a 100-pound potato sack in each hand and hold your arms straight for more than a full minute. After you feel confident at that level, put a potato in each of the sacks.

PAGE 38 ... TARPA TOPICS

Flown West

IN MEMORY OF CAPTAIN STUART R. LEIGH NOVEMBER 24, 1915 - JANUARY 28, 2006 Stuart R. Leigh passed away at his home in Albuquerque, N.M. with his wife of 58 years, Marilyn, a former TWA Hostess, and his daughter, Pam at his side.

Captain Leigh wore many hats in his 90 years. He received his BA in Education from Greenville College and his graduate work was at Michigan State. He taught high school Chemistry and Biology and coached Track in Napoleon, Michigan from September 1937 until June 1941.

He enlisted in June 1941 as a Naval cadet and graduated at Corpus Christi, Texas. He transferred to the U.S. Marine Corp and served with the South Pacific Air Transport (SCAT) flying gasoline, torpedoes and ammunition into small islands like Guadalcanal. He was awarded four DFC’S, thirteen Air Medals and Commendations for his achievements against enemy forces in the Pacific, retiring as a Lt. Colonel.

He joined TWA in 1945, and flew 30 years before retiring in 1975. He loved his job and made many friends on and off the airline. Always loyal to TWA, this was a hat he enjoyed wearing. Admired by many, he will be remembered and deeply missed by his family.

by Marilyn Leigh

PAGE 39 ... TARPA TOPICS

IN MEMORY OF

Captain Thomas H. Welch August 9th 1920-August 6th 2005 For all intents and purposes Tom was born with wings. At the age of 4 his parents took him to the dedication of the Cleveland airport and from that point forward he was convinced that he belonged among the clouds. To make his dream come true, Tom washed airplanes in exchange for lessons while in high school. Through the dedication and hard work that Tom was famous for, he realized his dream before graduating from High School. He was flying!

In 1939 Tom joined the Army Air Corps, and realizing that he could do more for his country entered officers training school in 1941. From 1941 to 1944 Tom trained the country’s bomber pilots. With the introduction of the B-29 Tom went to China Burma where he finished the war flying sorties in the Pacific Theater. Tom joined the reserves in 1946 and a year later started flying for TWA on October 4th 1947. It was with TWA where Tom decided he had found a home. Tom met his future wife, Violet Majus, a Hostess, on a flight from Los Angeles to Amarillo on June 4th 1951.

They soon fell in love and were married on October 14th 1951.

Tom and Violet had 6 children, 3 boys and 3 girls. For the next 27 years Tom balanced the demands of work and his family to become both a successful Captain as well as a beloved Father. Tom spent his retirement with his wife traveling with The Wagon Angels (TWA retirees) and becoming more than just a father in-law to his children’s spouses. Tom’s children blessed him and Vi with eleven grandchildren; grandchildren that in some cases became as close to him as if they were his own children. Tom’s legacy is the spirit of dedication, values of hard work, and limitless love that he blessed his family with. Tom is survived by his wife V, his five living: children and his eleven grandchildren.

When Tom and I met, he had just transferred from Detroit to Los Angeles where he remained until he retired. Tom never mentioned his most memorable flight, but I remember that during his last years on the Constellation, there were so many false fire warnings that when he was home, he would jump almost a foot when the phone rang. Of all the planes he flew on TWA, Tom thought the L-1011 was the best.

When our children were grown, I was able to go with him on trips once in a while. On one such trip, we were on our way home non-stop from St. Louis , when I heard Tom’s voice saying, Well folks I’m sure it’s a hoax, but someone has called our company saying there is a bomb on board.

PAGE 40 ... TARPA TOPICS

We will be landing at Albuquerque just to check it out.” These may not have been his exact words, but I could not believe how calm and confident he sounded, knowing what he must have been feeling. Training and experience were instrumental in keeping all of the passengers calm. We arrived at Los Angeles four hours late, but safe. What a guy.

By Vi Welch and grandson

IN MEMORY OF CAPTAIN JACK L. BAKer AUGUST 29. 1928 - MAY 23. 2005 Jack was born in Hastings, Nebraska. His father was a railroad man so the family moved frequently settling in Aurora, Illinois when Jack entered high school. After graduating high school and college Jack began his flying career as a Flying Midshipman receiving his wings November 9, 1949. After leaving the Navy Jack joined TWA May 18, 1953, based in Detroit, Los Angeles and International.

Jack loved his job and all the people he worked with over his 35 years with TWA, retiring August 29, 1988. He had many great memories of his career with TWA. Jack passed away May 23, 2005 at home surrounded by his family. His wife of 55years, Donna, survives Jack. His son Robert, three daughters, Patrice. Leigh, Laurie, Six grandchildren, Aspen, Abbie, Kirsten, Lauren, Marshall and Morgan, three Great-grandsons Bryce. Eli and Jack. Three sisters, JoAnn, Patricia and Denise also survive him.

by Donna Baker

IN MEMORY OF CAPTAIN JOEL R. “DICK” JECK FEBRUARY 11, 1938 APRIL 29, 2006

IN MEMORY OF CAPTAIN ROGER LENGEL AUGUST 1, 1927 DECEMBER 29, 2005 PAGE 41 ... TARPA TOPICS

IN MEMORY OF CAPTAIN OTTO A. KRUMBACH JULY 8, 1919 -OCTOBER 9, 2005 Otto was born at 312 E.93rd St. in New York City on July 8, 1919. He died in Nashua, New Hampshire on October 9,2005. He grew up in Teaneck, N.J. and graduated from Teaneck High School where he learned to fly. The school had a flying club and had their own airplane. He flew solo and obtained his license when he was 16 years old, still in high school. When he was in third grade, his heroes were the Wright Brothers and Charles Lindbergh who flew across the Atlantic.

After high school in 1937 he was employed by The New York Sun newspaper as a stenographer, copywriter and promotional writer. He attended night school at Bergen Jr. College in Teaneck (now Fairleigh Dickinson University) and the School of Ten in NYC for college equivalency schooling in preparation for joining the Army Air Corps. During those years he continued private flying at Teterboro Airport, New Jersey. Also during that time, he was Master Councilor, Roosevelt Chapter of Order of DeMolay, and was awarded the Legion of Honor.

In February 1941 he joined the U.S. Army Air Corps Cadet Program and began his training at Souther Field in Americus, Georgia, flying the PT -17 Stearman Trainers. During active duty in the U.S. Air Force until 1945, he had many staff and command assignments in both training and combat operational posts. He served at Barksdale Field, Louisiana, Stockton, California, and Del Rio, Texas where he was Air Inspector. He served in Europe in England, France and Germany during WW II flying the Martin B-26 Marauder. He participated in the European Theater, Normandy, Northern France, Rhineland, Air offense over Europe, receiving campaign ribbons, Presidential Unit Citation with Oak Leaf Cluster, American Defense Medal, and Air Medal with 6 Oak Leaf clusters. On many of his missions he was hit by flak and on one had 150 holes in his plane. He was discharged from the Air Force in 1945 but served in the Reserve as Commander of a Squadron at Floyd Bennett Field in Long Island, New York until he was discharged from the Air Force Reserves in 1958. He was discharged with the rank of Lt. Colonel.

In 1945 he met his wife, Jean, and they were married in 1947. They lived in Ridgewood for 41 years and they had four children, thirteen grandchildren and two great grandchildren. He was predeceased by one of his sons.

Otto joined TWA in September 1945. He flew the DC-3, Martin 202, Lockheed Constellation, Boeing 707, and 747. He retired in 1979 when he was 60 years old. He enjoyed a wonderful life PAGE 42 ... TARPA TOPICS

with TW A and actively worked with chief pilots and ALPA leaders about subjects like Duty Hours and Multiplicity. He served TWA as a check pilot and instructor at Kennedy Airport Training Center for a few years but flying the line appealed to him. He thought it was the best job on the airline. He was borrowed from TWA for a short time to fly for Noah Dietrich, business advisor to Howard Hughes.

The family privilege of travel was well used by his family. His two sons went around the world when they were 19 and 17 and the two girls, along with the boys, and his wife, went on many trips on all of TWA routes.

After retiring he wrote two manuscripts, one a studious book, Requiescant, about the European Family of Man, co-authored with his daughter, the other a novel. Along with his wife Jean, and a dedicated staff, he wrote and published a quarterly called “Heritage Trails”. One of his granddaughters reprinted it on one of her web sites and it can be read on the Internet. Otto and his wife Jean traveled to every state in the continental United States and Canada in a camper vehicle, sightseeing and enjoying time together, while gathering information on folk activities for the publication.

His hobbies included writing, golfing, skiing, riding horses at the Cross Mi11 Iron Ranch in Wyoming for a month every year and, most importantly, writing letters and sharing his ideas with his thirteen grandchildren.

He enjoyed retirement and was active in Ridgewood, New Jersey as Chairman of the Planning Board, a trustee of the Senior Citizens Housing, a member of The Presbyterian Church, treasurer of the Boy Scouts, advisor to the Explorer Air Post, a member of the Mayors committee on human resources, Community Chest Captain, Vice President of Ridgewood Association for Good Schools, member of The Society of the Valley Hospital, a member of The New Jersey Aviation Hall of Fame at Teterboro Airport, and a member of the Hobbyist Group dedicated to things of interest to men.

He wrote publicity for The Ridgewood Historical Society, and gave talks on One Room Schools to community groups. He was known affectionately as “Town Historian”. As a representative of the National Confederation of American Ethnic Groups, he was invited to the White House in Washington, D.C. for conferences on ethnicity.

He had a tremendous amount of mental energy and a high intellect and could articulate his ideas very well. He loved public speaking and was a sought after speaker on a variety of subjects such as flying, one room schools, politics, education, race, finance, history, and European Heritage and spoke to many community groups like Rotary, Kiwanis, Lions, Museums, women’s and men’s clubs, etc. He was on the Speakers Bureau for TWA and had a speech entitled “Man and Machine” which was about the history of flight. He wrote articles for special literary publications and was noted for his many “Letters to the Editor”. He was always trying to impart his knowledge to his children and grandchildren, especially teaching them geography and penning many personal letters to them.

In 2002 he and Jean moved to the independent living section of a continuing care facility in Nashua, N.H., (www.TheHuntingtonatNashua.com). When they moved from Ridgewood, the Mayor of Ridge wood declared May 24, 2002, as Otto and Jean Krumbach Day for their service in Ridgewood.

Otto will be missed but it was a wonderful, in fact, fabulous life.

by Jean Krumbach PAGE 43 ... TARPA TOPICS

IN MEMORY OF CAPTAIN BURGESS (BURG) W. MURDOCK NOVEMBER 25, 1917 - JANUARY 13, 2006 On January 13, 2006, Burgess William Murdock, 88, of Howard, Wisconsin, passed on peacefully at home after a prolonged illness, surrounded by many of his loved ones. The son of Fred Burgess and Caroline Marie (Johnson) Murdock, he was born in Green Bay, Wisconsin, on November 25, 1917; grew up there; and graduated from West High School in 1935, whereupon he began his first career as a reporter for Dun and Bradstreet. It was there that he met Jessie Alma Dickinson, and on June 21, 1941, they became man and wife. Their marriage prospered for over sixty-four years, during which they were blessed with four daughters - Eva Marie, Lynne Dianne, Jacqueline Lea, and Lauren Jane, and in time, seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

March 1942 heralded the beginning of his life-long love of flying with his enlistment in the United States Army Air Corps. At the completion of his cadet training, he was promoted to Second Lieutenant and he entered combat as co-pilot of “Miss Carry”, a B-17 Flying Fortress, assigned to the 390th Bomb Group, ETO, based in Framlingham, England. The 390th Bomb Group played a significant role in the highly dangerous, deep penetration daylight bombing of German industry, which is credited with hastening the end of World War II. While with the 390th, Murdock rose to the rank of Captain, became the pilot of Miss Carry, and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross, Air Medal with four Oak Leaf Clusters, and the Presidential Unit Citation. At the completion of twenty-five missions, he returned to the United States where he continued to serve as an instructor until his honorable discharge August 8, 1945.

Burg’s discharge from the military was immediately followed by a thirty-two year career; August, 1945, to November, 1977 with Trans World Airlines (Transcontinental and Western), beginning as a co-pilot and soon promoted to Captain. Airplanes he piloted ranged from the modest Douglas DC-3 up to the Lockheed Tri-Star L-1011, his favorite always being the Lockheed Constellation, affectionately referred to as the “Connie”, and characterized by reliability and stability; traits shared

by Burg himself. True to character, Burg was always willing to share his skills, wisdom, and work ethic with the next generation of pilots, regularly yielding the “helm” to younger men in the right seat, while ever mindful of the safety and comfort of his passengers. In 1977, the mandatory pilot age limit of sixty years took him out of the “left seat”, whereupon he retired.

Burg and Jessie retired in Howard, Wisconsin; in a home they built on property which had been Jessie’s childhood home and family farmland, and where Jessie continues to live. They spent PAGE 44 ... TARPA TOPICS

their retirement years sharing their home and lives with friends and family, especially their grandchildren in whom they took boundless pride. One of Burg’s greatest pleasures was enjoying the outdoors during frequent walks surrounded by nature’s majesty.

Burg’s principal legacy is his unwavering example of love of country, dedication to duty, acceptance of responsibility, and devotion to family. He is deeply missed.

by Jack e M. Lenciani

IN MEMORY OF Flight Engineer Charles E. Bossert November 11, 1923 April 6, 2006 Born in Wilmington, Delaware, Chuck Bossert’s long and distinguished flying career ended April 6, 2006 when he died peacefully at home from myleodysplastic syndrome (MDS) with his wife Jeannette, son William and daughter-in-law Elise at his side. Chuck was 82 years of age.

His flying career began right out of Wilmington’s Alexis DuPont High School when he enrolled in and graduated from the Rising Sun Aeronautical School in Philadelphia. His first job was with Glen L. Martin Aircraft Company in Baltimore, building PBM-Mariners. From there Chuck joined the Navy and ironically enough ended up flying in the very same PBM-Mariners he built before joining the navy.

He started working for TWA in 1946 as a mechanic and was soon chosen for advanced training to become a flight engineer. This accomplished, he started his TWA flight engineer duties in 1949, which continued until his retirement in 1986. For many years prior to his retirement Chuck had been headquartered out of JFK in New York and was flying international routes.

He was preceded in death by his daughter Barbara J. Bolding in 2000; and by his son-in-law, Jerry Bolding in 2002. He is survived by his wife, Jeannette M. Bossert; 2 sons, William Bossert and his wife, Elise, Wayne Bossert and his wife, Linda, sister, Helen Crowley; 6 grandchildren, April, Alison, Erin, Alan, Jeni and Jason; and 4 great grandchildren.

PAGE 45 ... TARPA TOPICS

IN MEMORY OF ROGER I. LENGEL AUGUST 1, 1927-DECEMBER 29, 2005 Roger Lengel’s generous life which ended December 29, 2005. Roger enlisted in the United States Air Force at age 18 in 1945 and served as a non-commissioned officer while completing aircraft mechanics school. He was selected for Officers Candidate School, continued onto flight school and reached the rank of Captain. He soloed in a Stearman bi-plane and flew P 51’s , F-82’s and F86’s for the military. He was in the Korean Conflict and his favorite mission was flying F-82 Night Fighters dodging enemy radar on the darkest of nights. Roger was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross. He served on active duty for eight years and in the Air National Guard for four.

Roger was a Patriot. He served the United States with pride.

Flying then took Roger to Trans World Airlines in 1953. Over the next three decades Roger flew Martins, DC-3’s, 707’s, 737’s, L-1011’s and 747’s for TWA. Roger logged over 25,000 hours as Pilot-in-Command. On his final trip he was honored with a special celebration by the ground crew at London Heathrow Airport. He retired in 1985 after 32 years with TWA. Roger had an enriching and fulfilling life outside of flying as well. He loved golf, raced sailboats, was an avid skier and was General Contractor on four of seven of his family homes.

Roger married Connie Davis, a TWA hostess, in 1960. They were married for 45 years and have two daughters, Melinda and Sarah, and five grandchildren. Roger loved to teach his daughters and his grandchildren about math, weather, mechanics of machines, and economics. Roger delighted his family with his California Spaghetti Sauce, his Pennsylvania Dutch Sand Tarts and his apple pies.

Finally, we would like to include text from Roger’s eulogy given by his son-in-law and close friend Scott Hackman, “In closing, I would like to share this thought with you. The only thing that the mourners bring back from the grave and you cannot bury is the character of a man. Roger had more character than any man I ever knew. He made unwavering choices that took great strength right down to the very end of his life. He has left behind a great family to which I am very proud to be a part of. He was a great pilot, a devoted husband, a great father, a great grandfather, a great brother, a great provider and a great friend. Roger set the standard for what is right and wrong and for that we will always be grateful.” He is sorely missed.

Submitted by Connie Lengel and Sarah Lengel Hackman PAGE 46 ... TARPA TOPICS

IN MEMORY OF JOHN FAHEY FEBRUARY 28, 1923 MARCH 28, 2006

IN MEMORY OF JOHN T. BURLIN NOVEMBER 14, 1919 MARCH 10, 2006

IN MEMORY OF CAPTAIN WILLIAM B. OTTO MAY 18, 1925 JANUARY 5, 2006

IN MEMORY OF FRANK R. ANDIA JUNE 1, 1924 FEBRUARY 21, 2006 IN MEMORY OF CAPTAIN JAMES J. MORGAN DECEMBER 17, 1925 FEBRUARY 27, 2006 IN MEMORY OF CAPTAIN JOHN E. CLARK MARCH 29, 1921 MARCH 8, 2006 IN MEMORY OF CAPTAIN CHESTER L. JOHNSON AUGUST 29, 1929 – MAY 9, 2006

PAGE 47 ... TARPA TOPICS

Hugh Prather of Albuquerque sent this plaque, and the update below on the progress of the Memorial to the crew and passengers of TWA Flight 260. Hugh pursued the story for years and has worked tirelessly to have the fate of its crew and passengers memorialized. His efforts were the feature of a TOPICS cover story in the July 2005 issue. Editor Good morning everyone I wanted to take a moment and bring you all up to date on some very positive developments that have taken place based on a meeting last week at the Albuquerque International Sunport.

First let me express my appreciation to Liz Martinez and Fontaine Sanchez for their continued interest in support of the project. We met last week, in the recently remodeled TWA Ambassadors lounge that has been renamed the Sandia Vista Conference Room. The remodeling job was a beautiful piece of work; they were able to restore the original 1960s vintage furniture and the viga and latilla ceiling, that add a lovely Southwestern touch. During the meeting, Airport Director Mike Rice gave final approval to place the Memorial to Flight 260 in a prominent corner of the conference space that is bracketed on either side to by windows. The left window provides a clear view of the Sandia Mountains and the Dragon’s Tooth pinnacle. The Memorial as it is being designed by the Sunport architect will include the following: a plaque appropriately mounted, a copy of which I have attached; a glass-enclosed model of the Martin 404 in TWA colors; and most significant, a leather bound book that will have material related to the story of flight 260 and the effects on passengers and crew. I hope some of you will be able to write some of the material that eventually completes that volume.

Fontaine Sanchez is in the process of getting the actual design drawn by the architect, and when that is completed, I will ask her permission to send a copy out to all of you so you can see what be memorial will look like. The exciting thing about all this is that we have moved beyond discussion into action and at a point in the not-too-distant future I will be able to let you know when the Memorial will be completed.

Thank you all for your support in this endeavor to remember the passengers and crew of flight 260. Hugh PAGE 48 ... TARPA TOPICS

SHOT by Charles Davis Floyd Harbaugh stood in front of a double row of P-38s parked at the Lockheed Air Terminal.

The war was over and these airplanes were surplus and for sale. A door slammed, and a man walked out of the operations office and stood for a minute eyeing the twin-tail fighters. “Well?” he queried. “Did you fine the one that suits you?”

“I think so,” Floyd said. “A photo job. The nose compartment’s pretty clean and I can use it for baggage.”

“Or for people,” the man said. “If you can get by the fuzz. There’s lottsa room up there. Surprise you.”

They began walking down the rows, and Floyd, who was scanning a spec sheet, asked, “What is this ‘B’?”

“That means there’s still three hundred pounds of ballast in the nose.”

“What’ll we do with that?”

“Well, they’re little lead pellets about the size of BBs in canvas bags. If you don’t want ‘em, we can haul ‘em out. No problem with CG, but on long flights, with belly tanks, they were necessary, so they tell me, Remember, on the photo model, you didn’t have guns and ammo in the nose.

Floyd pursed his lips. These days?” “Wonder what lead’s going for these days?” “Nothin’ now the man said, “but sometime in the future, who knows?”

“Guess I’ll hang on to it for awhile,” Floyd said.

The man gave Floyd a curious look. “By the way, if you don’t mind telling me, why are you buying this airplane?”

“I’m an airline pilot, and I’ve just been transferred to the East Coast to fly overseas out of Idlewild.

I’m not about to live in or around New York, so with this kind of transportation I can settle down wherever it suits me. I may even take a shot at the Bendix on the way over.”

“Sounds like you got it all set up,” the man said. “Anyway, take your time looking ‘em over. I’ve got to get back to the office.” As he walked away, he turned and said, “Good luck with those BBs.” Captain Fred Clark’s flight landed a little after ten PM, and when he got home his wife was in bed asleep. The pad by the telephone had messages written on it, and one of them was to call Floyd Harbaugh as soon as he got in. It was going on midnight so Fred decided to ring him up the first thing in the morning. He was tired, and looking forward to a good nights sleep; and was always PAGE 49 ... TARPA TOPICS

leery of Floyd’s telephone calls. They could be very upsetting. Most of the time it was a golf game but now and then he would request a favor and not an ordinary one. Let alone the effort and inconvenience involved they were usually troublesome chores and frequently a pain in the butt.

If he called now, and was greeted with an unpleasant request, he wouldn’t sleep well. Anybody else he could turn down and that would be that; but Floyd was not only unusually persuasive, he had a knack for making you feel guilty if you said no. Also, he possessed a couple of physical attributes that definitely lent force to his mode of inducement.

He was very tall, a natural and obvious advantage during coercion time. But chiefly it was his features, particularly his nose that influenced a subject. It was prominent and had a slight protuberance at the tip. When making requests he sighted down to this feature as one would proceed with a firearm and you were sunk.

Fred waited until ten the next morning before he called, even though he had gotten up at 7:30 and had breakfast. He wanted his ham and eggs to be fully digested before he found out what was on Floyd’s mind. His first words started the guilt pangs.

“Huh,” gruffly. “Stayed up ‘til 12:30 last night waiting for your call.” And then, accusingly, “Dispatch said you were on time. Didn’t Lucy give you my message or write it down on your pad?”

“Uh, oh, thought you’d be asleep, Floyd. Didn’t want to wake yoU.’1 There it was. He was immediately smitten with guilt, and even a sense of betrayal. Tense, but eager to get on with it, he said; “What’s going on? What can I do you for?

There was another thing. Floyd would send out feelers so that when he got to his request, there was no place to hide, no room for excuses. None.

“How’s your garage holding up, Fred? Lots of extra space?” Fred felt a wave of uneasiness, but shot back instantly. “Floor to ceiling, Floyd, floor to ceiling. You couldn’t jam a sheet of toilet paper between all the crates and boxes we’ve got stacked against the side of that garage.” He felt a little surge of relief.

What about your rafters? Anything up there?” The surge of relief evaporated. “I don’t rightly recollect.” If he said it was loaded, and Floyd found out it wasn’t and confronted him, he’d never sleep again. “Maybe there is some room up there. What did you have in mind?”

“You heard I bought a surplus P-38.”

Fred’ s stomach tightened. “I heard. “There’s three hundred pounds of lead shot ballast goes with it and I want to keep it. Might be worth a lot of money some day.”

Fred burped slightly, and realized the eggs hadn’t completely digested. Desperation began to build.

“Floyd, the house is forty some years old. The rafters are two by fours; and they’re not even on sixteen-inch centers. No way they could take that kinda’ weight.”

“No problem, Fred. Lay down a four by eight piece of plywood crossways and there’s no strain.”

Fred knew when he was licked. “Well, what are they in, boxes?

“No, heavy canvas bags with sealed openings, easy to move around to distribute the weight.”

PAGE 50 ... TARPA TOPICS

The time was ripe for the fateful question. “How long do you plan on leaving them up there?”

Floyd was famous for dropping off cumbersome items amongst his friends that were supposed to be picked up in a few days or even hours. Weeks later they were still around and in the way.

“Oh, a week at the most. I’m about to rent a garage near the apartment, and I’ll have plenty of room for storage. How about right after lunch tomorrow? I borrowed a pickup, and I’ll get a sheet of plywood.”

The next day, after a nervous lunch, Fred opened the garage door and placed a stepladder under a section of rafters that were less warped than most of the others. He had moved his and Lucy’s cars out to the street in the morning, and shifted some of the junk around so that nothing would impede the operation. When Floyd appeared on the scene with his goods he would want everything ready. Then he walked out in front, and stood, looking up and down the street.

Lucy came out and said, “What’s happening?”

“Floyd’s bringing some things by to store in the garage for a few days.”

Lucy got a disdainful look on her face. She hated Floyd for being able to intimidate her husband, but when he did, she hated Fred almost as much for allowing it. “Is that why my car is out in the street?”

“They’re going up in the rafters. You won’t even see them.”

“Are they heavy?”

Fred didn’t answer and Lucy went back in the house. At 2:30 she came out and stared at him. “Why are you standing out there? He knows how to ring a doorbell or honk. Your face is getting red.”

Fred started for the house but swung around when a pickup came up the street and stopped in front of the driveway.

“Careful,” Floyd said. Maneuvering the plywood onto the rafters was no problem, and after it was in place, Floyd said, “You’re going to have to do the heavy work, Fred. I can hand them to you but I can’t lift with this arm above shoulder level.”

“I’ll back in,” Floyd called out. “Is everything clear?”

Fred was feeling a little peevish. “Yeh. Has been for the last two hours.”

“Had to stop by the docs after lunch so he could take a look at this arm I strained the other day playing tennis. Looks like you’ll have to do most of the lifting. Hope you don’t mind.”

“Me mind? Never,” Fred said, with a touch of sarcasm. Fred lowered the tailgate and dragged the sheet of plywood out, dropping one end to the pavement so that it could be used to slide the bags down. Still miffed, Fred flung the first bag out of the bed of the trunk and it missed the temporary ramp.

PAGE 51 ... TARPA TOPICS

Fred glanced up at the rafters. “Which means I’ve got t climb up there, and hoist them over the top, right?”

“Looks that way. Might as well get started.”

Fred climbed up and discovered that by standing on the step next to the top, he could just barely reach the rafters. Since Floyd was unable to lift very high, Fred had to lean down and lift the fifty pound bag to waist level, then boost it over the top of the platform. Floyd had to grip the back of his legs to keep him from falling. Once, as he was straining to get one up, Lucy opened the door and stepped out on the stoop. She stared for a minute, then went back in and slammed the door very hard.

When the last one was in place; Fred gingerly descended the ladder and was aware of his legs shaking slightly. He flexed his arms and felt little stabs of pain in his shoulders.

Floyd started walking out of the garage. “I’ve got to get this truck back.”

“How long, Floyd?”

“How long? What do you mean? Oh, before I pick up the shot? I’ve got a trip tomorrow and I get back Friday. That’ll give me the weekend to look for a garage. If you’re not in town I’ll bring someone along to help me.” Floyd chuckled. He never missed anything. I’ll try to hurry it up before Lucy breaks all the doors down.”

When Fred went in the house he headed for the medicine cabinet and the rubbing alcohol. As he walked through the kitchen where Lucy was preparing dinner; he began massaging his sore shoulders.

“Did you strain something?” Lucy asked pointedly.

“Have to admit I’m glad it’s over with. Guess I’m out of shape.”

“How long before you have to help him get it down?”

“A week at the most. Maybe sooner.”

“Ha!” Fred flew over the weekend, and when he got home Monday afternoon the first thing he did; even before he took off his uniform jacket, was to ask if Floyd had called.

“No, he hasn’t, but you better go out to the garage and take a look at those rafters.”

Fred stared up at the canvas bags and shook his head. “I don’t know what you mean. What’s with the rafters?”

“They’re drooping. Get on the stepladder and look. You can tell.”

PAGE 52 ... TARPA TOPICS

Fred shoved the ladder against the wall and sighted along the bottom of the rafters. They sagged.

He decided to call Floyd immediately and tell him the weight of the shot was causing the roof to fall in. There was no answer so he called Crew Schedule and was told that Captain Harbaugh was on a five-day trip and wouldn’t be back until Friday.

“No garage yet,” came the reply when Fred called him Saturday morning.

They’re sagging, Floyd, sagging.

The rafters; huh?”

“Yep. “ “Well, we’ll hurry it up. If I can’t find a garage in the next two or three days I’ll look for another spot.”

“The sooner the better. Lucy keeps bugging me about it.”

Floyd laughed. “Your doors holding up OK?” When Fred got in from his next flight he experienced a shock wave when he saw that a line had been drawn through Floyd’s trips for the rest of the month. He hurried into the schedule clerk’s office and tried to speak calmly.

“What’s with Captain Harbaugh? His flights are marked off.”

There was a vacation relief in Rome and he got it. Six weeks.”

The first thing Fred did when he got home was to check the pad by the telephone. There was one message: “Floyd called. Six weeks.” Even though it was past midnight, he could see the reflection of Lucy’s reading lamp next to her bed. When he went in only her eyes were visible above the coverlet. They stared accusingly at him for a moment before she snapped off the light.

The six weeks went by slowly and the burden weighing down the rafters became the chief concern of the household even though it was never discussed. Within days after Floyd’s departure, Fred had conquered the urge to regularly examine the situation, and after parking his car in the garage, would keep eye level until entering the house. However, Lucy was getting on his nerves with her casual but pointed remarks.

“Have you noticed how musty it’s getting out there with all this rain. I’ve had to throw out some of those old laundry bags, They’ve rotted right through.” Her favorite time to voice these intimations was at the breakfast table after he had gotten in from a flight the night before. “We had a big wind the night before last.”

“Oh?” There is a lot of creaking in the garage I haven’t heard before.”

PAGE 53 ... TARPA TOPICS

Three days before Floyd’s vacation relief was up the phone rang and Lucy answered it. She got a wry look on her face and said, “Go ahead and read it. I’m his wife.”

Fred was looking at television and the picture suddenly faded. The wry look remained ‘on Lucy’s face. “hmmm, you did say a month, didn’t you, uh huh. I just wanted to make sure.”

Fred sat quietly in nervous anticipation of the outburst that Lucy would momentarily deliver. It didn’t come. She gently placed the phone back on its cradle and said, almost casually, Floyd traded vacations so he could tour Europe for a month. Be a lot easier; he said in the telegram, because he’s already there.” Humming a little tune, she walked out of the room. Fred turned the volume up and tried to concentrate on the movie he had been watching.

A week later, during breakfast, Lucy gave Fred a sharp look and said, “There’s a leak in the garage roof. He knew better than to ask where it was and continued to munch on his scrambled eggs, which now tasted like sawdust.

Two days before Floyd’s tour was supposed to terminate, Fred took his usual place at the dinner table. He noticed that his napkin had been placed on top of his butter dish.

When he removed it a tiny; round black object came into view.

He picked it up and rolled it slowly between his thumb and forefinger.

“Well?” he queried.

“Oh that?” If you get down on your hands and knees and use a flashlight, you might find lots more.

I think you know where to look.”

That does it! Fred thought. The bags are beginning to rot. He had to go out the next day, but as soon as he got back held take care of the shot, even if he had to pay someone to haul them away.

It would have to be the day after because of stag day at the club. One day wouldn’t make any difference.

Lucy wasn’t too fond of this activity because after drinks and dinner, Fred stayed on for poker and got home after she had retired. Urging him to be quiet on these occasions was useless since liquor flowed freely and Fred got his share. His entrance to the house always woke her up and left her peevish, chiefly because of his after imbibing blather. When Fred turned into the drive just before midnight he discovered that the garage door had been locked from the inside and he had to go through the front door. To keep the peace he had only had one drink and quietly made his way to the garage entrance, nervously intent upon checking out the shot situation. Stepping onto the stoop from the kitchen, he switched on the dim overhead light and as he shifted his weight to the floor, had a curious sensation that the walls had begun to move. He felt his feet starting to go out from under him; but still managed a downward glance and noted that the entire surface of the concrete slab had taken on a dark, metallic sheen.

Flailing his arms about to maintain balance, he tried to concentrate on leg movements to keep from falling. Later, he would be reminded of his first attempts to ice skate as a child. With his feet thrusting out erratically, he began a circular pattern around Lucy’s car. Attempting to grab on to something was risky because it threw him off balance and he would have La gyrate wildly to remain upright. After five complete circuits it was time to seek help. As he passed by the door, PAGE 54 ... TARPA TOPICS

which he had left ajar, he cried out, “Lucy!”

Two more circuits were executed before she appeared at the door. Placing her hands on her hips, she stepped down on the stoop and eyed him with disgust. “Really hit the bottle this time, huh?

Why did you yell for me? I’ve seen you this way before. I’m going back in the house.”

Fred, who was gasping for breath and performing a tarantella on the opposite side of the garage, yelled out, “Catch me as I come by!”

As he whizzed by the stoop he threw an arm out, but Lucy drew back and kept her hands on her hips. “Good night!” she stated in a loud voice and turned to go.

“SHOT! “ Fred yelled from across the garage .He was breathless and was only able to let out one more weakening, “Shot.”

“Yeh, your shot alright;” Lucy said, as Fred’s weaving body approached. I’d like to get a whiff of your breath. “ As she bent away from the stoop Fred’s outstretched hand caught her shoulder; and she stepped onto the garage floor to keep from falling. She immediately sailed away, pantomiming his every wild gesture and bodily movement.

Fred and Lucy’s next-door neighbor, John Noonan, had stayed up until midnight watching a late movie and was getting urgent attention from the family poodle. After ushering the little dog out, he noticed that the Clark house was brightly lit up, and a shaft of light was streaming out from under the garage door. This seemed unusual to him, and as he headed for their driveway he began to hear scuffling sounds. A loud, shrill, feminine, “HELP!” rang out, followed by a hoarse, gasping sound that could only have come from a masculine throat. John ran up to the garage door and began banging on it.

“What’s going on in there?” he yelled. “Are you people alright?”

Lucy’s voice rang out loud and clear, “Go in the front door and… That was it.

John hurriedly tied the leash to a bush and ran into the house. Rushing to the open garage door he halted in amazement. Later, he would dwell on his first impression, two spiraling figures engaged in some weird, exotic dance. Once, Fred almost carne to a complete stop but started to teeter and had to Continue the orbit. Lucy was directly behind him and cried out, “Keep moving!”

Seeing John; mouth agape; standing on the stoop; Fred yelled out, “DON’T...STEP ON…THE FLOOR! CATCH US AS WE GO BY!” John looked down at some of the shot that had been kicked up on the stoop and drew back. Fred was careening toward him and flung out an arm. Their hands met in solid contact but the impetus of Fred’s moving body spun him around and he continued backwards, eyes popped out in terror, and struggling even harder to keep from falling. When he reached out for Lucy she flung her arms up and shook her head violently, having seen her husband twist around and get in a more PAGE 55 ... TARPA TOPICS

serious predicament. Instead, she gasped out, “Open the garage door. The latch is right next to where you’re standing.”

A large counter-balanced arm hung over the stoop and John grasped and pulled. As the heavy wooden door swung up, Lucy, who was facing the opening, ran down the driveway and didn’t fall.

Fred, still moving backwards very erratically, went down when his skittering feet contacted the dry pavement, tumbling all the way to the street. By the time John had run through the kitchen and hurried outside, Fred was crawling up the steps and Lucy was giving him an occasional shove.

Around ten o’clock the next morning; Fred limped out of the house and attached a watering hose to a spigot near the garage and turned it on full force. Shortly after disappearing into the garage, a layer of dark, pebbly-like matter began to stream down the slab driven by a strong jet of water.

The delta shaped mass poured into the sluice along the curb and emptied into a drain in front of the house.

Fred trailed it all the way to the opening. That evening Fred visited the local pharmacy to replenish his dwindling liniment supply and when he got home Lucy had a message for him from Floyd that caused him to totter. Your friend has rented a pick-up and wants to “evacuate” the shot sometime tomorrow. He wants you to call him in the morning and set up a time. Oh, and he said the price of lead is skyrocketing and there might be a little bonus for you. Something about a bottle of Scotch.

Her voice was scathing and the look of contempt on her face made him tremble. But this show of emotion amounted to naught compared to the nightmare awaiting him that night.

Sleep didn’t come for hours, giving Fred plenty of time to fret. It was a disaster. Floyd would fix him with that stare and how would he react? Apologize profusely and beg his forgiveness?

Weep? Say Lucy did it? That definitely wouldn’t work. Having exhausted every possible excuse for explaining away the dastardly deed, he finally lost consciousness.

The nightmare began moments later, and the setting was the interior of the garage. He was staring at the floor, devoid of any objects except a pile of empty shot bags. A shadow loomed and he swung around and looked up. Floyd was hovering over him and much taller, his head almost touching the rafters. For a minute he glared at Fred; then pointed at the empty bags. Fred started to shake and dropped to his knees. He immediately began to cower and supplicate, beseeching and begging Floyd’s forgiveness. During this entreaty, he had noticed; with great alarm, that Floyd’s nose; which of course was aimed directly at him; had enlarged considerably and had only one large nostril. Eyeing this mutation stimulated and sharpened Fred’s eyesight; and he began to notice other details about Floyd’s “nose” that filled him with terror. The 0ne large “nostril” was definitely the muzzle of a rifle. Shifting his head slightly, and being familiar with firearms of this type, he easily identified the piece that was aimed directly at him. It was an old lever-action Winchester, probably in the .30 caliber range. Floyd, still sighting, grasped the lever and pulled it down to the stops. There were at least three distinct clicks as the internal mechanism moved through its stages, and every click was like a dagger being thrust into Fred’s heart. Only hesitating a brief second, Floyd forced the lever back up in its slot. Fred knew precisely what had taken place in the magazine and quailed. A cartridge was now snugly tucked into the firing chamber and the hammer fully cocked. Sighting down to the muzzle, Floyd began pressuring the trigger. The explosion and PAGE 56 ... TARPA TOPICS

Fred’s scream occurred at the same time. His eyes popped open and he discovered that he was sitting bolt upright in bed and the room was full of light. Lucy was standing by the side of the bed staring at him in indignation. “Why did you scream? You woke me up.”

Fred remained awake the rest of the night and at eight o’clock decided it was time to make the fateful call, face the music and get it over with. For one silly moment he thought of offering to pay for the truck rental. As he reached for the phone it began to ring. “Floyd?” he gasped, and nearly fell out of bed. Retrieving the instrument from the floor, where he had nervously dropped it, he was only able to come up with a barely audible, “Yes?” It was crew schedule.

“Captain Clark, nearly didn’t call you. Didn’t think you’d be interested. None of the other captains seem to be.”

Fred’s heart missed several beats. “What? Interested in what?”

“This Cairo vacancy has been on the board for two weeks with no takers.”

Fred was almost stuttering. “Wh. . . When’s it effective? “ “Now, the time’s there, waitin’ “ “Close it out! The telegram’s on its way!”

Lucy was in the bathroom but appeared in the doorway when she heard Fred shouting. “What’s this telegram thing?” she demanded.

Already on his feet and starting to shed his pajamas, Fred blurted out, “Cairo! I bid Cairo! Let’s pack! We’re going to Cairo!”

Lucy gave him a withering look and said, “You’re going to Cairo.”

An hour later Fred burnt rubber backing his car out of the driveway, and headed for the airport.

Lucy was only minutes behind him but her destination was a lawyer’s office.

Around noon, Floyd pulled up in front of the house. He was definitely out of humor, and after slamming shut the door of the pickup, strode purposefully up to the front entrance. His features were flushed and the dour expression he wore blended in with his complexion. After ringing the bell and banging on the door for a lengthy period of time, he kicked it and started walking across the driveway.

John Noonan had been observing Floyd’s efforts from his front yard and had decided to give the visitor an assist. He approached him and said, “They’re not home.”

Floyd sighted down his nose and making no effort to hide an air of disgust, said, “I gathered that.”

John glanced at the pickup and said, “Are you here for the BBs?” “Shot,” Floyd said, tersely.

PAGE 57 ... TARPA TOPICS

“That about sums it up,” John said.

“Come take a look.”

He led Floyd around to the side of the garage and pointed to a trash container. “They’re all in there, what’s left of them...pretty well rotted away.”

Floyd reached down and lifted a bag up exposing a jagged rent. Presenting John with a wry smile, he said, “I don’t suppose you got any good news for me.”

“Do you want to hear it from the beginning?”

Floyd let out a great sigh. “I can’t imagine why not.”

As soon as he found out that Fred had gotten the Cairo vacancy he bid all of the Cairo flights. Lucy filed for divorce but had to take it to court because Fred didn’t plan to contest it or even show up for the proceedings. When the judge asked her what grounds she was seeking, Lucy said, “My husband is craven.” That wrapped it up. Granted.

Fred lived in hotels and moved constantly from one to the other. His main occupation was checking crew lists on arriving flights. When Floyd was scheduled for a layover he rented a camel and headed for the desert. Clad in a heavy burnoose he became a Bedouin, wandering about until the critical flight had departed. A very close call occurred when Floyd had to shut down an engine after takeoff, and return the flight to the airport.

The crew was held over for a day and Floyd decided to visit the Kasbah while continuing to keep an eye out for his quarry. Fred, assuming that Floyd was well on his way, had returned from the desert and was in the same area. Feeling secure and relaxed, he was watching an Arab smoking a hookah. A tremor ran through his frame and a feeling of uneasiness swept over him. Glancing through the crowd, he immediately spotted Floyd, ambling along and peering about. Still clad in the burnoose, Fred yanked the hood up over his head and squatted down beside the hookah smoker. Scrabbling for his billfold, he came up with a twenty-dollar bill and forced it into the hands of the smoker. At the same time he pulled the pipe out of his mouth and jammed it into his own. As Floyd drew near, Fred, on the verge of panic, drew mightily on the hookah and created huge bubbles that popped. The stratagem worked, but Fred was convinced that drastic measures had to be taken to obtain peace of mind.

He put in for early retirement and racked his brain in an effort to come up with some geography, no matter where, the remotest spot, a hideaway that no one, not even Floyd would ever guess was his place of concealment. He chose Damascus and decided to go all-out native to further hide his identity.

Floyd, having prevailed over every obstacle that he had been confronted with during his life never gave up. Contacting Lucy, he was told that correspondence for Fred was being shuttled through Zurich. He traded flights and checked outgoing mail at the Zurich airport. Damascus, general delivery. On his next Cairo trip he flew up to the Syrian capitol and coerced his copilot, after having briefed him fully as to the nature of his mission, into accompanying him. They made their way immediately to the post office locale and seated themselves at a refreshment table. Floyd had PAGE 58 ... TARPA TOPICS

already been scrutinizing every face in the crowd, and suddenly, he clutched the copilot’s arm.

“It’s him!”

The copilot winced and said, “How do you know? They all look the same.”

“Our eyes met and he cringed.”

Floyd rose and began making his way slowly through the motley throng, thrusting aside beggars and never taking his eyes off the prey who was slouched against a wall and fumbling nervously with the hem of his garment. The copilot, close behind Floyd, said, “Watch it. He is up to something.” A medium size wicker basket appeared from under the burnoose and the Arab produced a flute-like pipe. He began to play it with great intensity. The lid of the basket fell to one side and the head of a cobra began to emerge. Floyd slowed his pace and the copilot said, “See?” I didn’t come six thousand miles...” Floyd’s voice drifted off and he continued to advance, but in a more gingerly fashion as the cobra attained greater height, weaving ominously as its neck began to dilate into a broad hood. The closer Floyd got to the action the higher the snakes head rose until it was even with his groin. The copilot could contain himself no longer. “If it’s him, he’ll sic ‘im on you! And if he bites you I have to suck out the poison! And if he bites you, you know where, Captain, you’re gonna die!”

Floyd took a few more steps and the copilot said, “Also, I read where they can squirt poison five or six feet, and it paralyzes whatever it hits.”

This vision was too much and Floyd came to a halt, mouthing a silent curse. For a moment he gazed intently at the Arab’s features, who had advanced to the crescendo level with his harmonies, due mainly to his greatly distended cheeks. Floyd, still scrutinizing, leaned forward and the pipe responded with an exceptionally loud toot. The cobra’s head swung around and its tongue darted ominously in his direction. That was it. Shrugging his shoulders and muttering a string of profanities, Floyd turned and began threading his way back through the crowd. Occasionally, the copilot would give him a gentle but firm shove. As the twosome disappeared, “Fred’s” musical performance dwindled to a weak vibrato, allowing the exhausted cobra to collapse in a listless heap.

EPILOGUE Floyd checked in with Lucy when he returned and discovered that he was attracted to her. He began to drop in frequently, and came to the conclusion that the allurement was due to the fact that she wasn’t submissive. They differed on every subject and he could aim his nose all day long without making the slightest impression on Lucy’s opinions. He moved in and they were married a short time later. They fought constantly and this sustained their relationship. Floyd kept his car parked in the driveway and never went in the garage.

Fred spent the rest of his days tootling his snake and scanning the horizon for a familiar face (nose).

PAGE 59 ... TARPA TOPICS

AROUND THE WORLD FLIGHTS Captain Jeff Hill’s comments in the last issue of the “Topics” about the B-707 around the world flights back in the 1960’s brought back a lot of memories for me, having flown it for two years.

Each time I came home from it, I swore I would never fly it again. My wife, Vi, asked me one day why I continued to bid it. After some reflection, my answer was that I felt that I was getting to be like an old “hooker”, explaining that what I started doing just for the love of it and later for love and money, it seems that I’m now doing just for money. (That’s not true; I loved my flying career right up to my last landing.)

However, it was indeed a body-beater, requiring three to four days to get your eyes and stomach back into synchronization after each trip. After about a year, I did, in conjunction with the then local ALPA representatives, draft, circulate and tabulate a questionnaire on the physical effects it had on crew members with the intent of using it to help us get some extra layover time at the half way point, which was Hong Kong. I have long since forgotten if it did any good or not. I do remember that we were concerned that the FAA didn’t get a copy of the results for fear they might put a stop to the operation I am enclosing a copy of just the results of the questionnaire if anyone wants a copy of the questionnaire itself, I have that too.

A REPORT ON THE ROUND-THE-WORLD FLIGHT SURVEY GENERAL A questionnaire was circulated several months ago by the local council Safety Committee to determine whether or not an extra day layover in HKG was desirable and justified from a purely physical standpoint. At the time, the monthly requirements of this operation were 60 crews (l80 men) plus reserves. Due to a change in council administration, the workload involved, and other factors, the final compilation of the results of this questionnaire have been delayed somewhat but are now presented for consideration. ‘In tabulating the results of this survey, only the questions answered were used in computing percentages shown.

SIGNIFICANCE 1. This is the first known comprehensive survey of operating crewmembers of its kind and it has provided much valuable background material for future study.

2. The number of returns reflects an exceptionally high degree of interest.

3. While there were a few “guarded” and unanswered questions in the returns, most of them reflected complete objectivity.

4. The frankness with which the more delicate and personal questions were answered is as unique as it is commendable.

5. The number, nature, and extent of the added personal comments revealed strong and deep personal feelings on this subject held by a large percentage of the members responding.

PAGE 60 ... TARPA TOPICS

THE RESULTS a. There were 237 returns in all-representing 84 Captains, 99 First Officers, and 54 Flight.

Engineers. 16 of the respondents had made no trips but offered opinions just the same. b. There were 330 eastbound trips and 336 westbound represented for a total of 666. c. Individual trips made varied from one to eight. d. 55% answering the questi9n stated that the Eastbounds were the most difficult physically. e. Most persons stated that troublesome rest periods on Eastbound flights began at BOM. The Westbounds started at HNL & GUM. f. 87% had their sleep interrupted trip by insomnia an average of 4.2 times per g. 54% of those answering stated that they experienced uncontrollable drowsiness in the cockpit sometime during the trip. h. 60% experienced some degree of autohypnosis in flight. i. 87% reported sleeping in short segments of one to four (1-4) hours at a time. j. 36% reported stomach upset sometime during the trip. k. 77% had difficulty sleeping immediately upon arrival at the layover stations.

1. 74% had vitality lapses or sinking spells during their layover periods m.66% had the same problem in the cockpit. n. 28% experienced a general overall aching of the body. o. 14% reported some type of muscular contractions or distortions. p. 46% experienced a feeling of general body discomfort. q. 48% reported a lassitude and indifference to certain flight details that would normally have received thorough scrutiny and concentration. r. 48% reported something less than normal crew coordination during approaches and landings. s. 27% noticed a difference in the quality of their landings. t. 51% developed an increased irritability with other crewmembers and a lowered tolerance for non-routine conditions.

PAGE 61 ... TARPA TOPICS

u. 34% said they observed situations in the cockpit, which, in their judgment, bordered on or, in fact, were unsafe. v. 92% said they thought an additional 24-hour layover in HKG would alleviate some of the physical strain and enhance the safety of the operation.

FOLLOWING A TRIP: a. An average-of 3.6 nights passed before reporting members were able to sleep a normal pattern without waking up. b. 86% reported a pronounced lack of energy. c. 81% reported a definite lack of motivation for routine tasks. d. 67% reported excessive general irritability.

CONCLUSIONS While this survey warrants more professional study, there are a number of conclusions that appear obvious at this time. They include the following: 1. There is a wide variation in the constitutional make-up of the individual crew members and their ability to resist fatigue and cope with other stresses induced by prolonged flights patterns predicated on minimal rest periods not directly related to the needs of said crew members.

2. The majority of crewmembers follow a pattern and are adversely affected physically in some degree by the rigors of the present 10 to 12 day around-the-world flight pattern.

3. The expressed desire of the members for an additional 24-hour layover in Hong Kong is based on physical not social factors.

4. There is ample justification for an additional days layover in HKG whether the flight is flown continuously in one direction or in a reverse pattern.

5. The safety of an operation with an inordinate degree of fatigue present is increasingly dependent on a somewhat indefinite system of checks and balances the most important one of which is the 3-man crew itself even though each member is susceptible to the same stresses.

6. The long-range effect of this type of flight pattern on a crewmember’s health is unknown.

7. We have a long way to go in the development of contractual flight time and duty time restrictions, which will afford protection against excessive flight fatigue.

PAGE 62 ... TARPA TOPICS

Howard Hughes and The Early Years of TWA: An Eyewitness Account by John M. Lockhart In the late fall of 2004, a blockbuster movie entitled “ The Aviator” was released. It was the story of Howard Hughes, the eccentric multi-millionaire aviator, movie producer, and male sex symbol of the nineteen thirties and forties. Better-informed reviewers noted that it was a mix of fact and fantasy.

I have never made a secret of my early connections with Howard Hughes. From 1941 to 1947 I served first as Assistant Treasurer of TWA and later as Secretary and Treasurer. In a family discussion my son Woody Lockhart, a retired United Airlines pilot, remarked, “ Dad, you have always told us that only a handful of TWA people ever met Hughes and that even your boss, the Executive Vice President of TWA, never met him. How many times did you actually deal, face to face, with Howard Hughes?” My somewhat reluctant answer was “twice.”

This is not to say that these were my only contacts with Howard. As an officer of TWA, I communicated with him on a number of occasions. Each encounter, usually via the telephone or through memoranda, was memorable and each showed, sometimes rather dramatically, the kind of person and businessman he was. I have written in detail about my career at TWA in a memoir for my family entitled “Tending to Business.” In these pages, I focus more specifically on my encounters with Howard Hughes, set within the context of the early days of aviation and the development of the airplanes on which TWA, under the leadership of Howard Hughes and Jack Frye, built its business. I believe it’s safe to assume that I am the only living person who could tell these stories from personal experience. Perhaps they will add something to the “fact” side of the ledger.

How I came to TWA and met Howard Hughes and the other executives of those years is quickly told. I graduated from Northwestern University in 1931, near the bottom of the Depression. Over the next ten undistinguished and unrewarded years, I was lucky to at least have a job! During that time I also put in eight years of night school, eventually earning a CPA certificate and a law degree. Those two credentials were my ticket to a new job.

I was recruited to TWA by Lee Talman, the company’s Financial and Administrative Vice President.

Before joining TWA, Lee had been the protégé of my cousin, Willis Gale, and also my sister Lucy’s boss at the Bendix Corporation. He knew me as the cousin and kid brother. On June 1, 1941, I reported to work at TWA’s headquarters in Kansas City, Missouri. Lee was my new boss. Howard Hughes, TWA’s major shareholder, was nowhere in sight.

A Tale of Three Air Mail Route Certificates To understand the early history of TWA, as well as the company’s and Howard Hughes’ challenges and accomplishments, you have to understand what was going on in aviation generally. In the 1930s, which is when the story of commercial aviation really begins, a great many people were convinced that air transportation was the key to the future. Among the twenty or more fledgling airlines that were flying the mail, it was already pretty clear that the major winners in building PAGE 63 ... TARPA TOPICS

a business in passenger air travel would be the big three companies holding the coast-to-coast mail routes: United, Transcontinental and Western Air (TWA), and American. United operated the northern route from San Francisco through Salt Lake City, Denver, and Chicago to New York.

TWA flew the central route from Los Angeles through Kansas City, St. Louis, and Pittsburgh to New York. American operated the southern route from Los Angeles through Dallas, Nashville, and Washington DC to New York.

Competition among the three was intense, and each airline realized that the future would belong to the one with the best airplanes. United, a subsidiary of Boeing, led off with the first modern airliner, the Boeing 247. It was an all metal, twin engine, retractable landing gear aircraft requiring a two-man crew. It carried ten passengers and had a top speed of 170 miles per hour. United ordered 60 of them.

TWA, put together in 1930 with the merger of Western Air Express (flying Los Angeles to Kansas City) and Transcontinental Air Transport (flying New York to Kansas City), wanted to place an order for the Boeing 247 but was told that it would have to wait in line behind United. Jack Frye, TWA’ s Vice President of Operations, then sent a letter to five other manufacturers in which he set out specifications for a new airliner that would be ten percent better than the Boeing 247 in every respect: size, speed, performance, and comfort. The Douglas Aircraft Company responded with the design of the DC-1, a 12-passenger airplane that first flew 11 months later on July 1, 1933.

Realizing that capacity could be increased to 14 passengers by adding two feet to the fuselage, Douglas, after building just one DC-1, introduced the DC-2 in early 1934. TWA contracted with Douglas for 31 DC-2s, which were so superior to the Boeing 247 that the earlier airplane was doomed.

American Airlines, left behind, placed a major order with Douglas for the much-improved oncoming airplane, the DC-3. United followed suit behind American. When these new planes began flying in 1935, TWA, already committed to the inferior DC-2, was forced to order the DC-3 but was third in line for deliveries.

So TWA raised the ante by ordering Boeing’s 307 Stratoliner, a commercial modification of the proven Boeing B-17, the Flying Fortress. The four-engine Boeing Stratoliner would not only carry thirty-three passengers at higher speed but was capable of flying cross-country with only one stop, cutting the coast-to-coast time from 18 hours to 14 hours. While the DC-3 had an operating range of 1000 miles, the airmail license required that the carrier fly shorter routes to provide service to small cities along the route, as well as larger ones. The DC-3 was well fitted for this and so provided mail and passenger service to such small towns as Winslow and Kingman, Arizona.

On the other hand, the Stratoliner, with no such requirement, could greatly speed up the flight by serving only the major cities. TWA’s plans for the Stratoliner were stalled when the major stockholder at the time, John Hertz, decided that the airline could not afford the new airplanes and the order was cancelled Enter Howard Hughes Jack Frye, who had become president of TWA in 1934, then convinced his friend Howard Hughes to invest in the airline. Howard Hughes’ father was an oil field engineer who invented and patented a new oil drill bit so efficient that it put the other drill bit manufacturers out of business. Backed by PAGE 64 ... TARPA TOPICS

a superb oil field service, Hughes Tool Co. became a de-facto monopoly. The millions poured in.

When his father died Howard inherited the business. With Jack’s encouragement, Hughes bought the controlling interest in TWA in 1939 and immediately revived the order for the Stratoliner.

With the introduction of Stratoliner service in 1940, TWA was again the glamour carrier. But Boeing produced only five Stratoliners for TWA before military orders for the B-17 shut down the production line. Five airplanes do not an airline make! Operated with maximum possible efficiency, five planes could produce only two coast-to-coast flights per day each way. Douglas’ upcoming DC-4, a much bigger and better aircraft, was expected to upstage the Boeing Stratoliner as soon as it came on line. TWA, in desperation, decided on a most daring strategy. It would skip the DC-4 altogether and move directly to the next generation and to a new manufacturer.

Working directly with the Lockheed Corporation, Howard Hughes and Jack Frye secretly set the specifications for a new airplane, to be called the Constellation. They called for a far bigger, faster, and more productive plane than the DC-4. It would cut cross-country time by a third and provide non-stop service not only from LA to LaGuardia but also from LaGuardia to London and Paris, opening for TWA a trans-ocean future. TWA had exclusive contract rights to the Connie, which first flew in 1943.

An Extraordinary Management Team Erratic, secretive, undisciplined, indecisive, and inclined to disappear when tough decisions loomed, Hughes was a genius in the technical aspects of aviation and electronics. But Jack Frye, dynamic, daring, and a visionary, was the driving force that created TWA. He was charismatic, forward-looking, and a natural long-term planner. Jack was one of those western ranch boys who went to Hollywood seeking employment as an extra in the hard riding, shoot‘em up Western movies of the time. But instead of pursuing a film career, he became an instant convert to aviation.

As I heard the story, Jack took an all-day flying lesson and soloed the same day. The next day a former ranch manager and cowboy named Paul Richter came to the same airport, bumped into the helmeted and booted Jack Frye, and asked for directions to the nearest flying instructor.

According to the story, Jack replied, “I am the man you are looking for,” and a life-long friendship began. Jack, who during his career made tremendous contributions to the safety of commercial flying in such areas as weather, high altitude operations, and communications, was promoted to Vice President of Operations of TWA at 26 and President at age 30. Paul served under him as Executive Vice President.

Always in his cowboy boots and flying his personal airplane originally a single engine Alpha mail plane and later a small twin engine Lockheed Jack spread his time between Los Angeles, Kansas City, New York, and Washington. Paul, solid, down-to-earth, and totally reliable, stayed behind his desk in Kansas City, holding everything together and making it all work. The two of them formed a perfect team to take advantage of a wonderful opportunity: to create a great airline. Lee Talman, a Chicago financial whiz and my boss, handled financial accounting and virtually every TWA administrative function except air operation and passenger traffic.

When I arrived at TWA in 1941, Howard, Jack and Lee were 36; Paul, the old man of the bunch, was 45. I was 30. Aviation was a young man’s game.

Ninety-nine percent of TWA people never saw Hughes and Jack Frye because Hughes stayed in Los Angeles and Jack flew his own plane when he traveled back and forth between Los Angeles, PAGE 65 ... TARPA TOPICS

Kansas City, and Washington. Howard never set foot in the general office in Kansas City while I was there or attended a Board meeting. However, as I remember very clearly, they were referred to by everyone from the lowest baggage smasher to the most senior pilot as simply Howard and Jack.

Possibly Jack Frye knew Howard best. We all believed that Jack was Howard’s closest and only friend. But Jack, who loved to sit around and shoot the breeze, never really told us anything about Howard that dealt with the inner man, and he never disclosed any derogatory information about him. He did reveal some of Howard’s quirks, however. For example, Jack Frye told me that when he wanted to get away from Howard’s pressures, he went to his modest ranch just south of Flagstaff, Arizona. Jack’s ranch had no telephone, but Howard, who usually worked at night, would call a small local rancher a few miles away and have him drive over and call Jack to the rancher’s telephone. This happened rather frequently. Jack, who valued a good night’s sleep, told Howard that the rancher charged him $25 for every call to the phone. As Jack anticipated, Howard was outraged at the magnitude of the charge and promised that he would not employ the messenger again.

On the other hand, Jack could apparently contact Howard most of the time when necessary.

When I called I never got past an unknown voice telling me that Mr. Hughes would call back.

Once I received a message to call Howard at a given phone number. When I then called back, a voice told me to call Mr. Hughes at a different number. When I did, I got the same message and was directed to call a third number. I went through this charade six times, each with a different number until the last message, which was to “stay where you are and Mr. Hughes will call you.”

Of course he never did. I kept the list of six numbers for years as a souvenir, but finally lost it somewhere. Somebody, probably Jack Franklin, the TWA engineering chief, told me of going to Los Angeles and being escorted to a darkened house, where he was taken through three locked doors but never did find Howard.

Noah Dietrich was another central, though mysterious, figure. Among the TWA employees I knew, no one really knew where Noah had come from or what he had done before being hired

by Howard. Noah’s “official and authorized” site on the Internet describes a solid pre-Hughes career of accounting and comptroller positions with a variety of companies. According to this site, Howard hired Noah to run a division of Hughes Tool Company. But Noah himself told me that Howard hired him as his personal secretary because of his super typing and shorthand skills.

He indicated that he had had no prior business experience. I had always believed what Noah told me. Now, knowing about Noah’s so-called “official” résumé, I am unsure which version is fact and which is myth. In any case, Noah also told me about how he answered a help wanted ad placed by Howard, and about Howard’s unorthodox questions during the interview for example, how can a battle ship hit a target over the horizon? He also told me of his rapid rise at Hughes Tool and his total frustration at Howard’s unwillingness to let him have “a piece of the action” that is, a stock interest in Hughes Tool. Later, in the middle 1940’s, Howard paid Noah $500,000 per year, making him probably the highest paid man in the U.S. at the time, plus an unlimited expense account. But according to Jack Frye, this didn’t make up for Howard’s refusal to allow Noah to own stock.

Noah’s rise in the company allowed Howard to pursue his other interests namely the movies and life in Hollywood. In a short time, Noah became Chief Executive Officer for the entire Hughes PAGE 66 ... TARPA TOPICS

Company, including TWA, where he was chairman of the Executive Committee. I learned of these titles only recently. They were never mentioned while I was at TWA, and the rest of us had no idea what Noah’s official status was. We only knew that he had enormous power, and, after Howard fired Jack Frye in 1947, nobody ever questioned Noah’s total authority.

Pearl Harbor As no one alive then has forgotten, the Japanese struck Pearl Harbor on Sunday, December 7, 1941, and President Roosevelt declared war. On Monday, December 8, Jack flew his personal airplane to Washington and offered the Army Air Force the unlimited use of TWA’s equipment and personnel for the war effort. Three weeks later TWA and the Army Air Force entered into an agreement to develop and operate air service across the South and North Atlantic under wartime conditions. The five Boeing Stratoliners would be transferred to a new TWA division and devoted to worldwide operations as a designated adjunct to the Army Air Force.

The Boeings were modified extensively, as required by their new role. Civilian luxuries were removed and two immense auxiliary gas tanks were installed in the center section, allowing a narrow aisle between them to permit passage from the cockpit to the passenger area. Load limits were increased dramatically to permit takeoffs with the fuel loads necessary for the Atlantic crossings. War paint replaced the TWA red and white.

The first operational trip was from Washington, D.C., to Natal, Brazil, to Ascension Island (midway across the south Atlantic), and on to Cairo, Egypt. The next was Washington to Newfoundland to Iceland and on to Prestwick, Scotland. The five Boeings were the only land planes in the world capable of these crossings. They were flown by specially selected TWA veterans assigned to the TWA International Division for the duration of the war. They flew Roosevelt to his overseas destinations. They flew most all the top Army brass, foreign dignitaries, high government officials, and diplomats. All five survived the war and afterwards were reconditioned, modernized, and put back into TWA regular passenger service.

Back home, Paul Richter became a Navy captain as head of the Naval Air Transport Command.

Lee Talman became Executive Vice President of TWA and I became Secretary and Treasurer with all the administrative responsibilities previously reporting to Lee. I had one major advantage in handling my job. By that time the armed forces were drafting married men with children.

My jobs gave me the power to grant instant deferment to a number of highly competent young executives. They appreciated their chance to make a real contribution to the war effort as compared to the more likely alternative of “flying a desk” at the Pentagon. As they took charge of their new responsibilities, I was freed up to move to higher responsibilities of my own.

The Transcontinental Record TWA voluntarily gave up to the Army Air Force its rights to the Constellation, now starting to roll off the production line, but Jack asked for one favor in return. He was promised that the first flyable Connie could be used by TWA to attempt a new transcontinental speed record.

For legal reasons, TWA would have to buy the Connie from the government before the flight and sell it back afterwards. There was a problem because each transaction would require TWA to PAGE 67 ... TARPA TOPICS

pay a sales tax in California .The answer seemed obvious make the sale and purchase in a state without a sales tax. The nearest was Nevada. I was put in charge of handling the legal details.

This meant a flight to Las Vegas, which also became a test run for the Connie on the day before its transcontinental attempt.

The day of the Las Vegas flight, April 16, 1944, I was on the floor of the Lockheed experimental hanger in L.A., ready to play my part. A lanky, unkempt gentleman approached me and said, “Aren’t you John Lockhart?” It was Howard. We shook hands firmly no apparent fear of germs at that point. I was impressed but soon realized that the meeting had a specific purpose: Hughes would not accept anyone on board that he had not personally checked out.

The flight to Las Vegas was flown by a Lockheed crew. Back in the cabin a small group gathered

Left to Right: Lockhart, Paul Richter, Jack Frye , and Howard Hughes

in a circle and engaged in an old fashioned aviation bull session. This group included Howard, Jack, Paul Richter, Joe Bartles (head of TWA’s western division), and me. I kept my mouth closed and my ears open. Fortunately a photographer was aboard and pictures were taken. This being an experimental airplane, we all had to wear parachutes, except Howard who couldn’t be bothered.

At the Las Vegas airport I took over the legal action and secured the necessary signatures. On the return trip Howard was the captain and Jack the co-pilot. At one point the plane nosed up and PAGE 68 ... TARPA TOPICS

then shuddered and fell into a diving turn. I grabbed for my parachute release. Paul said, “Don’t be nervous, John. That’s just Howard finding out what happens when you stall a plane this big.”

The next day, April 17, 1944, with Howard and Jack at the controls and press representatives aboard, the Connie made the flight from Burbank, California, to Washington, D.C., in six hours and 57 minutes, breaking Howard’s own 1937 transcontinental record of seven hours and 28 minutes in the H-1, a single-seat racing plane. The test run was a total success. By then I was already on my way back to Kansas City, but I do have a silver medallion with a molded image of the Connie, the date, and my name engraved on the back.

Upgrading The First Connie After the record-breaking flight, the first Connie was returned to the US Army Air Force to serve for the remainder of the war as a C-69 aircraft. Soon after the war this airplane was delivered back to Lockheed, which had repurchased it from the government. Somebody, probably Howard or Jack, got the idea of bringing it up to the latest standards and putting it into airline service.

Howard reached a satisfactory agreement with Lockheed as to the price for the aircraft itself, but differences arose about how much TWA would pay for the numerous modifications. I was involved in this and Howard sent me a draft of a proposed letter to Lockheed specifying what we would pay Lockheed for the work. My instructions from Howard were to send the letter over my signature to Bob Gross, CEO of Lockheed, exactly as Howard had written it. Which of course I did. It wasn’t usual for Howard to involve himself directly in TWA business matters. But, then, nothing was typical of Howard except that he only became involved in things in which he was particularly interested, which he was in this case.

Shortly thereafter, I received an order to fly to Los Angeles, check into the Beverly Hills Hotel, and wait for Howard’s call. In the hotel dining room I happened into Jack Franklin, Chief of TWA’ s engineering department, and also to the senior partner of the Houston law firm that handled the Hughes Tool Company’s legal problems. Each of them was there with similar instructions, although it turned out that our trips were unrelated. The Hughes Tool lawyer said to me, “I have been here three days with not a word from Howard and I am mad as hell, but I can tell you that the meter is running twenty four hours a day.”

The next day Howard’s office told me to proceed to the TWA west coast operations office at the Burbank airport and wait at the TWA flight operations office for instructions. A couple of hours later I was called to the phone. It was Howard. He said, “I am over in Bob Gross’s office and he has shown me your outrageous letter and I must say you ought to be ashamed of it. You are too demanding!” (Of course I realized that Howard must be with Gross and that the conversation was for Bob’s benefit). “Come over here and settle this with Bob!” In an arrangement like this, it was customary for the buyer to pay for direct costs, plus an allowance for overhead equal to 100% of direct costs. Our offer was to pay for the plane as agreed plus the direct cost of materials, but no allowance for overhead.

I walked across the tarmac a couple of hundred yards and approached the Lockheed general office. It was a hangar-type building with a small projection looking like a sort of double door connecting it to the main building. As I approached an arm came around the outside edge and PAGE 69 ... TARPA TOPICS

beckoned me around the corner. It was Howard. He was wearing a white T- shirt, khaki pants and sneakers with no laces. Howard said to me, “ Go in there and make a deal with Bob and don’t give him a damn thing!”

An hour or so later, Bob and I reached a handshake agreement. Bob leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for a moment. I said, “Bob, you look tired.” He said, “I have a right to look tired. I spent the morning negotiating with Eddie Rickenbacker [then President of Eastern Airlines] and the afternoon with Hughes. Everybody in the industry knows they are the two toughest negotiators in aviation.” Incidentally, Howard never backed off the deal I made.

The Replacement for the DC-3 At the end of the war, military DC-3s were available at ten cents on the dollar, but it was clear to the industry that they would be totally inadequate for planned post-war operations. Douglas and Lockheed were competing for the long-haul business, but the industry also needed a better short-haul airplane. Two companies had plans for this market: Glenn L. Martin in Baltimore and Consolidated in San Diego. Each offered new designs to be built on specifications developed in conjunction with the airline companies. The new plane would be twin-engined, nose-steerable, non-pressurized, and basically designed for short-haul business. It would carry 36 passengers.

The designs were so similar that the untrained eye could not distinguish between them.

The similar specifications of the two planes offered an unusual opportunity to play each manufacturer off against the other. At Howard’s suggestion I was sent to Baltimore and Lee Talman to San Diego.

Glen L. Martin was the grand old man of aviation, the designer of the great flying boats and, during the war, of a successful low-level attack bomber. I met with him personally to reach a deal. My main problem was that TWA had no money. Martin and I reached a handshake agreement that I still consider to have been the greatest deal I ever negotiated.

The deal was that Martin would build the planes with its own money. We would enter into a lease agreement, which called for a five-year deal, with TWA having an option for another five years or, in the alternative, simply to deliver the planes back to Martin when the next generation of pressurized planes came along. Martin would not only deliver to TWA the planes but also the tools necessary to maintain them and a five-year supply of parts, all of which could be turned back to Martin. This deal would also put us at a major advantage when we had to negotiate the next generation of pressurized airliners only three or so years away. And all with no up front money from TWA. I had been instructed to advise Howard personally of the terms of the deal in detail and I called him and then sat back to accept his compliments. But Howard was still Howard. “Call Lee in San Diego, describe the deal and tell him to use it against Consolidated!”

The Crash of the XF-11 That very day, July 7, 1946, Howard crashed the XF-11. The Hughes Aviation Company, the division which was developing the HK-1 (the so-called Spruce Goose), also had a government contract to PAGE 70 ... TARPA TOPICS

build a long-range photo reconnaissance airplane for the Air Force, the XF-11 Its twin engines were the Pratt and Whitney 4360, which was the most powerful reciprocating airplane engine ever developed. Of radical design, it held four banks of seven cylinders each and had newly-designed contra-rotating propellers. The plane was designed to out-fly any fighter plane in the world. As was his custom, Howard acted as his own test pilot. Howard flew the test. It went well at first, but then one of the new propellers reversed so that there was one propeller pulling forward and the other backwards. The plane immediately became uncontrollable. Instead of bailing out, Howard attempted to land it on a fairway of the Los Angeles Country Club. The attempt failed, and the plane crashed and burned. Howard was pulled from the wreck by a passerby. He was horribly burned and was expected to die within twelve hours But Howard survived. Jack, who was in contact with Howard, later told me that while Howard was “in his dying hours,” he called in one of his engineers and outlined his ideas about a special hospital bed for burn patients to relieve the excruciating pain of being rolled over from time to time. The plan called for a flexible mattress that could be lowered or raised in such a manner as to roll the patient over by activating a series of pistons controlled by a sort of keyboard operated by the patient. Jack told me that there was another order: to arrange for Lana Turner to collapse on the front steps of the hospital, I assume for the publicity value. Despite his enormous emphasis on secrecy, I suspect that Howard loved to get his name in the papers, particularly as the great lady-killer of Hollywood.

I understand that Howard was hospitalized for weeks, but only two weeks after his release from the hospital he flew his personal B-18, a converted long-range pre-war bomber, into Kansas City, rolled up to the TWA hangar and had it refueled. He took off for New York. He was flying solo and must have spent at least twelve hours in the air. My assumption was that he must have been full of painkillers.

Eventually TWA did buy the Martins, in 1949, but by then I was long gone from the company, and in any case was out of the loop after my meeting with Glen Martin. Howard was always inclined to play one company against another, but I still believe that the deal I negotiated was too good to lose and should have been driven to a swift conclusion. I have no idea how it was eventually financed.

Financing the Post War Fleet Although I was still de facto in charge of almost all administrative functions, my attention toward the end of the war and in the immediate post-war period was devoted more and more to post-war planning and the financing of the post-war fleet. I wrote a series of memoranda on this subject addressed to Lee, Jack, and of course Howard, for whom they were ultimately intended. Jack advised me that Howard would not read any memorandum on any subject unless the first page outlined the problem and the proposed solution. This was tremendous training for me and stood me in good stead throughout my subsequent career. Once you secured Howard’s interest, you could add as many pages as needed.

After many conferences with operating people, I concluded that TWA needed to raise $100 million, to be added to the $30 million, which we had already borrowed from Equitable Life Insurance Company. Howard agreed with a typical reply, “Borrow the $100 million but with no PAGE 71 ... TARPA TOPICS

commitment from Hughes Tool or Howard Hughes!” To put this in perspective, the net worth of TWA was about $15 million and its bonded debt about $30 million. In short, TWA was already a poor credit risk. But the financial world was in love with aviation and no one doubted our ability to achieve success!

After numerous visits to New York and Washington I was able to present (by phone and memo) to Howard the new plan to raise $40 million from the Import-Export Bank, a government agency, and another $40 million from investment banks. The last $20 million was to be supplied by Howard or Hughes Tool. Howard’s reply was again typical Howard. “Hell no. I said no Hughes contribution.” Another series of visits to Washington and New York brought a new proposal that the lenders would raise the ante to $45 million each, but Howard would still have to come in with $10 million. I told Jack, “This is it.” If Howard didn’t come in for $10 million, all commitments were off and the lenders would not meet with me again. I was convinced that they meant it.

The next day, October 21, 1946, before I could even submit it to Howard, the TWA pilots struck. The $100 million plan was dead. I did not go back to either Howard or the lenders.

The Pilots’ Strike TWA had been flying high in early 1946. The new Connies were coming on line and being enthusiastically accepted by the traveling public. But the rest of the year was a nightmare. In July a Connie was lost in a training accident. One instructor was killed, the other injured. Investigations disclosed that the crash was caused by fire due to an insulation short in the baggage compartment next to the cockpit, which brought blinding smoke into the cockpit, resulting in a crash landing.

The Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB) ordered the Connies out of the air until the problem was solved. TWA’s Atlantic operations, which had almost driven its competitors out of the air, were drastically reduced; the Connies were replaced by a few DC-4s. In September the Connie was re-certified by the CAB and was again the public’s favorite. The skies momentarily cleared. But the pilots wanted higher pay for flying the bigger, faster, four-engine aircraft. Negotiations had been in the hands of John Collings, the hard-nosed Vice President of Operations. John knew all the pilots personally and had hired most of them. He was convinced that his boys would never let him down. He was wrong.

The strike came as a complete surprise to me and probably to Jack Frye. An airline is terribly impacted by a strike. All revenue stops immediately, but the exposure to fixed costs and for nonstriking employees goes on, as does depreciation or rental of the aircraft, and the operating facilities throughout the system. Debt service, of course, continues unabated. TWA had no reserve for such costs and was especially vulnerable because of our over-extended financial position. Howard could have bailed TWA out by selling shares in the company. But he couldn’t bear to part with any TWA stock for fear of impairing his total control. And also, he thought you could solve any financial problem by borrowing more money.

I was ordered to Washington, where Jack maintained his office, as part of a three-man coordinating committee, or “war council,” of Gerry Brophy, our senior outside lawyer, Jack, and me. Howard stayed in L.A. Lee Talman stayed in Kansas City to deal with operations. Staff negotiators looked to our committee for decisions and we dealt with Howard (by phone from L.A.). We took drastic action. Our first decision was to lay off all but a handful of company personnel for the duration of the strike.

PAGE 72 ... TARPA TOPICS

Our committee had three interconnecting telephones so we could jointly deal with Howard. A draft of a proposed settlement was discussed with Howard by the full committee. Once again I was impressed by his quick comprehension of complicated issues. We read a ten-page proposed settlement to Howard. At one point he referred to the second long paragraph on page four.

He recited it back to us word for word as we followed with our copies. His total recall and comprehension were very impressive. Howard was specific and positive. No mental problems here!

The strike lasted only three weeks and was settled by an agreement to arbitrate. But it did irreparable damage to TWA. From that day forward, TWA never had the financial resources or the airplanes to meet its enormous system requirements. But we soldiered on.

After the Strike After the pilots strike everything changed, resulting principally in utter confusion for all concerned.

I was, and still am, unable to decipher exactly what was going on. Noah Dietrich assigned a man, Vic Lesley, to be his representative in Kansas City. Vic moved into some of my office space, but certainly did not report to me. I assume Vic was Noah’s hatchet man, but this is just an assumption. Our political affairs had been handled in our Washington office, which incidentally I never visited in the post-war period. There we had Jack, plus Tom Wilson, the Chairman of the Board, and a couple of former Air Force Generals now with the title of Vice President. But I don’t recall a board meeting appointing them. Tom Wilson was supposed to be the head man of the overseas operations, but he was seldom around. He had a Controller, who was supposed to be responsible for all accounting and similar areas of the international division, but he did not report to me, although I was held responsible for what was happening in that area. Eventually, all of these people disappeared.

The biggest casualty of the strike in 1946 had been the friendship between Hughes and Frye. Noah Dietrich had always fought Frye for influence. Finally he had a wedge between Howard and Jack, and he pushed it hard. Anybody aligned with Frye was in trouble. In the late fall of 1946, Lee Talman sensed the inevitable and told me I had better start looking for a new job. Paul Richter was fired, then Jack Frye, and eventually Lee Talman and another friend of mine, Art Jens, the Corporate Secretary. Jack Franklin, V.P. of engineering and also a close friend, left voluntarily.

A new chairman and president were selected by Noah, who retained total control.

The company never issued any publicity on the departures of Jack Frye, Paul Richter, or anybody else. There were no parties, no public announcements, and no golden parachutes. People just failed to show up at their offices. I can only guess, but I think Noah handled the firing of the very top level and Vic Lesley handled the others. All of this, of course, shows how inadequate and irresponsible Howard was when it came to operating a business.

With one exception, I was the only one left of the top half-dozen members of the informal group of executives who had been running the company. The exception was John Collings, the Chief of Flight Operations, who had been a high TWA executive since the merger with Transcontinental Air Transport 17 years before. John had been successful in avoiding all the politics and internal warfare and had kept to his small office in the back of the Kansas City hangar. A few years after this, John retired.

PAGE 73 ... TARPA TOPICS

Noah told me to keep cool, that the two new bosses the chairman and the president were only temporary, that they would soon be gone, and that I would be a serious candidate for the presidency.

I was flattered but reminded myself that Mrs. Lockhart had not raised any foolish children.

The Los Angeles Board Meeting I was instructed by Noah to develop a new long-term financial plan for the company. A meeting of the new board was called for L.A. The day before the meeting I spent the day reviewing the new financial plan in considerable depth with the new CEO and the new chairman. They approved the plan totally and asked me to present it to the board for approval at the next day’s meeting.

At the board meeting I presented the plan to the directors. It was basically a proposal to cut the company back to a minimal level, which would produce survival but would probably limit further extension of service beyond Cairo. Everything was going well until one of the new directors said, “I offer a better plan,” which he then presented to the board. Basically it proposed that Howard put up $10 million of Hughes money in exchange for common stock. It seemed to me that I had heard that song before. To my astonishment, my two bosses, the Chairman and the CEO, accepted this proposal and recommended it to the board, which approved it. I was left standing before the board with my fly open!

Subsequently this plan went through, and Howard put up the money that got TWA over its immediate hump. I am still convinced that my bosses were as uninformed as I was. Noah must have gotten through to Howard and asked the directors to approve the plan.

That night I flew back to Kansas City and a day later left for New York and some serious job seeking.

Politics and the Spruce Goose In 1947, the U.S. Senate War Investigations Committee (SWIC) undertook an investigation of Hughes’ failure to complete wartime contracts to develop two aircraft for which the government had contracted the XF-11 in which Howard crashed, and the HK-1, known as the Spruce Goose.

Actually, this was part of a political attempt by Senator Brewster of Maine, who was in league with Pan American, to prevent TWA from competing with Pan Am internationally. Brewster waged a political battle to prove that TWA was not qualified for Atlantic flight after Howard refused to merge with Pan Am to create one international airline. Actually, our Boeings had been flying the Atlantic almost weekly during the war, but that was a military secret. Brewster called a meeting of the SWIC to attack Howard’s background and technical knowledge. Brewster brought in a group of technical experts in most every phase of aeronautics, from engines to instruments to wing design, etc. Expert after expert grilled Howard. He silenced them one by one. It was total success for Howard and a humiliating disaster for Senator Brewster who was defeated in the next election. The SWIC never made a report.

Meanwhile, it wasn’t hard to figure out that my career at TWA would not continue much longer.

Knowing that, I took particular satisfaction in one of my final TWA experiences, which happened not because of Howard, but in spite of him. It involved the famous “Spruce Goose.”

PAGE 74 ... TARPA TOPICS

Reflecting Howard’s secretive nature, the numerous Hughes enterprises were kept strictly compartmentalized. With the probable exception of Noah and the limited exception of Jack, there was no communication or exchange of interest between Hughes Tool, Hughes Movie Productions, TWA, the engineering and electronic companies, and the division that built the big flying boat.

Howard kept everything related to the Spruce Goose project strictly secret. Nevertheless, I received an invitation from Chuck Pierelli, the general manager of the Spruce Goose project, to come to Long Beach and tour the big bird.

In the first two years of WWII, the allies were losing on all fronts the United States in the Pacific and Britain in Europe. Many Americans could sense a world victory for Hitler. As the U Boats appeared to be controlling the Atlantic long term, American planners began thinking about supplying England by air. Howard had a vision of huge flying boats, which could evade the U Boats and haul enormous loads on a non-stop basis, though at slow air speeds of about 200 miles per hour. In 1942 Howard teamed up with Henry Kaiser, who had transformed the ship building business with the assembly line Liberty cargo ship program. Kaiser signed a contract with Howard to build a fleet of giant air transports, and, by virtue of Kaiser’s enormous prestige in Washington, got military approval. He should have read the contract more carefully: it gave Howard, who had drafted it, 100% control. Kaiser and his staff were allowed no participation in the construction.

Howard’s only concession was that the big bird was to be named HK-1 (for Hughes and Kaiser).

The plane was designed to be built of conventional aluminum.

While Kaiser was an America shipping hero, Howard was an anathema to the Army Brass because of his disdain for them, his refusal to keep them informed, and his refusal to allow them access to Hughes premises (and probably also because of his alleged refusal to introduce them to the joys of Hollywood). The military, citing other priorities, canceled Howard’s access to aluminum. So Howard re-designed the plane to be made of a material requiring only low priorities plywood.

Chuck Pierelli, before the war, had been a mechanic helping to build the giant Boeing flying boats for the Navy and Pan Am. Chuck rose almost to the top at Boeing and then was lured away by Howard to manage construction of the HK-1. Howard promised Chuck an enormous salary. In those wartime days, every new job required salary approval by the Federal Wage and Salary Commission. Noah, in his Byzantine way and ever suspicious of a potential power threat, volunteered to put Chuck’s deal through the Commission. Somehow, the approval came through for only $50,000 per year. Chuck was furious, but too in love with the project to walk away.

Perhaps my visit was Chuck’s way of thumbing his nose at Noah.

Despite its name, the Spruce Goose was not built of spruce but of laminated hardwood birch, a stronger and more suitable material. Apparently “Birch Goose” did not have the rhyming appeal of “Spruce Goose.” I learned after the war that all of the veneer from which the bird was built came from the Penokee Veneer Company in Mellen, Wisconsin, my home town. Penokee Veneer was the last significant remaining Mellen employer in the timber business after the big logging operations around the town ended in the thirties with the exhaustion of the timberlands. At the time Hughes contracted for the birch veneer, the company was chiefly making cheese boxes for the aging and storing of Wisconsin cheese.

The main body of the HK-1 was built in Los Angeles and hauled to Long Beach, California, where an enormous hanger had been built right on the water. I believe that the pre-built wing (twenty feet longer than a football field) and the tail structure, which reached to about 80 feet from the

PAGE 75 ... TARPA TOPICS

ground, were added there. When I saw the plane in 1947 it was almost ready for flight testing.

And it did fly very briefly that year. With Howard himself at the controls, the plane flew about a mile at an altitude of 30 feet for one minute. After that it was put in storage and never flown again.

You can visit the Spruce Goose today at an aviation museum in Oregon and tour the entire plane. It’s no doubt as impressive today as it was then. From that visit with Chuck, I particularly remember several of its features.

Cargo was loaded from the tail, and I was told that a tractor trailer could bring its load right into the interior, turn around, and drive back out. The flight deck, where big airplanes of the day had only elbowroom for pilot, co-pilot, flight engineer and navigator, was about 40 feet long and 24 feet wide at the rear tapering to about 8 feet across at the pilot’s station. A door on each side at the rear of the flight deck opened into the wing area and there was also a circular staircase, which gave access to the enormous cargo area below.

Most impressive to me was the interior of the wing. During the war we saw pictures of big bombers where small women crawled into the wings to install the fuel lines and the flight controls. But the interior of the wing of the Spruce Goose was unique. The HK-1 wing was essentially a rectangular box tapering towards the wing tips. Aerodynamically shaped leading and trailing edges were added to this box, which made the wing look conventional from the exterior. Inside the wing, about seven feet back from the leading edge, the front wall of the structural box was about ten or eleven feet high where the wing joined the fuselage, becoming gradually lower as it tapered out to the wing tip. Along this wall at a convenient height were the wiring, hydraulic lines, and cables normally buried inside conventional wings. A narrow, one- foot wide walkway ran along the front of the wall offering access to the flight engineer during flight. Opposite the wall, along the interior of the leading edge, the four engines on each wing were readily accessible to the flight engineer via the walkway, if servicing of the carburetors was required. The height of the passage along the walkway was such that a six-foot tall man could stand upright opposite the inner two engines. Opposite the third engine, this height was reduced to about four feet as the wing thickness decreased towards the wing tip. Opposite the fourth engine, the height of the interior passage was only about two and one half feet. The engines themselves were the powerful Pratt & Whitney R-4360’s, each having 28 cylinders. Compared to any other airplane, the HK-1 looked to me like a flight engineer’s heaven. Chuck showed me everything. So much for Hughes’ secrecy!

Epilogue As is well known, after the crash of the XF-11, Howard was never the same again. His wandering lifestyle took him to Las Vegas, to the Caribbean, Canada, and Mexico. Eventually he sold TWA to a financial group for a very handsome price the highest price by far that the stock ever reached.

Noah was fired. The great management team Jack Frye had put together had already gone their separate ways. So far as I know, I, at ninety-five, am the last survivor.

A series of new CEO’s took over. Although some of them were well regarded in the industry, none was able to overcome the long-term shortage of capital and the inadequate size of the fleet.

Eventually the company failed, and in 2001 its assets were sold to American Airlines.

PAGE 76 ... TARPA TOPICS

In a famous remark, Winston Churchill described the Soviet Union as an enigma wrapped in a mystery. He could have been talking about Howard Hughes. I’ve been asked if he was a business genius. Certainly he was a technological and engineering genius. If you looked at the price he got for TWA when he sold it in 1966 a reported $545,814,771 you might say he looked like a business genius at that point. But his faults as a businessman were many. His secretiveness was a handicap.

His procrastination another. His working hours, midnight to dawn, were impractical for working with anyone else. He refused to take advice from anyone, regardless of how badly it was needed.

His maneuverings to get the last dollar and to avoid taxes were often self-defeating. His mania for total control of TWA was totally destructive, including his refusal to sell even a single share, his illogical rejection of increasing TWA’s equity, his disregard of all conventional thinking about the dangers of excessive debt, and his unwillingness to even discuss the financial structure that caused TWA’ s eventual failure. Above all, Howard was extremely self-centered. I did hear one story from Jack Frye about Howard’s generosity to the wife and children of a government inspector killed in the crash of a plane Howard was flying. But he cared nothing for those who worked for him and was not interested in their comfort, or security, or their hopes and dreams. So far as I could see, he never had a friend except Jack Frye, and in the end he fired Jack.

In the earliest days of transport aviation, Howard and Jack dreamed a great dream. It was to build the biggest, best equipped, fastest, safest, and highest flying airline in the world. They created the Constellation, which for a time dominated the airways. Their goal was to extend operations around the world. Howard led the technological development and was the source of capital. Jack was a visionary and a leader of men. He put together the finest set of executives I have ever had the privilege of working with. Paul Richter, Lee Talman, and I had the thrill of being among them and trying to bring the great dream to fulfillment. In the end we failed, primarily because Howard never accepted the need for adequate capital. And that brought the dream crashing down.

This article was submitted by David Haase who received it from Lockhart’s son Woody.

PAGE 77 ... TARPA TOPICS

TWA A Brief History of its Management, Culture and Business Practices by David Haase Authors Note: (The following paper is based primarily on written material as cited. However, personal observations and anecdotal information from others were also used.

It is always easier to see what has happened after the fact than when it is taking place. Thus the reader should see the information provided as that which provides benefit for the future and not necessarily as criticism of past action or inaction. It should be recognized that the conclusions are ones I have drawn personally.)

BACKGROUND The airline world has changed significantly in the last two decades. When airlines first got started in business in the late 20’s and 30’s, the first real revenue producer was airmail. In order to protect the carriers, the government awarded routes, established contract fees and stipulated that only the carrier with an award could fly a route. That basic system of route awards and price regulation remained in place until the Airline Deregulation Act became law in 1978. Since then, any carrier certified as “fit” has been allowed to fly any route and charge any price. On the international side, the concept of deregulation is known as “open skies”. It started with fare deregulation between North America and Europe in the 70’s. Though many markets still carry restrictions in terms of which carrier may fly the route and how frequently they may operate, fare deregulation has now spread throughout much of the free world in one form or another.

The changes in the airline industry, particularly in North America and to a great extent in Europe, have been dramatic. Several carriers have ceased operations because of the inability to adapt to the new environment. Others have filled the voids left by those that are no longer in operation.

Airlines are truly “going global”.

Just what is it that makes some airlines successful competitors and leaves others by the wayside?

It is the persona of individuals, the strength of the company financials, the size of the company or the size of its fleet? Actually, it is none of those. It is, in fact, a number of elements working together to produce success. The ability of an airline to build on its past, to have a clear commanding sense of where it is going, to be able to mobilize its workforce and to adapt to the major changes in the industry is no different than challenges faced by other businesses.

The Role of Management With the economy becoming more globalized, the key role played by management and their understanding of the broader marketplace has become more significant. No longer is the competition just domestic or just international, it could be a Spanish company that partnered with a domestic airline and just set up a new alliance to compete in both the U.S. and Europe. The ability of any company to compete in the international marketplace depends upon key elements that are shaped by the company’s leadership and management. The understanding of a company’s purpose, its strategy, the corporate culture, its ability to learn and adapt are essential keys. An organization’s diverse management group must develop all of those elements. With a clear PAGE 78 ... TARPA TOPICS

understanding of those elements and an active human capital structure, an organization is much better prepared to succeed in the global marketplace.

THE ERA OF TWA The Lindbergh line, the airline of the stars: that was TWA. It started as a merger of small carriers in the 30’s and became Trans-Continental and Western Air Express, TWA. The name was later changed to Trans World Airlines. At one time the carrier was one of the “big three” along with United and American Airlines. Yet, early in 2001 the carrier passed into extinction when it declared bankruptcy for the third time in a decade and its assets were acquired by American Airlines. What happened that resulted in the demise of a huge international business that had a long history of firsts?

CORPORATE CULTURE What was the corporate culture of TWA? The airline was strong in the technical sense. Charles Lindberg served as a technical consultant to the airline. It had many firsts including the initiation of the first significant commercial transports developed in conjunction with Douglas, the DC-1 & DC-2, the first 4 engine pressurized transport, the Boeing B-307 Stratoliner, the first non-stop flight from Paris to Los Angeles in a piston engine aircraft, and the first Extended Twin Engine Operation over the North Atlantic to name a few. It favored high profile passengers over the average client. Movie stars frequented TWA. Pope John Paul II had traveled exclusively from and about the United States on TWA. The company had a fascinating corporate history having been at one time controlled by a division of General Motors (GM), North American Aviation Inc. The airline had financial troubles in the 30’s and GM sent in a young accountant to trouble shoot and shape up the airline. That accountant was a fellow by the name of Ernest Breech who later became the President of North American Aviation and subsequently the Chairman of Ford Motor Company. These were the days when legends like Eddie Rickenbacker, who worked directly for Breech at North American, were active in building the aviation industry.

TWA’s heroes were hardheaded and demanding individuals like pilot Jack Frye who started with Western Air Express in 1930, and became at age 27 Vice President of Operations. At age 29 in 1934 he was appointed by Breech to be the TWA President. He was described as brash, energetic and fiercely competitive. His engineering efforts were unparalleled and he personally set several speed and altitude records while building an airline from a few 8 seat aircraft to one of major international status. He served until 1947.

In 1937 TWA was profitable. But, due to extra spending on the new Boeing 307 in 1938, the company lost money. As a result Frye got into disagreement with a controlling board member about the need for funds. TWA needed money to operate and grow and Frye wanted to overcome that member’s objection.

Frye decided to bypass the Board and approached an individual by the name of Howard Hughes, who subsequently made a major purchase of TWA stock and took financial control in 1939. The eccentric Hughes maintained control for two decades, until December 1960. Hughes had a technical orientation.

He actually flew as a pilot for American Airlines in the 30’s. He was largely responsible PAGE 79 ... TARPA TOPICS

for the development of the Lockheed Constellation. But, much more importantly, he was responsible for the culture of the airline. He had a close association with Frye and also appointed his own management team to run the company.

The airline, much like its controlling owner and its early president, was a risk taker on everything but the safety side. It pushed the international opportunity edge like it pursued the technical edge and sought new international routes at every opportunity regardless of how well they were researched. It bet it’s future on a large fleet of 707 aircraft in the 60’s and 70’s and purchase a large fleet of 747 aircraft including purchase of a special version of that aircraft for operations to China a route for which it never received operating authority.

Yet, in terms of the market for air travel, TWA never quite had what the general public wanted.

In 1961, the Chicago Tribune conducted a survey to determine what was described as the “ideal airline”. In the mind of the public (the market no less) the survey found that the ideal airline was visualized in terms of dependability, safety, speed, efficiency and service. TWA was visualized as “a large and powerful airline that emphasized speed, style and glamour over personal attention and efficiency.” Floyd Hall, then Senior Vice President of Operations and later to become President of Eastern Airlines recalled the mindset in 1963. “In the airline industry [or at least not at TWA], we never really considered the fact that we were selling a product…In other words, what’s the market for your product?”

These formative individuals and events set the corporate culture for TWA. In subsequent years, the technical excellence has remained. The pilot heritage in management has also continued with its last president being a former line pilot and active pilot union leader.

CORPORATE PURPOSE The airline perceived its purpose as that of a major transport carrier. But it was never much more clearly defined than that. During World War II, the company provided its aircraft and crews in support of the war effort and formed the Intercontinental Division (ICD). After the war, the ICD continued as an expansion of the domestic airline. Yet, there was no significant integration of the domestic and international operations except at New York where flights connected. International and domestic were effectively two separate airlines. “International was a world of its own”. Both cargo and passenger transport continued until the mid 70’s when cargo operations were terminated.

The focus was not on the market or the passenger but on having the technical edge. In this context, however, it’s important to bear in mind that airline routes and fares were tightly regulated until airline deregulation in 1978. Especially during the 50’s there was little direct competition between city pairs in the United States. And for routes to Europe, they were divided up after WW II to Pan American and TWA except to London where the two carriers competed. The primary international competition was from European carriers flying from their countries to New York.

The corporate purpose was never really defined. It seemed to be simply an airline to compete with other airlines.

CORPORATE STRATEGY From an employee viewpoint, strategy was never clearly defined until, perhaps, during the last 5 years of the airline’s operation. In the era of Hughes, his appointed managers encouraged him to PAGE 80 ... TARPA TOPICS

provide funds for additional aircraft. There was never a well-organized plan to do that and whenever funds became available, a major effort would be launched to get the aircraft into service on additional routes. After the bankers took control of the airline in 1960, Charles Tillinghast came in as President. He was selected and appointed by the representative for the bankers, none other than Ernest Breech (the same Breech who two decades earlier had appointed Jack Frye as president). Breech had recently retired from Ford - and tried to create a stable environment from which the carrier could grow. The first priority was, again, new aircraft as other carriers had jets on order but TWA did not. Yet, while acquiring new aircraft such as the Boeing 707, there never really seemed to be a long-range strategy. When Pan American ordered Boeing 747’s, so did TWA. But, this was done only from a reactionary competitive standpoint and not on the basis of a long-range strategic plan.

Within the last two years of the company’s operation, a significant effort went into selection of a new aircraft for its existing routes. TWA ordered several Airbus A-318 aircraft for delivery in 2004. But at that point, it wasn’t evident that there was a well defined plan for use of those aircraft other than the company needed new more efficient airplanes with better range. As in the company’s past history, the focus seemed to be on technical excellence and aircraft but not on a broader strategy or the marketplace.

With the exception of a couple of years, TWA suffered financially from the end of WW II until Hughes lost control of the airline in 1960. In the 60’s the airline was consistently profitable as the economy bubbled and new Boeing 707’s provided great productivity advances. TWA purchased Hilton International in 1967 and made it a subsidiary. In the early 70’s, with the economy faltering and the oil embargo of 1973, profits again disappeared. By then, TWA was growing to include 20 747 aircraft in its fleet. While the airline operation was profitable in the summer and shoulder seasons, major losses were suffered in the winter months. This major swing in seasonal profitability led to a plan to diversify further with the stated objective of smoothing out the quarterly seasonal swings in profitability. To that end, TWA purchased Canteen Corp. a food service business. Subsequently a new holding company, Trans World Corp., was formed that made TWA, Hilton Int’l and Canteen subsidiaries and that later added Century 21 real estate and string of franchise restaurants. This move to restructure the operating entities came just as U.S. airline deregulation, enacted in 1978, was beginning to be implemented. The corporate change, completed in 1979, could be viewed as a strategic move in the face of forthcoming competition in the industry, but it didn’t focus on the airline. Unfortunately, the airline continued to lose money. Subsequently many 747 aircraft were sold as a move to reduce expenses and losses. Yet, no real core changes were made in the airline, it continued to be unprofitable.

As TWA moved into the 80’s and deregulation took hold, other airlines ordered large numbers of narrow-body aircraft. TWA didn’t have the resources to make large purchases of that scale.

The holding company that included TWA was now vulnerable as investors saw more value in the separate individual companies than they did in the combined holding company. The holding company ended up spinning off TWA in 1983 and setting it adrift without the financial resources that were used to purchase the other units. The unions were concerned that the carrier could go bankrupt and searched for a “white knight.” In 1985, Carl Icahn took control of the airline with support of organized labor in the form of wage and other concessions. In 1988, he funded the company, took it private, set about his own plan - never well defined - and tried to move the company back to profitability ostensibly either for the purpose of operating it or for the purpose of selling it for a significant profit after correcting its deficiencies.

PAGE 81 ... TARPA TOPICS

His efforts to reform the airline failed and finally in 1992 the company declared bankruptcy. In the interim, assets were sold to generate cash. Those sales had a significant impact on the longrange future of the company. One asset sold was route operating authority between several cities in the U.S. and London. TWA never recovered from that major loss of revenue.

Only when a new management team was in place after Icahn sold his interest in the airline was a known strategic plan put in place. Even then, in the 1995 timeframe, no details were available to average employees including middle management. Later it was revealed that the plan was designed to “shape up” the airline to the extent that it would become a desirable acquisition target for another airline.

Later, in 1999 a formal strategic plan was put forward and made available to all employees in considerable detail spelling out each individual initiative and the progress toward that objective.

The message was clearly conveyed in terms of what would be done to improve the airline. What was not conveyed was the strategic objective. As the result of later bankruptcy proceedings, it was revealed that the company had a three-prong strategy: 1) to operate profitably as a stand-alone airline, 2) to merge with another carrier (America West) or 3) to be acquired.

The TWA strategy also did not address some other aspects of company operations. TWA management took a very high risk and decided not to hedge fuel prices as that would have required divestiture of the limited significant remaining assets. Rather, they decided to take the risk that fuel prices would not surge. The plan, in that regard, failed as fuel prices reached new high levels during 2000. Recognizing that the company would not be able to pay its obligations due in January 2001, TWA declared bankruptcy that month and announced that American Airlines had agreed to purchase its assets and retain its employees.

What is of particular interest in the whole history of the airline is the absence of a strategic plan and set of goals for the airline until the very end. Rather, the actions that were taken through the years represented putting out fires or looking at goals only on a year-by-year basis. The absence of a long-range view had a significant negative impact on the airline and its ability to deal with its cost structure.

Was the last strategic plan successful? In the final analysis, that question cannot be answered directly. If the objective was a healthy stand-alone airline, the plan failed. If the objective was to merge with another carrier, the plan failed. If the objective was to protect the entity from being sold off in pieces and to preserve the employee’s jobs, the plan succeeded - but most of the jobs were saved only temporarily.

Whenever - over the years - the financial results did not meet expectations, management never cited its plan or its actions. It was always, “fuel prices went up,” “the economy was weaker than expected” or “the competition discounted fares heavily.” One cannot help but recall that “the people who survive bad luck are the people who plan for bad luck.”

HUMAN CAPITAL Management The turnover in TWA’s management ranks was tumultuous, had an adverse effect upon the company and demonstrated that there was no succession plan or management training plan. In PAGE 82 ... TARPA TOPICS

1956, President Ralph Damon, who had served since 1949, passed away. It wasn’t until over a year later that a successor, Carter Burgess a former Assistant Secretary of Defense in the Eisenhower administration, was named by Hughes. But, Hughes would not let Burgess run the airline his way.

It had to be done Howard’s way. Burgess resigned after serving less than a year. Another 7 months passed until Hughes appointed the next president, Charles Thomas, who had just retired as Secretary of the Navy. Thomas resigned about a year later in 1960. Hughes still would not let the President run the airline. In December that same year, the bankers took control and appointed none other than Ernie Breech as TWA interim president. Breech served less than a year while a search for a permanent president was conducted. Charles Tillinghast was appointed and served for 8 years.

He came out of the manufacturing industry and had no airline background. His chosen successor, Chief Operating Officer “Bud” Wiser, a former president of Northeast airlines served for 6 years and resigned unexpectedly after being told that he was no longer considered a candidate for president.

There was no alternate succession plan and Tillinghast again took on the role of president for a period of about 6 months. Eventually Ed Meyer, a finance vice president, was then chosen in 1976 to serve as president. He served until 1985 when Carl Icahn took control of the airline.

The turbulence continued in the Icahn era with either no president or several short-term presidents serving the company. After the company was free of Icahn control, the longest a president served was about 2 years and chairmen of the board changed even more frequently.

In essence, there were only a few periods of stability of leadership in the airline, the most successful being during the Tillinghast years. But even then, earnings were uneven. The downstream effects were just as devastating with continuing rotation of vice presidents and plans / programs changing just as frequently. When difficult economic times came upon the company in the late 70’s, all middle management training was halted as the company tried to save cash.

After Carl Icahn took control of the airline in 1985, many changes were made to cut costs. Even after emerging from Icahn’s control in 1992, those cutbacks continued to affect the TWA. In 1996 the airline was rated last of 417 in Fortune magazine’s rating of admired companies. It received low marks for quality of management, quality of service, and the ability to attract, develop and keep talented people.

In the later years of the company, management recruiting was extremely difficult and, with many other opportunities, talented individuals left the company. Near the end, the company searched for a president from outside the company. Only one individual candidate was found who would consider the opportunity. But, he did not have the full support of the Board of Directors and chose not to take the position. The president’s job was eventually filled from inside the company.

Labor The relationship between organized labor and TWA has been difficult since the 50’s and the result was an ongoing effect upon the company’s ability to compete. It seemed to be the kind of relationship where the order was “just do your job and we’ll run the airline.” In 1966 the mechanics struck for 43 days. At one point in early 1984, President Meyer was asking for a 15% pay cut for the mechanics. About 6 months prior he took an 11% pay increase although he subsequently rescinded that increase. His credibility with the union was completely lost. The end result was a labor agreement that the company could not afford in order to prevent a strike. Within 3 months PAGE 83 ... TARPA TOPICS

of taking control, Carl Icahn was faced with a 90 day strike when 6000 flight attendants walked out. . And, as recently as 1997, the company suffered from a major service disruption as a result of a wildcat strike by machinists and baggage handlers. It took a year for traffic to recover to normal levels after the disruption that lasted less than a week. And in 1999, pilots refused to fly overtime as they pursued an agreement. Flight schedules were disrupted as a result with a negative impact on traffic and yields.

Because of fears of other such events and the effect upon the company, subsequent labor agreements with the machinists and other groups never really addressed the productivity changes the company needed to survive. The company never found a way to work jointly with its major labor groups for mutual benefit.

TWA had a dedicated group of foreign national employees. In fact, virtually all overseas employees were foreign nationals. But labor rules overseas are different. It’s almost impossible to fire anyone.

And in many countries, a furloughed employee gets one month pay for every year of service. In the last few years, TWA decided to downgrade service (large aircraft to smaller aircraft and/or less frequency) or stop serving several European terminals. The effect was that stations were overstaffed. The resultant effect was high fixed labor costs or court imposed charges of substantial amounts in favor of terminated employees. The company said it attempted to negotiate with those employees, but agreements were never reached. As in other aspects of labor relations, there never seemed to be a good working arrangement between the company and its employees.

ADAPTING, LEARNING AND BUILDING ON LEARNING As noted above, TWA’s long history shaped a strong culture. It was the task of the leadership to use and build on that culture to best benefit, but also to change where needed and move on to better ways of doing business. Tillinghast recognized the positive aspects of TWA’s culture and built on that. Unfortunately, that culture had negative aspects including a bureaucracy that made it difficult for the company to adapt to a changing world. In their days, Tillinghast and Meyer were never able to break free from that old management mindset and move on. The company never learned how to break the old mold and adapt.

TWA was very involved in foreign technical assistance programs in the 60’s and 70’s and had a premier reputation. It conducted flight operations and maintenance training in Saudi Arabia at Saudi Airlines and had a similar program in Addis Ababa for Ethiopian Airlines. A similar program in the ‘50s assisted Iberia Airlines of Spain. The company’s reputation in each program was outstanding and the relationships were profitable for TWA. Further, its relationships with foreign governments and authorities, particularly in Europe were the subject of many compliments as compared to those of Pan American which took a more heavy handed approach to doing business.

Yet, in the period after deregulation, the company was never able to further capitalize upon these relationships and transfer knowledge from the foreign country to the U.S. Information transfer was one way, and officials in one country were not closely linked to officials in others.

The company was very compartmentalized with international being run like a separate division.

There was no effort made to seek operating alliances except during the very last few years the company operated. Those later attempts, albeit very late in the game, were perceived as beneficial.

PAGE 84 ... TARPA TOPICS

One positive change was the acquisition of Ozark Airlines by TWA. Ozark’s major terminal was St. Louis, the same place TWA had its major connection hub. There was vigorous competition between TWA and Ozark. As Carl Icahn was completing the acquisition of TWA, he also purchased Ozark and merged the two operations. The result was a reduction in competition and an increase in yields for TWA at St. Louis.

In later years, the company focus was on domestic operations as they had a difficult situation in attempting to maintain adequate yields on international routes. An agreement with Carl Icahn to divest him of control in the 1995 bankruptcy resulted in his being able to buy tickets for routes to/from New York at substantial discounts and in unlimited volumes through 2003. The effect of that agreement was to significantly depress yields on routes to Europe. In essence, the company either failed to or was unable to leverage their substantial international experience. It is thought that reasons included liability concerns that the company believed they could not adequately counter.

The company was the opposite of the learning organization. It failed to find a way to profitably take advantage of its significant international experience and its technical and educational capabilities and to use that to leverage its potential.

SUMMARY The culture of TWA in the early years continued to shape the internal culture of the airline in subsequent decades and its significance was not captured and leveraged by its leadership nor was there any attempt to change that culture. This was, in turn, due to an absence of strong management leadership and sense of purpose. Further, the absence of a clear and well-defined overarching strategy to take the company into the world of deregulation and the absence of a willingness to take needed bold steps were contributions to its failures. The result, in part, was that the airline was technically adept, but not able to be responsive to customer desires.

TWA came out of World War II as one of the big three, but was for the reasons stated above - always on the brink of financial disaster. It was unable to capitalize on its human resources and existing talent and it failed to provide a development program for management. The financial aspects of the company’s operations were further compromised by the lack of a mutually beneficial working relationship with labor. The company was not able to capitalize on its significant international experience and expertise due to lack of management attention, the absence of methods to transfer information and the absence of alliances with other partners.

TWA ceased to exist when its operations were fully integrated into American Airlines in late 2004.

All that remains is its rich history.

PAGE 85 ... TARPA TOPICS

61- FOXTROT by Michael J. Larkin Captain TWA (Ret.) On December the 7th, circa one nine five nine, There assembled a group of colleagues of mine; A gaggle of ragtag ambitious young males, Their eyes on the Heavens, the wind in their sails.

They aspired to be pilots, or navs if they failed, But patriots all; their courage would prevail; Two years of Hell stood between them and their bars, Also pretty young maidens, and shiny hot cars.

On a day that shall live in Air Infamy, We became air cadets, part of Air History; Ten thousand before us had strode this tough path, But we all vowed we would not be the last.

We were four hundred forty, chosen most carefully, From aspiring aviators, some thirty thousand and three; We learned to eat quickly, march in cadence and sing, We scorned with our voice the Academy Ring!

We came from the farm, the college, the city, Joined in desire to be airborne and free; To join with our heros, such as Hoover and Bong, To smite those who would do our U.S.A. wrong!

There are those who would claim we just flew and chased skirts, There is some truth in that; we were bashless young flirts; But most of the time we were on Tour Ramp, Redeeming demerits, then studies by lamp.

We bonded so tightly, we are friends o’er the nations; But would never forgive Honor Code violations; We could not lie, cheat, quibble nor steal: Would that our Law Schools would teach..... (nevermind, let’s get real!)

A few lucky souls received Silver Wings, Just a hunk of cheap silver, but to us many things; Remembering those who paid the Last Price, Lovely young ladies so sweet and so nice.

PAGE 86 ... TARPA TOPICS

But our dreams to be future yankers and bankers, Vanished with assignments to bombers and tankers; Too late we realized we had been SAC-umsized, Condemned to the roaring and boring night skies.

However, unbeknownst to we fledgling young vets, The airlines were looking for heavy-time, ( jets); But St. Patrick stayed with us, ever so true, So we joined the majors, and bid SAC fond adeiu.

Now we are old, preparing to fly, On our final mission in a cerulean sky; Aviation Cadets! Brave, proud, and loyal, Finally at rest on American soil (Written in honor of USAF Aviation Cadet class 61-Foxtrot on the 45th anniversary of their graduation from USAF Basic Pilot Training at Reese AFB, Texas, on March 17th, 1961.

A few fortunate souls went to F-100’s or T-38 Instructor School, however, the vast majority wound up in the Strategic Air Command flying B-47’s, B-52’s, KC-135’s or KC-97’s.)

Received from Phil Rimmler - Editor JohnRecently the six colleagues in my section in Honeywell presented me with a stunning 15.5” by 19.5” model of a 1649A crafted in, and shipped (boxed in 6 inches of foam)- from Pampanga, Philippines. I first thought it was a ‘Sayonara’ present, but, fortunately not yetMy response was the following: The Connie’s sublime, In its shallow climbIt’s resting on high, Where it catches the eye.

Of Nav by Star, When from shore too farAnd in its beginning, With no Radar.

It’s an artistic gift, Providing a continuing lift,

Of billowing smoke, As the FE did stoke, (recalcitrant Cylinders)

Allowing one to ponder, On days gone yonder-

(Not discounting the sensation, Induced by that engine vibration)-

It’s opened the door, On to grease and Prop roarAnd Comm by HF, With Static galore.

With superb cuisine,

Not made by machineReal Buffalo Steaks, On real Porcelain plates.

How the Props would un-ice, With the use of De-Ice (And the bang! on the hull) How the gear would ‘rock’, While coming to a stopThe Tri-Tailed Bird, So handsomely preservedIn this Model superb.

Thank you all, Phil

PAGE 87 ... TARPA TOPICS

TWA B17 1946

TWA B17 - 1946

(Special Thankyou to Boeing - Marc Brecy May 2006)

The first post-war Fortress to receive a U.S civil registration was 44.85728, assigned the experimental certificate of NX4600 on july 17, 1946. It was later became NL1B when TWA received the converted 299AB from Boeing and a limited type certificate from the CAA.(NASM)

â—?

General civilian utilization of the B17 began with the issuance of Limited Type Certificate L-1 on december 2, 1946, by the Civil Aeronautics Administration. Though the CAA had previously licensed B17s in the Experimental category, the issuance of the Limited certificate broadened the scope of operations beyond the highly restrictive Experimental license issued for ferry and test flights. The granting of the Limited airworthiness certificates enabled operators to carry passengers or cargo in private, restricted commercial, and corporate use. â—?

The Limited Type Certificate (LTC) was granted to Trans-continental and Western Air Inc. precursor to Trans World Airlines. They obtained (and are still recorded as hold of) the LTC because of their efforts to convert B17G 44-85728 to executive use for development of new route structures on TWA's foreign runs. Boeing was hired to rebuild the Fortress at their Seattle facility, which the company saw as a opportunity to explore the post-war market for similar Fortress conversions. Boeing designated the conversion as Boeing Model 299AB, and obtained the registration of NX4600 for the aircraft after it was purchased in june 1946. Once the modifications were completed TWA deployed NX4600 to the Middle East and used it to transport TWA executives to the International Air Transport Association Conference held in Egypt in October 1946. With the issuance of the LTC, TWA re-registered NX4600 as NL1B, but the Fortress as transferred to the Shah of Iran in April 1947, after which it was given the Iranian registration of EP-HIM. The airplane eventually ended up operating for a French survey company.

PAGE 88 ... TARPA TOPICS

http://twaseniorsclub.org/TWAB17/TWAB17.html (1 of 8)5/13/2006 8:14:06 AM

TWA B17 1946

http://twaseniorsclub.org/TWAB17/TWAB17.html (2 of 8)5/13/2006 8:14:06 AM

PAGE 89 ... TARPA TOPICS

TWA B17 1946

PAGE 90 ... TARPA TOPICS

http://twaseniorsclub.org/TWAB17/TWAB17.html (3 of 8)5/13/2006 8:14:06 AM

TWA B17 1946

PAGE 91 ... TARPA TOPICS http://twaseniorsclub.org/TWAB17/TWAB17.html (4 of 8)5/13/2006 8:14:06 AM

TWA B17 1946

PAGE 92 ... TARPA TOPICS

TWA B17 1946

PAGE 93 ... TARPA TOPICS

TWA B17 1946

http://twaseniorsclub.org/TWAB17/TWAB17.html (7 of 8)5/13/2006 8:14:06 AM

PAGE 94 ... TARPA TOPICS

TWA B17 1946

â—?

STORY B17 FLYING FORTRESS - 44-85728, Del Louisville 14/5/45; Rome 10/7/45; 4202 BU Syracuse 20/10/45; RFC Altus 28/11/45; sal 15 TSK Clovis 30/4/46; sold TWA as 299AB 1947 (Civil NX4600) for Near East survey work; Converted for Shad of Persia 1947 (EP-HIM); IGN france (F-BGOE); scrapped France 1970s

http://twaseniorsclub.org/TWAB17/TWAB17.html (8 of 8)5/13/2006 8:14:06 AM

PAGE 95 ... TARPA TOPICS

PAGE 96 ... TARPA TOPICS

Ed Madigan TARPA Secretary/Treasurer P.O. Box 3565 Incline Village, NV 89450 edmadigan@charter.net

PAGE 97 ... TARPA TOPICS

PAGE 98 ... TARPA TOPICS

Gene Richards 2840B Sherwood Ave Modesto, CA 95350 209 492-0391

PAGE 99 ... TARPA TOPICS

PAGE 100 ... TARPA TOPICS