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Six THE AIRLINE PILOT June 1947 Executive Board High Lights and Sidelights in Pictorial Parade -Captions on Page Seven [[16 images, numbered in lower right corners]] June 1947 THE AIR LINE PILOT Seven CANDID CAMERA CAPTIONS Here is the candid picture story of the first ALPA Executive Board meeting, its highlights and sidelights, some of its tense and more serious moments and a few of its chuckles-all caught au natural by the all-seeing candid camera's eye: (1) The "baldies" winced in their seats when the photographer perched precariously on the balcony to snap this one, but distance was kind by minimizing details and no shiny domes were in evidence in this final product. It's a bird's-eye looking down view taken the day the meeting was moved from the Prado room to the Grand Ballroom. Sealed at the speaker's rostrum, (l. to r.) W.P. Kilgore, President David L. Behncke, and First Vice-President J.E. Wood. (2) "I'm strictly an amateur on this kind of thing," says ALPA First Vice-President J.E. Wood of EAL as he takes over the gavel to give President Behncke a few moments of much-needed respite from the chairmanship. But we will say for a self-styled amateur, Jerry wields a mean and authoritative gavel. At his left is W.P. Kilgore, ALPA's acting vice-president. (3) Said President Behncke: "I don't want to cut anybody off or suggest limited debate, but unless we get the machinery of this Executive Board in at least second gear, we'll be here the rest of the summer and our slogan will likely become, 'Out of the trenches before Christmas.' Let's start plowing and quit fanning the breeze." (4) "Let's get this thing settled now, Mr. Chairman," says Joel Crouch, of UAL. "It's one of the things that will have to be settled before this board convenes and now is the time to do it". Crouch's statement was typical of the entire Executive Board meeting whose tempo was one of decisive action and no buck-passing. (5) "This is it," says President Behncke, "not only a piece of property on which to build a home for ALPA, but property from which we can always realize its full value. We can't build a cheesebox home for ALPA on some back street because we have to the Air Line Pilots Association the prestige which it deserves." President Behncke was explaining the location of the land which he found and was holding on verbal option and whose purchase was approved by the first Executive Board. He added air line pilots are main street people and it's on main street where they belong. (6) F. H. Goslin, of PAA, got plenty of words in on the official record of the first Executive Board meeting, as well as a few in on the side. Here he squeezes a few unofficial words in edgewise with a cohort before one of the floor sessions convenes. (7) J. P. Gaskell, of Western Air Lines, rises to discuss a few pertinent points on how the merger of the Denver-Los Angeles route of Western Air Lines with United should be handled. The question was subsequently handled with unprecedented rapidity and finality for one of its magnitude. (8) It's a verbal barrage de luxe when Emery Martin, AOA, left, and F. H. Goslin, throw the adjectives, prepositions, adverbs and verbs around like past masters of the art of repartee in one of the frequent floor debates where opinion flowed freely and the action was fast but always progressive. (9) V. A. Peterson, of EAL, was the champion explorer of the first Executive Board meeting--an explorer of facts and figures, that is. Peterson's slide-rule, rapid-fire calculations could be counted on to make a jumble of figures jell into a concrete answer. Here, he discusses business cycles while making a pertinent observation on the purchase of the property recommended by President Behncke. (10) Hardy and perennial "Red" Foster, of TWA, sure gets around and we don't mean just at the controls of a plane. A veteran of many ALPA activities, "Red" appears here as part of ALPA's pension committee which gave a two-hour report of its progress to the Executive Board delegates. Others in the photo, in addition to "Red" are (1. to r.) Mike Gift, Murray Latimer, consultant and one of the drafters of the Railway Retirement Act, and Clayton Stiles. (11) From coat sleeves to shirt sleeves. That was the story of the tempo of the first ALPA Executive Board meeting in a nutshell, as revealed in this photo. Or could it be that Emery Martin, AOA, turning on the heat made the boys shed what all well-dressed pilots should wear? That's Emery standing in the background. (12) Turn about is fair play. An even more fiendish candid camera fiend gives ALPA's publicity man, E. C. Modes, who plagued the entire meeting with popping flash bulbs, a does of his own medicine. While Mr. Modes sneaks up with fiendish glee on an unsuspecting victim, a flanking attack caught him unaware. Collusion pure and simple--that's what it was. But you have to do something to teach these newspapermen a l e s s o n, and, brother, this does it. (13) "Let's get cutting "boys." says Chairman Behncke as he raises his gavel at a weary 2:45 a.m. "Tomorrow is another day with many things on the rostrum to be acted upon. The hour is late. The chairman will entertain the motion to adjourn which is a polite way of saying, 'Damnit, boys, I'm tired; let's quit and go home'." (14) "What's on y o u r m i n d, Spence, that blonde in New York or the redhead in Washington?" On second thought, that's too serious a look for those kind of things and it must be that last resolution that set you thinking. But after all it was spring and thoughts are whimsical. That's "Spence," F. A. Spencer, of AA, with hand on chin and deep in contemplation in the center foreground. (15) "This is one of the finest exhibitions of harmony and co-operation I have ever seen in any group," says President Behncke in praise of the expeditious handling of the WAL-UAL route sale which posed a tough problem of seniority. "A matter which we thought would take days has just been settled and settled extremely satisfactory in a matter of only a few hours. The committee and UAL and WAL pilots deserve the highest commendation for the way in which they worked this out." At the right is J. V. McClaflin of PCA, one of ALPA's staunchest members. (16) "Mr. Chairman, I'd just like to make an observation at this (Continued on Page 8, Col. 4) [[images 3]] ALPA President Behncke Said: [1) President Behncke opened the first meeting of the Ninth Convention's newly created ALPA Executive Board with a forceful, hard-hitting, very much to-the-point speech on what the newly-created Board was all about, its responsibilities, duties and prerogatives. He made a strong plea for courage and good judgment in the handling of the many problems that were before the Board for decisions, and the paramount necessities of working together for the mutual interest of all. He warned, "Without the harmony and unity always characteristic of all ALPA's activities resulting in tis long chain of unbroken successes, this Executive Board, no matter how constituted, would not be successful." Continuing, ALPA's veteran president said, "Petty politics, selfishness, and personal greediness has no place in ALPA's activities." He went on to say, "I will continue to give you my best advice as I have been doing for 16 years, and I shall always let ALPA's record of accomplishments speak for itself. ALPA is a democracy and the rest is up to you." (2) The Association's venerable head uses a blackboard to illustrate one of the many telling points he made about ALPA's future planning and outlook and why its future would have to be based on the experience of the past-on the knowledge and kicking around it had taken before it donned long pants and grew up. President Behncke said, "We are no longer in swaddling clothes, no longer a baby organization; we have grown up and we'll all have to play the part of a grown-up organization in dealing with our many problems." (3) One of the most dramatic high-lights in the first Executive Boar meeting was the Association's first President's introduction of TWA Captain W. F. Judd now stationed in Rome, Italy, formerly chairman of Local Council No. 3, ALPA's largest TWA pilots' council, and master chairman of all TWA pilots during their most troubled and strife-marked years. President Behncke said of this period and of the TWA pilots. "It's a sad fact, indeed, but there's only about one air line pilot in 500 who knows and realizes just what the TWA pilots have done for them and just how successful their battle was in prestige, precedent and in actual victories, and it's doubly sad to realize that this non realization will never be changed. It is the same as the soldier who goes to war. He fights, sacrifices and even dies to protect his principles and those near and dear to him and when he returns (Continued on Page 8, Col. 1) [[image]] Imagine That! By the Airline Pilots IN PAREE...SIDEWALK "UNMENTIONABLE" Things in Paree are not only gay, but convenient, too. Pictured here is a . . . well, it isn't an air raid shelter, but maybe we could call it a "sidewalk unmentionable." Anyway, if we have to draw you a diagram and hand out some more clues, it [[image]] comes in might handy in a pinch. W. A. Dixon, who passed this picture of the Parisian oddity on to the AIR LINE PILOT, says that although they are familiar sights to TWA crews operating into Paris, "no pilot has yet been seen in one, or so we hear." But there'll probably come a day; just wait and see. VERILY! VERILY! The following telegram was received at Headquarters: "RE STANINE TESTS CACD PILOTS UNALTERABLY OPPOSED TO THIS HOG-WASH. WHO PSYCHOANALYZES THE PSYCHOANALYST WHO PSYCHOANALYZES US TO DETERMINE IF HE IS FIT TO PSYCHOANALYZE ANYBODY?" The old adage, "Many a truth is spoken in jest," applies to this reference to the so-called witch-hunt stannic and what have you tests that are being so vigorously projected by empire builders, hanger-on politicians, bureaucrats, and crackpots. -Thanks to S. E. Pangburn One Crash Preventive---Lights (Continued from Page 5, Columns 1 and 2) should provide lights that the pilot can see and let him control the ship accordingly. "(5) Under daylight conditions with haze, smoke or rain and bright light it is difficult to determine the color of the lights. Therefore it is difficult to tell which are approach lights and which are runway lights. There is a row of green lights across the end of the runway which is supposed to tell the pilot where the approach lights end and the runway begins but he can easily miss these green lights or be unable to recognize their color, in which case he could land short of the runway or fly completely over it. Runway and approach lights should have separate and distinct characteristics other than color to readily identify them." Although weather presents an obstacle that made observation of FIDO impossible under zero-zero weather conditions, Mr. Foster's report indicated that he was "very much impressed by the possibilities of this installation," that the installation costs was not prohibitive and that its cost of operation, in which landings have been made under zero-zero conditions at a fuel cost of only approximately $18 were within reason. The basic principle behind FIDO is to burn a hole in the fog big enough to permit a plane to land under zero-zero conditions after it has been guided to the hole by the use of regular navigational aids such as the beam, marker beacon, etc. Recommend Immediate Light Evaluations As the result of his observations of both FIDO and the experimental approach light system, Mr. Foster made the following recommendations: "(1) That all available approach lights be immediately evaluated for the purpose of choosing the best now available and having them installed without delay. "(2) That the possibilities of FIDO should be thoroughly investigated and at least two installations, preferably at New York and Los Angeles, should be provided for this purpose. It would be well to have some FIDO installations made immediately, regardless of their cost, in order to operate present schedules with present equipment. "(3) There is no system or combination among GCA, ILS, Teleran, or approach lights that will be available for universal practical operation for some and the length of time before they will be depends largely upon the vigor, intelligence and efficiency which is applied to the problem." The Ad Hoc Committee, of which ALPA's other two members are J. E Wood, of Easter Airlines and ALPA's First Vice-President, and E. A. Cutrell, of American Airlines, has already made an inspection and report on Teleran demonstrations at Newark, New Jersey, and has yet to attend further landing aids demonstrations at Patuxent, Maryland. The purpose of the committee is to inspect all installations before setting up final requirements for approach lights and landing aids in general, a job they anticipate accomplishing before the onset of adverse winter weather which may mean another series of bad crashes.