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PAA Pilots Join Domestics to Oppose Overloading Air Line Aircraft THE AIR LINE PILOT Vol. 13 - No. 3 Published by The Air Line Pilots Association, International, 3145 W. 63rd St., Chicago, Ill. April 1944 Gross Weight Hearing Ends in Atmosphere of Extreme Tenseness Plan on 3 Day Hearing Takes 7 The date - the 29th of March, 1944. The time - 3 p.m. The place - Washington, D.C., on the fifth floor of the Department of Commerce Building in the Hearing Room of the Civil Aeronautics Board. The occasion - the hearing on Draft Release No. 36 which advocated still 1000 pounds more gross weight for present-day and yesteryear air line equipment. The Board members on the bench appear solemn. The room is crowded to overflow. People fill all the seats (Continued on Page 3, Col. 2) UPPER. The CAB as they appeared on March 29, 1944, when the Air Line Pilots Association's presentation opposing Draft Release No. 36 got underway. The Board members are right to left: Josh Lee, Harllee Branch, and Chairman L. Welch Pogue. Seated with the Board directly to the right of the chairman are (r. to l): Jesse Lankford, Chief, CAB Safety Bureau; John Chamberlain, Assistant Director, Safety Bureau; and Charles Stanton, CAA Administrator. The pilot air safety and gross weight representatives seated at specially arranged tables directly in front of the Board are (l. to r.): A.C. Cheney, WAL; H.H. Clark, National; Larry Harris, AA, ALPA's secretary and member of its Engineering Committee; A.P. Shelly, Continental; Bud Ransom, UAL; and Michael Gitt, Colonial. CENTER. A roving photographer snapped this scene a few minutes before the hearings began. President Behncke studies his notes before beginning his opening statements for the air line pilots of the nation against Draft Release No. 36. This part of the pilots' presentation consumed more than a day. Seated to his right is John M. Dickerman, ALPA´s Wash. Representative, and to his left is Karl J. Ulrich, ALPA Mediator and Negotiator. Next in line seated at the edge of the blackboard is Orvis Nelson, First Vice-President of ALPA, and to his right is Jerome Wood, EAL pilots' gross weight and air safety representative. Those seated in front of the table have been previously identified. Many of the faces in the back are recognizable as leaders in the industry. [[image]] BUY BATTLE BONDS A BOND A PILOT A MONTH LET`S GO! U.S.A. KEEP'EM FLYING! UNCLE SAM NEEDS PILOTS BE A U.S. ARMY FLYING CADET LOWER. When introducing this group to the Board at the opening of the pilots' gross weight increase opposing presentation, President Behncke said, "I might say before we start with our presentation that this is probably the largest representation of air line pilots that has ever gathered together in Washington on the matter of air safety. There is represented here Don't Overload Say PAA Pilots At the beginning of the air line pilots' presentation at the gross weight hearing, held on March 29 through April 4, before the Civil Aeronautics Board, President Behncke said, "There are assembled here gross weight air safety pilot representatives from each of the sixteen domestic air lines. Pan American Airways and American Export Airlines are not so represented." At times throughout the (Continued on Page 3, Col. 1) POSTWAR PILOT DEMAND IN A WASHINGTON INTERVIEW ON APRIL 3 WITH A REPRESENTATIVE OF UNITED PRESS, PRESIDENT BEHNCKE OF THE AIR LINE PILOTS ASSOCIATION SAID, "THERE'LL NEVER BE A SURPLUS OF GOOD AVIATORS BECAUSE MANY WAR-TRAINED PILOTS WILL NOT WANT TO FLY WHEN PEACE COMES AND MANY WILL REMAIN IN THE SERVICE. THE NUMBER OF GOOD PILOTS WILL ALWAYS BE LIMITED. AFTER THE WAR THE GOOD PILOTS WILL BE ABSORBED BY THE AIR LINES OR RETAINED IN THE ARMY OR NAVY, WHICH MUST NOT BE PERMITTED TO REPEAT THE TRAGIC MISTAKE MADE AFTER THE LAST WAR OF REDUCING THEIR AIR ARMS TO A MINIMUM" Behncke, an Army air lieutenant in World War I, looks for an increased employment of pilots by the air lines after the war because of expanding routes. But he said at the same time the larger planes that will come into use will tend to reduce the number of pilots needed. A newspaper article based on this interview appeared in many of the nation´s daily publications. every domestic air line in the country, numbering 16. As a matter of fact, all of the nation's air line pilots are represented with the exception of Pan American and Export. The total number of pilot representatives attending this hearing opposing Draft Release No. 36 is 19. There is one from each air line and there is also representation here from ALPA's Air Line Pilots' Engineering and Airworthiness Advisory Committee." Back row standing (l. to r.): Michael Gitt, Colonial; W.A. (Bud) Ransom, UAL, member of ALPA's E&AAC; George F. Beal, Northwest; Roy Perlowski, ALPA Engineer; John M. Dickerman, ALPA's Wash. Rep.; Ross Knighton, Braniff; Art Cheney, Western Air Lines; Paul Walters, Mid-Continent, and Karl J. Ulrich, ALPA Mediator and Negotiator. Front row seated (l. to r.): R.E. Meguire, Northeast; H.H. Clark, National; Ben Catlin, Chicago & Southern; L.W. Harris, AA; David L. Behncke, ALPA President; Orvis Nelson, UAL; A.F. Foster, TWA; Jerome Wood, EAL; and A.P. Shelly, Continental. The pilot representatives not present when this picture was taken were J.H. Imeson, TWA, ALPA Engineering Committee Representative; N.U.D. Buice, Delta; W.J. Hull and G.A. McKee, PCA; and R.H. Bullock, Inland. [[3 images, down the center of the page]] -American Aviation Photos
