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ALPA Opposes Cut In Over-Ocean Navigation and Weather Aids THE AIR LINE PILOT Vol.16 - No.3 Published by The Air Line Pilots Association, International, 3145 W. 63rd St., Chicago, Ill. April, 1947 Agreements Signed with Eastern, American and Colonial In April, There's The Spring Work April, traditional month of spring fever and poetic favorite, passed ALPA by in a blaze of action that was more "work fever" than spring fever and a far cry from the familiar springtime sulphur and molasses lethargy. A brakes-off, full-speed-ahead policy of carrying all open employment agreements to the earliest possible conclusion was the dominating note in Head-quarters activity for the second successive month as three agreements were signed, negotiations were carried on with six other air lines, and an early return to complete normalcy for the air line pilots' employment agreement picture was as evident as the springtime in the air. April, 1947, stands out in vivid and sharp contrast to the April of a year ago, the month in (Continued on Page 3, Col. 1) FOR RADAR CAA CONTROL Ground Control Approach radar (GCA) is now in operation at the Chicago Municipal Airport and the Washington National Airport after being formally turned over to the Civil Aeronautics Administration be Army officials on April 22. The CAA is additionally operating a long-range radar surveillance (MEW) set at the Washington airport. Both GCA and MEW is also to be operated at LaGuardia Field, N.Y. The equipment at Washington and Chicago will be available to the commercial air lines, as well as to military and private pilots. The GCA installation at LaGuardia, as well as a MEW (micro-wave early warning) set loaned to CAA by the Air Transport Association has been held up by technicalities, but will be put into operation in the near future, it was reported. [[image]] Dinner Honoring 58 Capital Airlines "Million Mile Pilots" New York Athletic Club March 14 1947 MILLION MILERS PCA's million-mile pilots were honored at a dinner on March 11 given by the company on the occasion of its 20th anniversary. This momentous affair was attended by all of the company's million-mile pilots and the officers and directors of the air line, including it organizer and president, C. Bedell Monro. In the above picture of a part of the banquet hall, seated at the speaker's rostrum (l. to r.) are H.B. Clark; Colonel J. J. Bennett; C.B. Monroe, president of PCA; General James Doolittle; Jennings Randolph, assistant to PCA's president and former Congressman; J. H. Carmichael, executive vice-president of PCA; David L. Behncke, president of ALPA; Alford Williams, aviation columnist; W. V. Couchman, member of PCA's Board of Directors; and F. G. Reinicke, commissioner of Marine and Aviation, New York. The speakers were C. Bedell Monro, General Doolittle, J. H. Carmichael, and Jennings Randolph, who served as toastmaster, David L. Behncke and Al Williams. Mr. Behncke said in his talk, "The business dropoff in air line transportation today is due solely to the bad epidemic of air crashes which we have experienced. Keep the air lines safe and we will again have the customers standing in line. There is no room for pessimism in air line transportation. I agree with President Croil Hunter of Northwest Airlines who said in effect that anyone who can't make good in air line transportation should go back to the farm." Mr. Behncke lauded the company as a pioneer and traced its phenomenal growth from a few planes to one of the largest air line networks in the world. The PCA Million Miler banquet was a marked success and one of those impromptu affairs at which everyone has a good time and did. Senate and House Hear Pilots Discontinuance of ocean navigational and safety aids operated by the Coast Guard, which are seriously threatened by appropriation slashes, would have a detrimental effect on trans-oceanic air line safety, the Air Line Pilots Association testified in Washington this month as air line safety continued to play a prominent role in public, legislative, and industry circles. Opposition to discontinuance of weather Ships, HF/DF stations, and Loran Stations, reported by the Coast Guard as necessary as of June 30, 1947, because of lack of funds, was voiced by ALPA at hearings before the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee and the House Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee on April 3, 1947. Three veteran transoceanic pilots, representing the pilots of Pan American Airways, American Overseas Airlines, and Trans World Airlines, who would be directly affected by the the contemplated steps, testified that instead of a reduction in aids the air line pilots are vitally in need of all the safety aids with which they can be provided in order to make transoceanic air transportation safe and efficient. Three Testify Appearing before the two committees were W. C. Howard, chairman of the Local Council No. 24, TWA-International; Brandt Phillips, of Local Council No. 29, AOA; and S. H. Miller, of Local Council No. 36, PAA-Transatlantic; and John M. Dickerman, ALPA's Washington representative. Captain Miller, who has accumulated in excess of 6,000 hours of flying and made over 100 ocean crossings of both the Atlantic and Pacific, testified: "The most basic requirement for safe and efficient operations over ocean route is a satisfactory and modern weather service and long range navigation facilities. To guarantee the safety level required, we must have a weather service over the expanses of the ocean that will adequately serve pilots for planning long-range flights on our present and future equipment over these routes. Strategically located weather station ships along with the continuance of terminal weather services is definitely required to give such requisite service. "Furthermore, the continued availability of Loran and HF/DF facilities on transoceanic routes in very essential for the safest, most efficient conduct of flight over water area from 2,000 to 3,000 miles. And not least of all (Continued on Page 8, Col. 2) LATE NEWS Forecast Advocates of the single instrument foreign air line are active again. Congressional hearing are scheduled to begin on May 7, 1947, on Bill S. 987, supposedly different but in reality the same old vehicle under a different disguising coat of paint. There is, however, considerable pressure against the chosen instrument bill. 'Blast' Authoritative sources infer that the CAA will come in for a blast of criticism from Congress when the House subcommittee on appropriations files its report on the CAA appropriations bill with it is introduced, probably May 2. 'AIR CAPITOL OF THE WORLD' Chicago, already the transportation hub of the nation, is making its bid for recognition as the "Air Capitol of the World" with its new ultra-modern and multi-million dollar air terminal which incorporates many revolutionary features that will streamline passenger handling procedures and eliminate air terminal confusion to a degree unprecedented at any other major airport in the nation. Already in partial operation, traffic engineers hail the specially designed terminal as the answer to the passenger congestion problem that has long been a festering thorn in the side of the nation's commercial air lines and one of the biggest hindrances to complete development of the air transportation industry. The familiar terminal passenger bottlenecks will become a thing of the past when the terminal goes into full operation, for each individual air line will have its own waiting room, ticket counter, baggage handling facilities, and loading ramp, the latter only a few steps from the waiting room instead of the usual long trek which is characteristic of conventionally-designed terminals. Predicted ALPA President David L. Behncke: "The design of the new Chicago Municipal Air Terminal is one of the greatest strides forward in the handling of large volumes of passengers which the air lines have ever made. Passenger comfort and convenience, which is of paramount importance to healthy growth of the air line, is incorporated to the ultimate degree in the new terminal. We believe that this type of terminal will eventually be adopted by all of the major airports and cities throughout the United States." Officials of the Chicago Municipal Airport anticipate that the terminal will be in full operation by June, 1947, and will be occupied by all of the major scheduled air lines. Here's the first full panoramic view of this new innovation in airport terminals, which will undoubtedly go a long way toward curing air line passenger-handling headaches. [[image]]
