Viewing page 15 of 16

This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.

[left page]
Six | THE AIR LINE PILOT | July 1947
FROM NAVY VET TO AIR LINE 'TRAINEE'
[[image]]
Even the nation's crack wartime flyers, making the jump from the cockpit of a military plane to that of a commercial air liner, get a large dose of constant training that with today's air line pilots is a never-ending process. With Capt. James R. Gilmore, of Local Council No. 36, PAA-Transatlantic, in the pilot's seat, student pilot Bill Voegeli, of Athens, Ga., goes up on a training hop to demonstrate his skill in landings and take-offs. Even through Voegeli has had four years of flying in Navy Patrol planes, he must take rigid training and extensive tests before being qualified for an air line assignment and then, as experienced air line pilots know, his training, which never really ends, is just beginning. In the photo, the tower of the Empire State Building in mid-Manhattan is visible through the windshield at right.

It's His Stay Of Execution
By C.M. MAYER
Council No. 58, PCA
Pittsburgh, Pa.
PT Council No. 58 took off under her own power with our newly elected officers at the controls. Chairman Frank Fox, Vice-Chairman Mike Kardos, and Copilot Representative Bob Gray are to be congratulated upon being our first local executive councilmen. We also wish to express our sincere thanks to Frank for his time and effort spent in making our council possible.
Council No. 58 could have boasted a 100 per cent attendance to our first meeting, but the weather (heaven forbid) was just too good for cancellations. We had all who were not flying there anyway.
Herbie Kuntz was elected crash representative and Arthur "Bugs" Mayer appointed news correspondence. The last position carried with it several dire threats as to the fate of correspondents who did not correspond. This column should delay my fate a month anyway.
The control-line gas model bug has bitten quite a few PT pilots with Woody LaRowe and ex-PCA'er Bob Hamilton the latest victims. Rumor has it that Frank Fox has his fourth crack-up last week and brought the remains home in a shoe box. Herbie, did you investigate that crash?

KKK Department
Kurly Korb Klaims Dept.: If his latest model (gas, that is) had two more feet of wingspread, he would get Benny Howard to test fly it.
Sorry there are no new babies other than our Council No. 58 to report this month, but there are only 12 pilots in our council and a few of these are single men. There are a couple of probables though. Shucks, a fellow has to fly some time!

WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK
The following letter was received at Headquarters recently from a college student in recognition of the courteous and prompt assistance extended to those who seek information about the activities of the Air Line Pilots Association:
Dear Mr. Modes:
This morning I received your letter of April 23 and the enclosed literature. I don't believe I can possibly thank you enough for all the trouble and expense you went to in order to fill my request for information. The members of our Labor Problems class have often found that unions will just ignore such requests but you have more than restored my faith.
I want to compliment the Air Line Pilots Association on its efficiency as evidenced by the various booklets which present a very clear picture of the organization, its relation to employers and statues relative to it. Your monthly publication is most interesting in that it presents current labor news, reports from locals, and human interest items in addition to current aviation information. The column entitled "In Constant Memorium" is a fine tribute.
For once in my life it will be pleasure to write a paper for a professor. I certainly appreciate your cooperation tremendously. If I can ever do anything for you, let me know.
Good luck to you, to Mr. David L. Behncke, and to all the air line pilots! And again, many thanks, Mr. Modes.
(Signed)
Katherine Maguire

GOOD WILL GESTURE
In a gesture of good will, Paris offers a "tree of friendship" to the United States. Henri Vergnolle, president of Paris Municipal Council, presents a maroon tree, that was born in the Bois de Boulogne, to Miss Hivet, a TWA hostess. The tree will be planted in Los Angeles, Calif., as a token of friendship between France and the United States. In the above photo (l. to r.): Mr. Meniger, director of Orley air field; his assistant, Miss Hivet; Mrs. Thornton; Mr. Thornton, director of TWA for France; Henri Vergnolle; and M. Gourguff, assistant to Meniger. –Acme Photo

Crashes Keep Engineers on Run
(Continued from Page 5, Col. 4)
on page four and picture on page one).
The two hearings at which ALPA was represented were the UAL crash hearings at which ALPA representatives appeared on June 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 and 16 in New York and the PCA hearings on July 1, 2 and 3 at Leesburg, Virginia.
Preliminary investigations into the PCA crash were in Leesburg, Virginia, on June 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 and 21, and those in the EAL crash at Brainbridge, Md., on May 31 through June 11. (See picture on page three).
Participating in the EAL preliminary investigations conducted by ALPA were J. G. LaVake and J. R. Matthews, of Local Council No. 51, EAL-New York; J. S. Grier, of Local Council No. 72, EAL-Boston; and T. G. Linnert and C. F. Eck, of the Engineering Department. In addition to Mr. Linnert and Mr. Eck, pilot representatives in the PCA hearings were H. T. Musick and M. C. Garlow, of Local Council No. 11, PCA-Washington.
Only July 9, the Air Line Pilots Association attended a fire fighting demonstration at the Cardox plant in Monee Ill., which had been arranged by the research laboratories of Northwestern University because of their avid interest in airplane fires and development of methods and techniques of combatting them. Representing ALPA at these demonstrations, which were very impressive, were: G. T. Tremble and R. M. Van Tuyl, both of Local Council No. 12, UAL-Chicago; and C. F. Eck of Headquarters. Others present were Captain Larned, of United Air Lines operations department; Mr. Kelly, of UAL's engineering department; Mr. Johnson and Mr. McConochie, of Ansul-Dugas Co.; and Mr. Hartley, demonstration supervisor of the Cardox Co.
Headquarters representatives from the Engineering Department also spent a considerable portion of the month in Washington acting in an advisory capacity to ALPA's representative on President Truman's Board of Air Inquiry.

Grievance Department
John F. Rice and Richard E. Nelson of the Grievance and Conciliation Department represented C. G. Fredericks at an appeal hearing before Paul S. Frederickson, Superintendent of Flying TWA, in Kansas City, Missouri, on June 23rd. They were assisted in the presentation of Mr. Fredericks' case by Fred Austin, of Council No. 4, TWA-Los Angeles.
The balance of June and the first part of July were primarily spent by the Grievance and Conciliation Department in preparing the American Airlines Ardmore Screening Board cases for presentation to the AA System Board of Adjustment.
These latter cases began in Fort Worth, Texas, with the J. W. Crumby and Hugh M. Morgan cases being heard on July 17 and 18. The hearings in the balance of these cases are to follow soon. George R. Shoemaker and Wayne N. Allison are the pilot members of the Board and T. L. Boyd and R. W. Knight are the company members.
On July 14, Mr. Rice and Mr. Nelson represented UAL First Officer J. J. Smith at an appeal hearing in Chicago before Mr. O. T. Larson, UAL Assistant Vice-President of Operations.

WAL, UAL Route Sale
The proposed sale of the Denver-Los Angeles Route of Western Air Lines to United Air Lines came into the limelight in June as Civil Aeronautics Board hearings were held in Washington on June 30 with ALPA represented by F. O. Munch, of the Employment Agreement Department.
ALPA's stand, based on the resolution passed by the first Executive Board in its initial meetings from May 21 to May 24, was reiterated by the Association and was to the effect that ALPA urged that approval of the Western-United route 68 sale agreement (docket 2839) carry a condition guaranteeing pilots' employment and seniority rights and that WAL pilots take the position, as a condition of sale, that UAL should be required to take over the WAL pilots now employed on the Denver-Los Angeles route with full employment and seniority rights.
In addition to ALPA's representative, others attending the meeting were: H. W. Darling, of Western Air Lines: J. F. Reilly, of United Air Lines; J. H. Pratt, appearing on behalf of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Airport Commission; Glen B. Eastburn, who represented the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce; and W. F. Kennedy, public counsel.
On June 30, ALPA's President David L. Behncke took part in the colorful ceremonies celebrating PAA's epoch around-the-world flight which was the first scheduled passenger flight to circle the globe. As part of Chicago's official welcoming committee, which also included Chicago's Mayor Martin H. Kennelly and many other prominent and notable public figures, President Behncke assisted in greeting
(Continued on Page 7, Col. 2)

TEN YEARS AGO
Coinciding closely with the happenings of today, the events of a decade ago posed the same problems and difficult issues for President Behncke and the Air Line Pilots Association, as those which have taken prominence in recent weeks.
Adequate runway lengths which today is one of the most vital factors in safety in air line operations and is being stressed by Mr. Behncke and the ALPA, is similar to the problem which faced the air line pilots ten years ago this month. Because of the hazards encountered when landing DC-2 and DC-3 equipment at the Washington airport, the pilots gave notice that unless the airport be restricted as they requested they would no longer land there. The AIR LINE PILOT of July, 1937, carried an account of the Air Line Pilots Association's action, as well as endorsements from various air lines officials, men in public office and President Behncke's views on the subject. The following is quoted from the article:
"The pilots using this airport are of the opinion that a carefully prearranged plan should be immediately placed into effect designating Washington Airport as a two-way field. In other words, unless wind directions are favorable for using the long runway, DC-3's and DC-2's should not be permitted to land except in an emergency. The Bureau of Air Commerce should not permit the use of this field for this type of equipment.
"Many of the pilots feel that the airport should be closed immediately but not wishing to work a hardship on the companies and at the same time, using all possible precaution to insure safe operation, they have decided on the request that the field be limited to two-way operation of DC-3's and DC-2's. The pilots are at this time seriously considering refusing to land this equipment at this airport under any circumstances and believe some definite action should be taken to pick a new airport."
As a result of the pilot's action, the article further states the favorable reaction their recommendations received as follows:
"Climaxing the air line pilots' refusal to land DC-2 and DC-3 equipment at the present Washington Airport unless safety demands are met, the District of Columbia Airport Commission recommends that the site of Camp Springs, Md., be selected as the location for the District of Columbia Airport and a bill be prepared and enacted, authorizing the project."
A statement quoted from an eminent aviation doctor regarding the physical standards of the air line pilots was published in the AIR LINE PILOT of July, 1937, and is quoted as follows:
"Regarding present air line personnel, Dr. R. E. Whitehead, former chief of the Air Bureau's Medical Service, states that the air line pilots of the United States are 'the finest group of men, mentally and physically, that could be brought together under one standard.'"
Relinquishing his editorial space in the July, 1937, issue of the AIR LINE PILOT, David L. Behncke reprinted an editorial published in the Washington Herald supporting him and the Air Line Pilots Association in their contention that an independent Air Safety Board should be established. The following is excerpted from the editorial:
"Pending in both the Houses are bills which would go far toward reducing the dangers of commercial flying by subjecting it to strict safety regulations devised by the Interstate Commerce Commission.
"The bills, on which extensive hearings have been held in House and Senate committees, have been endorsed by the Air Line Pilots Association as incorporating their ideas of proper safety regulation.
"WHO KNOWS BETTER THAN A PILOT WHAT PRECAUTIONS ARE NECESSARY TO SAFE FLYING?"
The answer the pilots gave to that question ten years ago, the establishment of an independent Air Safety Board which set a world record for air safety – 18 months without a single accident, is again submitted in the face of the gravest situation facing the air line industry. This objective for which David L. Behncke and the air line pilots are fighting is now a major issue since the recent series of terrible crashes and the rising casualty list. The Air Line Pilots Association is urging that the legislation re-establishing this safety board be enacted as quickly as possible to avert further tragedy. (Read editorial on page two of this issue, "Plain Talk.")

[right page]
Six | THE AIR LINE PILOT | July 1947
GLOBAL AVIATION'S BLACKEST MAP OF TRAGEDY
[[image]]
Here are where 227 people died in airplane crack-ups within a period of two weeks – 145 of the fatalities the result of commercial domestic air liner crashes, the three worst in air line history. It was the most disastrous period in peacetime aviation history. The commercial air line crashes, which occurred at LaGuardia Field, N. Y., Pt. Deposit, Md., and Leesburg, Va., are all being investigated by ALPA's Engineering and Air Safety Department which will also participate in the official hearings.

Air line Pilot Pay
History, Background
There is currently appearing in the magazine Air Transport, beginning with the July issue, a series of articles entitled "THE FOUR-ENGINE PILOT PAY CASE,"authored by Edward M. Fitch, personnel director of the Air Transport Association.
This article deals principally with the history and background of ALPA'S long struggle to create and maintain proper rates of compensation, rules and working conditions for the air line pilots of this country.
Objectively and factually written, if the subsequent articles follow in the same general line as the first part of the serial, this story gives promise of having definite historical and educational value for air line pilots and is well worth reading.
If copies are not available at your newsdealers, the address of this publication is: Mcgraw Hill Publishing Co., 330 W. 42nd street, New York 18, N.Y.

ALPA Affiliates Show Progress
(Continued from Page 6, Col. 4)
the flyers on their history-making flight.

The flight had been halted at Chicago to salute the city as the center of North American air transportation and then continued on to New York to complete its 25,000 mile circuit in a total of 101.5 flying hours, only 22 and one-half hours more than Milton Reynolds' recent record flight although no attempt was being made at establishing a speed record. The Clipper's 20 passengers were editors and publishers of the United States' leading newspapers.

E & O Department
At the conclusion of one year of operations, the ALPA affiliated and sponsored Air Line Stewards and Stewardesses Association (ALSSA) is the certified collective bargaining representative of 7 of the 19 regularly scheduled air lines with four additional cases presently pending before the National Mediation Board for certification, and two additional air lines now in progress of organization.
The seven air lines on which ALSSA represents the stewards and stewardesses are: Eastern, Northwest, TWA, Northeast, Colonial, Chicago and Southern, and American. The four now pending before the Mediation Board include National, Delta, Braniff and PCA.
Two contracts have recently been signed by ALSSA, one on TWA on May 29 and one on EAL on June 27.
The Education and Organization Department has also been active in advising in the organizing of two other organizations – the Air Carrier Communication Operators Association (ACCOA) and the Air Line Agents Association (ALLA). The former has been certified as the representatives of the radio and teletype operators of Chicago and Southern, which the latter is now in the process of organizing the agents and clerical personnel of several air lines.
Under authority set up by the Ninth Convention, the Air Carrier Pilots Association, composed of non-scheduled pilots, have also signed up two groups of non-scheduled air line pilots for organization and affiliation with ALPA.
All in all, ALPA's June and July activities have set a pace that is unsurpassed and will go down in Association annals as a supercharged month of concerted activity for the air line pilots.

Pilots' Role in Safety Praised
(Continued from Page 8, Col. 5)
form of transportation. With such superb manpower and with important mechanical developments, we shall meet the challenge."
ROBERT F. SIX, PRESIDENT, CONTINENTAL AIR LINES:
"While every safety aid and precaution designed in recent years and those to come makes it easier for pilots to fly with greater safety and assurance, the ultimate answer to 100 per cent safety rests with the individual pilot–his training and the performance of his job. Continental's unblemished 12-year record speaks for itself and the calibre of our pilots."
CROIL HUNTER, PRESIDENT, NORTHWEST AIR-LINES:
"In my opinion, the men flying the air lines of the United States have contributed immeasurably to the splendid flight performance records that are being maintained today.
"I am extremely proud of the part played by our own pilot personnel in advancing this record. Certainly the performance of these men indicate to all the high calibre and ability of the air line pilot."
LAMOTTE T. COHU, PRESIDENT, TRANSCONTINENTAL & WESTERN AIR:
"It was no chance development that the scheduled air lines of the United States established their finest safety record in history during 1946. It was, instead, the result of careful planning and precise execution of a safety program which begins long before the airplane is air-borne, and culminates in the high skill and judgement which air line pilots have demonstrated. The air line pilots have certainly proved that the public confidence in their professional ability and capacity to utilize fully the latest scientific aids is merited.
"In a chain of persons and procedures, the pilot is the final individual to whose skillful hands and clear mind safe operation is entrusted. He is carefully selected in the first instance, his training is rigorous, and there is put at his command the best available equipment, maintenance, and navigation and landing aids. The air line pilots have demonstrated that on such a foundation scheduled air transportation is safe, and future performance will unquestionably surpass the past."
CARLETON PUTNAM, PRESIDENT, CHICAGO AND SOUTHERN AIR LINES:
"The air line pilots of the United States are unquestionably the most competent and dependable fliers in the world. They are men of courage and skill, but their record proves that they are also men of essentially conservative character, conscious of the responsibility for human life. This is their special badge of distinction."
G. T. BAKER, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL AIRLINES:
"It is my opinion that the air line pilots have done an excellent job in handling their responsibilities."
C. BEDELL MONRO, PRESIDENT PENNSYLVANIA-CENTRAL AIRLINES:
"In the twenty years we have been operating, the pilots in our employ have from the very beginning played an outstanding part in not only the development of the company itself but in the building of one of the most outstanding and enviable safety records in our industry. Our men have, through the years, shown themselves to be intelligent, ambitious for the company's welfare and development, and more than capable of assuming the responsibilities delegated to them.
"It has been one of my greatest privileges to associate with this group of men and I look forward to a continuation of not only the same pleasant association in the future but in sharing with them the further development of our company and the establishment of a much greater degree of safety in air line travel."


[[image: "Imagine that! By the Airline Pilots"]]
"THE TNT CATEGORY"

These are an example of paragraphs written by a very conscientious and able air line pilot to his chief, in other words, a letter from one of the braves to the chief:
"Engines working perfectly; load 78,600; equipment DC-6; wind SW 14; runway 22 (SW); it took us 4100 feet to get off the ground. Our angle of climb and our flying speed were not impressive. We had better re-examine our procedures unless we have a nice comfy short position in the stock."
"I have often wondered what the T in T Category meant. Tartufian?"
"The biologists say our ancestors were fish, which was plausible enough before the days of the CAA, but I think that our ancestors were birds, instead. So many men know all about flying by instinct. Yours for Mat. 15:14."


SIGNS OF THE TIMES
There's one consolation about living in this day and age, observes a philosophic soul. Nowadays, if you walk off and forget your change you don't lose nearly as much as you used to.


PURE CORN
Lipstick and flypaper have one thing in common; they catch careless creatures that pause to investigate...some girls are like paint; get them stirred up and you can't get them off your hands...a bathing suit is like a barbed wire fence; it protects the property without obstructing the view.

DAFFY DEFINITIONS
Flirtation: Attention without intention. Orator: a man who can explain to a barber exactly how he wants his hair cut. Gentleman: A man who leaves his lawn mower and garden tools out where his wife can find them. Marriage: When bushels of kisses are reduced to little pecks. Monologue: When one woman is talking...when two women are talking it's a catalogue.

HERE'S A SEA WOLF - WHAT'S NEXT?
There's something new in lifeboats...small, trim, but well constructed (and we mean the boat) and you don't need a slide rule to see that the proportions are proper. The luscious lady on the left is Hollywood model Shirley Buchanan and who would object to being stranded at sea with such an interesting diversion. Wouldn't take long to become a sea wolf, eh? The craft which was made from surplus airplane belly-tanks and powered by an outboard motor was designed by James C. Whittaker
[[image]]
(right), one of the seven men who spent many days adrift in the Pacific with Eddie Rickenbacker. Whittaker calls his new model the "Whittaker Shark" and will attempt a trip from San Francisco to Los Angeles where the boat will be displayed in the Los Angeles National Boat Show.

ON THE HOUSE
A panhandler stepped up to a passer-by and asked for 20 cents for a cup of coffee. "But coffee is only 10 cents," the passer-by objected. "I know," was the polite retort, "but sir, won't you join me?"