Eddie Rickenbacker - The Silver Falcons

Honor, integrity, pride, fellowship — The rEAL Flight Crew!
The Official Newsletter of The Silver Falcons
Volume 18, Number 3
www.silverfalcons.com
Summer 2014
Eddie Rickenbacker
A man with a vision and the determination to make it happen.
See article on page 4
The rEAL Word | Summer 2014
1
Greetings to all Silver Falcons,
We hope to find you folks well and looking
forward to our annual convention in Charleston,
SC on 1-4 September. Preparations are being
finalized, Karyn and I traveled to the Marriott
earlier this month to meet with the catering staff
and make final decisions concerning the menu
choices.
P.O. Box 71372
Newnan, GA
30271
Board of Directors
Wally Drage, President
Tel: (770) 487-6914
[email protected]
Tia Robertson, Secretary
Tel: (678) 521-6266
[email protected]
Walt Brill, Vice President
Tel: (907) 339-2367
[email protected]
Dick Borrelli, Newsletter Editor
Tel: (770) 254-1748
[email protected]
Stuart Hughes, Database
Coordinator
Tel: (770) 229-2784
[email protected]
Hank Sanak, Convention
Coordinator
Tel: (770) 487-4255
[email protected]
Sandy McCulloh,
E-Mail Editor, Director
Tel: (770) 491-0727
[email protected]
Joe Zito, Financial Officer
Tel: (770) 252-0761
Cell: (678) 523-1235
[email protected]
Scott Gressler, Director
Tel: (770) 432-2410
[email protected]
Madeleine Brill, Official Mascot
Can be found at her daddy’s house.
The opinions expressed in The rEAL Word are the opinions of individual members
and do not express the opinions of the BOD or the organization.
Newsletter layout by KFD&P; 678 386-4472; [email protected]
The Silver Falcons is a group of former Eastern Airlines Pilots and Flight
Attendants who honored the picket line in 1989. It is incorporated and registered
as a nonprofit organization in the State of Georgia. The Silver Falcons is also
registered as a tax-exempt organization with the IRS.
Dues are $30 per year for Charter Members and Family Members. A life
membership may be purchased for $600. Dues and all correspondence should be
mailed to: The Silver Falcons, P.O. Box 71372, Newnan, GA 30271.
A quarter page ad for one year (Four issues) is $250. A half page ad, either
horizontal or vertical, is $500 a year. Every attempt will be made to put these ads on
the outside of the page rather than toward the middle. The back cover and the inside
of the front cover will be offered for full page ads only and will cost $1000 a year. If
you have a special event that needs attention for a short time, we will accept single
issue ads at $62.50 for a quarter page, $125 for a half page, and $250 for a full page
(If available). We will not decrease the content of the newsletter, but will increase
its size to accommodate our advertisers. Every attempt will be made to insure that
there is no more than one ad per page. The editor will have the right to reject any
ad that he deems objectionable, although we do not anticipate this as a problem. All
ads must be in black and white since we do not have color capability at this time.
It will be the responsibility of the advertiser to supply a print-ready ad to the editor
at least 30 days prior to publication of the newsletter. Every effort will be made to
accommodate any specific requests you may have.
Publication dates are January 15, April 15, July 15, and October 15 each year. All
materials can be mailed to The Silver Falcons, P.O. Box 71372, Newnan, GA 30271,
or contact Dick Borrelli at this address, by fax at (770) 254-0179, or by E-Mail at
[email protected] if you plan to participate. Deadline for ads is at least 30
days prior to the publication dates stated above.
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The rEAL Word | Summer 2014
There were some calls this week concerning reservations,
specifically, early arrivals and late stays. Our Convention rate
allows for three days on either side of the event providing space
is available in the hotel. The best way to insure success in the
reservation experience is to call the hotel directly rather than
calling Marriott Reservations. The number in Charleston is
843) 723-3000. If there are any issues I suggest you refer them
to the sales manager, Kelly Benefield. I spoke with her this
week and she apologized for the problems that a few folks have
experienced. The key, of course is to make the reservations early,
and this is my not- too- subtle reminder that the deadline for
registration is August !st.
Last month we enjoyed a delightful lunch at The Peach State
Aerodrome courtesy of the planning by Joe Wolbert and Tia
Robertson. The restaurant served 57 of us, members, guests and
maybe some future members as well. Weather prevented fly-in
activities but the driving time was well spent and we enjoyed
seeing so many of you there. The completed hangar at Peach
State is in honor of the original Atlanta-Hartsfield Airport with
displays of antique aircraft, automobiles and a wall dedicated to
the achievements of Eastern Airlines. Many thanks to Joe and Tia.
Our next planned activity will be July 5th at the Gainesville flyin. If you are able to attend you will find many of your Atlanta
friends among those participating.
The process of forming an LLC to insure the perpetual display
honoring the Eastern Pilots at Hartsfield-Jackson has been
completed and registered with the State of Georgia. We have
joined with REPA in this effort and combined our funds in order
to work with the airport authority in keeping that memorial
displayed prominently in the public arena. The LLC members
are myself, Jim Gardiner of REPA and Jennifer Teel (Don’s
daughter). I will have a report on the status of the Memorial Fund
at our business meeting at the Convention.
For now, best wishes to you all as we anticipate our next meeting
at the Convention in September.
Regards,
Wally Drage, President
YOU HAVE OPTIONS!
The newsletter is now available
as a PDF format in your E-Mail as
well as the paper version. If you
would rather receive the online
version please send an E-Mail
stating your preference to Dick
Borrelli at [email protected].
If you want to continue receiving
the paper version then no action
is necessary.
Keep up with us online at
www.silverfalcons.com
and Facebook:
The Silver Falcons rEAL Eastern Flight Crew
Help Us Complete
Our E-mail List
We currently do not have E-Mail addresses for
the following members. If you currently have an
E-Mail address or if you have recently changed
your E-Mail please let us know.
Sandy McCulloh
[email protected]
Joe Zito [email protected]
Dick Borrelli [email protected]
Tim M. Ashbaugh
Drew A. Bartlett
Don B. Bonner
Arthur H. Buckley
Raymond T. Burke
Ron Busch
Sharon Crisal
Wayne O. Dailey
Robert G. Dawson
O. R. Deering
Van L. Evans
Fred Garcia
John B. Gotta
Our 2014 Christmas Dinner
will be held at Petit Auberge,
Friday, December 5
Cocktails at 6 P.M.,
Dinner at 7 P.M.
Mark your calendars now!
The Silver Falcons
Convention will be in
Charleston, SC at the
Marriott Convention Center
Sept. 1-4, 2014. Don’t delay
— sign up today!
Be sure to make your room
reservation even if you do not plan
to send us your money until later.
To make reservations call 1-800228-9290 or 843-723-3000.
Be sure to mention The Silver
Falcons Convention.
The cutoff date for reservations
is August 1, 2014.
William L. Grieme
Russell G. Hanley
Jeanie Hansen
Chris Head
John Knepper
Janet Lane
Bruce Larsen
Linda Lauderdale
Jim Lauderdale
Lawrence A. Link
Dustin Madala
Ken Mattis
Sabine Meachem
Arvil W. Miller
Lee Mingus
Robert L. Myers
Gordon A. Nelson
Robert B. Nichols
Dorma Pomeroy
Michael J. Pond
Vance B. Riley
John S. Roche
Charles H. Sankey
Chuck Stanfield
John Sullivan
William H. Symmes
William A. Van Der
Molen
J. P. Vandersluis
Kent D. VanWinkle
John G. Watson
Robert M. Wilbur Jr.
Donald R. Witt
Kenneth V. Wolters
The rEAL Word | Summer 2014
3
Eddie Rickenbacker
A man with a vision and the determination to make it happen.
B
orn October 8, 1890, as Edward
Reichenbacher, Eddie Rickenbacker was the
son of German-speaking Swiss immigrants
who had settled in Columbus, OH. He attended
school until the age of twelve, when, following
the death of his father, he ended his education
to help support his family. Mechanically inclined,
Rickenbacker soon was working in a machine
shop for the Pennsylvania Railroad. This led to
employment with the Frayer Miller Aircooled Car
Company. As his skills developed, Rickenbacker
began racing his employer’s cars in 1910.
A successful driver, he earned the nickname “Fast
Eddie” and participated in the 1912, 1914, 1915, and
1916 Indianapolis 500s. His best and only finish was
placing 10th in 1914, with his car breaking down
in the other years. Among his achievements was
setting a race speed record of 134 mph while driving
a Blitzen Benz. In addition to fame, racing proved
extremely lucrative for Rickenbacker as he earned
over $40,000 a year as a driver. During his time as a
driver his interest in aviation increased as a result of
various encounters with pilots.
Intensely patriotic, Rickenbacker immediately volunteered for service upon the United States’ entry
into World War I. After having his offer to form a
fighter squadron of racecar drivers refused, he was
assigned to be the personal driver for the commander
of the American Expeditionary Force, General John
J. Pershing. It was during this time that Rickenbacker
anglicized his last name to avoid anti-German sentiment. Still interested in aviation, Rickenbacker received
a break when he was
requested to repair
the car of the chief
of the US Army Air
Service, Colonel
Billy Mitchell.
Though considered
old (he was 27)
for flight training,
Mitchell arranged
for him to be sent
to flight school at
Issoudun.
Upon
completion
of
training, he was
retained at Issoudun
as an engineering officer due to his mechanical
skills. Permitted to fly during his off hours, he was
prevented from entering combat. After locating a
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The rEAL Word | Summer 2014
suitable replacement for himself,
he applied to Major Carl Spaatz
for permission to join the newest
US fighter unit, the 94th Aero
Squadron. This request was
granted and Rickenbacker arrived
at the front in April 1918.
Flying his first mission on April 6,
1918, in company with veteran Major Raoul Lufbery, Rickenbacker
would go on to log over 300 combat hours in the air. During
this early period, the 94th occasionally encountered the famed
“Flying Circus” of the “Red Baron,” Manfred von Richthofen.
Rickenbacker scored his first victory when he brought down a
German Pfalz. He achieved the status of ace on May 30 after
downing two Germans in one day. In August the 94th transitioned
to the newer, stronger SPAD S.XIII.
In this new aircraft Rickenbacker continued to add to his total and
on September 24 was promoted to command the squadron with
the rank of captain. On October 30, Rickenbacker downed his
twenty-sixth and final aircraft making him the top American scorer
of the war. Upon the announcement of the armistice, he flew over
the lines to view the celebrations. Returning home, he became
the most celebrated aviator in America.
After speaking on a Liberty Bond tour,
Rickenbacker wrote his memoirs entitled
Fighting the Flying Circus.
Settling into postwar life, Rickenbacker
married Adelaide Frost in 1922. The couple
soon adopted two children, David (1925)
and William (1928). That same year, he
started Rickenbacker Motors with the goal
of bringing racing-developed technology to
the consumer auto industry. Though he was
soon driven out of business by the larger
manufacturers, Rickenbacker pioneered
advances that later caught on such as fourwheel braking. In 1927, he purchased the
Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Operating
the track until 1945, he introduced banked
curves and significantly upgraded the
facilities.
The rEAL Word | Summer 2014
5
Eddie Rickenbacker, continued
Continuing his connection to
aviation, Rickenbacker bought
Eastern Air Lines in 1938.
Negotiating with the federal
government to purchase air mail
routes, he revolutionized how
commercial airlines operated.
During his tenure with Eastern
he oversaw the company’s
growth from a small carrier to
one that was influential on the
national level. On February 26,
1941, Rickenbacker was nearly
killed when the Eastern DC-3 on
which he was flying crashed outside Atlanta. Suffering
numerous broken bones, a paralyzed hand, and an
expelled left eye, he spent months in the hospital but
made a full recovery.
With the outbreak of World War II, Rickenbacker
volunteered his services to the government. At the
request of Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson,
Rickenbacker visited various Allied bases in Europe
to assess their operations. Impressed by his findings,
Stimson dispatched him to the Pacific on a similar tour
as well as to deliver a secret message to General Douglas
MacArthur. En route, his plane went down in the Pacific.
Adrift for 24 days, Rickenbacker led the survivors in
catching food and water until they were rescued.
In 1943, Rickenbacker requested permission to travel
to the Soviet Union to aid with their American-built
aircraft and to assess their military capabilities. This
was granted and he reached Russia via Africa, China,
and India. While he successfully accomplished his
mission, the trip is best remembered for his error in
alerting the Soviets to the secret B-29 Superfortress
project.
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The rEAL Word | Summer 2014
Eddie Rickenbacker, continued
With the war concluded, Rickenbacker
returned to Eastern. He remained with the
company until a downturn in economic
conditions forced him from his position as
CEO in 1959. He stayed on as chairman of
the board until December 31, 1963. Now 73,
Rickenbacker and his wife began traveling the
world enjoying retirement. The famed aviator
died at Zurich, Switzerland on July 27, 1973,
after suffering a stroke.
With the war
concluded,
Rickenbacker
returned to Eastern.
He remained with
the company until
a downturn in
economic conditions
forced him from his
position as CEO
in 1959.
The rEAL Word | Summer 2014
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Silver Falcons Scheduled to
Land in Charleston, SC 2014
The date and the time have been set and The Silver Falcons annual Convention
and business meeting is scheduled and ready to go. We have reserved space at the
Marriott Convention Center in Charleston, South Carolina for September 1-4, 2014.
September 1st will be the early check in day with our annual
pay as you go dinner at a Hyman’s restaurant at six P.M. to
welcome the early arrivals aboard. Check in time at the hotel is
4 P.M. September 2nd will be our regular check in day and the
Hospitality suite will be open all day. This is your free day for
sightseeing, shopping, or whatever. We will have our cocktail
party/buffet that evening at the hotel. As always, the party
continues in the Hospitality Suite after the buffet. September
3rd will begin with a continental breakfast in the meeting room
followed by our annual business meeting. There will also be a
carriage ride through the historic district followed by luncheon
at The Charleston Crab House for attending family members.
After the business meeting there will be a debriefing/wetdown
in the hospitality suite until time for the banquet to begin. As
usual, after the banquet we will have 50/50 cash prize awards,
door prize awards, and whatever other surprises our organizing
committee will provide. Naturally, the party will gravitate to the
hospitality suite after dinner. On the 4th we will have a breakfast
buffet in the hotel dining room at your leisure followed by
checkout and the long drive home. Due to a lack of membership
interest, there will not be a golf tournament this year.
We have unlimited free parking at the hotel and tram service
is provided to the historic district. Our hospitality suite is
always open except during scheduled Silver Falcons events
and free snacks, soft drinks, and adult beverages are available
at all times. Convention cost is $200 per person and family
members are encouraged to attend. Anyone who did not cross
our picket line in 1989 is welcome at the convention and only
needs to be sponsored by a member. Bring your friends or
neighbors or children, there will be something for everyone.
Your $200 entitles you to unlimited use of the hospitality suite,
cocktail party/buffet, continental breakfast, catered lunch at the
business meeting, spousal luncheon, banquet, and departure
breakfast. You are responsible for your room, other meals not
listed, and the early arrival dinner. This is the best bang for the
buck in town. The room rate is $119 a night and this includes
free internet, free parking, pool use, and work out room. To make
reservations call 1-800-228-9290 or 843-723-3000. Be sure
to mention The Silver Falcons Convention. The cutoff date for
reservations is August 1, 2014. These rates are good for three
days before and three days after the convention.
If you are one of our regular attendees then you are aware of the good times we have and the amount
of activity that takes place. If you have never attended a Silver Falcon Convention then be prepared for
a four day adventure with your friends. We have reached that point in our lives when each gathering s
a cherished reunion of old comrades and the stories that are told never grow old with time. Come help
us relive our adventures on the line, share your stories over a drink, remember your conquests and your
emergencies, and talk about all those hairy approaches that only a superman could have accomplished.
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The rEAL Word | Summer 2014
2014 Silver Falcons Fly-in, Drive-in Picnic, continued
Experience Southern Comfort
at the Charleston Marriott
Experience Southern comfort at its finest at the Charleston Marriott. Our
downtown Charleston hotel features beautifully designed guest rooms and
suites that are coupled with excellent service and sophistication. Conveniently
located overlooking the Ashley River, we boast easy access to Charleston
International Airport, many historic neighborhoods, and sit just by the Citadel
and MUSC. Our guestrooms are spacious, stylish, and alive with color and
energy, high-speed Internet access and
shuttle service downtown Charleston.
Enjoy a sensory dining experience
at Saffire Restaurant & Bar, serving
innovative American-fusion cuisine for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Aqua Terrace,
our rooftop lounge offers cocktails with brilliant views of the Ashley River. Relax
in our landscaped courtyard or workout in our modern fitness center. Our
accommodations measure up to the best hotels in downtown Charleston and
feature 50,000 square feet of event space, ideal for social events, including
unforgettable weddings and socials.
The rEAL Word | Summer 2014
9
Charleston, SC 2014 Convention
PRE-CONVENTION DINNER
THE HISTORY OF
HYMAN’S SEAFOOD AND
AARON’S DELI
This historic block was the wholesale district in the 1800s. Eli and
Aaron’s great-grandfather, W.M. Karesh, a Jewish immigrant from
eastern Europe, started Southern Wholesale in this location in
1890. This became one of our first distributors of Union & Hanes
underwear in the Southeast.
Wolf Maier Karesh’s son-in-law,
Herman Hyman, took over the
business in 1924, changing the name to Hyman’s
Wholesale Company. He then passed the business down
to the third generation, to Wolf Maier Hyman, who
continued on with the wholesale dry goods business until 1986. (He presently lives on the
3rd floor) At that time the Omni hotel was under construction and the City condemned
the back 280 feet of these warehouses to make room for a parking garage. The floors
are heart pine and the bricks are Old English, with the original Oyster
mortar.
We take pride in our food and service; if there is a problem with
either, please bring it to the attention of Eli (4th generation), Brad
(5th generation) or one of the managers. Either Eli, Brad, Mother
Phyllis, Rusty, Mr. V, Tim, or Laurie are always in the building ensuring
our guaranteed satisfaction. No ifs, ands, or buts.
The two brothers, Eli and Aaron Hyman, the great grandsons,
changed the name from Hyman’s Wholesale to Hyman’s Seafood
and Aaron’s Deli in 1986, and are now operating Hyman’s Seafood
and Aaron’s Deli in these same locations. Brad, Aaron’s son-inlaw (5th generation) is Eli’s operating partner today. There has
been 118 years of customer service in these buildings and they
are proud of it. If you happen to see Eli, Brad, Mother Phyllis, Tim,
Laurie or Rusty tell them hello
Our House Rules:
Rule #1 – The customer is always right.
Rule #2 – When in doubt, refer back to Rule #1.
P.S. We, or any restaurant for that matter, are only as good as the
last meal we serve. We take customer satisfaction very seriously,
If you like us, tell others. If you don’t, tell us!!
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The rEAL Word | Summer 2014
Charleston, SC 2014 Convention
SPOUSAL LUNCHEON
Prior to the luncheon there will be a carriage ride
through the beautiful Charleston Historic District
A Few Things About The
Charleston Crab House
All of our menu items are made with the freshest
ingredients available to us, from the greens
in our salads to the seafood on our plates.
Some of our items are marked as market
and their availability depends on Mother
Nature, ocean temperature, tides, favorable
winds, the Dow Jones Index, the price of
tea in China and among other things, how
lucky our fishermen are. If something is not
available, we apologize. We are constantly trying to do the best job for you
that we can. If you have any suggestions as to how we can improve our food or
service, please pass this valuable information on to us. We would appreciate it. So
relax and enjoy the food, the spirits and the fun. And we thank you. Proud to be family
owned and operated since 1991 John Keener and The Crab House Crew.
While visiting the Charleston
Crab House, stop in the
Tag & Release Lounge for
a refreshing cocktail, cold
beer or even a coke! The Tag
& Release Lounge is a funfilled atmosphere that’s even
great for families. Happy
hour food & drink specials
are available Monday-Friday,
4p.m.-7p.m. Wondering Why
Our Sign Is Upside Down?
The Charleston Crab House on James Island appeared on Flip This House
in 2006, a national hit on the A&E Channel. This exciting series focused on
Trademark Properties, a growing Charleston-based real estate company
with big dreams. With most episodes taking place right here in Charleston,
the Trademark team specializes in Flipping – buying a home, quickly
renovating it, then selling it. Every show is action-packed, as you watch
these skilled professionals pull off amazing feats in no time flat! NOTE:
The Charleston Crab House Was Not Sold! Same Ownership, Same great
Seafood!!! Charleston Originals don’t change much. That’s what makes them
Charleston Originals! Flipping the Charleston Crab House is a BIG deal. We’ve
been a local favorite since 1991 and plan on being a favorite for many more
years. Come visit us & have your chance to say you came by the Charleston
Crab House that was Flipped!
The rEAL Word | Summer 2014
11
Charleston, SC 2014 Convention
Convention Door Prizes!
Here is another reason to put the Charleston Convention
and Banquet on your calendar today!
Photos by Scalecraft.com
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The rEAL Word | Summer 2014
Three Silver Falcons Winners at
Lee Gilmour Memorial Airport
in Gainesville, Ga
Today’s Annual
EAA Cracker Fly-In
at the Gainesville,
Georgia airport
was an unqualified
success. Weather was
ideal for a July day
in Georgia, the skies
were clear, the sun was
bright and a delightful
breeze from the east
ensured everyone
could be comfortable,
it felt like the mid 70s
albeit it was in the 80s
by late morning.
Our Silver Falcons
banner again proved
to be a great draw for
not only Eastern folks
but also for dozens of
Eastern fans and others in the aviation community who wished
to stop by and talk over matters of a common interest.
Parked close by to our designated area were a pair of beautiful,
highly polished 1930s aircraft. A Lockheed Electra 10 was just to
our west and a phenomenal looking 1937 Spartan Executive was
just to the rear of the Electra.
Tia and Phillip Robertson had their handsome, highly polished
Cessna 195 parked just east of the Spartan. All of these
beauties were very popular with attendees and were the subject
of thousands of digital images.
It was a terrific day and we saw a lot of old friends. Many thanks
to Joe Wolbert, Mary and Phillip Hutchinson and Tia Robertson
for their part in making it happen.
Tia and Phillip Robertson won prizes for both their beautiful
Cessna 170 and their exquisite Cessna 195. John and
Alice Lundblad won for their outstanding homebuilt Glasair
amphibian. John and Alice flew in from Ohio.
The rEAL Word | Summer 2014
13
Silver Falcon Winners, Cracker Fly-In, continued
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The rEAL Word | Summer 2014
Silver Falcon Winners, Cracker Fly-In, continued
The rEAL Word | Summer 2014
15
THE EdiTOriaL
Fifty seven years ago I was hired as a new co-pilot by Eastern
Air Lines. Full of vim and vigor and self confidence after six
years in the Marine Corps, I couldn’t wait to be an airline pilot.
My classmates in Miami were a cross section of just about every
possible aspect of the piloting profession. We had Navy Pilots, Air
Force Pilots, Marine Pilots, Nonsched Pilots, light plane Pilots,
and crop dusters. Flight time totals ranged from 250 hours to 2500
hours. We had fighter pilots, attack pilots, transport pilots, bomber
Pilots, cub pilots, and biplane pilots. The amazing thing was that
after two years of flying the line this diverse group had all become
skilled airline pilots and nearly impossible to tell apart. Most of
them also became the best and most treasured friends I have ever
had. Let’s look at Eastern Air Lines and the fun we had and talk for
a while about the good times and the things that made our airline
the unique and special company that it was.
Things were a lot looser in 1957 than they are now and pilots
were considered to be professionals and skilled at their jobs (The
Captains anyway) and full command of the flight was in the cockpit.
My first line flight was on a Martin 404 originating in LaGuardia.
The Captain was Steve Harney, a six year Eastern veteran and this
was also his first flight as Captain. Neither of us had expected to be
paired with a newby and I’m not sure who was the most surprised.
Naturally we had a check Captain observer on the jump seat to
evaluate our performance. The first stop was Albany, New York and
the check captain got off the airplane and went home! We were on
our own for a three day trip! OH! MY! GOD! Steve, fortunately,
was one of the most skilled and understanding pilots I have ever
flown with and he kept us out of trouble until we got home. I knew
then that this was a career I was going to love!
The purpose of this editorial is not to talk about my experiences on
the line, but to recall the good times we all had way back when we
could fly VFR and the Captain was actually the Pilot In Command.
There were good pilots and bad pilots, nice people and jackasses,
good crews and bad crews, but the beauty of that was that after a
trip with a jackass captain or an unfriendly stewardess it simply
made us appreciate the good people that much more. Flying a Martin
or a Convair or later a DC-9 on a three or four day trip with the
same crew for an entire month was an experience like no other in
the world. It was sort of like a great vacation with all your friends!
We actually made plans for what we’d do on the next layover and
where we’d go. I flew a Convair trip one month with a Stewardess
whose family lived in Tampa and who took the whole crew home
with her on the layover. Her Mom always cooked dinner for us. We
laid over in neat little towns like Greensboro, Greenville, Columbus,
Macon, Sarasota, Fort Myers, and even big cities like Jacksonville,
Louisville, and Pensacola. There was always something to do and
someplace to go and, generally, we all went together. We were a
CREW! Back then everyone knew everyone else and there was no
separation between the cockpit and the cabin as there was later with
larger planes and crew changes three times a day. Flying the wide
bodies was a challenge and a thrill, but nothing can ever compare
with the pure fun and adventure of flying the light twins on a three
or four day trip with thirty stops and knowing that at the end of the
day we would all meet in the bar, have a couple of pops and then go
eat a steak together.
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The rEAL Word | Summer 2014
Do you remember going to Little Joe’s on Broadway in San
Francisco, or the Carnegie Deli in New York, or Paco’s Tacos in
Los Angeles, or Pike Street market in Seattle? How about the other
extreme – Ed’s Beds in Chicago, all the little flea bag motels near
the airport on short layovers, sleeping on the airplane because we
were so late arriving that it wasn’t worthwhile to go to the hotel?
I remember once when I was a Martin 404 co-pilot and we had
an Augusta layover during Master’s week. There were simply no
hotel rooms to be had in Augusta so we started the airplane, flew
to Atlanta, went home for the night, and flew the airplane back
to Augusta in the morning. No one ever questioned that decision.
In Sarasota we gave our breakfast order when we arrived at night
and ate our crew meal in the airport restaurant before boarding the
airplane. In Greenville, if you refueled the airplane there, the fueler
brought ice cream sundaes out for the entire crew. Before we left
Toronto we would call the Anchor Bar in Buffalo and have buckets
of buffalo wings delivered to the gate when we arrived and then we
ate buffalo wings all the way to Atlanta. There was the delicious
gumbo from the employees cafeteria in New Orleans and the conch
chowder from the airport restaurant in Nassau and the Nachos in
San Antonio. There were the crew ski trips on Seattle layovers and
the trips to the sea shore in Chile. In Milwaukee we’d borrow an
agents car and buy fresh cheese to take home or eat on the plane.
We flew an A300 trip with a Newark layover on Thanksgiving Eve
once. In the morning the Newark flight attendants boarded the plane
and brought an entire Thanksgiving dinner with them from turkey
and dressing to candied yams, cranberry sauce, and dinner rolls just
because we couldn’t be home to celebrate! And on and on and on......
I’m sure that each of you has at least as many great memories as
I do and sometimes in the evening you sit there and recall all the
great people we flew with and all the great trips we were on and
all the fun we had and realize that we really were a family, with
all the problems and spats that any other family has, but still with
the love and affection and loyalty of every family. We were, and
still are, The EASTERN Family, and all the love and affection,
and loyalty is still there and always will be – at least for me!! God
bless you all!
As always, the opinions expressed in the editorial are my own and
do not represent the opinions or policies of The Silver Falcons or
its Board of Directors. I will be happy to publish rebuttals or guest
editorials from any of our members. This is your newsletter and
your voice and I hope you will use it to express your feelings and
opinions. Since our membership is so diverse I will not publish
political opinions or articles.
— Dick Borrelli, Editor
ObiTUary
CapTain CUrTiS E. WHaLEy
84, of Gulf Breeze, Florida charted his flight home on June 17, 2014
with his daughter Sandy, granddaughter Laurel and son-in-law Rick
by his side.
Curt was predeceased by his wife Janice of 43 years, and is survived
by three children: Eddie Whaley (Tammy) of Newnan, Georgia;
Sandy Whaley DuVall ( Rick) of Powder Springs, Georgia; and Steve
Whaley (Leslie) of Acworth, Georgia. He leaves five grandchildren:
Christopher, Mathew, and Michael Whaley; Ryan DuVall and Laurel
DuVall.
After flying in the Navy Curt joined Eastern in 1956 and after a 33
year career retired in 1989.
Visitation was on Tuesday, June 24 at the Naval Aviation Memorial
Chapel at Pensacola Naval Air Station.
A memorial service followed visitation with burial at Barrancas
National Cemetery.
The family received visitors at a celebration in Curt’s honor
immediately after the burial at the Mustin Beach Club at Pensacola
NAS.
In lieu of flowers, Curt requested memorial contributions be made
to the Curtis Whaley Memorial Scholarship to help fund Laurel’s
medical school education.
Please endorse for deposit only account #173650074, in care of
USAA Federal Savings Bank at 10750 McDermott Freeway, San
Antonio, Texas 78284-8426.
LayabEd
The following Silver Falcons and family members are currently under the weather and would appreciate calls, cards, and visits from
friends. A card or a friendly voice can do wonders when a person is really hurting!
It’s easy to get on the Lay-A-Bed list. All it takes is a bad headache and a big mouthed friend. Getting off the list is another matter
altogether! No one ever tells us when they get well!
Therefore we have had to make rules to control this situation. In the future:
1. When the flower dies, take your name off the lay-a-bed list whether you are sick or not.
2. If you are still sick, put your name back on the list and we will send you a new flower!
3. When the new flower dies, go back to rule one!
Capt. Tim Chase
109 Carols Lane
Locust Grove, GA 30248
(770) 320-8576
[email protected]
Mrs. ardy Chase
Wife of Capt. Tim Chase
109 Carols Lane
Locust Grove, GA 30248
(770) 320-8576
[email protected]
Capt. bill Vaden
8465 Avalon Ct.
Cumming, GA 30041-5724
(770) 939-2774
[email protected]
Mrs. dee McKinney
Wife of Capt. Clancy
McKinney
2860 Roxburgh Dr.
Roswell, GA 30076
(770) 475-1129
[email protected]
Capt. bill bennett
Iris Place #208,
75 Epps Bridge Pkwy
Athens, GA 30606-6990
[email protected]
The rEAL Word | Summer 2014
17
LETTErS
GOOd LiVinG payS OFF
Dear Dick,
Love hearing from you..all is well here..Pete and I are stay at
home people now...me being 83 and Pete 108.. however, we are as
healthy as new born.. must be the way we live.
Love to all,
Maxine Peterson
THanK yOU FrOM annETTE VaLLECiLLO
Dear Silver Falcons,
Thank you for your generous donation to Our Lady of Perpetual
Help Home in honor of Luis. He always enjoyed his time with The
Silver Falcons and valued the friendships he made. Your generosity
means so much to me and my girls, and honoring Luis’s memory in
this way is such a blessing.
Annette Vallecillo
From the NTSB report on
Asiana Flight 214
(A daylight, VFR, straight in,
visual approach. Didn’t we make
about ten of these a day on the
Convair and DC-9?)
The flight was vectored for a visual approach to runway 28L and
intercepted the final approach course about 14 nautical miles
(nm) from the threshold at an altitude slightly above the desired
3° glidepath. This set the flight crew up for a straight-in visual
approach; however, after the flight crew accepted an air traffic
control instruction to maintain 180 knots to 5 nm from the
runway, the flight crew mismanaged the airplane’s descent, which
resulted in the airplane being well above the desired 3° glidepath
when it reached the 5 nm point. The flight crew’s difficulty
in managing the airplane’s descent continued as the approach
continued. In an attempt to increase the airplane’s descent rate
and capture the desired glidepath, the pilot flying (PF) selected
an autopilot (A/P) mode (flight level change speed [FLCH SPD])
that instead resulted in the autoflight system initiating a climb
because the airplane was below the selected altitude. The PF
disconnected the A/P and moved the thrust levers to idle, which
caused the autothrottle (A/T) to change to the HOLD mode, a
mode in which the A/T does not control airspeed. The PF then
pitched the airplane down and increased the descent rate. Neither
the PF, the pilot monitoring (PM), nor the observer noted the
change in A/T mode to HOLD.
As the airplane reached 500 ft above airport elevation, the point
at which Asiana’s procedures dictated that the approach must
be stabilized, the precision approach path indicator (PAPI)
would have shown the flight crew that the airplane was slightly
above the desired glidepath. Also, the airspeed, which had been
decreasing rapidly, had just reached the proper approach speed
of 137 knots. However, the thrust levers were still at idle, and
the descent rate was about 1,200 ft per minute, well above the
descent rate of about 700 fpm needed to maintain the desired
glidepath; these were two indications that the approach was not
stabilized. Based on these two indications, the flight crew should
have determined that the approach was unstabilized and initiated
a go-around, but they did not do so. As the approach continued,
it became increasingly unstabilized as the airplane descended
below the desired glidepath; the PAPI displayed three and then
four red lights, indicating the continuing descent below the
glidepath. The decreasing trend in airspeed continued, and about
200 ft, the flight crew became aware of the low airspeed and low
path conditions but did not initiate a go-around until the airplane
was below 100 ft, at which point the airplane did not have the
performance capability to accomplish a go-around. The flight
crew’s insufficient monitoring of airspeed indications during the
approach resulted from expectancy, increased workload, fatigue,
and automation reliance.
18
The rEAL Word | Summer 2014
The First Annual Silver Falcons
Fly-in, Drive-in
Meet & Eat at Peachstate Aerodrome
Even though the weather was too bad for anyone to fly in at our
gathering, we still had a rousing 57 people attend which is quite a
few more than anyone expected. The airport is truly interesting with
a number of vintage airplanes available to see as well as a small
museum. It is being constantly expanded with an American Airlines
hangar currently in existence and an Eastern Air Lines hangar
planned for the future. The idea is to build a replica of Atlanta’s old
Candler Field and make the entire complex a functioning airport as
well as a memorial to the glory days of aviation.
Captain Victor Honore was there with his son and we all helped
him celebrate his ninety fourth birthday with a large card and a
cake. Happy birthday, Victor!
The airport restaurant has a full kitchen and dining area that offers
a Sunday buffet that we all enjoyed. They have a full menu during
the week and this is a great place just to stop in and visit. I can’t
say enough about their cooperation and hospitality. They opened a
separate dining area for our group and we had the entire room to
ourselves including our travelling country store.
Since the Atlanta Flight Operations picnic will probably not be
held any more, this is a wonderful alternative and will still give our
Southeastern group a place to come each year. Nothing can replace
the marvelous picnics put on each year by Virgil Tedder and his
group, but this gives us a new place to gather. We hope that next
year, weather permitting,, we will have a great display of airplanes
and double the people we had this year. Y’all come now, y’heah!
www.barnstormersgrill.com
www.peachstateaero.com/museum/
The rEAL Word | Summer 2014
19
2014 Silver Falcons Fly-In, Drive-in Picnic, continued
20
The rEAL Word | Summer 2014
2014 Silver Falcons Fly-in, Drive-in Picnic, continued
Page 15: Vic’s 94th Birthday card
Page 16, Upper Left: Vic and Dick
Page 16, Upper Right: Harold Distel, Ron Willard
Page 16, Lower: Tia Robertson, Vic Honore, Mary Hutchinson
Page 17, Upper Left: Sandy McCulloh
Page 17, Upper Right: Mick Hudson
Page 17, Right: Darlene Sanak, Jim Duncan
Page 17, Lower Left: Bill Bennett, Steve Holder
Page 17, Lower Right: Jim Holder, Hank Sanak,
Page 18, Upper Left: Darlene Sanak, Kitty Drawdy, Brenda Roberts,
Carrie Holder
Page 18, Middle: Jim Duncan, Bob & Kitty Drawdy, Jim Holder
Page 18, Lower: Mary Hutchinson, Joe Wolbert, Mary’s family
The rEAL Word | Summer 2014
21
2014 Silver Falcons Fly-In, Drive-in Picnic, continued
22
The rEAL Word | Summer 2014
Dodgers Start an Aviation Trend
On January 4, 1957,
the Brooklyn Dodgers
purchased a Convair
440 Metropolitan
aircraft, becoming
the first major league
baseball team to
buy and operate an
aircraft to transport its
players.
The Dodgers owner at the time, Walter O’Malley had
a strong relationship with Eastern Air Lines president
Captain Eddie Rickenbacker, the former American
World War I flying ace. The friendship between the
two men allowed O’Malley to piggyback onto an
Eastern Air Lines order for 20 Convair 440 aircraft
and thus to get the
plane directly off the
line from the Convair
factory in San Diego.
The Dodgers’ aircraft,
other than having
Brooklyn Dodgers
inscribed on the
fuselage, was virtually
identical to the Eastern Air Lines aircraft, even down
to the having Eastern’s duck emblem on the vertical
stabilizer.
The only cockpit difference was an autopilot that
O’Malley insisted on. Eastern’s Convair fleet was
delivered without an autopilot.
The rEAL Word | Summer 2014
23
Eastern Pilots and the PBGC
Terminating Traditional Pensions
By Frank Armstrong III
JANUARY 2007 - Are traditional pension plans an endangered
species? Defined benefit (DB) pension plans create high costs and
risks that have contributed to some spectacular bankruptcies, such
as United Airlines, which terminated its pension in 2005. General
Motors was also in the news when its pension fund reached
shocking debt levels last year.
According to the Pension Benefits Council, in 1980, 38% of
Americans had a DB pension as their primary retirement plan.
By 1997 it was down to 21%, and this number has likely fallen
further in the last several years. In addition, an increasing number
of underfunded plans have been taken over by the Pension Board
Guarantee Corporation (PBGC), a federal government–chartered
agency that insures pensions.
Unlike a defined contribution plan,
a defined benefit has some or all
of its benefits guaranteed. If a DB
plan is underfunded — meaning that
there is not enough money available
to satisfy all the covered benefits
— then the PBGC must step in.
Accordingly, the termination of a
defined benefit plan is much more
complex than the termination of a
defined contribution plan.
The Options
Usually a company freezing or terminating a DB plan will then
start some form of defined contribution plan to take its place. It is
unlikely that the benefits of the two plans will be equivalent. DB
plans tend to favor older, long-term employees. These employees
may be worse off, while younger employees may find that they
potentially have higher projected benefits.
Sometimes a plan will be converted into another form of DB plan
with entirely different sets of benefits. In a famous recent case,
older IBM employees successfully argued that the conversion to
a cash-balance pension was blatantly discriminatory because the
new formula actually reduced benefits with each additional year
of service.
The rEAL Word | Summer 2014
Occasionally, companies fail outright, taking their DB plans
down with them. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act
(ERISA) established the PBGC to provide employees with at least
partial insurance of their accrued benefits in DB plans. Today,
almost a million present and future retirees look to the PBGC for
their retirement benefits.
Single employer plans pay an annual per-participant fee of $19 as
well as 0.9% of any amount the plan is found to be underfunded.
The premium is mandated by federal law, and to date has not been
sufficient to cover existing liabilities. Even though the PBGC itself
is insolvent, Congress has been
reluctant to raise the premiums,
perhaps fearing that it might
accelerate the trend away from
DB plans. The recently passed
Pension Protection Act of 2006
includes provisions designed
to strengthen DB plans, but its
longer-term effects remain to be
seen.
The only way to ensure that a DB plan
will not be underfunded is to buy longterm bonds that mature as needed to
fund plan commitments; in other words,
match assets with future liabilities. But
this implies a very low rate of return and
high annual costs.
If an employer freezes an existing DB plan, the plan continues, but
employees accrue no further benefits. The company may need to
make further contributions if the plan is underfunded when frozen.
If the company terminates the plan, either the accrued benefits,
including all unvested benefits, must be paid out as a lump-sum
equivalent, or the plan must purchase a annuity from an insurance
company. It goes without saying that the plan must be fully funded
when terminated.
24
Distress or Involuntary Terminations
When a plan does not have
sufficient assets to pay all its
intended benefits and the
employer is in such distress
that continuing the plan might
cause the company to fail, it can petition the PBGC for a distress
termination. In a distress termination, the PBGC steps in to pay
“guaranteed” benefits and attempts to recover the balance from the
employer, either over time or in bankruptcy.
Should the PBGC find that it is in the best interest of the employees,
the plan, or the PBGC itself, they can take over a plan without the
employer’s consent. Finally, if a firm suspends operation or cannot
continue as a going concern, the PBGC will take over the plan.
The Road to Insolvency
The stock market decline of 2000–2002 devastated many DB
pension plans. Much of this grief was self-induced and avoidable.
Among the many factors that go into determining annual pension
expense, none is more critical than the plan’s rate-of-return
assumption. If the plan assumes a high rate of return, then the
annual cost estimate is reduced. This is very tempting. If a company
can lower pension costs, the savings go right to the bottom line. But
hoping for higher returns doesn’t make it so. If those returns fail
to materialize, the plan will soon be underfunded, and the annual
costs will rise again to reflect the additional deposits required to
fully fund the plan.
PBGC, continued
The only way to ensure that a DB plan will not be underfunded
is to buy long-term bonds that mature as needed to fund plan
commitments; in other words, match assets with future liabilities.
But this implies a very low rate of return and high annual costs. So
most DB plans invest in a mixture of stocks and bonds to increase
the rate of return. The more volatile the assets, the higher the
assumed return, and the higher the risk.
During the late 1980s and the
1990s, many plan fiduciaries
increased their rate-of-return
assumptions to reduce estimated
annual costs. Lulled by long market
advances, actuaries, the Labor
Department, employees, and labor
unions all bought into the decision.
Plans took higher levels of risk
to attempt to meet their rate-ofreturn assumptions and did not
properly diversify their portfolios.
When the market tanked, some
companies found that their DB
plans were suddenly underwater
at just the time that their business
was in distress.
Airline Pensions Hard Hit
maximum of $165,000 per year at normal retirement, the PBGC
maximum guaranteed benefit for plans that terminated in 2004 was
$44,368.
When plans sponsored by distressed companies offer a lump-sum
benefit, the threat of possible plan termination can cause a “run
on the bank,” where senior employees attempt to secure their
lump sum prior to the termination. For example, Delta Airlines
had 300 pilots retire in June
2004 alone, 266 of them early.
Unfortunately, every employee
who succeeds in securing a lumpsum payment further weakens the
fund for remaining participants.
This downward spiral increases
the probability that the plan will
find itself in a distress termination.
Employees currently covered under
DB plans must consider that their
anticipated benefits may be reduced
in the future. This is particularly of
concern in distressed industries where
highly compensated employees could
experience significant benefit cuts. As in
almost all other aspects of DB pension
plans, employees are along for the ride,
with little or no control over their plans.
Legislation enacted in July 2004
relaxed funding standards across the board and specifically allowed
two distressed industries, airlines and steel, temporary additional
underfunding. If this legislation represented a massive bet for the
government, then the Pension Protection Act of 2006 could be
seen as doubling down on this bet. The new law generally requires
plans to reach full funding over a seven-year transition period,
with longer periods specifically allowed for airlines. If the funding
levels do not recover over time, the PBGC will be forced to take on
plans that have become even more severely underfunded. With the
PBGC itself already severely in the red, the prospect of allowing
any employers to further underfund their plans may come back to
bite the agency with a vengeance.
Recent legislation was driven by the fact that the airline and steel
industries, already financially weak, were particularly hard hit in
the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. United
Airlines terminated all its DB plans, dumping an additional 120,000
employees into the system with a projected cost to PBGC of over
$5 billion. This follows the distress termination of the US Air’s
pilots’ pension plan. As one airline after another dumps pension
plans on the PBGC, the temptation for the remainder increases.
The industry is highly competitive, lacks pricing power, and
suffers from overcapacity; established airlines are being undercut
by start-up ventures with lower operating costs. Cutting costs by
dumping pensions may be the only way some carriers can survive.
Unfortunately, the U.S. taxpayer may end up paying the bill.
Effect on Plan Participants
Rank-and-file employees may be fully covered, but highly
compensated employees will find that the PBGC guarantee covers
only a small portion of their benefits. They can be financially
devastated by a plan termination. While plans can fund to a
Interestingly, if companies maintain multiple DB plans for different employee groups, they
may have the option to pick and
choose which plans to terminate.
For example, US Air, operating
under Chapter 11 bankruptcy, was
allowed a distress termination of
its pilots’ pension plan while continuing other employees’ pensions.
Senior pilots found their benefits
cut by over $100,000 per year. That represents a roughly $2 million decrease in assets that had accrued over a 30-year career for
each pilot.
The pbGC’s process is often arbitrary and capricious. When
challenged, it has proved to be a tireless litigator. For example,
when the pbGC took over the pilots’ pension plan at Eastern
airlines, it was almost fully funded, while other groups were
greatly underfunded. The pilots had, through the collective
bargaining process, negotiated for increased funding for their plan,
which was paid for by reducing their pay. nevertheless, the pbGC
promptly transferred the pilots’ funds to less fully funded Eastern
employees’ plans. This shortchanged the pilots’ plan, but reduced
the pbGC’s liability for the other plans. This “theft” was never
challenged in court. When pan american airlines folded, its pilots’
pension plan was underfunded. during the administrative process
the stock market rebounded, greatly enhancing funding levels. The
pbGC kept the additional funds and successfully argued in court
that it was not the fiduciary of the plan, but its insurer. The pilots
received minimum benefits rather than the benefits the plan could
have provided with the enhanced asset values.
An Uncertain Future
The trend away from the traditional DB plan is probably irreversible,
as companies increasingly attempt to reduce costs and avoid
possible future liabilities for underfunding. Employees currently
covered under DB plans must consider that their anticipated
benefits may be reduced in the future. This is particularly of concern
in distressed industries where highly compensated employees could
experience significant benefit cuts. As in almost all other aspects of
DB pension plans, employees are along for the ride, with little or
no control over their plans.
The rEAL Word | Summer 2014
25
of a witch’s broomstick. So the Nazis began calling the female
fighter pilots Nachthexen: “night witches.” They were loathed. And
they were feared. Any German pilot who downed a “witch” was
automatically awarded an Iron Cross.
Night Witches:
The Female Fighter Pilots
of World War II
Members of the 588th Night Bomber Regiment decorated their
planes with flowers ... and dropped 23,000 tons of bombs.
It was the spring of 1943, at the height of World War II. Two
pilots, members of the Soviet Air Force, were flying their planes
— Polikarpov Po-2 biplanes, built mainly of plywood and canvas
— over a Soviet railway junction. Their passage was on its way
to being a routine patrol ... until the pilots found themselves
confronted by a collection of German bombers. Forty-two of them.
The pilots did what anyone piloting a plane made of plywood would
do when confronted with enemy craft and enemy fire: they ducked.
They sent their planes into dives, returning fire directly into the center
of the German formation. The tiny planes’ flimsiness was in some
ways an asset: their maximum speed was lower than the stall speed
of the Nazi planes, meaning that the pilots could maneuver their
craft with much more agility than their attackers. The outnumbered
Soviets downed two Nazi planes before one of their own lost its wing
to enemy fire. The pilot bailed out, landing, finally, in a field.
The people on the ground, who had witnessed the skirmish, rushed
over to help the stranded pilot. They offered alcohol. But the
offer was refused. As the pilot would later recall, “Nobody could
understand why the brave lad who had taken on a Nazi squadron
wouldn’t drink vodka.”
The brave lad had refused the vodka, it turned out, because the
brave lad was not a lad at all. It was Tamara Pamyatnykh, one of
the members of the 588th Night Bomber Regiment of the Soviet Air
Forces. The 588th was the most highly decorated female unit in that
force, flying 30,000 missions over the course of four years — and
dropping, in total, 23,000 tons of bombs on invading German armies.
Its members, who ranged in age from 17 to 26, flew primarily at
night, making do with planes that were — per their plywood-andcanvas construction — generally reserved for training and cropdusting. They often operated in stealth mode, idling their engines
as they neared their targets and then gliding their way to their bomb
release points. As a result, their planes made little more than soft
“whooshing” noises as they flew by.
Those noises reminded the Germans, apparently, of the sound
26
The rEAL Word | Summer 2014
The Night Witches were largely unique among the female combatants
— and even the female flyers — of World War II. Other countries,
the U.S. among them, may have allowed women to fly as members
of their early air forces; those women, however, served largely in
support and transport roles. The Soviet Union was the first nation
to allow women to fly combat missions -- to be able, essentially, to
return fire when it was delivered. These ladies flew planes; they also
dropped bombs.
Last week, one of the most famous of the Night Witches —
Nadezhda Popova, a commander of the squad who flew, in total,
852 of its missions — passed away. She was 91. And the obituaries
that resulted, celebrations of a life and a legacy largely unknown to
many of us here in the U.S., serve as a reminder of the great things
the female flyers accomplished. Things made even more remarkable
considering the limited technology the woman had at their disposal.
The Witches (they took the German epithet as a badge of honor) flew
only in the dark. Because of the weight of the bombs they carried
and the low altitudes at which they flew, they carried no parachutes.
They had no radar to navigate their paths through the night skies —
only maps and compasses. If hit by tracer bullets, their craft would
ignite like the paper planes they resembled. Which was not a small
concern: “Almost every time,” Popova once recalled, “we had to sail
through a wall of enemy fire.”
Their missions were dangerous; they were also, as a secondary
challenge, unpleasant. Each night, in general, 40 planes — each
crewed by two women, a pilot and a navigator — would fly eight or
more more missions. Popova herself once flew 18 in a single night.
(The multiple nightly sorties were necessary because the modified
crop-dusters were capable of carrying only two bombs at a time.)
The women’s uniforms were hand-me-downs from male pilots. And
their planes had open cockpits, leaving the women’s faces to freeze
in the chilly night air. “When the wind was strong it would toss the
plane,” Popova noted. “In winter, when you’d look out to see your
target better, you got frostbite, our feet froze in our boots, but we
carried on flying.”
Once, after a successful flight — which is to say, a flight she survived
— Popova counted 42 bullet holes studding her little plane. There
were also holes in her map. And in her helmet. “Katya, my dear,” the
pilot told her navigator, “we will live long.”
Despite all this bravado, however, the female fighter pilots initially
struggled to earn the respect of their brothers in arms. The Night
Bomber Regiment was one of three female fighter pilot units created
by Stalin at the urging of Marina Raskova -- an aviation celebrity
who was, essentially, “the Soviet Amelia Earhart.” Raskova trained
her recruits as pilots and navigators, and also as members of
maintenance and ground crews. She also prepared them for an
environment that preferred to treat women as bombshells rather
than bombers. One general, male, initially complained about being
sent a “a bunch of girlies” instead of soldiers. But the women and
their flimsy little crop-dusters and their ill-fitting uniforms and their
23,000 tons of ammunition soon proved him wrong. And they did
all that while decorating their planes with flowers and using their
navigation pencils as lipcolor.
Ongoing Series: Ladies in Engines
The rEAL Word | Summer 2014
27
Ongoing Series: Ladies in Engines, continued
28
The rEAL Word | Summer 2014