Foil: 14 Panel: Retired United Pilots Association Column: 1 Line: 84

Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Friend

Honored by:
Ms. Phyllis Joffrion

Captain Frank "Buddy" Joffrion, Jr. was born on January 24, 1921 in Houston, Texas. His family ran two small cafes in Houston, providing a relatively comfortable living in the 1920's. However, due to the onset of the depression, Buddy's family was mired in the same financial hardship as much of the nation. This backdrop ingrained in him a sense of self-sufficiency, causing him to work numerous part-time jobs at a young age to help support his family as well as to achieve his personal dreams. Early in his childhood, he was fascinated with flight and dreamed of one day learning to fly. His childhood hero was Jimmy Doolittle who much later in life would become Buddy's good friend.
This self-determination enabled Buddy to balance work with education, and he graduated from San Jacinto High School as well as began studies at the University of Houston.
His college education was interrupted by his desire to further his pilot training, and when the opportunity to become a pilot presented itself, Buddy took it. After having completed preliminary training in 1941, Buddy was hired by United Airlines in 1942. He was dispatched to their training facility in Cheyenne, Wyoming where he mastered the DC-3. This aircraft was the preeminent airliner of the day, carrying 21 passengers at between 185-205 miles per hour. However, rather than flying passengers on United's famous "DC-3 Mainliner " service, he found himself shuttling military personnel and war materials from Seattle to Alaska as a member of the Air Transport Command (ATC) as United and all U.S. carriers were nationalized to support the World War II effort. Ultimately, United flew the equivalent of 7,000 flights across more than 50 million miles during its Alaska and Pacific airlifts. In all, United transported more than 156,000 military personnel, 8,600 tons of freight and 9,200 tons of mail during that period. With the end of the war, United returned to re-establishing its operations, and Buddy went to Chicago to support that effort. He now occupied the left seat of the cockpit, having been promoted to captain at the age of 23.
Though not of the first generation of aviation pioneers, Buddy clearly was at the center of the second generation. This was a time when flying was unique, and carrying mail generated more revenue for the airlines than passengers. In fact, flying was reserved for the privileged few. The men wore suits and the women accessorized with hats and gloves. Buddy's southern manners were well suited to this simpler and more personal era of air travel.
Though United was one of the largest airlines of the day, it was small by today's standards with a fleet of less than 40 aircraft consisting of DC-2's and DC-3's. The pilots and cabin crews knew each other on a first name basis and management of the airline and the employees were friendly and compatible. At this time, Buddy got to know William "Pat" Patterson, president of United Airlines, and soon was chosen to fly Mr. Patterson's personal plane throughout the United network on a regular basis. But his main job was piloting the United Mainline, which ran, with many stops, from San Francisco to Denver, Chicago, Cleveland, and New York. It was on one of these routine stops along the route in Cleveland that he met another United employee, Phyllis Woods, whom he wed in 1946.
After several more years in Chicago, Buddy moved his growing family to California in 1953, and continued to progress within the United system. He was now flying the DC-6 which boasted a coast to coast range at a speed of 255 mph. Buddy soon progressed to the DC-7 in 1958. Then in 1960, Buddy joined the jet age as United launched the DC-8. Throughout the 1960's, Buddy primarily flew United's premier coast to coast routes, and was noted for his deeply resonant public address voice as he delighted his passengers with entertaining and informative commentary on the landscape below. Along the way, he was the inaugural pilot for United's San Diego to Hawaii service, and then moved to management, becoming a flight manager in the 1970's. Further, he trained Viasa (Venezuelan Airline) pilots on the DC-8 in Miami. Around the same time, he was also transferred to his final aircraft type, the Boeing 747, which he flew on the Los Angeles - Honolulu route.
In his 38 1/2 -year career, Buddy was part of the most aggressive growth period of the airline industry. From two-engine propeller aircraft to the jet age, airline deregulation, and the introduction of mega transports, Buddy was there for it all.
After reluctantly retiring from United in 1981, he and his beloved Phyllis eventually retired to Santa Ynez, California. There he kept his love of flying alive with his twin-engine plane, which he piloted for the medical emergency taxi service of Angel Flight. He also became active in RUPA, continued his career-long hobbies of writing and physical fitness training, and became a highly involved member of the Confederate Air Force.