In 1927,10-year-old Jack Hanson and his parents were living in East St. Louis, Illinois. Lindbergh's flight in the "Spirit of St. Louis" undoubtedly inspired interest in flying, in Jack as well as in thousands of other future pilots. Jack started collecting the little cards which featured pictures and information on pilots, airplanes, and record flights.
He hitchhiked out to the new Parks Air College about five miles from his home, and he had his first close-up look at an airplane. He sat in an OX-5 Travelair and moved the controls, making believe he was flying. The next week he had his first airplane ride in the Travelair, paid for with $3.00 in proceeds from his paper route.
Between semesters in high school and college, Jack's jobs included playing sax in a touring dance band, driving a truck for WPA, manning his dad's gas station, and working in a coal mine at West Frankfort in Southern Illinois. Jack had decided to become a pilot, and the coal miners told him he was crazy for doing something so dangerous. A couple of years later a mining accident there caused 125 casualties.
Jack enrolled at University of Illinois in 1937, and in 1939 entered UI's first Civilian Pilot Training program. He received his private pilot license flying Piper J-3 Cubs and flew the Waco UPF-7 in advanced aerobatic training. In 1940, he graduated with a degree in engineering. His first job out of college, as a metallurgist with duPont's Remington Arms, took him to Denver in 1941, where he borrowed money to build up the 200 hours of flying time required for a commercial pilot license. As a happenstance, United Air Lines had moved its Training Center to Denver from Cheyenne, making it convenient for Jack to apply for a job as pilot.
He was hired by United in January, 1943, and began flight training in the Boeing 247-D. His first regular flight assignment was between Denver, Omaha, and Chicago Midway in a DC-3. In November he bid for the Air Transport Command route (a contract United had with the government) through the South Pacific, flying C-54s and C-87s.
When he returned from the Pacific, he flew DC-3s out of Chicago to New York, Boston, Cleveland, Omaha, Des Moines, North Platte, Denver, and Cheyenne. In March, 1943, he returned to Denver flight training for his Captain rating, then returned to Chicago until 1950.
Moving to Newark, he flew DC-3s and Convair 340s until 1955, when he relocated to the Los Angeles area and flew the DC-3, Convair 340, DC-4, DC-6, DC-7, Boeing 720, DC-8, and DC-10. In 1972, he checked out in the Boeing 747 and flew from L. A. to New York, Chicago, Miami, and Cleveland, but mostly to Honolulu until his mandatory retirement at age 60 in 1977.
Upon his retirement, Jack didn't hang up his flying hat—he became Chief Pilot for Bonanza Airlines, which, before changing ownership, had flown transport-type aircraft throughout the Southwest. Bonanza, at that time, had single-engine B-35B and A-36 Bonanzas for passenger and cargo charter flights all over the U.S.
Still active in private flying, Jack is a member of Retired United Pilots Association, and the Red Barons, a group dedicated to aviation education. When Jack sees a Waco UPF-7 sitting on the flight line at an air show, it brings fond memories of that little single-engine, open cockpit biplane, and its significance to the start of his 35-year flying career with United Airlines.