Foil: 14 Panel: Retired United Pilots Association Column: 2 Line: 14

Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Friend

Honored by:
Capt Charles C. Dent and Mr. Milan Kralik Jr.

1949: Received Navy Wings.
1949 – 1952: Lt. (jg) assigned to Patrol Squadron Four based at NAS Whidbey Island, WA; NAS Kodiak, AL; and NAS Barbers Pt., HI during the Korean War.
Navy Aircraft flown: SNJ Texan; PB4Y-2 Privateer; P2V Neptune
1952: Hired as DC-3 copilot for United Airlines.
1965: Promoted to captain, DC-6/7 “Props”.
1965: Captain Viscounts – “Turbo Props”.
1966: Captain Boeing 727 – “Turbo Jets”.
1981: Attended first class of line captains for CLR (Command Leadership Resource). Subsequently became a CLR administrator/teacher.
1987: Mandatory Age 60 captain retirement trip: Seattle to Chicago, Boeing 747.
1987 – 2001: Second officer Boeing 747 flying to Asia, Europe and South America.
July, 2001: 747 fleet retired; continued as 727 second officer.
Nov., 2001: Retired from United Airlines in 50th year at age 74.

Significant Events:

1950: As a Navy P2V Neptune crew member, Rip flew to Wake Island to provide support for the meeting of President Truman with General MacArthur. He then flew the press pool film to Honolulu for distribution.

1956: Rip was the DC-7 first officer on the White House press charter following President Eisenhower’s ‘Columbine’ on a 5-day cross-country campaign trip.

1960: Rip was the DC-6 first officer on a 5-day charter for Henry Cabot Lodge, Vice Presidential Candidate.

1971: As a member of the T+ anti-hijacking committee of pilots and airline personnel, Rip participated in the Pan Am 747 flight from New York to Montreal which briefed UN ambassadors on the need to support international treaties to combat hijacking. Also on the flight were 29 airline crew members who had endured various hijacking experiences. ABC TV News covered the entire event.

1981: Rip participated in the committee to organize a three-day reunion in Paris for aces from both sides of World War I, culminated by the Armistice Day ceremonies at the Arc de Triomphe.

1991 – 2001: Rip was a volunteer DC-10 captain with Orbis International, a flying eye hospital which travels to underdeveloped countries to train ophthalmologists in the latest techniques of eye surgery.

Member: ALPA, RUPA, QB, CAP

Co-founder: Business Council for the United Nations
New Canaan, CT: Fire Commissioner, 1984 – 2004