Foil: 14 Panel: Retired United Pilots Association Column: 3 Line: 71

Wall of Honor Level:
Air and Space Friend

Honored by:

United Pilot, hired 10/16/67- retired 11/1/01.
Started on the DC-6. When I returned to ORD from school my classmates told me “the company is junior manning pilots into the 727S/U seat.” I figured if they are junior manning I’ll bid the 727. Four months later I was back in school. No one told me it’s not a good idea to go through two schools during your first year when you are on probation. 27 hours in the DC-6. Fifteen years and 9,914 hours in the 727 S/O seat; and I wasn’t the S/O with the most time in the 727 seat at ORD. At 12 years a few bids came out, and then they bumped everyone back. At last it looked as if there was positive expansion so I bid the 737 rope start. At 1 ½ years as a 737 F/O with 1439 hours, then I bid the DC 10. First landing at ORD on 4R I thought I was going to overfly the airport. God do the trucks hang down low compared to your fanny. Six years as a DC 10 F/O and 3767 hours. It was the finest plane I flew at UAL. Some days I would fly her from SFU to ORD. I always hand flew the first hour of every leg I flew and from top of descent to landing. The last 7 years I flew the 767/757. At ORD the 767/757 was domestic. I never had any desire to fly oversea. I had enough trouble taxing around JFK I sure didn’t need Hong Kong to complicate my life. I had a love affair with the 757. What a wonderful plane. I let the F/O fly the 767. No additional comment, I think you get the idea.4623 hours on the 767/757. I almost forgot – my first captain seat and first glass cockpit was the 737-300. That was fun to watch, I was busier than a one armed paper hanger. 1072 hour s and at 1 ½ years. Nice plane but it wasn’t a 757. 20842 hours at United, plus 1100 general aviation hours. Four engine fires, in each case it was a generator or hot air bypass pipe that had a hole in it not the engine. A guy might think twice before he shuts an engine down below 500 feet. I also sat through take off in a 727 cargoliner MSP to ORD F/O flying. We were hit with the gust that precedes a thunderstorm and we dragged the wing tip on the runway. We didn’t know it until the mechanic came on board at ORD airfreight. I was writing letters for a month over that one. Capt. Got two weeks off.