Another Buzz story

A while ago,  I had written to a family member of a retired pilot my Dad knew at Northeast Airlines, Roy Ray (on the right) regarding a picture I had of the two of them.

 I thought that the family might not have a copy of the photo and would like one.

Anyway, after sometime I heard recently from said pilots daughter, and thought the exchange was somewhat humorous, I hope you enjoy the story.

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Hi Duncan,
I am so sorry it took three years for me to find your post to me. I hope my delayed response finds you well. 

I would love a copy of the pic you referenced in your post. I remember the operations room well. My dad took my to Logan often and I even flew in the Linx; all in a safer time, although I do remember the hijacking scares back then.

My dad passed a year ago tomorrow…kind of fortuitous my husband found your post this evening. 

Thanks so much for keeping his memory alive for my family and me.

Thanks  

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Good Morning,

Thanks for your note,  I'd be happy to send you a copy of the picture tomorrow I'm out on a trip presently.   Until tomorrow,

Duncan 

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Hi Duncan, 

The picture is great! Can't wait to share it with my family. 

My mom is 92. I will show her this weekend. 

If you find a better quality, great. If not, I am thankful to have this. 

It looks like you fly for United? Are you based in San Francisco?

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Yes, I am based and live in the Bay Area.

I will eventually find the original picture and get a better quality picture to you ASAP.

I'm glad that I was able to get it to you in some fashion after all.

Duncan  

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Hi Duncan,

A quick note to let you know I showed the pic of your Dad and mine to my mom yesterday. She recognized your dad’s face but couldn’t place a name. I would say that is pretty good for someone 92. Your Dad must have been very memorable:-)

Best regards,

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Ha, thanks - that would be an accurate statement, he was memorable. His name was Howard E. (Buzz) Flett, and he always went by Buzz.  I have heard a few stories over the years; I once had a conversation with an ole co-pilot of my Dad's. After we talked for about an hour, he told me that I wasn't anything like my Dad. ;)

He was a bite gregarious I've been told.

All the best,

Duncan

H. E. (Buzz) Flett had went and gone Southern, Who knew!

Well folks, I found an ole' relic of the Pelican's past that I thought you might enjoy. I'm not sure whether this was a precursor of the Commemorative Air Force, but stranger things have happened. 

I hope you enjoy the story

Every once in a while I find myself rummaging through some of my Dad's ole aviation stuff from days gone-bye, and today was one of those days. I was looking for the original picture of my Dad and another Northeast pilot, Roy Ray hanging out in Boston Operations between flights back in the day. I need the picture to scan at a higher rate for making a photograph from, due to Capt. Ray's daughter getting back to me that she'd love a copy of this picture. Unfortunately, she recently got in touch with me three years after I offered it to her through a Northeast website, and now I can't remember which box of stuff it's located in.

Aw well, anyway while I was looking for said picture above ,  I found this great gem of Buzz memorabilia. It seems to be that ole Buzz was inducted into the Confederate Air Corps back on December 7th, 1955.  On this date, he was O'fficially recognized for "having manifested an unusually high regard to black-eye peas, turnip greens, hog jowl, sow belly, pot likker, grits, chittlins, and good ole corn squeezins."   He was even appointed to the rank of Colonel

Support Troop 9's Community Emergency Preparedness Fair

I am inviting all my Petaluma friends to come out and help support Troop 9 of Petaluma at their Fourth Annual - Community Emergency Preparedness Fair.   

Went to a luncheon recently.

 Well Friends, life is funny sometimes.

 

Three weekends ago, I was attending my first California State Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) Youth Awards Luncheon out in Sacramento, CA. Now that is a mouth full.

Truth be told, this is the very first SAR function I have ever attended outside monthly meetings. The reason I was attending this function was that I had been invited to the luncheon by the Chairman of the California State SAR Eagle Scout Recognition Committee, Mr. Gary Jensen (furthermost to the right). This was due to the fact that I had been awarded the SAR's Robert E. Burt Boy Scout Volunteer Award for my work with my local Chapter of the SAR.  The cool part about getting this award for me was; The guy who is pinning that small medal on my jacket is none other than, Robert (Robby) E. Burt himself. How cool is that! This is a great honor for me, as Robby has become a great friend as well.

                    

Now the back story:  In early 2014, I was looking online for ways to honor and congratulate Eagle Scouts in general, because the Boy Scout Troop that I belong too was going to have their first Eagle Scout Court Of Honor. This is a big deal in the Scouting community, and I wanted to make sure that our troop provided something special for our First Eagle Scout. Well, during my research, I discovered that the SAR had an Eagle Scout Recognition process - I was dumbfounded and caught unawares. So in finding out about this possible presentation, I called my local chapter President, which at the time was in San Francisco. He told me that they did do Eagle Scout Recognition Ceremony's, but due to where I lived (an hour North of the city), I might have greater success in having a presentation done by calling the chapter up near where I lived. So I called the President of the Redwood Empire Chapter of the SAR, and found out that they did have an Eagle Scout Recognition Committee, so I changed my affiliation almost immediately, and joined the committee. Went to my first meeting, and that's when I meet the Chapter President James Beatty, and Robby Burt, Chairmen of the local chapter's Eagle Scout Recognition Committee. Then I learned that he started the SAR Boy Scout Volunteer Award in 1988 while he was working as a Professional Scouter and a SAR member. Since then, I have been doing Eagle Scout Recognition Ceremony's with him throughout the local area when requested.

So, what does an Eagle Scout Recognition Ceremony consist of you might be asking yourself. Well, we supply an SAR Proclamation Letter and Certificate congratulating and expounding on an Eagle Scouts accomplishments during their Court of Honor ceremony.

We also provide information and applications for a monetary scholarship, called the Arthur M. Berdena King Eagle Scout Award Contest, whereby Eagles can earn, and spend on anything they want, by writing a 500 word patriotic themed essay. The awards can be quite worthwhile; my local chapter offers the winner a $250 award. We then send his winning story to the State level to compete against other chapter entrants, whereby the California winner receives $750 for their effort, and it doesn't stop there. All State winners stories are then sent to our National Headquarters in Louisville, KY, and three winners receive an even larger cash award. The First Place Winner receives $10,000, and then the First Runner-up receives $6,000, and the 2nd Runner-up receives $4,000. Check out the details at: http://www.sar.org/Youth/Eagle_Scout

And finally, after all the awards were done with and with everyone starting to head for the door, there was one more little surprise for me by my local chapter President, James Beatty. Seems as though my local fellow chapter members had awarded me "The Outstanding Citizenship Award" in December, and since I haven't been able make a meeting this year, he decided to present me the award after the luncheon as well. Thanks to all who made this a great day for me. 
   

30 Year Anniversary

Yesterday, FEB 4th,  I celebrated a double work Anniversary my friends. 30 years ago (FEB 4th 1986) I started training for a Flight Engineer position at Eastern Airlines, and 25 years ago on the same day, I started that same process for United Airlines. Where does the time go?

Happy Fathers Day to the man that exposed me to Flying at the ripe ole age of 4. It's been 38 years (this summer) since he first got me started with flying lessons for a career, And I must admit that after 30+ years of airline flying, I still love strapping into that large cylindrical aluminum tube, stuffed with 150+ some odd passengers and getting them safely to their appointed destination. He may be gone now eternally enjoying Tailwinds and Fair Skies, but for that passion of flight he shared with me, I can't thank him enough. 😎

Pilots’ low pay - By theToledo Blade

 

No offense to cab drivers, but airline pilots should earn more than they do. Right now, many don’t.

Uber drivers in New York City make $90,000 a year, while first-year pilots for regional carriers earn an average of $22,400. A pilot with a family could be on food stamps or working two jobs. A once-glamorous profession, commercial aviation has been battered by terrorism, poor management, and cost cutting.

After losing billions of dollars in the decade after 9/​11, the fortunes of U.S. airlines are improving. They collected $7.3 billion in profit last year, thanks to lower fuel costs. Instead of giving passengers more snacks, they should invest in their safety with better pay for pilots.
Pilot compensation has declined 10 percent since 2000, even as the training required of pilots has increased, along with its cost. The Federal Aviation Administration now requires pilots on commercial airliners to have 1,500 hours of flying experience, up from 250. The cost of obtaining those hours, plus a four-year aviation degree, exceeds $100,000.

While seasoned captains at major airlines earn more than that, more than half of the flights in the United States are through regional carriers. With their comparably dismal pay, a lot of men and women in the cockpit worry not just about wing icing, but also how to pay their heating bills.
As the United States loses experienced pilots to better-paying foreign airlines, a Government Accountability Office report says fewer people are entering the profession. They can’t reconcile the cost of training with years of low wages.

U.S. airlines lost $63 billion in the eight years after 9/​11. It will take years of profit, not a few good quarters, to recover from that hit. They’re hindered by consumers who revel in cheap flights booked online. The average fare in the third quarter of 2014 was $396; in 1980, it was $600.
Even so, airlines are expected to earn more than $7 per passenger in 2015, up from $5.42 a year ago. Improved pilot pay is up to them. No matter how skillful the landing, cramped passengers in economy class aren’t going to leave tips.

Read more at:

Pilots’ low pay - Toledo Blade

Free Press Exposure

 My Fifteen Minutes of Fame

Had some "Free Press" come my way recently from my local Chapter President of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR). Except for a few spelling mistakes, it was very nice being recognized. Since I personally never made it to Eagle Scout, I feel it is my duty to encourage as many boys as I can to achieve this High Honor in Scouting. I have been a member of the local SAR Chapter's Eagle Scout Recognition Committee for two years, and it has been a great experience so far.

Thanks James Beatty for your kind words.    

A Recent Delivery

Afternoon to my Aviation Brethren, 

This morning after awakening from a short night's sleep (I arrived home this morning at about 12:30 in the AM after a trip), and securing a generous cup of coffee,  I found a large envelope in my personal mail box in the home office. I noticed that the return address was from the NSEG, who is my best buddy and fellow Check Airman; so my curiosity was peaked. As some of you may or may not know, you "Never" know what you might get in the mail from the "No So Exotic Guy" at times. 

Anyway, I am happy to report that I am the proud owner of the latest EAA Chapter 1467's Tree Top Flyers 2015-2016 Calendar.

After perusing the calendar and ogling over all the beautiful airplanes on each page,  I called my buddy "No So" to thank him for the calendar. After we exchanged pleasantries, he said the Calendar was actually from another Aviation Brethren friend of mine named Eddie. Now Eddie is the current President of EAA Chapter 1467 - Tree Top Flyers, and took most of the pictures in the Calendar. Wow, that was very nice of you to pass this along to me Eddie. 

Additionally, I wanted to thank him for a special number on the back of the calendar that he slated for me.  It has very special significance, I'm sure he had no idea when he assigned me #5. 

Now, I know ya'll may be wondering what I might be blabbering on about? So, to make a short story long I'll tell you quick. There were 5 boys born into my immediate family, and whenever my Dad would start talking about his boys to his fellow pilots in the Crew Lounge or the cockpit, he would always referred to us in sequential birth order so folks could follow along. And since I was the last Son born... I am #5.  

Need I say more. 

Ya'll be safe out there 

the Safety Pilot

Another "Once In A Life Time Moment"

Evening Readers, Welcome back 

Last week I mentioned that my Son and I went to Washington DC for a special occasion, and then went to the Air & Space Museum the next day to see the wonders of Aviation - one of The Holy Grails as I call it. 

Well, I had been told by a very good friend of mine, Delta Airlines MD-90 Captain & Line Check Airman Bob Cottom, that the Spirit of St. Louis had recently been taken down from its hanging position and placed on the floor. According to the Air & Space website: "Ryan NYP "Spirit of St. Louis" on the floor of the Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall. The aircraft was lowered in early 2015 as a part of a major renovation of the exhibition. The aircraft will undergo conservation treatment while it's located on the floor of the Museum".  

If you'd like to see the Spirit of St. Louis as she looked when she was first placed on the floor, click on this link: http://airandspace.si.edu/explore-and-learn/multimedia/detail.cfm?id=9989

      

 Now, having this knowledge before I walked into the museum, I was eager to get inside and see her up close and personal. Of course I made a bee line for "NX211", and while I was studying her, I watched this gentlemen with the purple gloves moving about the cowling area thinking he was going through some kind of cleaning process. Then all of the sudden, I realized that I was woefully mistaken ; he was going to take the cowling off! There I am, standing there somewhat dumbfounded and caught a bit off guard. So, after retrieving my phone and not having anytime to switch to video mode, I manged to get four pictures of the upper right engine cowling coming off the "Spirit of St. Louis".  

Wow, all I can say is "WOW"; I was silent throughout the whole process, like I was in Church.

There was another gentlemen standing next to me, and he remarked after we watched the cowling coming off, "Well, you don't see that every day".  He was right of course, I'll probably never see that again ever in my life!

Here is an overhead shot of the Spirit of St. Louis on the floor 

showing just how close you can get up to her.

Doing a little time traveling lately

Afternoon everyone,

I recently went off to Washington DC with my Son, and took in the sights at the Air & Space Museum. For the Aviation Buff, this place is one of the Holly Grails.

While we were roaming the museum, we went by the Airline section. I stepped into the front section of American Airlines DC-4 on display, and suddenly I remembered a story my Dad told me about one of his flights. I was transfixed while it all came back to me, and of course a smile came over me.  

This story takes place in the late 40's or early 50's, as Buzz Flett was a Co-Pilot at Northeast Airlines. On this particular trip, he happen to be flying with his cousin, Captain Tiny Rollins. Tiny got to Northeast a few years earlier than Buzz, so that is why he was the Captain. 

So, here is how the story goes.

He and cousin Tiny were cruising along at altitude, when Tiny starts messing with a wire-tie that was across the autopilot switch, which inhibited anyone from turning the autopilot "on", mostly because he wanted to see if it worked. His thought was, why hand fly the airplane when there might be a perfectly good working autopilot attached to that switch. 

On a quick side note - as the story goes - Northeast Airlines leased the DC-4's from American Airlines, and since Northeast wanted to keep costs down they decided that they didn't want to maintain unessential things like Autopilots, hence, the wire-tie holding the switch in the "off" position.

Eventually the wire-tie was removed, and the switch was placed to the "on" position. Low and behold the autopilot worked great, the aircraft was holding heading and airspeed - what more could a couple of airline pilots want.

Well,... what cousin Tiny really was thinking now, was to play a practical joke on that new young Stewardess who was working the forward cabin of the aircraft. It use to be a right of passage for pilots to play practical jokes on young unsuspecting stewardess'; they thought they are pretty funny at times. This is right about the time they start to develop their plan, and precise preparation was key. To aid them in their plan, the DC-4 cockpit has a very unique setup that our two young aviators wanted to exploit to set the joke. The cockpit has only one radio & circuit breaker panel behind the Captains seat, leaving a large open netted area behind the Co-pilot seat for last minute bags and such.

Plan complete - time to put it in motion, but you've got to go by the checklist:

1st, ensure that the Autopilot is engaged and aircraft is holding Heading and Airspeed - Check. 
2nd, passenger load being low, only four or five bags in the storage area - Check.
3rd, move a few big bags around to make a nice little place to hide two pilots - Check.
4th, leave a note for the Flight Attendant, the most important item - Check.
5th, hit the Flight Attendant Call button on the overhead panel, "ding" - Check.
Lastly, scurry like hell to get into the extra storage area and place the biggest bags on top of each other to hide two pilots,... and wait - Check.

As protocol dictates, the young flight attendant enters the cockpit and walks in a few feet, passing the hiding pilots. She stops just being behind the empty pilots seats, sees a small sign on the throttle quadrant saying - "Gone Fishing, Be Back In An Hour." She looks into both empty pilot seats again,  looks over her shoulder to see if anyone is behind her - no one there. She then blurted out a blood curdling scream that everyone on the aircraft could hear, this included the Senior Stewardess working the aft lounge - Not Good. 

I asked my Dad after he told me this story, "So what did you get for that stunt'? He said about two weeks off. I said, "you were lucky, you'd get fired for doing that now".

 

Here's a photo of "Captain" Flett in a DC-6; probably plotting the next practical joke.   

 

                   

The fast way home today

Afternoon everyone; I got home pretty quickly today, so I've got some time to jot down a couple of things from my adventure today for my Blog. 

As you may or may not know, I've been working close to home lately. For me, that means that I haven't been flying on a regular basis since October due to teaching an Operational Efficiency class to our pilots. Today in class I had one of my Co-pilots (Chuck Newman) show up, he lives in my town (Petaluma,CA). When I mentioned that he should have asked me to ride with him to class today (to get in the HOV lane), he said that it didn't take him much time at all. Of course I gave him a questioning look.  He said that he flew down and would I like ride back with him after class. 

And I said: Would I, Would I!! 

So here is my flying Chariot home this afternoon, this is N82RV, and she is a real nice RV-8. Chuck built this airplane by himself in his garage. Its always amazing what you'll find in some peoples garage. Anyway, Chuck finished the airplane in 2001, and he's put 2200 hours on her, and I know this because I watched the Hobbs meter turn past 2200 hours during our 20 minute flight. Believe me, Its much longer on the bus, or driving in a car during Rush Hour.

She is decked out with a few pretty nice Flat Screen NAV system, with autopilot, and a few nice GARMIN products for extra measure.

This is my view from the back seat, unfortunately I don't get any of the goodies you saw for the front seat.

On the Takeoff Roll

Here's the radio setup, and this one has a small screen, which shows us on the South end of the Bay after taking off from San Carlos airport. At this point, we are awaiting permission to fly directly over Oakland Airport (the blue spot) to head North up to Petaluma's Airport (069).

Selfie, sorry couldn't resist. I wanted to get that Sun in the background look kind of picture.  

Well, we made it past Oakland Airport and here we are flying over part of the City of Oakland, CA.  

Chuck got a shot of me before I climbed out of this great airplane. Of course for me, any airplane is fine with me. Dang, I think I look pretty good in one of these, I should get one.   Reality Check - That will have to wait till at least my youngest is almost out of college (four years from now - maybe).  

New Acquisition of Hardware - Sometimes, not always better

Good day Safety Pilot Follower's

This little article is about the difference between Old & New Airline Hardware. Hardware is the stuff (we) pilots wear on our shirts, Jacket, and The Hat. Over the years, I've collected a few, mostly from the airlines that employed me. I've also acquired a few from the occasional Airline Show and from my Dad's Airline Career.

Below is a smattering of what the Ole' stuff use to look like, it had style. I know that may be my opinion, but you have to admit it,... doesn't that look COOL!       

Below is an example of New Hardware. Now don't get me wrong, I can appreciate that times have changed and with that, there are going to be changes. And some may be harder to accept than others. I just think the Old Stuff had more Style and Identity to it,... just my opinion of course.

 

Proyecto Pettirossi - Trailer

Rob Hunter Completes AIRBUS IOE

Well, I pulled this out of my camera the other day and have been wanting to post it up on my blog. I haven't posted anything up recently as I've been quite busy working, which you can tell.

So, here we have a picture of Captain Rob Hunter (ex EAL & PAA) and I after successfully completing his IOE on the AIRBUS 320 (7/08/14). This is his second time at command, as he was a Guppy Capt'in before UAL got rid of them all. Rob is an ole' buddy of mine from my EAL, and PAA days, we were hired at both airlines around the same time. I was honored that he asked if I would do his IOE on the AIRBUS.  He did an awesome job, of course!   

Take a look at this posting

This may seem a little unusual, but Please got to my Blog List and click on the Jellystone Air Park blog. There is a nice story about a Travel Air I recently came in contact with while on vacation. I hope you enjoy the story.    

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/FAA-Western-Hemisphere-Flight-Standards-Meeting-.html?soid=1102793168390&aid=8Wwk9jgqQPk

This is a great opportunity to be part of the process. Check it out.





http://myemail.constantcontact.com/FAA-Western-Hemisphere-Flight-Standards-Meeting-.html?soid=1102793168390&aid=8Wwk9jgqQPk

North Pole Airport Expanded Operations

In case anyone missed these charts during the Holiday Season, I thought I'd post them up for viewing. The North Pole Village Airport has expanded their operations center, and there are now some very specific rules and regulations that we must adhere to. Note the Cautions and Notes on the 12-25 RNAV (GPS) RWY 18 page. There are also new restrictions on page 2 under the Additional Runway Information page, so please be advised.  I hope you all had a Great Holiday Season, and may you have a Healthy and Prosperous 2014.

Signs from my Travels this Past Summer

Dutch village honors Santa Rosa WWII pilot | The Press Democrat

Checkout this great story about a Santa Rosa local, you wont be disappointed.  

Dutch village honors Santa Rosa WWII pilot | The Press Democrat