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Archive for the ‘Pilots’


Shifting Our Merger Into High Gear

Published April 9th, 2009 in Pilots | 3 Comments →

The Delta experience shifted into high gear on March 30. This was the day that all former Northwest frontline employees donned their new Delta uniforms. It truly marked the end of a rich and long legacy of the “Red Tails” but signified the beginning of a new era of a Great Global Airline.

scott-schaefer

I am very excited to be joining another great legacy airline and am very proud to be wearing the Delta uniform. On the morning of March 30th, our crew gathered in the lobby of the hotel and we all commented on how professional and classy each other looked in our new uniforms. You must understand that the Northwest flight attendants had not seen a new uniform since 1990!

We landed in Minneapolis and the whole airport had been transformed into the Delta brand. I just flew from Honolulu to Seattle and got to experience new boarding music and some of the new food on board the aircraft.

The spring of 2009 has special meaning for me because is represents the new beginning for the people of Northwest and Delta. Spring is a symbol of new life and also a sign of many great things to come!

Scott Schaefer
757 First Officer for 13 years
Detroit

1930s Meal Service

Published September 4th, 2008 in History, Pilots | 3 Comments →

Did you know pilots, not “stewardesses,” provided Delta’s first onboard meals? Shown here, Co-pilot Jack Slaton serves a box lunch to a passenger in the mid-late 1930s.

In 1936, Delta flew the Lockheed 10 Electras, which cruised 160 miles per hour and held 10 passengers, 2 pilots and our first complimentary meal service—box lunches served by the co-pilot.

At mealtime, the co-pilot would walk to the rear of the Electra. He handed box lunches to the closest passengers and they passed them forward amongst themselves. As the co-pilot made his way back to the cockpit, he poured passengers coffee from a thermos. The box lunches usually contained two sandwiches, fruit (apple, orange or banana) and a small cake.

Marie Force

Archives Manager

A Special Birthday, Douglas DC-3 & Delta

Published January 23rd, 2008 in History, Pilots, Planes | 6 Comments →

This December 17th came and went without notice, but it was a special day. That day in 1935 marked the first flight of the venerable Douglas DC-3.

Five years later, on Christmas Eve 1940, Delta flew its first revenue DC-3 flight with “Ship 41.”

Since I’ve been lucky enough to fly this fully restored, original in every detail, DC-3, I thought I’d write a little about the “Ship 41” in Delta’s Heritage Museum.

RobinMaiden_Ship41_300×446_inATL

“Ship 41” was actually the second of five DC-3s purchased by Delta. The first arrived November 29, 1940 and was used to train pilots for the next DC-3s to arrive. “Ship 41” arrived on December 23, 1940 and carried passengers the next day. Three more planes were delivered in the next 10 days. These and the additional DC-3s Delta purchased flew in revenue service until the early 1960s.

Here are a few pictures of Delta’s award winning, 1940 DC-3 known as “Ship 41.” I hope you enjoy these pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them.

RobinMaiden_Ship41_img_2676small540×360rlmb.jpgRobinMaiden_Ship41_ATLRobinMaiden_Ship41_CVG_540×360

Tailwinds, Robin

From a pilot’s view

Published November 12th, 2007 in Pilots | 17 Comments →

robin.gifHello everyone.

By way of introductions, I’m a pilot for Delta and very excited about Delta’s reach into the “new media” world.

I hope to become a regular poster giving you an inside view into my world at Delta.

I’ve been very lucky to have a few “odd jobs” around Delta from working in our Operations Control Center to writing a newsletter for our furloughed pilots to producing an internal Flight Operations podcast to flying the antique planes in our museum.

In the coming months, I plan to show you what the heck is inside my flight kit, take you on a tour of our Operations Control Center, show you where we train, and take you through some of our archives.

When I say “show you,” I mean it. I just got a new video recorder. I really want this to be a conversation, so, if there is something you’d like me to show you, post it in the comments.

Tailwinds,
Robin