It's all about the people!
The airplanes are great, the layovers exciting and the restaurants wonderful, but without the crews for friendship it's all pretty boring. Yes, I had a few that I'd rather not have flown with, (they probably didn't care much for me either) but they were very few and far between. Most everyone had a story and if you dug a little it was usually interesting.

Loren checking the tire pressure on the right mains in SEA.

Ron waving hello from a B-757. LAX to HNL

Getting a clearance in MSP. B-757

Leaving MSP in the rain. Tomorrow Chris and I will watch the Orioles at Camden Yards in BWI.

A friendly wave off in DTW.

TWA captain Bob Buck and his son, Delta captain Rob Buck at home in Vermont.

TWA captain Bob Buck, author of "North Star Over my Shoulder" and other books, was a frequent visitor at our Northeast Airlines reunions in Plymouth, NH. (2005) Talk about a fascinating history!

A smooth pusback is always appreciated. HNL

A friendly ground crew off loading our B-757 in ANC. This photo found its way into AIRWAYS Magazine a few years ago..

A DC-9 crew in the jetway dressed for St. Paddy's Day. We're off to Halifax, Nova Scotia.

Hutch and me at 0600 at the LAX Hilton on Century Blvd.. You'll notice he always has coffee in his hand.

And the rest of the crew has gathered onboard for an early morning departure to MSP continuing to LGA.

Hutch doing his walk around inspection on the LAX ramp. N585NW, MSN 32985, mfg 11/02.

This is how you get to AMS from BOS in a 757.

Departing AMS for DTW a couple of days later.

Off to AMS a week later. 757-251, N535US, MSN 26482, mfg 11/95.

With another happy crew!

Ground crew, Dusseldorf, Germany.

Parking the jet, SFO

Emil, Flight Ops, LAX

Ground Crew, Honolulu. 757-351, NN590NW, MSN 32990, mfg 3/03.

Preparing to leave Dusseldorf for DTW/757

FA crew/757/Narita - Saipan

JAL Flight Ops, Nagoya. Note the girl in the back.

I met these JAL pilots in Flt Ops, NGO.

Rode jumpseat with this jetBlue crew JFK-BOS

Quick nap between flights

Hutch inspecting the engine

On the ground in SFO Hutch is looking for HNL.

And we found it !!

We didn't have 767's at NWA, so this was my 1st 767 flight, from HNL-SLC and first with a DAL F/A crew too. I came out of the cockpit and asked, "where's the bathroom." The look was priceless. David Lamb is my FO.

Capt Norm Houle, NEA/DAL ret. The official, unofficial historian of Northeast Airlines at an NEA reunion in Plymouth, NH. The DC-3 belongs to Capt Mike Farrey, NEA/DAL retired too.

Frankfurt to Detroit with Ernie (3/14/11) & our Annual Check 

Ernie, on board our 767-300ER, FRA to DTW

Ernie in the cockpit, FRA.

Airborne to DTW in the XCM. Note the fleece, very comfortable.

Ernie and me during another successful SVT at MSP on the 757.

Jumpseating on Hawaiian Airlines, 1/8/07

Rode jumpseat with this Hawaiian 717 crew, HNL-ITO-HNL

The captain and his sister, ITO. Their father had flown for HAW too.

Their B-717 cockpit. First one I'd seen.

The Captain was a 717 check airman.

And the rest of the Hawaiian crew. Thanks for the ride.

The FO was really a captain and the domestic chief pilot. His brother flew for HAW too.

The ITO to HNL Jumpseat authorization.

I had the opportunity to get a nice aircraft shot from the HAW ramp.

Thanks to this SWA 737 crew I commuted home via BWI to MHT.

Double crew, flight planning, NGO to DTW.

Captain Dick Mott's last flight  
Hughes Airwest, Republic, Northwest

Captain Dick Mott's retirement flight: DTW - CDG - DTW in an A-330.

I flew a lot with Dick in the DC-9 years ago. No this is not a Nine engine.

With his cockpit crew.

Just one more landing to go. Another great guy to fly with. N801NW, MSN 524, mfg 1/03.

Dick and his wife Jill in an A-330

Dick started his career in DC-3's flying "smoke-jumpers."

I had breakfast with Dick in PHX on a layover.

Captain John Mohr in a B-757 at LAX. You probably know John from Mohr Barnstorming where he does things with a Stearman that no one else can do. N533US, MSN 24624, mfg 9/88.

Click on John's picture above to visit MOHR BARNSTORMING and have fun.

See the pic above with Dick and his crew. Catherine is his FO and Jim, here in the captain seat of this 757 is her husband. Howard in the right seat is a former Air Force One command pilot. N546US, MSN 26493, mfg 7/96.

Joel, DC-9, MSP

PAA crew at Marine Air Terminal, LGA

Ground crew at DTW

Hutch checking tire pressure... "yup, looks good!"

Leaving Beijing at Oh-Dark-thirty.

Dan, checking things out.

A little maintenance. N549US, MSN 26496 mfg 9/96

FA's Narita/Guam

Leaving Saigon for Narita with Big Mike Griffin. "It's 106 miles to Chicago, we got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark... and we're wearing sunglasses." N535US, MSN 26482, mfg 11/95.

Big Mike the day before bribing our flight attendants with candy.

Bill from Maine yelling, "Rand, we're due out in 5 minutes!"

Big Bill Callahan loading the computer. Where are we going? 757-351, N594NW, MSN 32994, mfg 8/03.

LGA Flight Ops Crew

Thanks to this American Airlines crew for giving me a last minute jumpseat from DFW to BOS, then giving me a first class seat with breakfast. 1/10/10

Early morning coffee with an SWA pilot while waiting for the hotel van to bring us over to Seatac.

I heard it all the time... "there are no women pilots out there."  There aren't? 
Succeeding as an airline pilot has nothing to do with gender; but everything to do with attitude, work ethic, self esteem and a desire to excel. Everyone pictured throughout this entire site shares these attributes. Or they wouldn't be here!

Sydney, former ANE, now A-330 Capt. A-320, N344NW, MSN 388, mfg 11/92.

Jill was the FO on my retirement flight form Nagoya to DTW.

To the left is a copy of the May 1979 NORTHLINER, the employee newsletter at North Central Airlines. This came out just as the CAB (Civil Aeronautics Board, now defunct) approved the merger between Minneapolis based North Central Airlines and Atlanta based Southern Airways. The newsletter announced the first all female crew to fly at NCA in a Convair 580. The crew consisted of captain Barbara Wiley, FO Ramona Larsen and FA Karen Klein.

The crew in the DTW Chief Pilots office as I started my last trip. Oct 2012.

The atmosphere in a Chief Pilots Office varies over the years as personnel change. This group was top notch. I was happy to call them friends.

John and me with an adoring crowd at NRT.

Capt Ed Bearden w/crew, Cayman

Ret 747-400 captain Al Anderson, gave me may last 757 check ride. We're in the Sim.

It's good to be the king.

Our Flt. Ops. people were fantastic, always ready to help out in any situation. Here are three shots of Flt. Ops. at SFO.

B-767 crew, leaving FRA for DTW.

On the ramp, DTW

Running into Ralph Freeman in Guam.

I was going thru security in Guam in 2012 and heard someone call my name. It was Ralph Freeman whom I hadn't seen in 30 years. We're both former ANE and Ralph is VP of Flight for United in Guam. Former Air Mike at Continental. To the right is Ralph in an ANE DHC-6 in 1974. I don't see that he's changed a bit!

Dave Larsen, 747 FO and Cobbler!

Ralph went from ANE to PEX then CAL and finally UAL.

Join Dave Larsen and me as we cross the North Atlantic in a 767 from DTW to CDG. I'm often asked, "what do pilots do for hours on end, in the middle of the night on long haul flights to remain alert?" Well, we savor our crew meals, drink lots of coffee, read manuals, discuss current events and company bulletins, fiddle with a camera and plan out the next day in Paris, London or wherever.

However, I'd noticed the last few days that Dave was avoiding even small puddles as we continued on this trip... now I knew why. He had a hole in his shoe and he took the time at about 40º west longitude to remedy the situation. Fill that hole with rubber cement, "there, that should do it." We'd probably just taken a pay cut or something and he was trying to make ends meet.

When we eliminated all of the out bases (WVL, MPV, ACK etc..) I was based in BOS and flew a lot with Ralph. It was a lot of fun.

The sun is up, his shoe is fixed, we've had breakfast and it's time to descend and land and spend the day in Paris. I spent many enjoyable hours aloft with Dave.

Thanks to yet again another Southwest Airlines crew who got me home

Saved by another Southwest Crew. I missed my flight to BOS and flew SWA to BWI connecting to MHT.

We're in CVG heading for CDG, Eric pulls out the book to review de-icing procedures, B-767.

Wes and I were hired at Air New Eng in 1974

Wes Lundquist and me after checking out in the 727. (1998) We duplicated this pose w/ our sons below.

No, this is not Wes and me in 2050. It's my Dad at Wes's brothers retirement in BOS. Courtney Lundquist flew for NEA and DAL too.

SWA treats commuters, even from another airline, like their own. Thank-you.

CVG to CDG is greater than 8 hours so Dean joins the crew. He's a knowledgable WWII historian which will be handy in Paris.

And our careers have taken the same path.

Wes and me after checking out in the 757. (2001)

Wes and me after checking out in the A-320. (2002) Unfortunately, I don't have DC-9 or 747 checkout pics.

Top: Our sons, Eric and Ian in an Orion 727-100 (1986) and Below: our daughters Sam and Chris at MHT w/ Wes's Cessna 180 (1987) None of our kids caught the flying bug.

Wes and me at the Shirley, MA airport diner.

Don Champagne, Wes & me, BDL w/ The Memphis Belle.

Wes, me and Hook Hamersley at the Fitchburg, MA airport.

Wes, Don and me on Lake Winnipesaukee w/ my Cessna 140.

Hired at ANE in 1974, we checked out as Twin Otter captains in 1977. Wes left for North Central Airlines in 1978, which would become Republic Airlines in 1979.

In 1985 his personality and friendship with Karen Dompier got me hired at REP and a year later we'd merged with Northwest Airlines. Fast forward 22 years and we're both 747-400 captains at Delta. Plan as hard as you may, you just never know where your path may lead. It's exciting though!

Rec'd from Wes's iPhone 3/27/14: DAL 172, MNL-NRT, FL390, Code 0, B-747-400.

And finally, Wes and me in the B-747-400. General Jimmy Doolittle wrote a book entitled, "I Could Never Be So Lucky Again." I think he was writing about me.

2012, BOS. Our paths crossed as I was commuting home from DTW and he was commuting to JFK to fly a 767-400 London trip.

If we're not at an airport we'll be found at an airplane salvage yard. We were trailing his Cessna 140 wings home from New Bedford, MA to New Hampshire.

DTW, 1998, Wes & me by a 727.

Wes, 1990 with my Cessna 140 and his 180. He's owned two 180's and a 140, I've owned one 140, two Cubs and a Stearman. We'll fly little airplanes as long as they have a tailwheel.

1986, Orion 727-100 in MHT.

Now here's an unusual shot; we're not at an airport, in an airplane or at a salvage yard! We're on a 757-300 layover in HNL on Waikiki; 35 years, 5,000 miles and 87º west of our beginnings at Air New England in BOS. We both agree, it's been a fabulous ride.

A last flight is a bittersweet event. (Believe me, I know!)

At Anchorage, Cheryl is 2nd from right.

Cheryl in the cockpit of our 757

And as Cheryl departs our 757 for the last time in DTW. She'd enjoyed a career that spanned 20 years and started with Alaska Airlines.

Captain Tom Hale: Air New England, North Central, Republic, Northwest and finally Delta Air Lines.

Duncan Cooper & Tom Hale in DUS, leaving for DTW.

Tom landing a 757, DTW. He retired from the 747-400. (RIGHT) Delta Flight Ops, JFK, Tom and I met as he'd just returned from TLV and I was leaving for TLV in a couple of hours.

Tom with fellow Air New England pilots and 757 captains Irwin Lippworth and Rand in Int'l Flight Planning, DTW. Tom and I were headed for DUS and Irwin was off to LGW. That's my European tie.

After this outing, Tom purchased a beautiful Cessna 180.

Wes Lundquist and Tom, Lake Winnipesaukee with Wes's Cessna 180 and my Cessna 140

Tom and me in a 727, DTW, 1990. Sorry it's a lousy picture, but I've learned... you never throw a photograph away. You'll regret it 20 years later.

Tom and me, B-757, DTW to DUS. Tom flew Twin Otters, the DC-3 and the FH-227 at ANE and then Convair 580's at North Central. (My NWA tie.)

Tom hanging out the window of a B-757.

A family photo album: My dad's retirement, January 1980 (NEA/DAL)

Dad in his NEA uniform in 1952 as a DC-3 and Convair 240 captain. Above in 1957, he's with captains Don Graf and Claude Cox. They're going through DC-6B training after NEA won Florida routes from Boston and New York from the CAB, shocking Eastern and National Airlines. Jets are just around the corner.

23 Jan 1980, in B-727 N1641, DAL flight 454, last flight from TPA to BOS. I was seated in the jumpseat directly behind him and my mother and sister were in first class. Friends/family met us at the gate in BOS.

Last cockpit crew, 23 Jan 1980. FO Bob Hobbs and FE Ron Pach. Remember Ron, you'll learn more about him later. To the right. Deboarding an airliner for the last time. Capt Jim Baker, BOS chief pilot in the background. The Stews were: Virginia Martin, Joan Morrissey, Betty Guy, Angel Landry & Rusty Burns. (All former NEA)

The last exit!

In fact, here's the 727 that my Dad flew on his last flight, delivered new to NEA on 12/11/67 as N1641. This was the first 727-200 built by Boeing. From NEA it went to DAL, Piedmont and finally USAir before it was scrapped in 5/89.

Dad and me in BOS after his retirement flight. I was a Twin Otter captain at BOS based Air New England.

Dad and me before his last trip, at home in Amherst, NH. I was 31 and "dreaming" of flying for DAL. Dad arrived at DAL from NEA, I strolled in from NWA.

N8953U, NEA 1st DC-9-15, Dec 1966. Former Iberia aircraft on loan to NEA for training as they awaited their brand new, Yellowbird DC-9's to arrive. Note the DC-6B and the old NEA hangar in BOS. Hangar is now being used by jetBlue. The 1st DC-9-31 arrived in 1967 and the fleet would grow to 14. This was an exciting time at Northeast Airlines.

Delivered in 1958, NEA flew 10 Vickers Viscount 798D's.

1957 NEA timetable. DC-6B's to MIA

NEA employee newsletter

Formed in 1933, NEA merged with DAL 1 August 1972.

Article that appeared in his hometown newspaper a week after his retirement flight.

1972, after the NEA/DAL merger.

Just some of the aircraft that he flew at NEA. B-727-200. He was dual qualified in the Nine and the Seven-two. Starting in 1965, NEA flew 8 727-95's and 13 727-295's, the stretched version.

NEA flew 10 Convair 240's starting in 1949. N91237 delivered new to NEA 2/49, written off 3/94 Trans Florida Airlines.

My father as a DC-3 FO, 1946.

The 1st DC-3 arrived in 1940 when the airline changed its name from Boston-Maine Airways to NEA.

My Dad enjoyed a fabulous airline career from 1946 through 1980 with NEA and Delta. Looking at these pictures, is it any wonder that I grew up to be an airline pilot? As an 10 year-old I stood by my bedroom window, every morning at 8 a.m., my mother calling me downstairs for breakfast. But I couldn't leave until NEA flight 57, a Douglas DC-3 flew Past enroute from BOS to MPV. 

NEA DC-6B, the Skylark era. The fleet consisted of 17 B models and 1 A model leased from Flying Tigers. That one A model, N34945 crashed on Rikers Island, near LGA, Feb 1957, prompting the book, "Tiger on a Leash."

And this is how they looked when he retired.

Dad retired from DAL but I'm partial to NEA.

Ron Pach & me at the Marine Air Terminal, LGA, 2000.

DAL weight data record for flight 454, TPA-BOS

Do you believe in fate? No, me either, but this is pretty interesting so pay attention. In the pic above to the left, taken in 1980, do you see the fellow next to my Dad in the white shirt? That's Ron Pach his flight engineer on his last flight. In the photo above to the right, do you see the pilot in the DAL uniform standing to the right? You do... good, because that's DAL captain Ron Pach in 2000, exactly 20 years after my fathers retirement flight. And that's me in my NWA uniform with Ron. I was standing in line next to this pilot at the restaurant in the Marine Air Terminal, when I noticed his name tag (DAL pilots wear name tags) that said Ron Pach. "Ron I said, "my name is Rand Peck." We spent the next hour talking about my father and where our careers had taken us. This was a lot of fun for me, I hope that you enjoyed this brief trip down memory lane.

2nd. Lt. Peck, 1943

Captain Peck, 1980

NEA 727-95, delivered new to NEA in old red/white/blue livery in 1965. Ser # 18858. Scrapped 12/87.

My fathers leather flight bag that he used for more than 20 years. I used it at Northwest during my last five years until the bottom was falling out. Thanks for reading my Dad's story, hope you enjoyed it.

A wooden NEA station sign that hung in MPV for many years. Given to me by NEA/ANE MPV Station Manager, Kent Greenough. (1977)

Dad's retirement plaque signed by Dave Garrett.

Family and friends gather at the gate in BOS after Dad's last flight. This gate is now used by jetBlue. RIGHT: My Mother and Dad at BOS Logan.

Dad holding a picture that the flight attendants passed around for the passengers to sign.

My Dad was a pack rat and discarded very little. I found these documents recently rummaging thru my mother's attic. ABOVE: NEA expense report from 1961 and a variety of old pay stubs. ABOVE RIGHT: What we now call a Monthly Activity Report. This one is from Nov 1970 and those dark marks are where he glued his pay stubs to on the reverse side. RIGHT: Page from his logbook that corresponds to the Activity Report. He was dual qualified as a DC-9 and 727 captain.

This is how to find Narita.

This is how we land at Tel Aviv.

And this is how not to acquire a newspaper if you're a pilot. Seamus was a new hire 727 FE and I was aghast when he shelled out money to buy a paper... so was the clerk as you can tell. We squared him away.

On 12 March 2014 I drove to Acton, Mass to visit NEA/DAL retired captain Bob Mudge. Bob is 94 now but is truly an airline pioneer. Hired with NEA in 1941, he flew the North Atlantic in DC-3's, retiring in 1979 as an L-1011 captain. If you go to my "BOOKS" tab you'll find two books authored by Bob concerning the history of NEA and meteorology. He was one of the first in the industry to champion Cockpit Resource Management, (CRM) and served many years in the training department.

Bob's parking space, BOS hangar.

NEA reunion, Plymouth, NH

From Bob's collection.

From Bob's collection.

Published in 1969, good luck finding one.

Bob in a DC-9 training device.

Sadly, Bob passed away on 28 April 2014. He was a quiet, modest man of considerable achievement and an airline pioneer.

Waiting for the hotel van, SFO

Bob, SEA, 757-300, with his lei that he wears when he flies to HNL.

Lunch on the Pacific tracks.

Mary Backus: 1921 - 2011

This was my neighbor in Mont Vernon, NH, Mary Backus, born in 1921. I'd see her around town at the dump or General Store and make the usual neighborly conversation until one day, I learned that she had been a "stewardess" for Pan American World Airways in 1945. She flew in the "North Atlantic Division," based at "North Beach Airport." Today we call it LaGuardia and the Marine Air Terminal. American born, Swiss educated and married to Naval Commander Paul Backus (USNA '41) she had lived throughout the world until settling in rural New Hampshire. The things you don't know about your neighbors!

Her first trip was from North Beach, (LGA) to Bermuda in a Boeing 314 Flying Boat, pictured to the left. From there she spanned the North Atlantic on 12 and 14 hour flights in DC-4's and later Lockheed Constellations with 

fuel stops in either Gander or Goose Bay, Labrador. I spent several afternoons in her home learning of her experiences as a "Stewardess" for Juan Trippe's, The Chosen Instrument. Fascinating!

Another Southwest crew to the rescue. Commuted home thru BWI on this brand-new 737

Note the Heads Up display, HUD.

Thanks for the ride... BWI - MHT

It displays all sorts of information.

It even smelled new.

Meet the Real Jack Ryan!

Jack, to the right, with Dave Sullo (BTV) ANE FH-227 CA.

ABOVE: Jack getting stick time in the EAA Ford Tri-motor. From ANE Jack went to Republic Airlnes who merged with Northwest Airlines in '86 and retired in 2004 after flying both the DC-10 and the 747. PIC TO RIGHT: Jack is second from the left in this ANE group shot at an NEA fly-in in Plymouth, NH in 2010. Others, left to right: Drew Chase, Jack, Wes Lundquist, Carol Ryan, Dave Brush, Vinnie Jerome, Chris Hamersley (wife of Hook Hamersley below) Alec Lyall, Rand Peck.

Jack to the right with Stu Harndon, another former ANE pilot, at a Plymouth, NH, Northeast Airlines fly-in.

Chuck King, Jack Ryan, Betty Lakey, BOS. Filming an Air New England advertisement w/DC-3. Probably 1973.

Jack was hired in June 1972 and flew the ANE Aero Commanders, single pilot/auto pilot for a year and eventually flew FH-227 captain.

The best part of my long, 38 year airline career, that which I have my fondest memories of, are my relationships. Pilots, mechanics, flight attendants, chief pilots, executives and passengers all added something to the picture. Here's another good friend, Hook Hamersley. Funny name huh?  

Hook as a Twin Otter Capt 1978. He retired from Continental Airlines.

James Hooker Hamersley, better known to us as "Hook," from Tuxedo Park, and S. Hampton, NY was a descendent of a signer of our US Constitution and an early US President. Bitten by the aviation bug, he not only flew for several US airlines but articulately chronicled his adventures, including photography. He was once hijacked off the Florida Keyes by the Dry Tortugas in a seaplane and forced to fly to Cuba. And the stories only got better from there. 

Hook, bounding down the stairs of a CV-580. Photo: Linda Angelino.

Hook was unique. He was truly an aristocrat, but moved freely between the drawing rooms on Madison Avenue and an airline cockpit. Like another of his station, Antoine de Saint-Exupery he was a pilot and aviation writer of the highest order. On a night flight from BOS to AUG in 1978, I enthusiastically related a story to Hook. He pensively studied my face, rubbed his chin and replied through his headset with, "Rand, you do know that there is no such word as irregardless."

Hook in the companionway of a CV-580, served in the US Army, 101st. Airborne Division. He's a "Screaming Eagle." Photo: Linda Angelino.

Burlington, VT. (BTV) Photo: Linda Angelino.

L to R: Wes, Rand, Hook, all former ANE.

Hook was a good friend and a man we enjoyed tremendously. Wes and I visited him in the hospital just prior to his death in 1999. It was a difficult visit, I hated to see him go. We all did.

One of the many excellent "push" crews, DTW

George, at the "OPS" desk at the Hampton Airfield where primary instruction is done in J3 Cubs.

NEA/DAL retired CA, Bruce Mac Gilvra at Plymouth, NH

John Stahl, EAL, ATA, Singapore, who introduced me to Stearmans.

NEA/DAL retired CA, Dick Barnes who flew NEA's last DC-3 flight in Dec 1966.

Frasier, doing a 747 walk around in NRT

NEA/DAL retired CA Bob Zaminsky by a 727 Yellowbird.

LEFT: Leaving Frankfurt for DTW with a 767-300ER crew. ABOVE: Leaving Narita for Taipei with a 757 crew. These FA's were Manila based.

Off to Bangkok Thailand from Narita. Only problem is there's a little revolution going on, the red shirts vs. the yellow shirts and when we arrived at 0100, downtown was under fire. We hung around the airport hotel with several other crews until they could make arrangements for us. Join Hank and me as we await accommodations.

Hank and I have flown a lot together over the years and here he is just completing his walk around inspection in Narita for our flight to Bangkok.

This is Hanks leg and he's just finished loading the computer. I'll check his work in a while, but first we need to get a crew picture back in first class. This is a 757 flight.

One of the crews that we met while waiting for rooms was this China Eastern crew from Bejing.

Unable to go downtown, Hank went to a tiger farm the next day. Yes... a tiger farm!

Next we met this Emirates Airline crew and posed for a shot. The FA's were very friendly but the pilots were leery of us and passed on being photographed. I'm sure it was because of Hank though, or possibly they were in a witness protection program!

Meet Mr. Grey an honorary NWA, now DAL crew member.

We were about 15 minutes from pushback at Frankfurt, headed to Detroit when the Purser came into the cockpit and said, "Rand, Mr. Grey is on board."  "Thanks"  I replied and headed back to Business class to greet Northwest Airlines, number 1 high milage passenger. The company created a classification just for him. Diamond Class. He's a businessman who flies with us as often as weekly from DTW to FRA and other world-wide destinations. A gentleman of the highest order, he's always a pleasure to have on board.

This next section is soley AIR NEW ENGLAND personel. To see these and approximately 400 other ANE pictures click here.

Two of our three founders, Nelson Lee and Joseph Whitney at one of our several reunions in HYA. They gave this low time, inexperienced pilot a chance who retired from a 747-400 38 years later. Thank-you!

Chief Pilot, captain Jim Pashley retired on 4 Aug 1977 off the FH-227.

ANE pilots gather in Florida.

Captains Angelino, Parker & West. Three instructors and a Chief Pilot who helped guide my career.

ANE pilots Plymouth, NH.

Plymouth, NH.

Plymouth, NH

Plymouth, NH.

ANE: Our second uniform, 1975

42 years after creating ANE, ANE employees gather at Mr. Whitney's services in 2012. Dedham, MA

Join along as Greg and I fly DAL 298 from Narita to Saipan in a B-757.

Greg flight planning.

Final paperwork

A quick nap

Very important info from dispatch.

Then off to meet the crew, waiting for our A/C.

Ready to push from a remote gate.

Everyone in the forward galley.

#3 at NRT, 34L behind a DAL 747 and a DAL 777.

Approaching SPN, over Tinian.

Approaching SPN

Short final, runway 7, Saipan.

At the gate in SPN. This is a quick flight of only 3 hours to cover 1,326 nautical miles.

As you can see, Greg prefers to visit the beach in uniform! Another great layover, back to Nagoya tomorrow.

The  place  to  be  on  the  first  Tuesday  of  each  month  is  the  Hampton  Airfield.

Because this is where the New England contingent of retired Delta pilots meet for breakfast at 0930. Hampton Airfield's 2,000 foot grass strip offers primary instruction in J-3 Cubs and Aeronca Champs and attracts vintage aircraft from throughout New England. That's one of my Cubs in the picture.

Left: One of five tables of retired DAL pilots, mostly former NEA guys here. Above: Current 747-400 CA Wes Lundquist inspecting this Luscombe that apparently needs a little work.

On our way home, Wes and I stopped to visit retired UAL captain Ken Perkins, hired by Capital Airlines as a DC-3 copilot in 1955. Ken retired from United as a 747 captain in 1989 where he flew the -100, -200 and the SP models. Above he revealed just a very small part of his extensive airline collection including a very impressive assemblage of wings and hat badges that would impress Stan Baumwald,  a preeminent wing collector. Formed in 1930 as Pennsylvania Airlines, the corporation changed its name to Capital Airlines in 1948 before merging with United Airlines in 1960.

1957, Ken standing by the boarding door of a Capital Airlines Lockheed Constellation, model 049.

Ken, 3rd from the left, 10/1/69, standing by a UAL DC-8-62, UAL's first JFK - HNL nonstop flight.

Left: Ken's United Airlines blouse that graces his barn workshop... that I discovered is full of fascinating things. I learned long ago that "interesting people collect interesting things." Above: Top row far right, with a United crew on the boarding steps of a DC-8 in Honolulu.

Capt. Perkins in a UAL DC-8.

Does something look a little odd here? Ken standing on the ramp in HNL by a 747-200. They'd arrived from SFO the day before and would leave today for Narita with a "spare JT9D" strapped to their left wing. UAL had rebuilt this engine for JAL and were delivering it via a scheduled trans-Pacific flight.

This was Ken's Stinson 31, Model S that he restored and flew from Hampton Airfield for many years. It's 1st owner however was E.L. Cord's Century Airlines who sold it to American Airlines.

In August 1974, Colonel Charles Lindbergh convinced his doctors in NY to let him fly home to Maui to enjoy his final few days of life. He flew home, non-stop on flight 987, a United DC-8 flown by First Officer Ken Perkins. 

International Flight Planning 
As you step aboard your int'l flight, have you ever wondered of the preparation required to find your way from point A to point B? Just what goes on behind the scenes anyway?

Meeting your crew. (The KLM facility at AMS)

Meeting your crew. (DTW)

Briefing w/ cabin crew. (FRA)

PDX to HNL

SFO to HNL

After speaking with dispatch, Eric (PDX) and Todd (SFO) build our charts and plot the course. Together we'll review it along with weather, fuel, maintenance, NOTAMS and many other topics too.

Loretta's 1st SFO- HNL trip.

More chart creation.

This is important. You don't want to wander onto the wrong track.

Ah... where we going?

Loading the computers.

Check the log and speak w/ maintenance.

The walk around inspection.

Enroute checks and reporting.

We're off! Entering the North Atlantic Track System.

Somewhere over the planet earth.

And all of our planning pays off as we go visual and have found a runway. I've barely scratched the surface here and haven't shown the large cast of "others" who participated in creating a safe and efficient flight. They include dispatchers, crew schedulers, crew planners, mechanics, fuelers, caterers, FAA controllers, gate agents, ramp personnel, aircraft cleaners, reservations and many others. Most only notice the person with the four gold stripes, but he or she has a tremendous support system in place.

Going thru my fathers files recently I found this 1984 Boston Globe article concerning NEA/DAL captain Don Graf. CA Graf was hired at NEA in 1945 and retired from DAL in 1984 after serving in WWII as a B-24 command pilot.

My friend, former ANE, Orion and retired UAL 747-400 captain Ward Dunning was cleaning out his attic recently and made many trips to the dump. But when he found these 1970's ANE newsletters, he thought of me and saved a little piece of history. Thanks Ward... I love this stuff.

Mesaba crew. BOS

NEA crew BOS 1952: FO Bud Shorey, Capt Bill Cook. from Norm Houle.

Fraser and me, NRT

The prestigious, 1986 "Daedalian Civilian Air Safety Award"......

Captain Jim McDevitt in an ANE Twin Otter. 1975.

...... went to US Air pilots Tom Sullivan and former Air New England, DC-3 and FH-227 captain Jim McDevitt, who saw a converging 727 while departing ORD and hauled their DC-9 into the air prematurely avoiding the front page of USA Today. 

The prestigious, 1981 "Daedalian Civilian Air Safety Award"......

...... went to ANE pilots Stan Bernstein and Tom Doherty who landed their DHC-6, IFR, in a Maine field after a complete flight control failure. Using power to control pitch, they broke out at 300' and landed in a small field where Stan walked to the nearest farm house to use the phone to call dispatch. Now, how many 160 pilot airlines do you suppose have three Daedalian Award winners?

I took these eight photos while flying as a DC-9 FO in 1988.

Danny Whitfield in DTW.

Stu, Julie, me and Phyllis, MSN

Arriving LGA with Nick. Note World Trade Center thru his windscreen.

With Reinhold, DTW.

Airborne with Vern.

River visual, DCA with Fred. Note: Washington Monument.

With Willie in DTW.

Missoula, MT with Bob Wick. As you can see by these photos I had great mentors who taught me much about what I'd need to know when I checked out as a captain.

Renee and Ward Dunning stopped by recently for a visit. We haven't seen one another since our Orion Air days in 1984 but they were in Gloucester, MA for a family reunion so swung by New Hampshire on their way home. 

Ward and me in MHT on an Orion/UPS, 727 layover. Ward and I met at Air New England where he'd been hired in 1973 and flown the Twin Otter, B-99, DC-3 and FH-227. Ward was flying as a 727 captain/check airman at Orion while on furlough from United Airlines, where he'd been hired in 1979. With a quick phone call he got me on board at Orion in 1984 as a 727 FE. There's probably no one around who remembers them, but Ward and I each flew a few flights for Green Mountain Airlines (C402) from Montpelier, VT to LGA. That was interesting!

Ward and Renee, 2010 during Wards retirement flight at UAL in the 747-400. While at UAL he flew the 727, 737, 747-200 and -400, 757, 767, 777 and DC-8. Ward's also an ex Army Huey pilot. My retirement flight in 2012 from DAL in the 747-400. We both went out at 62 and a half.

(LAX 2008) Wards retirement airplane

(Narita 2009) My retirement airplane

Ward and me, front row of course, with our wives Renee and Linda at our home in Amherst, NH, 8/17/14. If you still have any questions as to why I enjoyed my airline career so much it's because of good friends like the Dunnings and others that you've met throughout this site. Not a bad career for a couple of local Mass guys who started out in Beech 18's. They live on the Cape, that's Cape Cod to those from away and we plan to visit them in October with a quick side trip to Nantucket. Ward by the way is a former Army Huey pilot.

LEFT: Flying with Stan as a DC-9 FO, 1987. ABOVE: With my DC-9 crew, 1996. RIGHT: Flying with Mike as a DC-9 FO, 1988. I flew the DC-9 as a captain and FO from 1987 until 1998 when I checked out in the B-727.

Above Left: I ran into former ANE pal Jim Donnelly in MKE, he was flying for MidWest Airlines. 2001. Left: Duncan Cooper preflighting in SEA, we're off to HNL, 2007. Above: Duncan gambling his kids college education fund away while waiting to board our airplane in LAS. 2008. Just kidding, this is a spoof photo that I took for a magazine article. Looks pretty convincing though. He's related to James Fenimore Cooper, author of Last of the Mohicans.

The Road Less Traveled, Sydney & Tom Hale: 
Air New England - North Central - Republic - Northwest - Delta

Captains Sydney Hale and George Condon, DTW 1998. Syd was our second female pilot at ANE. Sadly, she left for North Central in 1978 and weathered the REP, NWA and DAL mergers to retire in 2012 as an A-330 captain. George left ANE in 1979 for Eastern Airlines and later joined us at NWA, here as a DC-9 captain. To the right, Sydney in her new hire pilot photo at North Central Airlines in 1978.

FO Duncan Cooper and Capt Tom Hale hanging out in an NWA 757-251 after arriving in Dusseldorf, 8/14/08. Later on the same day, Tom and I enjoyed pastries in the public square in Neuss, Germany.

Shortly after Syd migrated from ANE to North Central, so did Tom and here they are at one of our ANE reunions. (Probably 2005 or so.) Both Syd and Tom retired from DAL in 2012, she as an A-330 captain and he as a 747-400 captain. Good friends and wonderful people.

Left: Sydney flying as an A-320 captain, 11/18/05. Above: Tom flying as a B-757 captain, 8/14/08 with Duncan Cooper.

Friends hanging out with airplanes

Steve, JFK, B-757, 2/12/06

Dave, B-757, 3/11/06, N537US, MSN 26484 mfg 2/96

Rand, LGW, B-757, 6/28/08

Hutch, B-757, MSP, 5/5/06

Gary, DUS, 6/2/08, B-757, N535US, MSN 26482, mfg 11/95

Bob, LGW, 6/28/08, B-757, N546US, MSN 26493, mfg 7/96

Kevin, DUS, 5/13/08, B-757, N538US, MSN 26485, mfg 3/96

Rand, LAX, 4/22/06, 757-300, N587NW, MSN 32986, mfg 12/02, LAX to HNL

Hutch, LAX, 4/22/06, N587NW, MSN 32986, mfg 12/02. NWA must have laid off aircraft cleaners.

Hutch & Joel, MSP 4/21/06, DC-9, N8926E, MSN 45863, mfg 6/67

I'm saddened to report that Dick has passed away. He was a retired Marine Corps Major, a fellow New Englander (Mass) and a wonderful fellow to fly with.

James and I are on our way from ATL to LGW in a 767-300ER. He's still active in the USAF Reserves as an O5. To view some of his very interesting photos, click over to my "Friends Photo" page.

One of my most memorable flights.
I enjoyed having kids visit the cockpit, in fact encouraged the flight attendants to bring kids up as I always had a pocket full of kiddie wings and my camera ready.

Waiting to depart 8R at HNL for LAX with Josh, Ari and their Mom.

Meet Josh, Ari and their mother, Dana Glasstein, heading home from HNL to LAX on DAL 2622 on 12/1/09.

Thanks for the pictures boys, but what really impressed me was Josh and the love and patience he displayed with his little brother.

Carefully he explained to Ari "not to touch anything" in here. Most adults don't think to do that. He's mature beyond his years and was a delight to meet.

But what really moved me was that they were in Hawaii visiting their Dad while he was on R&R from Iraq. You have a wonderful family Neil.

The Narita laundry room ladies. I can't say enough good things about them.

At Narita we stay at the Radisson, once owned by NWA for crew use, also called "Camp Narita." These are the ladies who run the laundry room. When you're on a 10 day Asian trip, company laundry privileges are pretty liberal and these ladies treated us like family and I never saw one of them without a smile on their face.

If I dropped off an entire uniform by 1500, I could have it back by 1300 the next day, including dry cleaning. On my last day of a trip I'd leave practically everything I owned at the laundry and when I returned a week or a month later it was all folded, pressed, packaged or on hangers waiting for me. And we had hundreds of crew members there every night. They're just part of what made traveling logistics easy. THANK-YOU!!!

John McAndrews retirement flight, DTW - NRT 2007
I didn't know John, but do recognize him as a DTW based pilot. His son James created this video, did a wonderful job and you'll enjoy his efforts I'm sure. Click on the pic of the two 747's below on the right to view the video. 

LAX 8/29/07. I was flying the 757 at this time, the DAL merger was still more than a year away. The 744 didn't enter my sphere until 2010.

LAX 8/29/07: Click on this picture to watch captain John McAndrews last day's as an airline pilot.

LEFT: NEA's last DC-3 flight, 1966, ACK to LGA: Capt Dick Barnes, Stew Helen Chase and Dick Greene by ship 6060. ABOVE: Dick Barnes retired years later from the L1011. Dick by Mike Ferrey's DC-3 at Plymouth, NH at a NEA reunion, 2008.