TWA Skyliner Magazine, 1937-03-01_16

              MARCH
1937
Vol. 1
No. 11
Our Super-Skyliners
More Than a Million
Sparkles, Sparklers & Sparks
A Minute with ''AI'' Menasco
Aboard the Sky Queen
Another Naval Training
Period
Giant Boeings for TWA
TRANSCONTINENTAL & WESTERN AIR, INC.
STATEMENT OF INCOME AND EARNED SURPLUS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31. 1936
Or·~;nNrL'"<; Rt;n;x n ::
~!ail .... ............ ... .... . ........ · ·. · · · · · · · · · · • · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · • · · · · · · • · · · · • · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·
Transportation:
Pu:;senger .... ...... . ... . . .... ... , ......... ..... .... . .. .... . . ........ . ............ .
Exce;;s baggage ...................•......................... . ......................
Expt•ess and ft·eight ........... ............. ... . .. . .... .............. • ..............
Special fliglns ...... .. .. . ...... . . .......... • ................. . .......•........ • ....
Ot•t fl.\'1'1 KO EXT'EX>;E:;:
Cond ucting transpot·ta tion ..... ... .. . . ..... .. •.. . ... ... ................. . ...............
Maintenauce and 1·epairs .............. . .................. .. .. • ......... • . ....... • ... . ..
Depreciation and amortization of property .... . . .. . ... .. ....... . .......... • .......... ... ..
Traffic and adverti s ing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . .. ....•....... • .................
General and administrative ............... .. . ... ...... ..... ............. .. . ...... . ..... .
$4.142,057.53
69 ,020.26
141,633.05
44,290.66
$2.758,14!1.8!1
1,068,806.61
791.031.52
902,379.76
285.104.97
'l'oTAL Ol·t:HATJXG ExPJ·:xsF.s .. .... .. ... . ..... .. .... . . . ........ • .............. , ........ .
Gnuss PII<WI'I' FL<O~ I 01't; t<.\TICl.'I:S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ........ • ....
TAxf;s AsSf(;XAHr.t: ·ro Ot'EIL\ 'I' IOXS ( ol her I han F e rl eral incom e ) .. .. ... ..... .. ............ ..... ................ .
:-.lt~·r PRot 1'1' Fll011t Oi't}ltA'I'TOX:; .......................... . .......................... • .. ... .... ...... . ....... .
Onu:11 IxcO.\tt: Cn£DtTS:
Cash discounts on sales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . $
Profit on sale of mate rials and s upplies .......... .. ..... .. .... . .. . .. ............... • ......
Miscellaneous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .................................. . .... .
7.323.01
8,350.4!1
•1,350.5·1
TO'I' .\1 , OTllt-:11 I Xl'0.\11•: C' tii, UITS .. •. .••.•..•. • .•. •..•.••.••••••• . ••••••.• • •....••••. . •••
GIIOHS [;'1;('())11•: . • • • • • . • . • . • . • . . • • • . • . • . . . • . . • . • • . • . • • . . • • • • •• .. ••...• • •.•. . •.•• • .••••.•. • •..•..••.• . •••••
I 't'OMt; C' ll .\lt(1ER:
Amortization:
Airway lighting and communication equipme nt sold to United States Government anti
improveme nt::; to leased prope1·ties abandoned................. . .. ............ .. .... $ 39,686.13
Experimental expenses in connection with developme nt or new f1y ing; eq uipment... .... . 20,000.0·1
Proportionate s hare (one-half) of estimated loss of Pittsburgh-Butler AiqJOJ'l. Inc., for the
year 1!!36 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,800.00
:lllscellaneous . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 636.47
TIYI'AL 1:->t:(I)Jt: CH.\IWES .. ..... .. ...................... .... . • .........................
N~;-r L'iCO)tt: Bt;vo~<E FF:IJt·:tl,\1. TX<"UM I' T .\X ........ ... ......... . . .. ......................... • . ..... .. • .... . . .
Pll0\'1Sl0N FOH FEUF.IIA I. !X t'O~II' TAX ........... ....... .......... ... . ...• . ... . .......... . ...................
NKr r ,\'('()ME ............ . ...... . ............ .. .. ............. .... • .. ................. . ... • . ....... • ......
1~.\MO: o SUI<PLIJS, J .\l\1 '.\I<Y 1. 193G ............... .. .. .... ... ....... .... .. .. .... .... .... ..... ............. .
SPlii'LCs CnF:otTS:
Arljustments applicable to prio1· periods:
Mall revenue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $
Provision fo r capital sto(·k tax . . ............... • .................. • ... . .... .. . .. • .. .
Provision for contingent expenses ............. ...... . .... . . . .. .......... ... • ........
P t·ovisiou ror aircr aft insurance .. ... ........ . .. .. .. ...... • ............ . ............
P 1·ofil on equipment sold- net ...... ........... .. .. • . .. ..... ...... .............. • ........
11.578.37
2,000.00
25,25:!.27
8.241.55
10,593.23
TOT.\ L .•• .. ...•.•.••••. • .. • ••.••.•. • •...•.••••• • .••••.••. • .•.•••..•.•••..•....•.•••.
G lt()SS s l' Hl'f-I'S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..
Sl' HPI.I >.! CHAIIGES:
Additional F ederal income tax for year I!la:...................... . ..... . .... .. ... . ........ $ !J,G!J:l.50
Divideuds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155.783.75
TOT.\ I, . . .. .... .... . .. ....•.........•.....••..... •• .. . .. ...• .. ••• . • ...... •• •..•.••..
E .\lt.'\1-:o suui'Ll's. Dt-:cr::~tuto:ll :n, 1936 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .....
$1.775,5!\6.17
5,805,472.7!)
$ 397,347.96
105,373.5!i
$ 291,974.41
20,023.9!1
$ 311,998.36
68,122.64
$ 243,875.72
38,750.00
$ 205,125.72
12,270.58
57.666.42
$ 275.062.72
165,477.25
$ 109.585.47
No'l't: : Changes in t he comt>any's t·ates of depreciation on Doug las a irc r·aft and accessories f1 om a Lhree year loa rour yea1·
basis, on Wl'ight Cyclone engine!! from an estimated life of 3,000 to 3,500 hours, and on radio equipment from a two year to a
three year basi!!, has resuiLed in a r eduction of $159.137.17 in its provision for dept·eciation on s uch equipment for the year l93H.
STATEMENT OF CAPITAL SURPLUS FOR THE YEAR ENDED DECEMBER 31. 1936
BALA.'\C~ JAXUAll \' 1. 1936
C RF.DlTS:
Excess of salo price, over par value of capit<&.l slock sold ........... ............. .. ...... . .... . .. • .......
AcljllStmeuts applicable to pel'iod priot· lo Decemher 27. !9;{4, elate of orp;anization ol' new
company:
Provision for r eliremenl of engines... .. ................................... . ........... ~2:!,496.68
Excess pt·ovision rot· add itiona l Federal income tax for the year 1933................... 41.7-t
TOTAL • . • . . • . . . . • . . . . . . . • . • . . . . . • . . . • . . • . . . . . • . . • • . • • • • • . • • • • . . • . • . • • • • • • . • . • $23-;538.42
Less disallowance of portion of cla.im aga inst United States Post Office DepartmenL for
se1·viceR render·ed p1·io1· to cancellation of air mail contract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,670.!H
TOTAL .••••••••...•••••..•••..••• •• ••••••••.•..• ••..•••..•.. • .•.. • .••••. • . ..•. • • . .•.••.
CIL\flGE-Exl't;xs•:s 1x CoSNECTtox \\'1'1'11 SAI.E ov CAt'ITAI~ S·rncK .......... • .............................. . . . .
B.U.AStE, D~o:cr:MBF.n 31, 1 !J36 ....... . ............................ . ...... . ..... .... . •.. . . . • . ... ... .•..•. .. . .
$1,:!26.452. 75
109,2flli.OO
ll,867.78
$1.'150.576.53
192.018.4-1
$1,258,558,09
P ubfished by
1 RA SCONTl l:.NT AL & WESTERN AlR, INc.
KANSAS C JTY, MissouRI
Vol. 1 MARCH, 1937 No. ll
Out _gup~t-_glcylln~t~
The New Fleet of Planes Is Expected to Be in Operation in June with the
First Delivery Set for This Month
THE first plane of the new fleet of Super-Skyliners for
Transcontinental & \'Western Air, Inc., is expected to
be delivered to the company the latter part of the current
month by the manufacturer, the Douglas Aircraft Com­pany
of Santa Monica, California.
The advent of these planes, powered with the new heavy
duty Wright Cyclone engines, will mean the introduction
by TWA, the Lindbergh Line, of greatly improved facil­ities
for its passengers. Outstanding in these facilitie will
continue to be "the fastest service over the shortest route
across the United Sea tes."
Through usc of the new Wright engines, each developing
I ,220 horsepower at peak, TWA's Super-Skyliners not only
will be capable of greater speeds, but also will offer the
invaluable potentialities of great power reserve~. The
immense advantages of this feature are apparent even to
the layman, for included will be the obvious advantage of
ability to maintain schedules while using far below the total
available power output of the engines.
fn the new fleet will be two types of cabin interiors de­signed
to serve different purposes. One will be a combined
sleeper and day plane, arranged tO accommodate nine per­sons
in berths and eight in comfortable lounge chairs, while
the other will be ,\ 2 1-passenger day plane. The dimensions
of each type will be the same and the engi nes will be inter­changeable.
The air tra velcr of the immediate future over the coast
to coast system of TWA is going to lind chat nothing has
been left undone to provide for his or her comfort. The
chairs and upholstery were selected only after exhaustive
investigations and tests convinced the management the
utmo t in comfort had been found for the purpo~e.
The hot meal service, introduced last year by TWA, is
to be made easier in the new aircraft through the installation
of a special heating arrangement designed and developed
by TWA to facilitate the preparation and serving of hot
food in flight. While on the matter of heat, it may be added
that the thermostatically controlled steam heaters for pas­senger
cabins, used on the company's present fleet of Sky­liners,
will be present in an improved form within the new
planes.
To the man or woman traveler accustomed tO sleeping
while traveling, the sleeping accommodations aboard
T\'V' A's new planes will be a revelation. This because the
berths will be about 6 Yz feet in length, thus providing
adequate length for the tra vcler who is well above average
height. Incidentally, TWA passengers will find themselves
able to retire on certain night flights long before scheduled
departure time, permitting substantially longer periods for
restful sleep in the utmost com fort.
It is planned at this time to place T\'V' A's new fleet of
plane in service June I. The first of the fleet has been
undergoing flight tests on the Pacific Coast throughout
about two weeks and is expected to arrive at Kansas City
late this month where the installation of scats and other
equipment will be completed.
In introducing its fleet of new aircraft, T\'V' A has gone
to great lengths to provide the finest and most powerful
flying equipment for the thousands who usc its service.
Conlinurtl 011 page 15
/h. an Aflfflon
The Bureau of Air Commerce Discloses How Air Trave l Has
Grown in the United States
AIR lines opcr.Hcd by companies of
the United States (domestic and for­eign
cxren~ions) ca rried 1,147,969 pass­enger\
:1nd 8,350,0 10 pounds of express in
the calendar year 1936, the Bureau of Air
Commerce, Department of Commerce, an­nounced
this month.
Of the total number of passengers car­ried
in 1936 there were 1,020.93 1 who
travelled on the domestic air lines and 127,-
038 who flew on extensions to foreign
countries. In 1935 rhe Americ:m-oper:ued
air lines carried 860,7 61 passenger and
5.511.737 pounds of express.
l'vlilcs Oown by .Ill scheduled operators
in 1936 were 73,303,836 as compared with
63,540,233 flown in 1935. Passenger miles
Oown in 1936 were 491,744,053 and for
1935 rhis figure was 360,569,431. A pass­enger
mile is rhe equiva lent of one passen­ger
flown one mile.
There were 380 ai rplanes in operation
on the scheduled air lines :n the end of t he
year. and these :1ircraft consumed 37,-
057,069 g:tllons of gasoline and 871,663
gallons of oil during 1936. The air lines
furnished employment for 9,972 persons
WELL, BLOW US DOWN!
There is liLlie doubt that Ben Davies,
T\XI A bui lding mainten:~nce employee,
knows more verse~ tO "Blow the M:~n
Down," .md other chan ts of the sea, than
BEN DAVIES
any other T\Xf A cmpiO)'CC. Ben was born
in 1879 and, before he had turned eleven,
he made his first trip on a sailing vessel
from Blaenllecha, Wales, to Melbourne,
AuHrali.l, as .1 cabin boy. Blae nllecha con-
4
(as of December 3 I ) classi lied as follows:
690 pilors, 543 co- pilots, 2,864 mechanics
and ground crew men, I ,7 64 or her hangar
and field personnel, 3,721 operations and
office personnel, 287 hostesses, and 103
stewards.
The foregoing statistics apply to all
American-operated air lines-rhose within
the United States :IS well :IS those extend­ing
from this nation to other countries.
On the domestic lines onl y, miles Oown
totaled 63,777,226; passengers carried were
1,020,93 1; passenger miles Aown, 435,740,-
253; and express carried, 6,958,777 pounds.
The domestic lines had 106,774 flights
sched uled, of which I 00,3 3 5 were starred.
There were 4,702 extra sections flown, and
the total number of trips completed was
I 00,420. Of all trips started, t he air lines
completed 95.6 per cent.
The average speed for all the domestic
air lines :It t he end of the year w:1~ 15 I
miles per hour, and the aver:~ge length of
:1 passenger's trip was 427 miles. Of scats
which were available, both foreign and
domestic, 72 .24 per cent were used.
sisted solely of coal mines .111d qua)'S, and
Ben rook to the sea .
Fmm his fi rst voyage until 1914 Ben
spent his life on everything from little
sing le riggers up to large ocea n liners, with
a good measure of four and five master
schooners gracing the list of his employers.
Ver)' few people can say t hat they have
gone around the "Horn'' in a sai ling vessel.
Ben went around that southernmost poinr
of South America four times! One of these
trips was from Melbourne, Ausrralia, co
Liverpool, England, :1nd req uired ten
months of sailing, during which time noL
a single port was touched.
Dming his li fe of seamanship Ben spent
twelve years with rhe English fleer. His
st:1 rions r:~nged from three year~ in the
Orient, Greece and Turkey to that same
amount of t ime in the East and West In­dies
and ports of the North Sea. The Med­iterranean,
the Carribean, rhc Indj:ln
Ocean, north and south Atlantic and P:t­cific,
the Black Sea, and all the rest arc as
familiar as the ports around them to Ben
Davies.
Though he's 58 years old, Ben is much
more "seaworthy" than many of the craft
on which he has sailed. ln spite of a slight­ly
bulging mid-sec tion chat stowed away
such nautical delicacies as "Liverpool !·an­tai
ls," "Pcabolick y," and "Schooner on .1
Rock," Ben can still touch his knuckles
tO the Ooor without bending his knees.
Ben tells us that on Thursdays the meal~
:lbo:~rd the sc hooncrs consisted of a "two­C)'
ed steak, two door-steps, and .l cup-o'­v:
1rnish'' which, translated into our Llnd­lubbing
lingo, means a fish, two ~ li ccs of
bread and a cup of coffee. However, :~c­cording
ro Ben, he :~nd his brother "s;dr,"
had good reason for renaming the vicruak
SEAL KAP
By E. A. HLCKI R
E' fm'.IS Traffic Man11gn
During the recent flood, the Sc.d-K.1p
Corporation of Long Island City recci\ ed
a rush order for 200.000 seal kaps to be
del ivered at Louisville and arr.1ngement'
were n1.1de througb General Air ExprCS\
co charter :1 ship, a T\Xf A Sky liner. A total
of 3,995 lbs. of these sea l kaps ro be mcd
on milk bottles were forw:1rded from
Newark on January 26 and delivered rhc
following morning in Louisville for usc of
a creamery ac chat point.
\o/e have had many complimcnu on rlu:
fine service we gave these people and from
t he enclosed picture you will note the)
have seen fit tO usc our service since th:ll
time for shipments to Los Angeles.
Incidentally, Mr. Behr, the express repre­sentative
who secured this business, turned
rhe commission resulting from this move­ment
over to the Red Cross. This, T think ,
was a very nice concession on his part.
The Sky liner for March, 1 9l7
AGED RULES
One of the world\ le.Hiing dep.trtment
Hore~ has just i\sued their 1937 book of
rules for cmpiO)'Ce~. On one of the p:tges
in the ne\\ book they quote the following
from l veq old book of rub, i~~ued way
b.tck m 1854:
"THE FOLLOWING RULES WILL BE
PUT IN FORCE AT ONCE:
"Store mu\t be opened promptly lt 6
.1. m. Jnd ren1Jm open unul 9 p. m. the
n.Jr Jround.
"Store mu\t be \wept; counters, b:tse
sheh•cs .1nd show c:tse\ du\ted. L:tmps trim­med,
filled .111d chimneys cle:tned; pens
nude; doors .1ml windows opened; :1 p:til
of w.ncr, .111d :~ \C utdc of co:~ l mu ~t be
brought in by c.tch clerk, before breakfast
if there i~ time to do ~o •. tnd .Htend w cus­tomer~
who call.
"Store mu\t not be opened on the Sab­bath
DJy unbs .tbsolutely necessary .tnd
then onl> for .1 ver) few minutes.
"Any employe who 1'> in the h:tbit of
smoking Sp.tni\h cig.trs, getting \haved :tt
.t b.uber shop, gomg to d:tnces :tnd ocher
\Uch pbces of .lmU'>ement, will most surely
~ivc his employer re.t'>on to be '>ll'>picious of
his incegrit\ .1nd .111 .tround honesty.
"Each employe must pay not les., rh.m
)5.00 per year to the church and must at­tend
Sunda} chool evcq und.t}.
"\len employe' .ue gi,en one eveni ng a
'' cek for courung purpo-.es, and two if
they go to pr.tyer meeting regubrly.
"After 14 hour<, of work in che store,
the leiwre nme nu"L be <,pent in re.tding
good literature."
1\:ot for one moment would 1 w:uu tO
speak disp;tragingly of the "good old d:tys"
-but persona l! )' I r.nhcr prefer these mod­ern
times-despi te the f.tcc th:tt l fre­quently
h:tve to work more th:tn 14 hours
.1 tl.ty!-From "News and Views"
TO THE BOSS FROM "BUTCH"
Dc.tr Boss:
1 luppened to run .tcross some srartlin '
hgures the other d.t)'. Would you believe it
Boss, the, '·'> tlut "one person out of
every ten 1\ .lccidentJIIr killed or injured
eJch year?" Accord111g to the "Travelers"
(the bi~ shoes in the r.tckec), d1e} paid a
grand tOt.tl of 132,5811 .1cciJcnr claims in
the l.tH five ye.tr\. Out of these 132,580
ciJim~ onl} .l,l63 or 2.82 per cent were
claims due to scheduled travel, .md our of
the 3,163 tr.tvcl cbims only 56 or 1.77
per cent were cl.tim' due to .tirplane :tcci­denrs.
Bo~~. 1 think thi\ i' the p:ty-olf. The
Tr;lvclcr~ outfit p.1id claims to:
3 ,6 2 5 "sq u.trc-hc.tds" rhat fe lt on slip­pery
rugs.
2,168 "guys" th.H collided with in.lni­mate
objccb ('uch ·'' walking into walls
.1ml door., )
? I I
"Tbr J1ilol W)l be bitcbt•tl on ,omru brn· tbi~ lidt• of Amanllo!"
1,057 "boobs" th:tt fell in the b.Hh tub.
961 "clumsy yokels" who fell over ob­jects
(probabl)• rheir own feet).
728 "Ro:~m ing Romeos" who got \tuck
in windows and doors (m:tking :1 f:nt get­awa}')
.
87 8 "Hies" who fe ll off chair~ or bench­es
(on their way under the t.tble ).
410 "C:ts:tnovas" getting in 01· out of
bed ( just couldn't w:tit).
263 "Scotry~" who blu·ned thcm~elvcs
on cigar butts.
Bur Bo~s. only 56 cl.tim'> were p.1id to
birds who tlarrd dratb in an .11rpiJne. The
:~nachcd Macemenc prove~ my figures.
Boss, I think if we had some of dc~e
" leg-men" :~round d' joint dissemin.Hc dis
dope among the populace it might en­courage
them. tO stretch their wings :1 lit­tle
bit :md flit around in the o~:one where
they :t t least got :1 fightin' chance to
breathe :1 safe bre:~rh,-and it might help
u ~ put .1 few shekels in the coffers.
-\VI. B. (Btl I< 11) PKIU
PRECIOUS CARGO
One of TWA's Skyliners bntlcd ar t he
Kansas City Municipal Airporr recently
from a non-stop flight from New York and
hurried I y taxied up co the passenger sta­tion.
The p;tssenger agent ran our to rhe
ship, rook its entire cargo, consisting of a
small 2-pound package, and transferred ir
ro another Skyliner. It immediately taxied
out on the runway and, less than one min ­me
after the other ship had landed, rook
off and began winging its way west, row:ud
Burb:mk, California.
This dramatic incident was one of rhe
steps in rhc tr.tnsporting of the 2-pound
Passc•ll.~l'r Age nf In· Crec•Jiwald lums M't•r
to a slttll' Ugbway julfrol officer tlx 2-
jJ0/111(/ box of serum /M tbt• last lt:g of its
lramconlincnlttl jourm'J'-from airjJOrl lo
bosj1ilal.
package of ~erum from New York co Lo~
Angeles in an effort tO save the life of
Myron Selznick, motion picture industry
business agent and brother of Ua vid Selz­nick
lnrern.Hional Pictures.
Unaule to locat~ in Los Angeles a sup­ply
of the ~erum which is most efficacious
in the b.Hde of the deadly pneumococc us,
Dr. A dol ph Kosk )' fin :til y found a New
York labor:HOr)' able co fi ll the order. Af­ter
locating the serum, David Selzn ick
charrered a TWA Skyliner to transport
rhe small 2-pound package co the Santa
Monica ho~pital where his brother w:ts in
a ct·iric.ll condition.
6
S. 0. \'V' clsh, T\~ A's western re~ion su­perintendent,
and Captain W. W. Jones
took off from New York with their tiny
cargo at 4:35 a. m., only rhre~ hour~ after
Dr. Kosk)' had located rhe precious Auid.
The flight :trrived at Burbank at 5:44 p.
m. the same day. An awaiting car sped
t he serum ro rhe hosp[ral.
Had the serum been shipped b)' air ex­press
[r would have arrived jus;: six hours
beer, bur David Selz nick was willing to
gamble the $5,000 charter flight expense
for his brother's life. Myron Selz nick [s
now wel l on his way tO recovery and owe>
the facr, in parr :tt lease, ro che most
rapid form of modern rr:tnsport:trion- rhe
:til·.
NIGHT WATCHING
One of the mo;r f:11nil iar figures around
the TWA headq uarters base .It Kansas City
is Robert Owen P:llll, night watchman;
proud possessor of a TW J\ 5-ycar pin, and
who has been night watching around our
main stem since October 15, 1931. As
caught in this pose by Snapp)' Bill .Judd
and his truSt)' camera, Mr. Paul was en­gaged
in the fami l[ar pastime of punching
his rime clock or w ha tever ir is a w:ttch­m:
tn does when he plug a plug on the
w:tll into the recording device he carries
with him.
And here, boys .1nd girls, .1re the three
children of our Misrcr P;llll. From lcfL to
righr they are Lauria Ma)' Paul, 12; Gladies
Marie Paul, 4; and John Williams Paul, 9.
Prett)' cute, what?
WEE WILLIE WAGNER SPEAKS UP
Brother Dayhoff, genius of the Pacific
r:!gion publicity department, has been us­ing
his fertile mind on a new and hereto­fore
undiscovered method of getting clip­pings
from :1 Los Angeles press clipping
bureau which he c:tn credir to hi ~ office\
showing.
Marching in ro the city editor of the
Los Angeles Times, D.tyhoff entered into .1
learned discussion as to wh)' the pape1·
should discontinue the use of "it was" 111
irs stories and particularly in headlines and
picture captions. Dayhoff sa)'S the abbrevi­ated
form, " 'Twas," is much better for
his purpose because the c lipping bureau,
seeing the letter TWAS, b~lieve it a mi~­print
for "TWA'S" and rhus clip rhe
icem and send it in.
This is rather involved, bur so IS the
brain of a publicity agent.
OH MEl!
Good ol' Clyde McBride, spores editor
of rhe Kansas City Star, recently tmcov ­ered
a choice bit of gossip which he repro­duced
in his dail)' column.
Here it is:
ll S KJiU\\I·On. publiC' 1elatton' t>)t.pt'tl ((tr T W A ~J)('nt J;~ ~
$i.tll ! rd~l ruaht In a snQ'Y. dltll ::omuhtH: out un Colburn road m thlA
rcuuty ... Kno"'ll"" 9.rl\t moeonnt hu \\&V hOn1t around 1 a m V.ht"ll
11 horn hon'kf'r cau cd nun to pull ovf'r, He hat a ~now drtrt and tucl!.
tocr,. 110111 11 !t·;tnc1h \fuj'k d1IYi r pullf'd 111m 0\1\ M'\tn houn li'll'r
Out chal WOA an n;.tu, b('UIUit" thr 11oru honktr ato.o v.rnt Into th•
~1\mt' dnf; anrt •ttnk.
So vo"' \\lr&.&.
I'IONJC . c:H >
Mac, the worst we can hope for you I'>
that you grow ro be more than six feet in
height and chen have ro spend seven hour'
trying co sleep in :1 coupe!
The Skyliner for Marrb , /9!7
The Spark Plug Department Discloses a Collection of Its Inner­most
Secrets for the Readers of the TWA Sky liner
JF YOU buy, sell, service, or on ly use
spark plugs, gather 'round and listen
ro some faces that would m:1ke the 01'
A. C. Mare rear up on her hind legs and
whinny with astonishment.
To the :1\'erage person, a spark plug is
a little gadget that is a part of a gasoline
combustion engine and connected on one
end wich a hot wire. If the engine misses
and his car jumps and jerks, 9 co 1 it's a
faulty spark plug. But co T. N. Hager­man,
spark plugs :~re a scientific electrical
product that sec off the charge in the
cylinder of che transportation world.
"Ted" H:~german's bill for spark plugs
run~ close to $50,000 annuall)'· 1o small
time customer, he, who pays $ 1.85 each
for plugs. Let us explain chat H:1german
i~ the foreman of the radio and electrical
department for Transcontinental & West­ern
Air, Inc., at che company's headquart­ers,
located .tt Kansas City, Missouri. He
knows spark plugs. He knows :1ircmfc
engines. Most important, he knows how to
gee the best results from both.
Skyliner'> interview with Hagerman
opened up a new store of knowledge re­lating
co spark plugs. I never realized what
.111 important part spark plugs play in air
transport nor how extensive is the care
given co the matter of spark plugs in air­line
mainccn:Jncc. But as your correspon­dent
was shown from one bench to another
and S;l w the di fferen 1 operations performed
in testing chc servicing sp:1 rk plugs at che
main shops of chis company he learned that
nor even chis I inle u ni c is overlooked in
the slightest degree in the systematic m~in­cenancc
of 3 cransconcincntal airline.
"How many spark plugs does TWA have
and how many arc required co equip its
Aeet of twin-engines skyliners?" was our
query.
Mr. T-bgcrman replied that while :1 large
stock of assembled spark plugs is necessary
in such vast operations, and that a sizable
supply of plugs is allotted to each TWA
station along irs coast to coasc roure, that
chc company's stock of plugs is measured
in chc number of electrodes and shells.
"T\'Q A keeps a stock of about I 0,000
cores and about 10,000 shells on hand at
all times," he explained. "At one time we
stocked 20,000 cores, but improved main­tenance
methods have increased co 3 20 the
hours which we put on our spark plugs so
th:Jt we ha vc been able to reduce our stock
of cores substanti:JIIy.
"Each of our Skyliners is twin-engincd,
each engine having 9 cylinders. There are
two plugs to che cylinder making a rotal
of 36 sp:uk plugs on each plane. Th:tt
means that more than 500 spark plugs arc
in scr·vicc on chis line at .dl times."
" But that doesn 'c begin tO touch the
volume of plugs needed by a transportation
company of chis k:nd and size co conduct
its operations in a reliable :1nd dependable
manner," Hagerman pointed ouc. "Each
of our stations is supplied wirh a stock of
spark plugs in accordance with che num­ber
of schedules serving that parricul:tr
region."
Spuk plugs are changed in chc engines
of T\XI A Skyliners every 40 hours. Main­tenance
shops of chis line arc loc:1ced at
such points as tO provide for plug inspec­tion
:1nd servicing at the end of each 40
hours of running. At each of these serv!ccs,
the sp:~rk plugs arc removed from rhe en­gine
and repl:1ced with :1nochcr sec. The
replacements arc facto ry reconditioned :1nd
tested co the efficiency of new pi ugs. Thz
plugs removed from a TWA engine ac the
end of che 40 hour period arc sene back
to che main base St3tion in Kansas City
for inspection by the electrical depart­ment.
ln chis department is :1 division de­voted
solely co spark plug work. Here
plugs arc taken apart. The electrodes arc
sent co the m:1nufaccurer of chc plug :ll1d
a new rip is pl:tced on the electrode. Cores
which do not stand up under the factory
tests of chis pare arc replaced with a new
elecrrode under :1 standing order with the
faccory. The shtpmenr of new and newly
conditioned electrodes arc returned to the
T\X' A m:~incenancc base at K:1nsas City.
Here the spark plug department of the
airl ine docs the balance of ics own work.
\X' hile the elecrrodes have been at the
factory for tests, rhe mer:~l shells of che
plugs have undergone just as thorough 3
test and ser vicing ac the spark plug depart­ment
in airline shop. T he shells and the
factory returned electrodes are assembled.
The gap is adjusted in a special machine
for the purpose. The plug is placed top
down in this holding device leaving the
core tip and shell points exposed for the
:~djusc menr. The adjustment is made in a
Aash by a spcc i:Jiist whose sole duty wirh
the airline is che care and adjustment of
ics spark plugs.
The spark plug is removed from the gap
setting machine and placed in a special
tcsring machine under 145 pounds of dry
:~ir pressure supplied by a special air com­pressor
recently installed by TWA solely
for this purpose. This is considerably more
pressure t h:1n is encountered by rhc plug
in engine operation . Each plug released for
Conlhtut•d 011 jHtgr 15
PANTS
Skyliner has bad .10 1111111 )' requests for 11
flllbli.dJl'l! fi!Joto.~rtt{lb of its editor tbtlf it
i' n•jwoducin8 berewi!b b1s /ales/ J!iclure,
taken wbile sltlluliu.~ 011 tbe .wou• rot•errd
icr uctrr bis home. Till' editor of S/{y/inrr
i1· sltwtliug witbi11 !be jHwfs .lbOtl'/1 i11 lbt·
jliclurr, lbe bead bei11g deiiOfed bJ lbe
fill)' Rllol dXJ/1'11 al fiJI' lo[1. Tbr llliO
le11glby sbadow~ at lbr rigbt of lbr j>anls
are lbt• le,~s of 11 camt•ra lrij1od, no/ !be
Nlifor. Slqlim•r /;opes !his will xafisfy all
I'I'CJIII'S/s.
PEDAL PUSHER
Bob F:~ ltermeier of our General Air Ex­press
department, w:1s sent co St. Louis
february 6 as an honorary guest by rhe
Central Road Club of Amcric3 for an
O lympic bike banquet and meeting.
Bob cried ouc for the O lympics last year
and got as far as New York. In che 60th
mile of rhe 63 mile race chat was co de­termine
whether Bob wou ld gee co Berlin
a bit of cough luck cook fate in hand and
kept young Robert in the U. $. As he
was beginning his 61sc mi le of che r:~cc
:md holding a good fourth place, chc very
dishearcenin,tt thud and bump of a flat
eire closed the cun:1in on his 19 3 6 01 ym­pic
aspirations. Five riders were ro be se­lected
for the U. S. team :1nd, except for
chat one eire, Bob could see himself joy­pedaling
down Unccr den Linden.
However, chc 1940 Olympics to be held
in Japan will likely sec Bob Falcermeier
getting a furlough for long enough to
represent the U. $. in the ped:1l classic.
\Vc he:1rd a suggestion from somewhere
chat he fill his ttrcs with water and carry
a pocketful of corks just for safety's sake.
7
The Pioneer of the Inverted Aircraft Engine Has Been Identified
Actively with Aviation Throughout Twenty-five Years
By CHARLES F. McREYNOLDS
A CTIVELY identified with rhe aviation
industry for approximate!)' a quarter
of a century, A. $. Menasco has represented
the leading exponent of rhe inverted, in­line
type aircr.1ft engine in the lfnited
Scares.
Under his direction the Menasco air­craft
engine has been developed ro rhe
point at which it i~ accepted throughout
A. s. MI· NASCO
the world a~ representative of the finest
aircraft engine of chis type av:tilable. In­dicative
of chis fact is the licensing of
Phillips & Powis, Limited, the firm which
manufactures Menasco engines in England.
This iirm recently has installed an Ameri­can
built J\llenasco, Model B6S, 6-cy lindcr,
200 h. p., aircraft engine in a plane bui lt
for Colonel Charles A. Lindbergh and
known as rl1e Miles-Mohawk.
ufactured .tnd sold millions of dollars worth
of glass grinding equipmcm under the di­rection
of Mr. Menasco.
In about 1926 01· 1927, Mr. Menasco
turned co rhe adaptation of the French
Salmson, w:tter cooled, radial engine to
American requi rements but shortly there­after
determined that the radial engine
was nor adaptable co rhe market of the fu­wre
and determined co cast his lor wirh
the in-line engine. He was the pioneer of
the inverted, in-line engine and under his
direction there h:tve been a total of seven
different models developed and :tpprovcd
by the Department of Commerce :tnd man­uf:
tcrured commerci:tl ly under the Menasco
name.
Ar this time rhe Men:tsco line of sr:tnd­ard
engine~ includes models ranging in
power from 95 to 200 h. p. The factory is
at Los Angeles, C:tlifom i:t.
*
"Forry Years Ago" column, K. C. Times:
"According to the new f:tst mail service
recently establ ished between Chicago ;tnd
New York, mail wi ll be delivered in Kan­sas
City rhirry-eight hours :tftcr it leaves
New York. Business men :tre elated over
the saving of time!"
TWA "FL Y·SW ATTERS"
Latest information has ic chat some of
our employees who get a kick out of swat­ring
"Jlies" have finally organized them­sci
ves and plan to play regular league
games in rhe All-Employees division of
the K:tns:ts City recreation department,
under the management of Andy Barker,
TWA's superintendent of building main­tenance.
TWA has offered irs support in the form
of funds to starr the club off with shin)
new suits, bats :tnd all rhe trimmings.
In the past couple of years a large num­ber
of the employees h:tve parricip:tted in
"scrub" games out on the ramp in front
of the hangar in their lunch period. These
noon-day scrimmages will continue, but
with the end in view of winning a fc'"
championships or the like.
Last year a few of rhe players got to­gether
and played some very close and in­teresting
games with the te:tm of the
Naval reserve avi:ttion base. It w:ts then
realized rh:tt there existed within T\'<1 A's
Kans:ts City b:tse the nucleus of what
should prove a pretty darn good ream.
Any TWA employee, whether a pilot.
mechanic, accou n t:tn t or hosres~, interest­ed
in becoming a member of the ream
should get in couch with Andy Barker.
Howcve•·, it is thought rh:tc hostesses might
be a bit more helpful if they render the1r
support from the side- line~, inasmuch a\
the fellows .~bould keep their eyes on the
b:tll.
Simil:tr teams h:tvc been organized else­where
over rhe T\'<1 A sy~tem, but :ts yet we
haven't heard of any big league scour Yisit­ing
any of our bases to observe the plane
of our stars.
Mr. J\•{enasco was born in Los Angeles,
California, :tnd has been active there in
various phases of che machine cool industry
throughout his business life. At one time
he served as business manager and chief
mechanic f01· Art Smith in his trips co
che Orient for purposes of exhibition fly­ing.
Later he served as chief engineer of
che Weber Showc:tse & Fixture Comp:tny
of Los Angeles, which firm developed, man- A MENASCO PRODUCT
The Sky liner for Marcb, 19 l i
THOMPSON-HEMPERL Y
A Traveler from Nanking University Writes Interesting
Log of His All-too-Brief Flight
Milton Thompson, of rhe western re­gion
superintendent's office, was married
recently to Miss Wilma Hempcrly of Kan­sas
City. They spent a pleasant rwo weeks
visiting San Francisco, Los Angeles and
Iew York and also made brief "dead­head"
stop-overs at \Vichi ta, Albuquerque
I and Winslow. N A recent leuer to Transcontinental &
Western Air, Tnc., Dr. \YI. Reginald
Wheeler of the University of Nanking,
Nanking. China, explained chat he invari­ably
keeps a log of all his flights.
"Perhaps I might add," Dr. \'<'beeler
continued, "that the last rime 1 flew in
a Douglas was in Ma)', on a trip from
Nanking to Shanghai, China, so you can
sec that I have had the pleasure of Dougla~
service on both side~ of the Pacific."
Dr. Wheeler's log of his 7 8-minute flight
with TWA follows:
9:45 P. M.-Lcft Jefferson Hotel, Sr.
Louis. in TWA car for Lambert Field.
10:00 P. M.-Stopped at Chase Hotel;
picked up a passenger for New York.
Drove along winding country road
through the darkness, illuminated only by
the lights of the car.
I 0:3 0 P. M.-Reached Lam ben Field.
Beacon light tbshing; field dark; clear
skies; stars bright. Belt of Orion in the
South. Sign at the office building read:
Los Angeles 1685; New York 835.
I 0 :3 5 P. M.-Fiood lights put on. Plane
comes in from the West, the Sky Queen;
flight No. 2; a 14 p.tssengcr Douglas, like
a si lver moth in rhe subd ued lights of the
field.
10:43 P. M.-Bo.trded plane; warm in­~
idc; shielded lights; all sears taken except
last seat in the rear. Mec the hostess, Miss
Ida Katheryn Staggers, R. N., who told me
the chief pilot or captain was Mr. G. Klose;
the second pilot or first officer, Mr. B.
Enyart.
10:49 P. M.-Taxied our on rhc field,
the plane fingering its way through the
darkness, with :1 penciled beam of light.
10:50 P. M.-In the air. We continue
LO climb. The hostess tells me we will fly
at about five thousand feet.
I(): 55 P. M.-The lights of St. Louis
are below us on the right, like a lovely
cluster of scars and scar dust, a heavenly
constellation on earth. \Ve pass over a
winding road outlined in dim scars, with
dimly-lie morors moving slowly in die
haze below. Night flight is certain ly lovely.
The beauty of rhe night is even lovelier
than th,tt of the day.
ll :05 P. M.-The stars burn brighdy
co che south, Cassiopeia and Orion, and to
the North, the Grear Bear is gloriously
clear. The hostess helps the passengers to
recline ar full length and the reading lights
within the plane are dimmed.
11:10-1 1:20 P.M.-Wrote postab to a
number of friends and to the boys. The
plane is very steady and quite warm.
II :45 P. M.-Walked up to the from
of the plane. Most of the passengers were
asleep or at least lying wirh their eyes
closed. Several were s ti ll reading.
II :50 P. M.-The lights of Terre Haute
Continued on f1agr 14
The story goes that a good portion of
the dried up bones lying out on the
prairies around A lbuquerque were once
integra l pares of young honeymooners who
planned on making a wedding trip to the
west coast on s ubject-to-space passes.
You're a lucky lad, Milt!
NOT REALLY
Hosll•ss to f)(/ssenger-"Tbal's !.tis make-u f' case. Since LaVerne Browne made sucb a bit
in Hollywood, all tbe j>ilots carry 'em!
9
ST. LOUIS
By OLE MAY
Scruggs, Vandervoort &
llarney in connection with
TWA featured spring sport
fa~hion~ from Palm Springs
in their fashion show held
recently in St. Loui~. Believe
me, fr~m the standpoint of
ad,•erti~ing and publicity ''alue TWA se­cured
the utmost. In ever}' ad and placard
rhe department store featured "Vander­voort',
and TWA" giving u~ full credit as
their partner. Miss Trixie Miller, charm­ing
blonde hostess, came over from Kansas
City :tnd acted as the official hostess of the
day repre~encing T\Xf A in the ~pores wear
department of che store and a l ~o participat­ing
in the fashion show promenade.
Acting in his capacity as "official greet­er
and entertainer" for the t. Loui~ office,
Mr. Joseph Letzkus, genial district traffic
manager for the Chicago & Southern Air
l.tnes, entertained ~1iss Miller prior to her
departure on flight 5 for Kans:t\ City.
Thanks. Joe, :ts :t bachelor you wrely come
in h.mdy!
For a rime we thought we had lost one
hostess .1~ it cook over two hours in the
morning to loc:tte Miss Mi ller who was
sicting in the Union Station c:tlmly knit­ting
.1 \ummer swe:tter and w:titing for
•omeonc from the traffic dcp:trtment of
TWA to pick her up. Believe me, these
f.1shion shows arc not wh:n thC)' arc
cr:tcked up tO be!
Speaking of hostesses ... ~ri\\ Ruch
Rhodes spoke before the St. Louis Kiw:tnis
Club recently :tnd secured a very big
hand. Thanks a lot for your help, Ruth,
we surely appreciate it.
Also Miss Edith G:tlyen spent :1 few days
in St. Louis and dropped in to s.1y "hello."
\Xfe arc always glad to have our friends
drop tn.
Mr .• md 1-lrs. John Gr:wes stopped over
in St. Louis enroute from 'ew Orleans
to Ch1cago returning from their vacation
\'ia Chicago & Southern Air Lines. Of
course, we won't mention th:u our Chicago
tr:tffic manager had to train from Memphis
co St. Louis account heavy traffic moving
via Chicago & Southern.
Another visitor in this past period was
Mr. Bill Bishop, Manager of the Public
10
Rehtion\ Dep.uunent of the Chicago area.
We understand that ~[r. Bishop arrived
in St. Loui~ to attend the "Wild Life Con­ference"
being held at the Hotel Jeffer\011.
\Xf'har about it, Bill, was the convention a
SUCCCS\?
\Xfc here in SL Louis were very ~orry lO
lo~c Chuck Fredricksen. Chuck resigned
Conlinut•d on next pagt•
NEWARK
By H. J. ~111 IINGT0:-.1
The T\Xf A h.mgJr .H New­ark
wa~ bu11ing with excite­ment.
The new equipmcm
was on its w.1y. I leans that
were once Heady, were nO\\
pounding within the breast\
of the h.ude11cd mechan1cs.
:\\ thcr dreamed of nuf\ing the new, f.1sc.
highly streamlined eq ui pmcnt ch.1 t T\\ \
had purchased.
T\Xf A was first a gam.
Uncle Joe Seliger, the \Jc\\ .1rk num­tcnance
foreman, had donned his flymg
suit, heavy fur glove~. helmet .1nd goggle\,
.1nd h:td gone forth, ( I 1111.!,111 fir;,t) to bring
home the bacon.
\flarrrn Erirkwn, (tat/On mana.~rr ttl I. Loui~, brrr is f!irlnrrd in lilt' act of prcwnl
ing tbr radio gang at St. Louis witb !be lroj1by wbicb is indicalil ·c of tlw fact t/11 au ard
ll/as tvon tbrou ,~IJ tbe r.ffiriency of and ttl !bat station. Tbe radiomt·n in lbc j1ictnrc un·
Bill jolmslon, Lro Srbt•cbtrr, Stan !lttmiflon and Cbirf Radioman Jobnny Lar.11•n. Tbc
ttlvtmf of 11 TWill Skylinrr in moth! form i.l git•t•n j){•riodically lo tb,· comjlttnr .~round
station wbicb i.1 considl'rt•d to btllt' jll'l formrd tcitb the ,'.!,rl'alc~t c/ficit•nrr in tlw jwriod.
The Skylincr for A£ a reb, 19 37
t\ feding of concern l1.1d b~gun 10
~pre.1d it~clf over the Newark per~onncl,
like the fog .l!ld low clouds chat wcr.:
~weeping in over the field, obscuring d:c
vi\ibilicy. Joe had been gone for houn.
Would hi' ga~olmc hold our? Would he
find his wa) through this pea-soup, or
would he lo~e him~dt 111 rhe we:nhcr rh:n
h.1d the birds grounded .l!ld become Jnorher
of the victims th.ll were cl.timcd by the
clements.
But no!!! We he.tr the roJr of :111 engine.
I rom rhe f.tr l'nd of the h:tngar, someone
)clb, "Here He Comes." .Madly we all
d.t~hed ro the hang.1r doors, each nun peer­ing
into che fog, e.1ger ro be rhe firH to
'ec "Uncle Joe" return, and e:tch hc;trt
beating wildly, ,t\ we fcrvcndy hoped :md
prayed char Joe would sec it rhrough.
Good old Joe. Who s.tid thar he had
forgorten his n.n·igo~tion. Slowly the fog
revealed him to U\ .ts he rhrortled her
down, .tnd slowh e.t,ed her down the run­w.
ly. He's comi~g down rhe scrip of un­even
runway. lie hie, a bump. He's out of
control. No. He h;t\ righted it and every­thing
is 0. K. A .. holll goes up from the
bO)'S as he bring~ tltJt stream lined, open
cockpit job, up the Ln.i Hrip, roche h.tng.tr.
joe\ face light, up wirh rhJt genial
beammg smile that we all know so well,
·'' he realized wh.n he h:~d accompli~hcd.
Sciffiy, he crawled down co the ground.
He turn~ ro U\, .1nd his first words arc,
"0. K. boys. Here\ the new tractor. ow
for crying our loud. r.1ke care of it."
All you gu) s .tnd g.tls who, ever since
the dcprcsh struck, ltJve been camp:tigning
for a good 5c c1g.u, lud bener dig ouc the
free ride ducH\, .1nd come to Newark.
Yowsah!!!
Jimmy Dillon. one of our Ncw.1rk stock
clerks, is pas~:ng out rhc El-Rope-0'~. J-k
1\ chc VERY PROUD I· ather of a bounc­in~
baby boy. We undemand that Jim i.,
recuperating gloriou,ly, :tnd that in no
rime :ttt'.tll, he will be back on his feet
ag:tin.
Your bashful correspondent pecked into
.1nothcr keyhole the other d.JY, and c.une
.t\\ .ty, confirming rhc rumor that Ed. Huff,
one of 1\:ewark~ "Popular Mcch:tnic~," i~
looking for .1 pl.tce to hang TWO h.n~.
The ~ccond bonnet belongs ro a very ~weer
linle girl whom wc will soon be cal ling,
"Mrs. Edd:c Huff." Lot~ of luck, Gracie
.1nd Ed.
The line form\ on the right, for chc
cigars.
I or those of you who have failed co get
past Pittsburgh, to this noble field, the pl.tce
still looks like Rome, .tftcr irs downfal l.
The tearer-upper' .ue still going strong,
.tnd from rhe look' of things, they wil l
connnue. for a goml m.tll)' moom.
METALLIC CONFERENCE
When lblph Lichtenberger, foreman of
T\'V' A's sheet metal department, jumps in­to
a conference, he real ly confcn. Witness
chis photographic interruption of .1 confab
in the ~hcer mer.tl dep:ucment. The fore­man
is in the center. Ar left is E. G. Gid-
The \XfP A has been put to work, dig­ging
holes, tc:tr ing up runw:tys, :tnd using
ocher miscel laneous methods of desecrating
the :tirpon. \'(/ e h:t vc nor been :tble ro fig­ure
out whether or nor, they intend to fill
the holes back up, or if they will put back
rhe runway' chat they cook .twa)', but we
do know thJt, out there somewhere, rhey
are going to bui ld a hangar. We probably
won't be able to sec rhe darn thing, until
some of the holes get fi lled up again. TWA
is to occupy :1 l.trge porrion of this h.tngar
when it is completed. Some of the csci­m:
Jtes are .1s follows:
It will cost .tbour :1 half a million bcr­rie~,
ir will be over a thousand feet long
and about 150 feet wide, and it'~ expected
to be finished in chc month of xtobpl;., in
rhe year of xflop.
ST. LOUIS
Conlmm·d from j111gt' I 0
from TW' i\ in t. Louis to join the Amer­ican
Airline~ s.tb force in New York City
so that he cou ld be with his vel')' c lose
friend, Mr. A. J. Gariepy. Our very sin­cere
wishc) follow Chuck for hi~ \uccc~:.
in his new connection.
Glenn Cradcn has been appointed b)
C. E. Fleming tO fill Chuck'~ shoe., .tnd we
feel quire confid ... nr th:tt he will deliver
the goods in every way. \Xfc, tOO, wish
G lenn much success in his new position.
\Xfc diligently try co secure inform.uion
from rhe licld ,\\ to the :tctivirie\ of the
eon; at right, R. C. Kibler, abo employees
of that dcp:Htment. When discovered by
one of ou1· roving photogr.lphers, the trio
was busy contemplating .tnd considering
.1 collection of blue print\.
ope1.1tiom department and it i~ suggested
ro the editor of Skyli11er· th.ll he appoint
someone under i'vll'. Erick!>on to report co
Kansa~ Cit)' direct in order thJt prop::r in­form.
ttion will be furnished from che field
to $lq/i111'r. How :~bout it, "Erick?"
WE INTRODUCE-Datid
Grtl) Smilb (Dal't' lo IIIIJ.\1 of us),
wbo i~ .\l'rrdary lo Paul /~. Ric/;lt•r, l'in•­prt•
5idl'lll in r·bargt• of ojlt'rttliou.,, \'(/ben
found by our ('IIJidid Cll/1/l'rtl, Dat•t• U'l/5 i11
llx ucl o/t'OII\Idling lhl' file\ for t1 btl of
inform,, I ion.
I 1
/Jntttlzfl'C Alaval f:calnln9 Pfl'Clttti
The Second Division of the TWA-Naval Reserve Squadron Goes
Into Active Service for Two Weeks
E CHELON
THE Second division of Squadron VN-
17RD9 is beginning it~ 2-wccks' ~111-
nual tr:tining duty March I 4.
After the First division of VN-17 won
chc 'oel Davis trophy in the annu:~l com­petition
of the thirty-one :tval re~erve
Jviacion units in the United tate~ lasr
year, the ~aval department decided it
would be a good idea to cnbrge this base.
Never before had a squadron done even
h:tlf ~o well during its first year of organ­i;.
ation. Therefore, they cr:tnsfcrrcd the di ­vi~
ion stationed at Norfolk, Virginia, to
the Kansas City squadron, cnl:trging the
quoc.1 of allowed personnel and allotting
.1dditional airplanes to the squadron.
Like the First division, chc personnel of
chis new division is compo ed m.1inly of
T\'\1 A personnel. Twelve of the enlisted
men t:tking this rwo weeks active duty :tre
mechanics or the like in the TWA main­tenance
shops and one is from TWA's
purch.1sing department. All of the officers
of the Second division arc rcgubr airline
pi lots for TWA.
ln this 2-weeks' period, flights will be
THE SKI QUEEN
Through arrnngemenc with H. 1· . Mc­Elroy,
city manager of K.m~a~ City, Mis­souri,
a special flight recently was put on
Jt the Kansas City Airport for the benefit
of Miss Rose Winkler :md five ocher young
women, all from Oregon.
Mis~ Winkler won first pl:1ce in a pop­ularity
contest in connection with the ski­ing
course on the slopes of Mr. f-lood and
:~ccordingly was crowned queen of the
cour~e. When Miss Winkler and her "court"
12
made doing dive bombing at Fon Lcavcn­wonh,
:~erial gunnery :It a target rowed
by :1 squadron tow ship, form:~tion flight~
of every description, :1erobacics, and scverJ l
flights will be made cross-country. The
cross-counrry of rhe First division last No­vember
included .1 flight of five Grum­man
fighters co Pensacola, Florida, by w.ty
of Little Rock on the way down and 'ew
Orleans and Memphis on the return trip.
Also, a flight to Otto, New Mexico, which
is ncar S:~nca Fe, was made by a section of
H elldi vcrs.
The TWA pilots, who are officer~ in the
Second division, taking che two weeks
training :tre: J. M. Moser, E. Z. Boqua,
P. T. \VI. Scott and L. \VI. Olson. The
TW' A mechJnics, who compose more chan
h:tlf of che enli~ted personnel, :arc: D.
Kraus, R. M. Kirns, V. G. Mellquisr, G. C.
Fisher, A. 0. Beaton, L. J. Watko, W. A.
Feltenberger, J. E. Combs, H. K. Cornell,
and M. F. Lichty. \VI. F. Chappel of the
T\Xf A purchasing department is :dso in rhe
division and wil l perform the two weeks'
training duty as di vision yeom:tn.
arrived Jl che ;tirporc to begin their flight
:ar 3 o'clock, ~omeone :tsked whar it w.n
all about.
"The Ski Queen is in town," was the
reply.
"Can't be crue," protested Flight Di\­paccher
Smith. "She's not due 'till 8:47
tonight!"
Now chat may be pretty subtle, bur if
you'll study your Kansas City schedules,
perhaps you'll understand.
ODE TO THE HOMING LOOP
By fiRST Orncr:R T. R. Co< 1 1Ro1 1
If navigation m:tke~ )0\1 \,td,
And fog :tnd sratic drive you mad
There's one thing left co m.1ke you gi.IJ.
.J uH try a Loop, my friend.
If you don't think you're where you ;~re,
You're nor there yec, or ~one too f.tr;
Don't bank upon your lucky \l.u.
The loop will gee you in.
lf on ~ome da} a fog~-:> 'creen,
Ob~curcs the old f.1mili.lr ~cene,
Don 'r starr ro fret .tnd g.nhcr \tc.Jm,
J usc plot .1 Fix right then.
When you have homed upon .1 loop,
While ~irring ~mothered in the \Oup.
You'll realize irs quire .1 coup'.
The aviator's friend.
WELCOME HOME. RUBY
After :1 siege of illne\s which LlHcd from
the early pare of December, 1936, until
juH recently chc plug~ of T\'V J\ \ P. B. }..
board are again being gr.1ced b\ the \"Cr\
cfficien r plug-pusher-in ner-lml-puller-our­cr.
Rub\' McCullv.
Rub). seems ro.have come through "ith
fl)•ing colors, rhe big clunge be111g that she
is (or w,t\) minus about 30 pound\. Ho,,­ever,
~he still h.1\ that \,lmc old ~h:C.ulh
:tbility co figure om who people w.tnr to
talk tO with only .111 utkl111g of Jn in­form:
tcion.
J uH this morning ]. D. Bo'' cr,ock of
the K:tnsas Cirr St:tr cold u' of .1 cJII he
mJdc the ocher day. Upon getting Rub~\
rypic.ll "hello" at the other end of the wtrc
he a~ked to speak co the Unp.tved I ligllWJ)
Department. He immedi:Hely got hi~ p.trtv.
I !c wanted to talk to Ruth "Du't)"
Rhodes, chief air hostesses!
Anyw:ty, welcome home, Ruby!
The Skyliner for Afarlh, !'Hi
This Company Announces Purchase of Fleet of Four-Engine Planes
for Use Next Year
A CONTRA( T for the purchase of six
new 3 2-pJ\\enger crampon airpbnc~
by Transcontment:tl & W'c'>tern Air, inc.,
has been '>igncd with the Boeing Airpbne
Company of Sc.nde, Washington, accord­ing
to Jack !-rye, Pre~idenr of TWA.
The new T\Xt A tramport'> will be pow­ered
with four engines and will be the
largest airplane'> in '>Crvice in the United
States. The gross weight will be 42,000
pounds. Work on the first of the new
TWA Super Sky liner\ has already started.
It is planned ro pl.lce them in service in
the Spring of 1938.
Mr. Frye al'>o reve:tled rhar TWA has
taken Jn option on 17 additional pbne~ of
rhe same type.
Simult.tneous with the .tnnounccmcm of
the purcha~c of the new planes, Mr. Frye
~tared that T\V A h.td ordered 36 addition­.
tl Wright G- 100 he.l\') dut) Cyclone en­gines
tO power the \hlp'>. Capable of pro­ducing
1205 horsepower, the new Cyclone~
arc the mo~t powerful a1r-cooled radial en­gine\
in the country 111 production. These
engines .ue the s.tme .ts those now being
installed 111 T\Xt A\ Dougbs airplanes now
nearing compleuon 111 California. lmtalb­tion
of four of the Wright G-1 00 Cy­clones
in the new TWA Boeing pbne will
give the -.hip ,1 tot.tl of 4820 horsepower.
THE FIRST FLIGHTER
Prob.tbly one of the most interesting
half-hours dut anyone ever spends is on
his fint airplane ride. And the firsr :~ir­plane
ride for many .1 TWA employee h.1s
been on a company test hop of one of the
fleet of TWA Sky liners from the mainten­ance
base in K.tns.l\ City, Missouri. These
K \1'.:\i\) <.I IY
flights r.mge in length from ten minutes
to two or three hour~ and include the test­ing
of anything from r:tdio equipment ro
carburetor~.
Stiff neck\ .trc the rule r.nhcr th.1n the
exception the d.t) .1fter beca use the en-
In all, the 77 \\'l right C)• clone~ now on
order for Tramcontincntal & \Xfe\tCrn A1r
will be capable of producing a total of 92,
7 8 5 horsepower.
In making the .tnnouncement, Mr. J· r) c
stated:
"The purchase of these plane~ which will
be the first of the modern four-engined
transports to go into service in 1 his coun­try,
is a step in a genera l cxp:tn~ i on pro­gram
being undertaken b)• TW J\.
"In all, approximately )4,300,000 is be­ing
spent by the Company. T he new Boe­ing
fleet, together with spares :~nd equip­ment,
will cost approximately 2,043,0()0.
Ocher funds are being expended for other
new rwin-engined equipment, for re~earch
and development and for improvement of
ground faciliric~. ·•
Concerning the new Bocin~\, 1\lr. I rye
had chis tO ~ay:
"Recently we completed .1 \eric~ of c"­pcrimcnts
in high .thirudc flying wh ch
convinced us of the practicability of ~eek ­ing
higher level~. The~e experiment\ wen:
carried on in the 1 onhrop Gamm.t "Over­weather"
airplane, which was on c"h1b1t
at the :ttional Aircraft Show.
"\Xthcreas our experiments were conduct­ed
between 30,000 and .16,000 feet, we do
rire ly different pcr~pcctive on f.tmiliar l.tnd­marks
is most interesting on that fir~t hop.
Once we get oursel vcs fixed in the ~e.lls
we .tre ready for the breath-taking jump
into the heaven;. But, '>ll".lngely, we .tre
slightly disappointed. We really C'-pccted
a ensation of speed th.ll would t.tke our
breath away and nuke ll\ h.tvc a funn)
feeling in the stom.tch ... like when one
rides a very fast elevator. ln~re:u!, the tad
of the Skylincr lifts it;clf genrlr off the
ground, and, wirhouc our knowing e'l. ­acrlr
when, the huge transport mes off th:
runway, O\'er the ~lis~ouri River. and Cir­cles
the downtown ~ection of Kan~J~ C1ty.
\Xtc crane our necks and try our best to
recognize the many buildings jutting .1-
bove the skyline below us; unbuttoning
our scat-belts to look out the window;, .! ­cross
the aisle; pointing out variou~ ob­jects
to our fellow "fi rM - flighter~." and
looking down their forefingers in return.
A ccrcain sense of satisfaction \urge'
through us as we notice some particularly
familiar intersection.
\o/e marvel at the checkerboard .tnd tJu ilt
effect of the furroughed farm land\. By
not pbn to operate the new plane\ Jt this
It ,.cl bur expect ultimately to carry pa\s­cngers
at 20,000 feet in the~c .11rplanc\
through the addition of cabin preswre
equipment. The pas~cnger cabins of the\t:
planes will be structurall)• designed .tnd
bui lt for supercharging.
"At the present time our Oougl.1~ Sky­liners
arc operating at level~ bet ween 6,000
and I 0,000 feet, and we expect to st.ll'l
opcrncing the new Boeings .1t about th1s
level. La tcr, when we have been .1ble to
adapt the experience gained in high ,Jill ­tudes
to the four-engined transport'>. and
when the insral larion of the ncccss.try
equipment is perfected, we will gradu.tlly
\tart flying :H higher altitudes.
"With 3600 horsepower, the ~peed of the
.tirpl.tnc will be in the neighborhood of 2 50
miles per hour at higher cruising lc,·ek
"The new four-engincd tramports Will
be equipped ''-'ith berths for 18 .md se.m
for 8 when flown on night ~chcdules, .tnd
with 32 ~cats when operated a~ da\ pi.Jnes.
They will be equipped to c.trr) 3.750
pounds of cargo in addition to the p.t"> ­cnger\.
It is interesting to note that th1s
cargo load is greater ch,1n the enure p.ty ­lo.
td carried in the present day twin-en­gained
tr.tmpon airplane."
SK \'LINER 1-li\1>0\\
the ... hadow of the Skyliner \peedmg O\'Cr
the ground we can well ~ee thac our ~peed
is much greater than it seem~ tO us ,1\ we
go along easily at 190 miles an hour.
A few more minutes and we feel the
ship decrease its speed. The "fl.tp\" lu vc
been lowered fo1· landing. Another minute
.111d we get out of the plane with the feel ­ing
rhar we arc "seasoned" air travelers.
Now we have something in common
with all the "old-timers" around the office
who have gone all over the line. Yep, chi.,
businc~s of air travel is the stuff!!
I 3
THE EISCHEIDS GOT 'EM!
INLEI DO
PALM. BEACH
\\ hl·n the Jmt I 1\~.:heid f,1mily start~ out
.1fter h\h, the\ don't mean sardines. \XIit­n~"
two oi dw \,lilh\h pictured herewith.
i\J,o "1tne'' the l i'chcid f.1mily-Jim at
the left and \tr,. J11n. The ocher rwo men
in rhe p1cture were not identified by Cap­r.
tin ]1111, who 1\ not mad .It all. He mere­ly
look' th:n way 111 the picture. The sail­fish
at the left wa\ caught (one of several)
b) Capr.1in Ei\che1d. The second from the
right (the large~t of the group) was
caught, of cour.,e, by Mrs. Eischeid. Mercy!
You d1dn'r think Jim wou ld catch the
l.1rgeu one, d1d you? As indicated by the
14
sign .lbo,•e rhe fish, the 1-.i\cheid, went '.1-
cacioning and fi~hing in Horid.1. The ~mail­er
picture is of one of the collection of
certificates awarded b) the \XIc\t P.tlm
Beach Fishing Club tO ~lr .. tnd Mr~. Ei~­cheid.
Jim says they award thc'c certificate\
so returning fi~hermcn m.ty have some de­gree
of support for their storie, when they
gee home.
ABOARD THE SKY QUEEN
Couliuflt•d from f~t~gr 9
appear on our left to the North, a beauti­fu
l cris~-cross pattern of terrestrial stal'\.
The lights twink le and al rcrnarcly brighten
and g row dim againsr rhe black back­ground
of the night. A swinging, circling
beacon lighr is fhshing nearby. We pa~~
another town with twinkling light\ to the
north. T r looks friendly and yet lone! r; .t
neighboring ,·illage and yet seemingly .t
city in a world apart from our own.
l1:55 P. M.-We pass from the Mc of
one swinging beacon light co another. The
beacon arc ten mile\ ap:trr, sent in a
straight line across the continent. The}
look like friendly arms welcoming u~ and
then waving u~ on along our route.
12:05 A. M.-Thc light of the Indian­apolis
field arc ahead of u ~ on the nghc.
\Ve are beginning tO drop. The engine~
slow down.
12:06 A. M.-Wc fasten the safety
belts.
12:07 A. M.-The ground come~ up
swiftly from below.
12:08 A. M.-We l.tnd .1nd roll along
easi ly to the office build•ng; 229 miles 111
78 minutes, a little less than three mile\ .1
minute!
I board a taxi for my hotel 111 ln<km­apolis.
The plane taxis our over the dark­ened
field, warms up its engine\, .tnd move'
slowly over the field with It\ \lender,
antenna-like beam of light pointmg the
way ahead. Suddenlr the silver ship hfrs
into the air, following it~ guidmg r.l} of
lighr. and with a final shower of golden
sparks disappears into the dark night.
l conclude that since r firn flew In .•
pri,·ace plane in 1913, a two-seated C.urtl\\
pusher, and on commercial lines in th~
United Scates in 1929 in a four-se.tted
Ryan, travel by air has become v.\\dy
more comforrable, more rapid, more pre
cise. Such era vel is superior ro bouncing
along on a train or dodging other traffit
in a motor and for the longer flight' 1s
not more expensive when the cost of time,
meal\ and hotels is comidered. And there
is a spirit of deftness, of detachment, of
beaun• and of adventure chat thc\e mor~
prosai·c types of transport:aion do not
know. Long life to the air lines and nu,
rhe) continue ro gro" in public f.tvor .tnd
service!
NEW HAT
R. W. Kloepfer, stork clerk 11/ \ 1 ll'tlrk,
rrce11tly Jmrcbased a lll'lt bat. Tbi~ ;, the
lUI)' tbe /It'll! bat ttmf it~ 011 1/l'Y tlflpetlr to
tbe nimble pen of E. T. II11jf, mrrbt111it
also based at Newark.
"Tbe correct size of Kloej>frr·~ /.}('ad fm
bat fmrposrs," writes our Nrw11rk corrt
sfiOI/(Irut, "is 6% tJ/1(1 all conlri/mtioll' will
be tbaukfully accep!t•tl."
Skyli11cr belirt·rd its readrrs JL'tJIIld likt•
tbe exfm:ssioll of Klorf>fer's rars 11.1 ,.,
fm•.,sed in Ibis dratving bv Mrrl.wnir fluff.
Do yo11? Or do you?
The Skyliner for Mttrcb, 1937
CUNNING
J. Wirth Sargent, lawyer of Wichita,
Kamas, and one of our good customers.
last monrh sene chis sn:tpshot to our \'<lich­lt:
t corre~pondenc, R. Monty Montgomery.
"I enclo\e herewith," wrote Mr. S.1rgcnt,
"piclllrc of two TWA enthusiast'>." At the
left i~ Joan Sargent; :tt the r ight, j ohn S:tr­gcnt.
They ~1rc 2 1 2-ycar-old twins. Al­though
unidentified by the wri te r, we pre­sume
the l.1dy at the right is Mr~. J. Wirth
S:trgent. We must say :tt lea~t one thing
for Mr .. 1nd Mrs. S:trgenc .1side from the
f.1ct they luve .1 right cute p:tir of children,
.1nd tlut i~ that there\ no better W:l)' to
bnng up children th:tn :ts TWA enthusiasts.
SPARKLES AND SPARKS
Contmul'd from j1agc 7
usc muH fire consistently and evenl y under
this pressure of 14 5 pounds :n sea level. A
wide range of safety is prov ided by the
margin of actual pressure and the pressure
under which these plugs arc tested.
R. N. Moats is the spark plug specialist
.ll the Kamas City headqu.lrters of TWA,
The Lmdbergh Line. :Mr. ~loats assembles
and tests all spark plugs used by TWA
over it\ entire coast to coast system. \ '<lith
the new speeded up apparatus in hi~ de­partment,
he can assemble :~nd test :IS
m:~ny :~s 500 spark plugs in a single 8-hour
shift.
All sp.1rk plug apparatus used in t his
tlcp.lrtnlent is of T\V A design .1nd m:~ke.
It is :1pprovcd by the spark plug manu­f.
lcturer and considered highl)• efficient in
every detail. The function of e.1ch dcvice
i, without lost motion or duplic.nion.
Quite an important matter, thi p.uk
plug busmcss. It constitutes Jnorhcr link in
the long ch;~in of item~ which plly big
parts in a big transportation industry. They
arc ju>t about .1s important in your motor
c.1r, tOO, brother. And remember, next
time you have your car w:tshed, that spark
plugs need cle:~ning too. It says >o on the
,ign bo.u·ds
A FRIEND INDEED
Many of )Oil T \'(1,\ 't•r.\ in tbt• Kansa1
City arl'a tlllll t'flt'Wbrrt' bate beard liN
I'Oicl' of Erll' Smitb, nt'II'Sra;ft·r of KMBC.
Ami man)' of )'Oil also bal"l' bl'ard his f rt•­qurut
lllt'nliom of T \'(1 A. Thl' Skyliner is
glad to bt' ablt• lo fm•st•nl Ibis 111'111 fiortmil
of "Tbe KMJJC lll' IIISl"tiS!t•r, Erie Smitb,"
as b£· sih, fii/11' and all, /)(•sidr fiJI' station\
OUR SUPER-SKYLINERS
Confilllml from fia,~l' 3
Ivlore t han that, the company has spared
nothing in effort or cosr co provide also
every conceivable ,t"d co n:~v i gation . The
now-flmous gyro pi lots, the third mem­ber
of the flight personnel in every crew,
will be standard equi pment aboard t he new
machines just a; they h:tvc been on the
company's pre\clll Sk) liners. T he T\'<1 A
mirrop/.}()nt•. llis bandlmg of 11ir lr.lmfwrt
lll'IL'I, and of all a datum Ill' It' jor th.tt
maltcr, i.~ made tbc mort' tntdll.~• nf
tbrou,~b lbt• far/ tbaf Air. Smith ll'tll 11
\'(lorld \'(! ar f>ilot wbo.H' inft•rt•.,f~ in fhm.~
11111! fliers nt'l't'r bas 111111/t'd. 1/ t' i.1 11 .~out!
fril'lld of T \'(1 1\ ami hi' Jmn n it frt' ­tf/
11' II /fy.
homing direction finder, whKh h.h ne.ncd
such intense interest wherever .ur tram­port
i~ known, abo will be one of the
mJn)' outst:~nding aids co rcli.lbillty, of
course.
The company is convinced tt~ new .ur­craft
wi ll in turn convince the tr.tveling
public d1:1t there is nothing liner in the
:~ir than the Super-Skyliner\ .1nd tlw lik \'
Slt!cpcr\, \OOn to be imroduced.
I 'i
AS HIESTAND SEES IT
\Y'b,·n Jnn lfil'lltlncl, dt•t clofnnrnl en.~inrcr for T\\'1 A, sit.. in lbt• ob.11 ncr\ comfwrlmt•nl
of om e\fwrimt•n/111 ot·t•rwcalbrr laboraloq plane, br bas Ibis fti)OIII ofulllrltlllt'llll be­fore
bun. Tbrongboul t'ttcb fli,~bl, it is Hicsltwcl's joh to n•cord imlllllllt'lll rt•t~clings at
1 tiiHHtl t~flitmll'l for wbscqurnl \I lid_) of bigb t~f/JIIIIft• 1'11,~1111' ofn•rt~lum.
AS TOMLINSON SEES IT
This picture dl'fJicls Jbr fJilot':. cockfJil of T\\'lt\'.1 Ol 'l'l'lt'l'tllber ft~boralor_) f!lt/111' unci dis
doses in excel/en/ manm•r lbt• 11/IJIJ('rou,, imlrumt•n/.1 ctntf oll.wr del'ices D. W. Tomlimon,
pilot of tbr 11/ttcbine, bas befon• bim. Tbt• fll'o fJiclures tvrn· falun by Bill jutltf ll'ho
lakt'.\ fJirlurt'\ Leit·c1 f!roft·~liouaf.