The wings thing….NWA used the design for the original wings that all airmail pilots wore, from all carriers, way back in the day. Col. Brittin, who was a VP of the old Northwest Airways (pre-airmail contract reset) designed the wings for their pilots. He then submitted the design to the Post Office for approval. The Post Office liked the design so much they asked for approval to use them on all airlines that carried the mail, which is what happened.

For those not steeped in remarkably trivial history, back in the day, the Post Office wasn’t just some goofy government job that lost your electric bill. The Post Office was a really big deal as a government agency. For example, pilots used to carry guns, because the Post Office rules were if you carried the mail, you carried a gun.

Just one of those historical tidbits. I don’t think anyone ever gave it more than 2 seconds of thought. The company did actually survey the pilot group, and the majority elected to keep the wings (which were the same for all pilots versus some complicated assortment) and lose the hat. There were a few Neidermeyers that voted to keep the hat, but the vast majority said lose it. The Company followed through, and not only did we lose the hat, kept the wings but gave another jacket option as well.