End of An Era?
12-15-2008, 04:13 PM
#1
Inventory survival kit ..
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Joined APC: Jul 2008
Position: Seeking no jacket required rotations
Posts: 1,069
End of An Era?
I actually received TWO Fedex packages from NW today.
Of course in true NW fashion, one was at my old address and one was at my new address.
I was pleasantly surprised at the contents of those packages.
The first was my (belated) 20 year service pin.
And in the second ...
A piece of aircraft aluminum in the shape of a 747 vertical stab. A piece of ship number 6622, the last passenger 747 to fly scheduled service at NW.
The company actually took the time to take pieces of aluminum from that last ship after its retirement and mount them with inscriptions and then sent them to every NW pilot that ever flew the 747 classic at NW.
The 20 year pin I could give a rats a$$ about, but the aluminum marks the end of an aviation era and I am actually pleased to receive it as a gift.
Of course in true NW fashion, one was at my old address and one was at my new address.
I was pleasantly surprised at the contents of those packages.
The first was my (belated) 20 year service pin.
And in the second ...
A piece of aircraft aluminum in the shape of a 747 vertical stab. A piece of ship number 6622, the last passenger 747 to fly scheduled service at NW.
The company actually took the time to take pieces of aluminum from that last ship after its retirement and mount them with inscriptions and then sent them to every NW pilot that ever flew the 747 classic at NW.
The 20 year pin I could give a rats a$$ about, but the aluminum marks the end of an aviation era and I am actually pleased to receive it as a gift.
12-15-2008, 04:28 PM
#3
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Joined APC: Sep 2007
Position: 75/76ER FO
Posts: 67
Originally Posted by Nosmo King
The company actually took the time to take pieces of aluminum from that last ship after its retirement and mount them with inscriptions and then sent them to every NW pilot that ever flew the 747 classic at NW.
12-15-2008, 05:05 PM
#4
Moderator
Joined APC: Oct 2006
Position: B757/767
Posts: 13,088
Originally Posted by makoshark72
Actually I think ALL employees are getting it. I got mine today, and I flew the whale, but a gate agent was showing off hers yesterday. She said everyone was getting them.
12-15-2008, 05:21 PM
#6
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Mar 2008
Position: A330B
Posts: 210
it is a very significant gesture, and I will treasure it. After all the years of turmoil, the disappointments, the broken promises, I realize that little red tail will always mean a lot to me and my family. That tail was there at the beginning, before anyone heard of Charles Lindbergh. It bore the US registration designation, as the first and oldest Airmail carrier. It suffered through the most challenging weather, mountainous terrain, and the most corrosive labor relations. It spawned the movement of the Air Line Pilots Association, of which all the others followed. When the great designers of the early era of aircraft launched a new airliner, more often than not, it wore a red tail. When our nation went to war, the red tail went to the harshest extremes of our land, pioneering the Alaskan wilderness, the Yukon, and in the midst of combat, the Aleutians. And it introduced the Great Circle Route to the Orient, where it would not only thrive, it would create another National Airline in it's own image. It grew to the fourth largest airline in the world, and expanded it's domain to over 225 destinations. That Red Tail brought me home from Okinawa, it took a young couple on a honeymoon, and a family to Hawaii, twice. It brought my aging mother to live with me, as dementia claimed her memories, but not her smiles, and it took my best friend home to be buried. I am proud to fly with a new tail, with a dramatic history, and a legacy of concern and responsiveness to customer and employee. But I will always be a 'Red Tail", just like I will always be a "Rescue" pilot. That little aluminum piece will to the end be among my most cherished mementos. To whoever had the thoughtfulness, I am grateful!
12-15-2008, 05:45 PM
#8
Inventory survival kit ..
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Joined APC: Jul 2008
Position: Seeking no jacket required rotations
Posts: 1,069
Originally Posted by Kingbird87
it is a very significant gesture, and I will treasure it. After all the years of turmoil, the disappointments, the broken promises, I realize that little red tail will always mean a lot to me and my family. That tail was there at the beginning, before anyone heard of Charles Lindbergh. It bore the US registration designation, as the first and oldest Airmail carrier. It suffered through the most challenging weather, mountainous terrain, and the most corrosive labor relations. It spawned the movement of the Air Line Pilots Association, of which all the others followed. When the great designers of the early era of aircraft launched a new airliner, more often than not, it wore a red tail. When our nation went to war, the red tail went to the harshest extremes of our land, pioneering the Alaskan wilderness, the Yukon, and in the midst of combat, the Aleutians. And it introduced the Great Circle Route to the Orient, where it would not only thrive, it would create another National Airline in it's own image. It grew to the fourth largest airline in the world, and expanded it's domain to over 225 destinations. That Red Tail brought me home from Okinawa, it took a young couple on a honeymoon, and a family to Hawaii, twice. It brought my aging mother to live with me, as dementia claimed her memories, but not her smiles, and it took my best friend home to be buried. I am proud to fly with a new tail, with a dramatic history, and a legacy of concern and responsiveness to customer and employee. But I will always be a 'Red Tail", just like I will always be a "Rescue" pilot. That little aluminum piece will to the end be among my most cherished mementos. To whoever had the thoughtfulness, I am grateful!
12-15-2008, 07:07 PM
#9
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: May 2007
Position: A320 CA
Posts: 1,530
Originally Posted by normajean21
whats a vertical stab
Originally Posted by normajean21
I'm 22, and I would be a senior in college right now if I would have stayed there. I'm a full time flight instructor now, so I don't really have the time to go back to school.
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