Author: Scott Norris

Bruce Kitt’s article in the March 2021 REFLECTIONS on the late-1940s twists and turns of Northwest’s logo designs revealed the industrial-looking “oval” form that found use in timetables, cabin service items, and assorted print materials, but only briefly appeared on just one aircraft. We have found two more brochures from the ~1948 period to add to our examples – and this also follows on to our Extra postings this year of advertisements to entice our COVID-era wanderlust.

Classic “fashion” line illustrations and period photography from Japan, China, and the Philippines let the reader travel back in time to the postwar era, before the Communists displaced the Nationalists from Shanghai.

The Stratocruisers depicted in the brochures of course were never delivered in the “oval” livery, as the company had moved on to the classic “Compass” and red tail by they arrived. And travelers would soon have to wait nearly forty years for the next opportunity to fly NWA into Shanghai.

In an upcoming post, we’ll take you on a trip to Japan via an exciting slide collection in the NWAHC Archives – stay tuned!

Improving vaccination numbers and the drive to herd immunity for COVID-19 is allowing for domestic travel to resume. The prospects for live events and conventions this summer and fall are bright – and we have decided to resume the annual airliner show at its usual time. See the above graphic for details – hope to see you there!

After this season’s issue went to press, our director Bruce Kitt came across the August 1994 issue of the Retired Northwest Pilots Association (RNPA) magazine, Contrails, and discovered this image:

Which gives wonderful context to the photo of the Capitaliner we included in the cover story. We love being able to put names against photos as it helps families and other researchers find connections! Earl Lund, Northwest Airlines mechanic, Flight Engineer, and Pilot.

Also in our Capital story, we printed this big map in portrait mode so as to be as readable as possible. Here it is “sideways” for online readers:

In the March 2021 issue of REFLECTIONS, Bruce Kitt continues the discussion of the evolution of Northwest’s logo through the 1930s and 1940s. From September 1947 into 1949, the logo was featured on timetables, company documents, and even cabin ware – but never flew.

A postcard promoting the Boeing 377 Stratocruiser then on order gives us an idea of what the proposed scheme would have looked like on an aircraft:

If the Stratocruiser had been delivered on its original 1947 schedule, it may well have left Seattle in this scheme. It’s understood company staff weren’t too enthusiastic about it, and from the 21st Century we can criticize it for being imbalanced and unimaginative. However, flip the blue stripe 180 degrees so it fully covers the lower rear of the fuselage, and it starts to become the classic 1950s scheme…

The legacy of NWA carries on through companies big and small and sometimes in novel ways. We are delighted to share these extended community connections! Recently we met Tim Haskin, an NWAHC Member who has started the gift site AirlineTimeMachine.com.

REFLECTIONS: What’s your experience in the airline industry? Did you work for NWA / predecessors? 

Tim: I grew up in the northeast U.S., and had a lot of exposure to airlines like Mohawk, Empire, and Allegheny/USAir. By  high school, I knew I wanted to work for an airline, and one with international routes in particular. Pan Am and TWA were going through rough times, but Northwest Orient, in far-off Minnesota, was a shining example of stability. 

I was hired by Northwest for reservation sales in the spring of 1986, and after the 5-week training course at the MSP GO, I selected Cleveland for my first work assignment. Reservations was a wild ride during the merger activity that began in October of that year, and I transferred to MSP after the CLE reservations office was consolidated in ’87. 

From there I worked in Inside Sales, then became a Sales Account Manager in Detroit, worked in sales administration back in MSP, spent time as the station manager in La Crosse, Wisconsin, then in ground ops sales in MSP for a total of 12 years with NWA. After Northwest, I had opportunities to work for Carlson Companies, Sun Country Airlines and AirTran, all in the Twin Cities area.

REF: And where has life led you now? 

Tim: In 2005, I learned from a former NWA colleague about an opening with a small airline software company in New Mexico, that needed an account manager to cover their Northwest Airlines account from Minnesota. 

I got the job, took on NWA as a customer, and was able to bring my airline experience into play in support of the company’s airline sales software product. A few years ago, that small company was acquired by Sabre out of Dallas, one of the world’s largest travel technology providers, and I reached my 15-year anniversary in travel software earlier this year!

REF: Tell us about your laser cutter and how your setup works! I see that you are set up as a make-to-order shop – but to turn orders quickly you need to have raw stock of acrylic sheets and cut maple, so you’re still dealing with inventory. 

Tim: I’ve been a collector of airline and airliner memorabilia since I was a kid, and in early 2019 decided to try out Instagram as a social media outlet for my aviation interests. I came up with Airline Time Machine as an online name, and started posting about airline history. I was surprised by the number of people around the world that were interested, and have been fascinated by the stories and memories they’ve shared about their airline career experiences and adventures as passengers. 

Building on that experience, I wanted to create a way for people to connect with past airlines by creating new products that featured airline logos that just can’t be found anywhere else. Late last year, I learned about Glowforge digital laser “printers” that are really very slick cutting, etching, and engraving tools. I bought a Glowforge machine, taught myself how to use Illustrator software for creating the designs I wanted to produce, then rolled out a small website to sell what I had made. 

Because these items have a specific, limited audience, I make one example of each item, photograph that single example for the website, then cut each order “on demand” as they come in. That requires keeping a stock of raw materials on hand in my basement “factory”, but I work primarily with maple and cherry hardwood, and a half dozen colors of acrylic. 

REF: What challenges did you have in developing this business and rolling out product? Certainly the side-lining of airliner shows this year has been a setback for many proprietors catering to enthusiasts, airline staff, and retirees. 

Tim: There has been a lot of guesswork around which type of products to create, and which airline brands to feature. I know that folks aren’t eagerly visiting my website every day to see if I’ve added an item for the small, obscure airline they worked for in Idaho in the 1970s, so there’s a big dose of online promotion through social media (like Instagram and Facebook), and initial experiments with paid advertising, to promote new items. 

One of my most popular products is crew-style luggage tags with past airline brands. That was suggested to me by a young pilot in Connecticut who follows my Instagram posts, and messaged me to see if I could create crew tags for his parents, who had been crew members for a small New England airline in the 1980s. 

I was looking forward to hitting several of the airliner shows this year, but the rescheduling of those shows into 2021 has given me a good opportunity to build up my product catalog to get ready for them!

REF: How would you like to develop the business? Is this more of a side-line or do you see it being a full-time endeavor? 

Tim: Today, this is definitely a passionate “after work” hobby for me, but I’m working to expand the products I offer, and to grow my reach to other aviation history fans. 

Eventually, this could be a great focus for my post-retirement life, but that’s still a few years away. Until then, there are hundreds of additional departed airlines to feature, a century’s worth of notable aircraft to draw, and lots of new products ideas to try out!

Encouraging the growth of a broad volunteer base is vital for any museum. When representing the legacy of an organization as vast as Northwest Airlines was, being able to call on many perspectives is essential to help us tell well-rounded stories and to connect those stories with today’s audiences.

In the past year we’ve brought several of our directors into these pages to share their diverse backgrounds in hopes of encouraging others to come on board. That tactic was effective in the case of our newest board member, Mike Vetter, who joined us this summer. Let’s learn more about Mike in this interview:

REFLECTIONS: How did you get interested in aviation, and what led you to Northwest?

MV: My father was an Army Air Force pilot in WW 2 flying all the cool fighter planes of the day.  After the war, he stayed in the service, joining the Air Force in 1948 and retiring in the early 60’s.  I was conceived in Japan in 1955 and at my mother’s request, my father was returned stateside where I was born at Selfridge Air Force base in February 1956, near Detroit (in later years, I lived in Detroit and flew to Japan!) My father passed away suddenly in 1966 and my mother moved us to a small farm town in Illinois to be near family and that is where I grew up.  

Little did I know, the local airport at the time was the world’s largest Cessna Aircraft dealership in the world.  Planes were being sold everyday to customers all over the country and even the world.  Alton Airport (KALN) even had an airport restaurant and that was my first real job at 15 washing dishes for $1.60/hr.  Wishing to move up, at 16, I received my driver’s license and was able to get a job driving the avgas and jet fuel trucks, fueling aircraft of all sizes.  Working for Walston Aviation, I received a discount for flying lessons and soon soloed at age 16. Continuing on, private license at 17 and commercial and instrument at 18.  These were the minimum ages to acquire these ratings.  

I attended a local college, Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville (SIUE) and I was able to ferry aircraft for this dealership, building flight experience while going to school.  I probably cut a few classes to take a plum trip or two!   Upon graduation at age 22, an airplane was sold to a customer in Longview, Texas, and he needed a pilot. Single and looking to build more flight experience, I jumped at the opportunity and relocated.

When I started college in 1974, there was a huge recession and thousands of pilots were on furlough, including NWA which had hundreds.  It was pretty bleak to choose the piloting profession at that time as all flying jobs were scarce and working conditions poor.  I chose to pursue a business degree just in case this flying thing did not work out and received my BS in Business Administration.  

Around 1977, the hiring started back up, albeit at a very slow pace, but things were happening!  The Navy recruiter came to campus and promised me a flying slot out of college and I almost signed on the dotted line.  Something told me to wait on signing and my plan was to pursue to airlines and if this didn’t happen by age 27, I could join the service and make a career as my father did.  While in Texas, I started prepping to become qualified taking the Flight Engineer written exams and acquired my Airline Transport Rating (ATP) when I turned 23.  Feeling qualified to apply now, I started to send applications to all the airlines and in May of 1979, I received an interview with Northwest Orient Airlines – and the rest is history!

REF: You were hired on at Northwest in 1979, just as the Deregulation boom began. What was your career path – strictly on the flight deck or did you get experience in other aspects of the business as well?

MV: My career path with NWA began in June 1979 as a Second Officer (Flight Engineer) on the Boeing 727. I sat there for 5 years as I slowly moved up the seniority list until things busted loose.  In March 1984, I received a bid to the DC-10 SO in SEA and then the 747-200 SO in SEA in November 1984.  Moving up to Co-pilot (FO) on the 747-200 in 1986 and then my first Captain checkout as B727 in 1988.  

Things were moving so fast at that time at NWA, I was constantly in training every year for a new position; B757 CA in 1989 and A320 CA in 1990, being dual qualified on both aircraft at the same time.  In 1995 I received a bid to the DC-10 CA in DTW!  This was the big time, wide body Captain!  My life changed the following year as I was recruited to become an instructor on the DC-10 at NATCO.  Another upgrade came to the B747-200 CA in MSP in 1998 and the best plane ever, a 747-400 CA in DTW.  

On this airplane I was a simulator instructor, operating experience (OE) instructor as well as an APD (qualified to certify new captain type ratings).  Eventually, with the Delta merger I became a Lead Line Check pilot (LLCP) and member for the 3 engine ferry team for the -400.  

Unfortunately, all things must pass and sadly, the -400 was retired by Delta in December 2017.  I was fortunate to have flown a couple of the farewell flights and took a few to the desert where most of them are still in storage in Arizona.  About to turn 63, I did not wish to retire yet and was trained to fly the Airbus 350-900.  I finished my career as an A350 CA and took an early buyout from Delta in October due to Covid.

REF: You were able to see the world. What are a few of your favorite places?

MV: My favorite airports/cities is a short list.  Hong Kong, especially the old Kai Tak Airport with the IGS approach to 13 in a typhoon was probably the most challenging flights I ever made.  The city is especially fun, preferring the pre 1997 takeover days.  London, loved the pubs and the culture.

Domestically. Honolulu was always great.  At NWA, we flew 12 to 14 day trips in the Orient and it was always great going back into the States flying into HNL from Narita with the sunrise coming up over Diamondhead, knowing it was going to be a relaxing layover with good food and drink.

REF: Your LinkedIn biography notes that you’ve been busy with volunteer work – what kinds of projects and tasks have you been involved in?

MV:  Retirement has not been what I expected.  With Covid, everything I thought I would be doing is on hold.  I do volunteer at a number of non profits.  Here’s a list of them:
1.  Northville Rotary: Past President, Foundation BOD

2.  Yankee Air Museum:  I skipper the North American B-25D to various airshows mainly during the summer months.

3.  Counselor at Crossroads of Michigan in Detroit

4.  Volunteer at Northville Civic Concern, a local food bank.

5.  First Presbyterian Church Northville: Former Elder, Endowment Committee

6.  NWAHC: Board of Directors

7.  While not a non-profit, I own an aircraft appraisal/consulting LLC

REF: And that brings us to the Northwest Airlines History Center. How did you find out about us and what would you like to do on our team?

MV:  Not sure how I first heard about NWAHC, but I joined in 2010 as a life member and saw the opportunity to become a board member in Fay’s column in Reflections.  Some goals I’d like to see would be expansion of the museum, increasing donations and affiliating with related (aviation) and national museums, such as the Smithsonian family.

In an extremely rare occurrence, Northwest Airlines was chartered by both the Republican and Democratic Presidential candidates on the same date from the same origin.

On September 6, 1952, both Dwight Eisenhower (Republican) and Adlai Stevenson (Democrat) converged on Rochester, Minnesota.

Stevenson, whose day started at Denver, flew into Minneapolis-St. Paul with a party of 112 on two American and one United DC-6s. The Illinois governor and his group transferred to two waiting NWA DC-4s for the leg to RST, as he was to give a speech at nearby Kasson, MN.

Three hours before Stevenson’s arrival, General Eisenhower, with his assistants and press, arrived at RST from Chicago on three American Airlines Convairs to address a Republican rally at the Mayo Civic Auditorium.

Both candidates returned to the Rochester airport in the afternoon. Stevenson boarded the same DC-4 he arrived on and flew back to MSP, transferring to the DC-6s which had been parked for the day, and left for Cheyenne, Wyoming for a brief appearance, then going on to Billings, Montana for the night.

Eisenhower, meanwhile, flew to the lakeside resort town of Alexandria, Minnesota in a Northwest DC-3 for 24 hours of relaxation. NWA returned him to MSP the following evening, where his AA Convairs had flown on to meet him.

NWA personnel carried out their assignments smoothly. Flying Stevenson’s plane was Capt. Larry Abbey. First Officer was Jack Rogers and FAs Jan Carlson and Mary Kay Armstrong. Crew of the accompanying DC-4 for the press consisted of Capt. Austin Lytle, FO Bill Engen, and FAs Shirley Hoaglund and Joan Hanson.

Bill Shaw piloted Eisenhower’s flight with Walt Harbeck, first officer, and FAs Bob Patrin and Coral Yahr.

Station superintendent Rollie Chambers and his staff handled all details at MSP, while senior agent John Condon took charge at AXN. The most difficult situation of the day was faced by RST station manager Bill McGoon and his small but capable staff. Despite crowds, tight schedules, motorcade hazards and general pandemonium, the RST team processed its flights efficiently.

Expanding from the article printed in the September 2020 REFLECTIONS, we present additional images (and at larger size) from the photo log kept by Capt. Carl Lamping, who was the lead pilot on the February 1948 mission.