Author: Scott Norris

REFLECTIONS Extra – Interview with Don Gardner, DGPilot.com

For our June 2020 “Ground Stop” issue, one of our interviews was with Donald Gardner, a 757/767 Pilot for United who has also started his own model aircraft shop based in downtown St. Paul, MN, DGPilot.com.

REFLECTIONS: How did you get into aviation, and what led you to becoming a pilot?

Don: I’ve had an interest in aviation since I was a kid. One of my earliest memories was a flight to Disney World and I had a chance to visit the flight deck. I was immediately mesmerized by all of the buttons and switches and from that day I was hooked. One of the things that has always and continues to amaze me in regards to flying is how quickly an airplane can take you somewhere so quickly. We traveled to California frequently when I was growing up and I was fascinated how I could wakeup at home in the morning, go to the airport and fly for three hours and a half and be on the beach in Santa Monica by early afternoon. I started taking flying lessons at 15 and started to pursue my career in aviation.

REF: And how did you come to opening a shop for diecast models?

Don: I like to say with a grin, that opening a model store is my Dad’s fault. I honestly never dreamed that I would own a model store. I had not collected any model airplanes since I was a teenager. In 2015, I returned home to Kansas City where I grew up and while visiting my Dad’s house he mentioned he had started a hobby of collecting model airplanes. I must have spent hours going through his collection of diecast model aircraft and was amazed at the attention to detail involved in each and every model. Over the next few weeks, my Dad sent me pictures of model airplanes almost daily, and sent me a Boeing 757 model. We had a couple of phone conversations and in 2015 decided to test our luck in selling models on eBay. In 2016, we launched web store, but both of us took a leisurely approach to running the business over the next couple of years. In June 2018, I decided to give it a shot after I visited a friend’s model shop in Europe. I felt that the Twin Cities was lacking a hobby shop for aviation enthusiasts to visit and the idea of our retail showroom was born. We held our grand opening in July 2018.

Don’s shop is in the Northwestern Building in Lowertown, right next to the popular Farmers’ Market and CHS Field, home of the St. Paul Saints baseball club. Union Depot, St. Paul’s intermodal surface transport hub, is just two blocks downhill.

REF: How much do you stock yourself vs. how much do you leverage distributors?

Don: We try to stock a variety of different models, and try to stock the popular domestic airlines as well as international carriers. I also like to stock models of air carriers that fly into Minneapolis. We also like to rotate the carriers we stock from month to month so we can showcase the variety of available models on the market to our customers. If we don’t have a particular item in stock we can always try to order if for you.

REF: As you’ve been selling, what themes or features do you see your customers particularly interested in?

Don: When there is a model release featuring a retro, or special airline livery they usually sell pretty well. There’s been a fascination with Icelandair and its special liveries including the Hekla Aurora and Vatnajökull, The models are also becoming more interactive in terms of features as well. In 2018, GeminiJets released a Boeing 747 Freighter to replicate the Boeing Dreamlifter. That was a very popular model as the tail of the model actually has the ability to open.

REF: There have been a generous number of Northwest-family models coming out recently. (because it seems like it’s always Lufthansa this and Qantas that…) What are some of your favorites?

Don: Lately, I’ve become a fan of classic airliners. I really like the 1:200 scale Inflight200 Northwest Cargo Boeing 747-200 models as well as the recently released 1:200 scale Northwest Convair 580! You also can’t forget the Inflight200  DC-10 in the Bowling Shoe livery.

REF: How have you been seeing collectors display their pieces & what kinds of interaction are you hearing about in the community?

Don: I think collectors are becoming more creative when it comes to developing display pieces. I recently had a fellow friend of mine Cyrus Cambata build 1:400 scale replica of the Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport circa 1990. (editor’s note: this giant model is the subject of another story in this month’s REFLECTIONS) The detail is immaculate, from the hangars, to the parking garages and gates. The runways are lighted as well. I’ve also seen several airport dioramas built that reflect airports across the world in including London Heathrow and Amsterdam Schiphol.

REF: Is there much professional/social interaction among the resellers?

Don: In the last couple of years we’ve started selling at several model shows, and I’ve had the opportunity to meet a few other retailers. I really enjoy the shows and think they are place for enthusiasts and those who have a real love of aviation to come together to celebrate this passion. I keep in touch with several of them as its nice to talk every once in awhile to discuss the trends of the model industry.  

REF: How would you like to see the diecast model business evolve?   (such as involving more custom 3-D printing, more selection of accessories, etc, as well as the social aspects)

Don: I think the next evolution for the diecast model business will be towards accessories. I’d like to see more airport terminals, and buildings one would see at or near an airport, such as hotels, rental car facilities and transportation centers. 3-D printing certainly has the potential to take this accessory side of the business to a whole new level.

Don is extending a 10% discount for REFLECTIONS readers: use code NW10 at checkout.

Zoom backgrounds – May 2020

So it looks like this is going to be a thing… but we can stay positive because there’s a lot about the Northwest Family history to display with pride. We’ll leave the Twin Cities this month to visit some other parts of the network:

Enroute to Orlando, March 2008
Preparing for a morning departure from Orlando, March 2008
Milwaukee’s iconic rotunda, July 2005
Memphis, March 9, 2009

Zoom Backgrounds – April 2020

Looking for fun Northwest-themed backgrounds to use on video chats? You’ve come to the right place, as your editor has plenty of time to sift through his photo files…

747-400 enroute Minneapolis-St. Paul to Tokyo-Narita.
G Concourse ramp at MSP.
G-concourse ramp at MSP.
Looking at the half-dismantled MSP hangars from the middle of the parking ramp.

“The Way North” – Documentary on Captain Norm Midthun

You may recall our story about Capt. Norm Midthun and his 39-year career with NWA from the Dec. 2014 edition of REFLECTIONS.

Norm’s family have created a cinematic documentary movie release about the Captain’s adventures as a teenager flying for Norway against the Nazis in WWII, and his time there post-war helping the Crown Prince rebuild the country.

This film was supposed to hit the festival circuit, but due to the coronavirus’ impact on those gatherings, they’re launching it directly on Vimeo today. It’s an uplifting story in many ways and more appropriate for our current situation than ever. Click this link to visit and watch the film.

REFLECTIONS Extra – How NWA helped Japan Air Lines get off the ground

October 25, 1951 photo from Tokyo of the first JAL Martin 202 flight preparing to load for Osaka and Fukuoka. Photo from the Asahi Shimbun, in public domain.

Expanding on the lead article in March 2020’s REFLECTIONS, Northwest played a crucial role in re-starting commercial aviation in Japan. At the end of World War II, local aviation of any kind was forbidden in the country while matters of resettlement, reconstruction, reparations, and government reformation was undertaken. As Japan’s industrial and financial base started to regain its footing, and its transportation infrastructure was brought back on-line, General MacArthur’s administration issued its order SCAPIN 2106 in June 1950 to authorize the creation of a new domestic airline.

Foreign carriers who had been flying into Japan since 1946 were invited to form a new joint-stock company. BOAC and QANTAS declined to participate, but Northwest, Pan American, Canadian Pacific, Philippine Air Lines, and Civil Air Transport – Taiwan created a ‘study group’ named JDAC – Japan Domestic Air Corporation.

We can infer the meetings of JDAC did not go well, as there was no movement on financing, staffing, facilities, or aircraft for the whole back half of 1950. Northwest certainly had been studying the country’s airfields and traffic potential with an eye for both transpacific and intra-Asia commerce; Pan Am was working its connections back in Washington to bottle up Northwest’s Asian traffic rights and had no desire to let NWA gain any more ground on what Juan Trippe considered his exclusive territory. PAL and CAT had their own unique struggles at home while also trying to extend links to California. And Canadian Pacific was busy on two fronts trying to establish itself as a true domestic competitor to Trans-Canada as well as extend its impressive overseas network. Faced with the lack of international cooperation, the Occupation amended its order on January 27, 1951to permit Japanese investment in JDAC.

Local financing and seats at the table broke the logjam. JDAC used Northwest’s network study to form the operational plan; JDAC would arrange aircraft leases and Northwest would supply pilots and pilot training. The aircraft would be from NWA, but to assuage the interested parties’ competitive concerns, would be sold or leased to Orvis Nelson’s Transocean Airlines (TALOA) and then put in service for JDAC. TALOA would also provide the maintenance and relevant training, although Northwest ended up providing some training as well.

N93053 at the Transocean (TALOA) base in Oakland, California, Fall 1951. Photo by Bill Larkins and shared under Creative Commons 2.0 license (link: https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=29358080)
NWA mechanic Bob Wadsten, Sr. (front row, center in white overalls) with his JAL students at Haneda Airport in 1952. Photo contributed by Bob Wadsten, Jr. to the NWAHC.

Northwest was happy to get the Martin 202 off its property after the airframe’s defects and string of crashes. Between August and October, 1951, seven of the Martinliners were sold outright to TALOA and another eight leased to them. Of the leases, seven ended up being sold to Pioneer in Texas (with the eighth being a hull loss in New Mexico in November 1951.) The remaining five 202s went to California Central in the fall of 1951.

N93041 in the initial Japan Air Lines paint scheme at Haneda Airport in 1952. Photo by Bob Wadsten, Sr. and contributed by Bob Wadsten, Jr. to the NWAHC.

Japan Air Lines’s first flight was October 25, 1951, with routes from Tokyo-Haneda southwest to Osaka and Fukuoka, and north to Sapporo. JAL’s fleet started with three of the Martinliners and added two more in early 1952. JAL also leased a DC4 from TALOA in November 1951.

There was a Martinliner crash on April 9, 1952 onto the mountain of Oshima Island, along the Haneda-Osaka corridor, killing all 37 aboard. This experience as well as Northwest’s unfortunate history with the type may have influenced JAL’s decision to standardize on the DC4.

On October 25, 1952, JAL purchased its own aircraft for the first time, an ex-Northwest DC4, and by the end of 1952 had returned all the Martinliners to TALOA, having six DC4s in its fleet. It took longer for the pilot corps to rebuild from scratch, understandably, and it was not until September 1955 until all domestic flights were crewed by Japanese nationals.

REFLECTIONS Extra – Passages: Narita Opening 1978

What would have been lengthy coverage in Northwest’s house newsletter as well as mass media worldwide in April-May 1978 was quickly interrupted by the carrier’s four month long pilots’ strike. Passages had a delayed publication date and in August published only a two-page spread about Narita opening, with no celebrating… Read the coverage below:

REFLECTIONS Extra – Narita route history in maps

From its opening in Spring 1978 to just before Delta’s exit in March 2020, here are maps showing the extent of Northwest’s passenger network through NRT every five years:

Longer-range 747s and the long runway at Narita allow for Chicago nonstops, the first of many extended-distance routes to come!
Premier nonstop routings to LAX and JFK come on line, as well as the tourist pipeline to Guam.
Post-merger Northwest sees the Detroit hub start its growth, and the intra-Asian network becomes all nonstop from Tokyo instead of multi-stop. (Dotted lines in the US represent same flight number but change-of-gauge operations.)
In the early 1990s the Northwest Asian network competes on all the heaviest East Asian international sectors out of Tokyo.
The Minneapolis/St. Paul hub finally gets nonstop service, and Anchorage and Las Vegas are trialled. (Who knows what NWA might have done with these routes if the 787 was completed on its original schedule?)
Narrowbody flying (first with A320s, then 757s) resumes with the aim of opening-up secondary destinations such as Busan, Korea, and Kaohsiung, Taiwan.
New York is sacrificed (but was expected to return when Boeing 787s were delivered). Portland gets its long-awaited link to Asia. Some fine-tuning of the narrow-gauge deployment continues with Guangzhou notably representing the first Chinese destination served by a US carrier outside the trinity of Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Beijing.
New York and Atlanta come on-stream post-merger, and vacation flights to Micronesia commence using 757s.
Eventually Manila would be the only ‘beyond’ route. Pre COVID-19, the plan was to shift MNL flights on Delta metal to route through the Delta/Korean Air Seoul-Incheon hub and then to a US destination.

REFLECTIONS Extra – NWA advertising on Hong Kong trams in the mid-1970s

The NWAHC Archive holds dozens of storage boxes and file cabinets’ worth of photographs from across the history of the company. We recently received several pages of slides taken in Hong Kong in 1973-74 documenting the painting process performed on one of the island’s iconic double-decker trams to create a full wrap-around advertisement for Northwest Orient and its new 747 service there. We’ve printed some of these in the December 2019 edition of REFLECTIONS, and are showing even more here at larger size. Click on the image to enlarge.

REFLECTIONS Extra – Republic Express promotional flyers from Saab Aircraft

We’ve never seen scans of these documents up on the Web before – sales and marketing brochures prepared by Saab in 1986 to promote the SF340 to Republic Airlines customers as well as to prospective airframe buyers. The center spread of “Republic Expression” has a nice ramp shot at Memphis, and in smaller photos there are ramp and gatehouse shots from Jackson, Mississippi as well. Aircraft-interior shots are in both documents, showing off the grey, burgundy, and dusty rose color scheme.

These are large, European-sized documents – click on the links below to open them in PDF form.

Click here to open this six-page flyer
Click here to open this two-sided flyer
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