How I got hired by DAL, the good ole days

[pilotyip]

Had a reunion last week with an ole Navy bud of mine named Bob from 41 years ago. We flew P-3's around Vietnam togethe,r 700 hours in 7 months. He was a major influence in my maturity when it came to being a PPC. I would think of him often. He got out of the Navy without a college degree and got hired by DAL in 1969. I never heard the story of how a he got hired at DAL. Story goes like this, he drives up to ATL from NAS JAX. Goes to the CP's office to see the CP. No appointment. Secretary says he is busy. Bob says I will wait. So he finally gets to see the CP, He tells the CP he should hire him, CP says why? Bob says because I am just like the guys you hired in the last three years from my squadron. There were a bunch of P-3 pilots at DAL, it was almost a Navy Airline. CP says he is not interviewing at the present time, and are classes are full. Bob says when is your next class? CP says next week. Bob says if anyone drops out, I am available. Bob then sits in the CP’s office for four days, CP comes out says why are you still here, Bob says I am waiting for a class. CP says well we just had two drops outs, you start Friday. Never laid off his entire career, retired om 2002 at 777 Capt. Ah the good ole days before HR got involved in making decisions about hiring, and Pilots got stupid questions like the SWA one about the blue fluid coming out of the lav that no one in the company has any idea what it might effect.

 

[Mike man]

That is a good story...I've heard similar stories about USAir in the old days, guys leaving places like UPS and Delta to work at USAir, but by just showing up on a day when a class started.

I also heard a story about American in the 90's and before, when you got offered the job the VP of Flight Ops called and offered the job...and classes started Monday's but everyone had to be in Dallas on Friday with their friends and family (all flown in by AA) to have a celebratory party because it was that big of a deal back then to get hired by a major...oh well.

 

[GogglesPisano]

That is a good story...I've heard similar stories about USAir in the old days, guys leaving places like UPS and Delta to work at USAir, but by just showing up on a day when a class started.

I also heard a story about American in the 90's and before, when you got offered the job the VP of Flight Ops called and offered the job...and classes started Monday's but everyone had to be in Dallas on Friday with their friends and family (all flown in by AA) to have a celebratory party because it was that big of a deal back then to get hired by a major...oh well.

Delta still has a party.

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

Friend of mine at UAL in the late 1960s was called... he didn't have a commerical.. UAL said get in class.. he said I need to go home and pack... UAL said we'll have your stuff sent. The late 60s were a great time to get hired by the airlines... Those that did had a great ride with many missing furloughs, etc.....

The downside to your story Yip... is if your buddy wasn't a white male... she would have sat in that office for months...

Curious... when did Delta hire its first black pilot?

 

[Vastly Underemp]

Or, conversely, I showed up, uninvited, for first day of ground school at a piston regional way back when, just in case there was an open training slot, and the chief pilot hauled me out into the hallway and reemed me a new one. Something about complete disrespect for him and his airline that I could just walk in, etc. The good news is that person is no longer involved in aviation, at the invitation of the FAA.

 

[jbDC9]

Yep, that sounds fairly similar to my Dad's story; not the part of hanging around the offices, but in general...

Dad did his 5 years in the Navy, '62 to '67 flying P-2s and P-3s with VP-28 and a couple of deployments to SEA. He got out in '67 with no college degree; Braniff, Pan Am and others wouldn't touch him, so he ended up at Delta summer of '67. Started as out as a DC-6 FE, ended 35 years later in 2002 as 777 CA. He was one lucky bastard.

I say "was" since he retired at 60 but then died at 64... kinda makes me not want to do the whole "Age 65" thing. Fly 'til you die.

 

[Fliteidol]

The father of a pilot I knew at a previous airline started out as an aircraft cleaner for United back in the day. He went to school part time to become an A+P and got hired to work on the radials. United ran into the only pilot shortage in history and one day when he showed up for work there was a poster on the wall in the locker room asking for folks with a private pilots license to apply for flight engineer and pilot positions and the company would provide the training. He went from cleaner to 747-400 Captain in his career at United and retired in the early 90`s after a final checker board approach into Kai Tak.

 

[pilotyip]

only Rez

The downside to your story Yip... is if your buddy wasn't a white male... she would have sat in that office for months...

Curious... when did Delta hire its first black pilot?

only Rez could turn a great story into a social agenda item

 

[pilotyip]

only Rez

The downside to your story Yip... is if your buddy wasn't a white male... she would have sat in that office for months...

Curious... when did Delta hire its first black pilot?

only Rez could turn a great story into a social agenda item. BTW The Navy hired its first black pilot back in 1948, killed flying an F4U at the Chosin Reservoir. I saw black pilots in the Navy when I joined in 60's, had black officer candidates in AOCS, not to mention black Marine DI's, scary guys!

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

only Rez could turn a great story into a social agenda item. BTW The Navy hired its first black pilot back in 1948, killed flying an F4U at the Chosin Reservoir. I saw black pilots in the Navy when I joined in 60's, had black officer candidates in AOCS, not to mention black Marine DI's, scary guys!

Very cool.... so when did DAL hire the first black and first woman? How about the first black woman?

Sure those are great stories.... for a certain group....

Are you uncomfortable with reality?

 

[Hamfighter]

The Delta party is pretty cool and they make a big deal about bringing your spouse, dressing up and celebrating.

It wasn't quite so formal when I got knocked down to the 88 last month.

 

[scarface]

When did the shrink and the notorious rocking chair come on the scene?

 

[Beaver79]

Friend of mine at UAL in the late 1960s was called... he didn't have a commerical.. UAL said get in class.. he said I need to go home and pack... UAL said we'll have your stuff sent. The late 60s were a great time to get hired by the airlines... Those that did had a great ride with many missing furloughs, etc.....

The downside to your story Yip... is if your buddy wasn't a white male... she would have sat in that office for months...

Curious... when did Delta hire its first black pilot?

Still living in the past huh? Welcome to 2010. Delta has a fair number of black pilots. I don't care when the first one was hired, I only care that they have been given the opportunity to compete. That is fair. In the future, I see more black pilots - male and female - being hired. You sir are a moron. Remember the past; live in the present.

 

[FLYLOW22]

Curious... when did Delta hire its first black pilot?

When did the Navy train a black pilot? Not long after retirement then...

 

[Mike man]

it was a good thread until the racists got a hold of it...thanks fellas.

 

[Paul R. Smith]

it was a good thread until the racists got a hold of it...thanks fellas.

Yeah! What the hell just happened?

 

[motch]

There was a time when Flying Skills and Determination meant everything...

Yes, a handful may have gotten in because they knew somebody or were related to someone, but that was far and few between.

Then we got HR and political correctness and now we have the system where-
Flight time and experience mean nothing if you are from a certain ethnic group or sex.

I don't judge a person until I know what their flying skills are like. But when I see and hear of certain people getting hired before others, I can't help but judge them by the fact that they didn't get hired by their skills and experience, but by the color of their skin or their sex.

Oh well, this is the state of America that we currently live in. Every great society has had it's high point before the start downwards. Just never thought I'd live to see it!

Always
motch

PS> I'll never forget my interview at DAL, to bad I didn't get hired. But at least I made it to another major that has alot of potential.

 

[retired guy]

Good story pilotyip, but unfortunately, that ain`t the way it was done (and still isn`t at Delta) How do I know you ask? Well, I hired on th September `66 and know the drill (retired July 97). Chief pilot wasn`t involved in hiring, still isn`t. Personell, now called HR gave the written tests, if they liked what they saw in your application, then Personell guy and a Captain, either retired or active gave an interview. If you got an "up" from them, you got to go and see the shrink, take the MMPI test and he (the doctor) put in his two cents. At the time I was hired, Big D had 15,000 applications on file with about a thousand guys that were acceptable. I`ve heard those tales about sitting outside the school house door, or a variation of the story also. BTW, Sam Graddy was the first black pilot hired, about `71. The first black naval aviator was killed in Korea in `51, shot down in a Corsair.BTW, first female pilot was hired about the same time frame as Sam...She had it a lot tougher than he did...you know, woman shouldn`t be in the cockpit, mans world, etc.

 

[retired guy]

Someone asked about the shrink`s (Dr. Janus`) rocking chair. Do you rock? do you not rock? My friend had the typical session with Janus, answered the questions that he was asked (he was hired)and as they were finishing up, asked my buddy if he had questions that he could answer for him. My friend said 'Why yes sir, am I suppose to rock in that chair or not?" Janus told him that his wife was going to get rid of the chair, and he rescued it for his office. I had heard that Janus was a semi-hawk on the war, so I wore my uniform for the interview (not out of the service yet). He thanked me for my service and then asked if I had read this mornings Atlanta Constitution (newspaper). I told him that I had not. He them told me that the headlines were that the Marines had dropped a bomb on Hanoi and leveled 9 square miles, and what did I think about that? I told him that I didn`t think the government would trust the Marines with a bomb that big. He just nodded and that was that. I did, however check the newspaper.BTW, Janus commited suicide years later. Prolly talked to way to many pilots.

 

[motch]

Does DAL do a class pic with new hires? Heard that but not sure if it's just rumor mill or legit.

I do remember seeing the names of all 8 individuals on the counter welcoming us to Delta and our interviews. Very classy and nice touch.

motch

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

retired guy... thanks for the first hand and factual information...

 

[Whine Lover]

"...it was a good thread until the racists got a hold of it."

Yeah.

Stupid Racists. Stupid discriminating Bastards...Let ALL the people be FREE! The Man can't keep us down!


1) People keep using the term "Black" pilot. That is not acceptable these days as we all know it's....AFRICAN-AMERICAN.

2) I am interested in the first Jewish Airline Pilot. When are they naming an aircraft after Him (or Her ) ?

3) What about the first Native American Airline Pilot? We really did a number on those poor Bastards and I don't see an airliner named after a single one.

4) Homos and Gays. What about the Gays? Heck, I knew a few guys that could shoot a Back-Course like nobody's business ( Let the jokes begin, I like playing the "Straight Man". Super-Double-Pun-Entendre' intended ) when are we naming an airliner after one of them?

5) How about Color-Blind Airline Pilots? ( Of which I am one ). Those who were told in no uncertain terms: "YOU can never be an airline pilot" and hurtled all obstacles to do so....Where's my Friggin' Airliner with my name on it?

6) How about all the Airline Pilots with really small cocks....Heck, EVERY other airliner in this country (World ) would have a name on it.

ETC. , ETC. , ETC.

Mods...Please lock this thread of useless and inane drivel.

Please?


YKMKR

 

[densoo]

The Delta party is pretty cool and they make a big deal about bringing your spouse, dressing up and celebrating.

Our's was pretty cool, too.

Two epaulettes and one set of wings in a sandwich bag tossed on the table during a 10 minute bathroom break during indoc training (which was a retired pilot reading the FOM word for word to us for a week).

Not a word from anyone--and it wasn't even a ziplock bag.

You know, it's the little things a major airline does for its pilots that tell you what they really think about them.

I still tear up when I think about it.

 

[retired guy]

My ancestors cane to this country from europe a long, long time ago. I`m not a European American, I`m just a white guy from Alabama. The white guy that works on my motorcycle and the white hemotologist that lives down the street both imigrated from South Africa. They are truly African Americans, but they are really a couple of white guys that I know. I`m guessing, could be wrong though, that Whine Lover wasn`t born in Africa. I didn`t put in my two cents to be castigated about what I called my friend, Sam Graddy, who by the way refered to himself as "N1".

 

[Whine Lover]

" I`m guessing, could be wrong though, that Whine Lover wasn`t born in Africa. "

That is CORRECT SIR.

Although, many so-called "studies" claim that we all have emanated from Africa.

Truly, your point about your Doctor being African-American is most correct.

Also, since you mention me specifically, I hope that you have not taken any of my statements as meant to castigate you personally (? ).

That was not my intent.

YKW

 

[retired guy]

" I`m guessing, could be wrong though, that Whine Lover wasn`t born in Africa. "

That is CORRECT SIR.

Although, many so-called "studies" claim that we all have emanated from Africa.

Truly, your point about your Doctor being African-American is most correct.

Also, since you mention me specifically, I hope that you have not taken any of my statements as meant to castigate you personally (? ).

That was not my intent.

YKW

Nope...we`re all buddies here.

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

Our's was pretty cool, too.

Two epaulettes and one set of wings in a sandwich bag tossed on the table during a 10 minute bathroom break during indoc training (which was a retired pilot reading the FOM word for word to us for a week).

Not a word from anyone--and it wasn't even a ziplock bag.

You know, it's the little things a major airline does for its pilots that tell you what they really think about them.

I still tear up when I think about it.

where was this?

 

[densoo]

where was this?

I cannot say. No, really, I cannot say. New policy directive from legal and HR.

 

[pilotyip]

Under the influence?

Good story pilotyip, but unfortunately, that ain`t the way it was done (and still isn`t at Delta) How do I know you ask? Well, I hired on th September `66 and know the drill (retired July 97). Chief pilot wasn`t involved in hiring, still isn`t. Personell, now called HR gave the written tests, if they liked what they saw in your application, then Personell guy and a Captain, either retired or active gave an interview. If you got an "up" from them, you got to go and see the shrink, take the MMPI test and he (the doctor) put in his two cents. At the time I was hired, Big D had 15,000 applications on file with about a thousand guys that were acceptable. I`ve heard those tales about sitting outside the school house door, or a variation of the story also. BTW, Sam Graddy was the first black pilot hired, about `71. The first black naval aviator was killed in Korea in `51, shot down in a Corsair.BTW, first female pilot was hired about the same time frame as Sam...She had it a lot tougher than he did...you know, woman shouldn`t be in the cockpit, mans world, etc.

We were drinking a lot of wine, perhaps, I missed some of the fine point, but I know he got hired in about week, said he was driving up to ATL, a week later he was in class. Perhaps he had done the application prior to the drive, perhaps he had taken the tests, perhaps it was the hiring director and not the CP. Would that HR guy hang out in the CP's office? I wasn't there. But I know he disappeared from the squadron on 60 days terminal leave and was working for DAL. Bob is a great guy; I don't think he would make this stuff up. BTW they may have had 15K applications, but I bet not many were Navy pilots; the Navy guys did seem to get head of the line privileges. I know a bunch of guys from my squadron (VP45) got hired over a three year period at DAL between 67-70

 

[xjhawk]

Great post, those good ole days are gone. I think I may be stuck at a regional since I got a late start on my airline career by serving in the Army for too many years and then going to college. Sure hope being in a Delta Wholly owned regional (Mesaba) does not prevent me from getting hired at delta (opps, I forgot I think it does). I am one to think that the race issue need not have been brought up here. Being professionals in our career field we should all agree that ones skill as a pilot should not have anything to do with your race, color, or creed (I guess add gender in there as well)

Good day all, more stories would be great to add to this post.