Tonight's The Night! NWA History Centre on Public Television

Norm Midthun and Red Sutter being filmed for "Lost Twin Cities 4"

A reminder....

Lost Twin Cities 4 will premiere tonight, Wednesday, August 13th at 8:00 pm on tpt Channel 2. It will feature a segment about NWA in the 1950’s – the “luxurious” days of flying, 

and how it transitioned into the jet-age of the l960’s and early 1970’s.  It will be a pledge show—which means it is scheduled in a 2 hour block to accommodate pledges.

Telling the history of NWA and sharing their memories:

Jack El-Hai, Author:  “Non – Stop”  a Turbulent History of Northwest Airlines

Retired stewardesses:  Anne B. Kerr and Fay Kulenkamp 

Retired pilots:  Homer “Red” Sutter and Norm Midthun

The Northwest Airlines segment of Lost Twin Cities 4 was filmed, by Twin Cities Public Television, at the NWA History Centre.

Currently scheduled airdates:

tpt Channel 2:

   Wednesday, August 13th at 8:00 pm

   Saturday, August 16th at 7:00 pm

   Sunday, August 17th at 2:00 pm

tpt LIFE:

    Sunday, August 17th at 8:00 pm

For any additional airdates and times, please check your local listings.

Lost Twin Cities 4 Preview

1954 United Convair Promo Film - A wonderful slice of Mid-Fifties Culture

Bob DuBert sent the following email:

"Posted on YouTube earlier this week is "The Sky is For Everyone", a beautifully produced promo film by United for the Convair 340.

Lady Skywriter notes: Set aside a half hour to watch this wonderful snapshot of the 1950s on full screen. See what passengers wore on the airplane: mink scarves draped on the women, who also wore small hats with veils, gloves and high heels. Notice the men in three-piece suits and the automobiles of the day. In addition to the Convair 340, catch a glimpse of a Boeing B-377 Stratocruiser and a Douglas DC-6. And appreciate the film itself - the majestic announcer and the background music.

Bob continues: "If Northwest had bought Convairs instead of those junkpile Martins, there would have been no crashes, no financial crisis, no Harold Harris. Just think how different the company history might have been! Of course, then Croil Hunter might have remained president a few more years, Donald Nyrop might have stayed in his law practice, and who knows what might have happened as the 1950s transitioned into the Sixties.

"North Central, of course, bought Convairs, both the 340 and 440, subsequently re-engined to 580 specs., which eventually lived happily at Northwest for a few years."

Lady Skywriter notes: One reason given for Northwest being the only major airline world-wide to purchase a fleet of 25 Martin 202s, was that Martin was able to deliver them months earlier than the Convairs would be available, thus giving Northwest a competitive edge. This decision proved disastrous, as outlined in the December, 2013 REFLECTIONS, NWA History Centre newsletter.

Bob DuBert in a later email:  "In some ways, aircraft decisions are a crap shoot.  Nyrop ordered the Lockheed Electra, and the Tell City crash could have crippled the company . . . more recently, Northwest was the launch customer for the 787, which Delta cancelled, a decision which turned out to be very smart in light of the major losses incurred by United after that plane was grounded for months. You just never know how things are going to turn out."

D-Day Pilot Dick Brown Remembers . . .

l-r Dick Brown and Joe Farrell with their Martin B-26 Marauder bomber
Photo courtesy Richard Brown

June 6, 1944, retired Northwest Airlines Captain Dick Brown participated in the D-Day invasion, a significant turning point for Allied forces in WW II.

Today, 70 years later, his memory of that day is crystal clear.

"We knew something was up," Dick said.  "We heard this huge racket around midnight.  We all ran outside and looked up.  The sky was full of C-47's (DC-3's) towing gliders.  We went back to bed. A couple of hours later they woke us up again and by 5 a.m. we were taking off from our base in England in lousy weather - 500 ft. ceiling and raining.  We had to form up under the clouds, then climbed up in formation to on top, which was about 11,000 ft.  During climb we lost two aircraft when the leader made a turn, they lost sight of us and crashed into each other.  When we came out on top it was daylight, so we tried to regroup and join with other aircraft. Over the channel we found a hole in the clouds and descended down to 1500 ft. to get under the cloud layer. The channel was full of ships as far as we could see. We headed for our target on Utah Beach and we could see landing craft about 1/4 mile off shore. I felt sorry for them because they would be digging a foxhole in the sand while I would be back in my bunk on dry land.  We got shot at by ground fire but didn't lose any aircraft over the target so we headed home."

Dick's bomb group moved to southern England in July and then to Normandy in August to an air field just inland from Omaha Beach.   "I had two crash landings, but both times the whole crew survived them.  Had the nose shot off twice, and at least three times they counted over 100 holes from flak," Dick recalls.

He flew 66 missions, the last on September 12, 1944.

"I arrived back in the states in October, 1944, and after some R&R at home I spent the winter towing targets for B-24's out of Harlingen Texas. There were seven W.A.S.P.'s in the outfit and they were great pilots," he said.
"I was discharged in May, 1945 at Fort Snelling and went over to Northwest Airlines to apply for a pilot job. They told me it would be a couple of months and I got a call from them in August."

Thus began his 36-year career  as an airline pilot. Dick started in the DC-3 and spent the last seven years of his NWA career flying the Boeing 747.  Along the way he flew, and thankfully survived, the ill-fated Martin 202, which was Martin's attempt to capture the commercial aviation market after WW II.  Note: The Martin B-26 Marauder bomber Dick flew during the war was the precursor to the 202.

Dick Brown today - full of vim, vigor (and stories)  at 92 years of age.
Photo Anne Kerr

Oh yes. Joe Farrell (photo on top of page) and Dick were reunited at Northwest Airlines a year after they returned from the war. Dick was hired a month before Joe, so he was senior to him, which provided endless ribbing over the years.  Joe Farrell died in 2005. Stay tuned for more Dick Brown stories in future posts.

Behind the Scenes with TPT (Ch 2) at NWA History Centre April, 2014

Later this summer, Ch 2 will take a look at another "lost" Twin Cities gem:  Northwest Airlines

Wayne Snyder, NWAHC BOD with Elaine Mielke, volunteer, at NWA Museum door

Lost Twin Cities IV Assistant Producer Leya Hale taking a "selfie."

TV production equipment everywhere

Leya "powdering" retired NWA F/A Fay Kulenkamp and sound engineer Eric "wiring" Anne Kerr (Lady Skywriter)

Fay and Anne during the interview

Retired NWA Captains get ready: Norm Midthun getting "wired" and Red Sutter signing his life away

Where did that red tail go, Red?

Fay and producer Lisa Blackstone with Anne's old uniform (top) and Fay's green "caterpillar" uniform (bottom)

Norm, Anne and Fay

Stay tuned for future details as to the showing date. . . . . .

Photos by Joe Callaci, Bob Johnson and Anne Kerr

Hurled Through Time and Space: Concorde Episode 3: Boarding The Airplane

Loathe to leave the sumptuous Concorde Lounge at Heathrow, but eager to board the Concorde itself, we entered through a jetway that bore absolutely no resemblance to any jetway we'd seen before. This one was large, with windows, and plush carpeting underfoot.

We found ourselves ushered into a small, but very elegant airplane cabin; its interior tastefully decorated in shades of grey with touches of red. Our seats were grey leather!

Digital displays on the forward bulkheads would give us readouts throughout the flight of airspeed, altitude and outside temperature.

We were given a packet containing a small leather journal, a book about the Concorde and In-Flight magazines. Upon getting settled in our seats we were presented with a beautiful large menu (more about this later), which I still have today. We ordered champagne to be served after takeoff (our second glass of the morning-remember the lounge?) and were then given hot Oshibori Towels, presented with silver filigreed tongs, so we could freshen up before takeoff.

Next, our French Food Service Director (who seemed to be the senior cabin attendant) introduced the rest of the crew and announced that meal service would begin 40 minutes after the takeoff roll. Why, oh why, when I took such meticulous notes about events, did I not think to record the names of the crew members?

The four Rolls-Royce Snecma Olympus 593 engines provided 38,000 lbs. of thrust at take-off for each engine. The surge of acceleration pressed us into our plush leather seats. We knew we were in for the ride of our lives when we broke ground and immediately began climbing at an astonishing rate.

Next Post: Hurled Through Time and Space: Concorde Episode 4: The "Being Hurled" Part

Hurled through Time and Space: Episode 2: Concorde Lounge - Heathrow Airport - London - 1988

The Concorde experience begins long before takeoff, in the special lounge for Concorde passengers at Heathrow Airport, London.

Very spacious, and with conversation groups of overstuffed furniture and marble-topped tables, the focal point of the lounge was a buffet about 12 ft long along one wall. The buffet was laden with fruit juices in crystal pitchers, steaming coffee and pots of tea ready for Wedgewood cups and saucers. Open bottles of champagne and wine stood in ice buckets, and every conceivable call-brand of spirits and beer, including after-dinner cordials, awaited our selection.

It was early in the morning, so Diane elected to have coffee.

Copious amounts of croissants and sweet pastries snuggled into lace doilies, and bagles and toast, ready for top-of-the-line jellies and jams, tempted us.

Given the early hour, we resisted the amazing variety of alcoholic beverages and, both having finally freed ourselves from old devil nicotine, the various brands of cigarettes adorning end tables. We appreciated, however, the selection of daily newspapers from major cities around the world.

Next post: Boarding the Concorde.