Originally Posted by
A Squared
OK, it seemed to me like you were resisting the notion, which seemed surprising coming from someone from the era when seeing Convairs, DC-6's and the like flying for the airlines was pretty common.
When I went to work for TWA in early 1964, they were still flying the Connie. I just missed being a F/E on it. 3 years later I just missed it for my initial captain upgrade. So, I was not exposed to piston planning and performance. TWA had retired the Martin before I came aboard, which would be the closet to the Convair twins.
Before I learned to fly I rode on UAL's DC-6s several times. I didn't have a clue about the airspace or airway structure at the time. I do recall riding from Stapleton to Burbank one Spring (1955) afternoon. There were peaks higher than us on both sides somewhere in the Rockies. The cu was building around us. Suddenly, we were solid IMC and the g-load increased until we popped out going eastbound. That was a learning experience.