BayAreaLondoner
12th Feb 2002, 09:27
Couldn't decide where to post this, but I suppose the subject of the article is now back to being a private pilot.. .Read this in Pacific Flyer a local aviation newspaper. Would love to have been on this flight.... .I particularly enjoyed the part about the 1,000ft fly-by!
"After 32 years with United Airlines, Larry Jobe of Groveland, Calif. did not go quietly into mandatory retirement when he turned 60 on Jan 11th, 2001. . .Determined to make his last flight one to remember, he went out with a party that deserves a listing in "Ripley's Believe It Or Not." Five days before he retired, Jobe and his wife Nina invited 150 (later expanded to 206) friends to attend a farewell soiree aboard a rented United Boeing 747-400 flown by Jobe.
Party Planning
When the Jobes' neighbors at Pine Mountain Lake Airport, where they've lived the past 17 years, heard that Larry was retiring, they all wanted to go on his last flight. But since his last flight was going to be run to Beijing, China, they had to come up with another idea.
"Larry had a brainstorm: He wanted to charter a 747 for his farewell party," explained Nina. "So he called United's headquarters in Chicago to see what they thought of the idea.
"Apparently, a retiring captain had never rented a 747 before," she said, "but they said, 'OK.'"
United had a 747 on standby at Jobe's San Francisco Int'l. Airport home base anyway and it was available for charter. The cost: $15,000 for two hours for just the plane and fuel.
In the end, the Jobes paid for the crew, food and beverages, and the passengers kicked in $100 apiece for the plane rental and fuel.
The approximately $3,000 left over after expenses was donated to the Mothers Against Drunk Driving in honor of the late husband and young son of flight attendant Wendy Adams.
When word of what his Pine Mountain neighbors were calling "Sentimental Journey 2001" got around to United employees, there was no problem finding 15 people to crew the plane. In fact, copilot Al Cirino, flight attendant Jeannie Tasker and several other crewmembers volunteered for the duty.
"Before we even mailed the invitations, half the plane was filled just by word of mouth," recalled Nina. "Although the seating capacity was 374, we didn't want it too full; we wanted to keep the cockpit door open during the flight so everyone could come up for a visit."
The day of the flight, the party guests began arriving at SFO for a reception in the terminal boarding area. They came from all over the country and as far away as England; friends and neighbors from Pine Mountain, including the legendary Clay Lacy (himself a retired United captain), arrived aboard three chartered buses.
Welcome Aboard
Before preflighting the plane, Jobe stopped by the reception to greet guests and set the tone for the flight. He was decked out in his captain's uniform and wearing a parachute.
"I don't know about the rest of you," he teased, "but I'm coming back from this flight."
As they headed down the airstairs, each passenger carried a special boarding pass marked Flight 9060. Members of the Jobe family sat in the 30 upstairs Connoisseur seats; a lottery system was used to determine seating arrangements for the rest of the passengers.
There were plenty of humorous surprises and party favors on board to keep the guests entertained. Everyone received teddy bears wearing T-shirts commemorating the flight, as well as engraved mini-flashlights and brass key rings.
The ladies received Chinese bracelets in little silk purses and their choice from several hundred colorful silk scarves purchased in China. The men got engraved multi-tool knives.
After a brief delay, the two-hour farewell party flight took off from SFO at 3:45 p.m.
Moments later, they passed over Mt. Diablo and the mothballed naval fleet in Suisun Bay, headed east toward Pine Mountain Lake Airport. There, some 500 well-wishers lined both sides of the 3,635-foot east-west runway to greet them.
As they passed overhead, Jobe was told via Unicom about wedding preparations going on at a house near the airport. So he called the soon-to-be newlyweds from the cockpit to congratulate them and ask them to step outside for a moment.
"The bride had no idea we were coming over," said Nina. "She almost had a heart attack when we made a fly-by at 1,000 feet via a GPS approach."
From Pine Mountain Lake, it was another short hop over the Sierra Nevadas to Yosemite National Park, where they circled El Capitan and Half Dome. Then it was on to Lake Tahoe, Nev. and Crater Lake National Park in Oregon, followed by a sunset cruise along the Pacific shoreline to an uneventful landing back at SFO.
Jobe nearly set an altitude record during his farewell flight. To ensure smooth air while serving cocktails, he took the 747 up to 41,000 feet after passing Lake Tahoe.
"Since we were so light — a half load of fuel and passengers, with no luggage, carry-ons or cargo," Jobe explained afterward, "we could have gone to 43,000 feet and set a record for being the first 747 to carry passengers that high."
"I think autographing all those bared bras distracted him from thinking of it at the time," said Nina. Nonetheless, it was still the first time he had flown a 747 that lightly loaded."
Original article (http://www.landings.com/evird.acgi?pass*43332418!mtd*40!ref*www.landings.com/_landings/pacflyer /feb4-2002/!pg*Fn-95-Retirement-Fli.html)
[ 12 February 2002: Message edited by: BayAreaLondoner ]</p>
"After 32 years with United Airlines, Larry Jobe of Groveland, Calif. did not go quietly into mandatory retirement when he turned 60 on Jan 11th, 2001. . .Determined to make his last flight one to remember, he went out with a party that deserves a listing in "Ripley's Believe It Or Not." Five days before he retired, Jobe and his wife Nina invited 150 (later expanded to 206) friends to attend a farewell soiree aboard a rented United Boeing 747-400 flown by Jobe.
Party Planning
When the Jobes' neighbors at Pine Mountain Lake Airport, where they've lived the past 17 years, heard that Larry was retiring, they all wanted to go on his last flight. But since his last flight was going to be run to Beijing, China, they had to come up with another idea.
"Larry had a brainstorm: He wanted to charter a 747 for his farewell party," explained Nina. "So he called United's headquarters in Chicago to see what they thought of the idea.
"Apparently, a retiring captain had never rented a 747 before," she said, "but they said, 'OK.'"
United had a 747 on standby at Jobe's San Francisco Int'l. Airport home base anyway and it was available for charter. The cost: $15,000 for two hours for just the plane and fuel.
In the end, the Jobes paid for the crew, food and beverages, and the passengers kicked in $100 apiece for the plane rental and fuel.
The approximately $3,000 left over after expenses was donated to the Mothers Against Drunk Driving in honor of the late husband and young son of flight attendant Wendy Adams.
When word of what his Pine Mountain neighbors were calling "Sentimental Journey 2001" got around to United employees, there was no problem finding 15 people to crew the plane. In fact, copilot Al Cirino, flight attendant Jeannie Tasker and several other crewmembers volunteered for the duty.
"Before we even mailed the invitations, half the plane was filled just by word of mouth," recalled Nina. "Although the seating capacity was 374, we didn't want it too full; we wanted to keep the cockpit door open during the flight so everyone could come up for a visit."
The day of the flight, the party guests began arriving at SFO for a reception in the terminal boarding area. They came from all over the country and as far away as England; friends and neighbors from Pine Mountain, including the legendary Clay Lacy (himself a retired United captain), arrived aboard three chartered buses.
Welcome Aboard
Before preflighting the plane, Jobe stopped by the reception to greet guests and set the tone for the flight. He was decked out in his captain's uniform and wearing a parachute.
"I don't know about the rest of you," he teased, "but I'm coming back from this flight."
As they headed down the airstairs, each passenger carried a special boarding pass marked Flight 9060. Members of the Jobe family sat in the 30 upstairs Connoisseur seats; a lottery system was used to determine seating arrangements for the rest of the passengers.
There were plenty of humorous surprises and party favors on board to keep the guests entertained. Everyone received teddy bears wearing T-shirts commemorating the flight, as well as engraved mini-flashlights and brass key rings.
The ladies received Chinese bracelets in little silk purses and their choice from several hundred colorful silk scarves purchased in China. The men got engraved multi-tool knives.
After a brief delay, the two-hour farewell party flight took off from SFO at 3:45 p.m.
Moments later, they passed over Mt. Diablo and the mothballed naval fleet in Suisun Bay, headed east toward Pine Mountain Lake Airport. There, some 500 well-wishers lined both sides of the 3,635-foot east-west runway to greet them.
As they passed overhead, Jobe was told via Unicom about wedding preparations going on at a house near the airport. So he called the soon-to-be newlyweds from the cockpit to congratulate them and ask them to step outside for a moment.
"The bride had no idea we were coming over," said Nina. "She almost had a heart attack when we made a fly-by at 1,000 feet via a GPS approach."
From Pine Mountain Lake, it was another short hop over the Sierra Nevadas to Yosemite National Park, where they circled El Capitan and Half Dome. Then it was on to Lake Tahoe, Nev. and Crater Lake National Park in Oregon, followed by a sunset cruise along the Pacific shoreline to an uneventful landing back at SFO.
Jobe nearly set an altitude record during his farewell flight. To ensure smooth air while serving cocktails, he took the 747 up to 41,000 feet after passing Lake Tahoe.
"Since we were so light — a half load of fuel and passengers, with no luggage, carry-ons or cargo," Jobe explained afterward, "we could have gone to 43,000 feet and set a record for being the first 747 to carry passengers that high."
"I think autographing all those bared bras distracted him from thinking of it at the time," said Nina. Nonetheless, it was still the first time he had flown a 747 that lightly loaded."
Original article (http://www.landings.com/evird.acgi?pass*43332418!mtd*40!ref*www.landings.com/_landings/pacflyer /feb4-2002/!pg*Fn-95-Retirement-Fli.html)
[ 12 February 2002: Message edited by: BayAreaLondoner ]</p>