TAA and the DC-9
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Australia
Age: 74
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Somewhere on PPrune not long ago, someone said something like "call up an ex WW2 pilot today" or somesuch.
I have long reflected on how much the Sherm career, such as it has been, rested on the ex WW2 pilots who started TAA. Frank Ball in particular, who gave me many opportunities, beginning with my final interview to join the airline. But there were many others in his footsteps. And at John Hickey's funeral the other day I finally did take the step of going up to Eddy Clark, the founding Flight Captain of TAA's DC-9 fleet, and telling him what a difference the DC-9 training given me by TAA in 1974 (and thereafter) had made to my life. The rigorous training in cockpit management and applied airmanship I received in that world, and again in my DC-9 command training years later....have been with me ever since, in many other skies and worlds and airlines.
The lessons he and his peers taught then were, like the '9 itself, world standard. Clark, Winch, Maloney later followed by the likes of Lushey, Knappstein and Guggenheimer, were simply a different breed. Look hard today and you might find pale shadows of them, but their like has largely gone from the skies now and we are the sadder for it.
Nevertheless, many of these guys are still around and I urge older readers to do something tomorrow to pay some homage in some way to those who built what we now enjoy. And to younger folk who think history can teach nothing......study history a bit til you realize the truth.
I have long reflected on how much the Sherm career, such as it has been, rested on the ex WW2 pilots who started TAA. Frank Ball in particular, who gave me many opportunities, beginning with my final interview to join the airline. But there were many others in his footsteps. And at John Hickey's funeral the other day I finally did take the step of going up to Eddy Clark, the founding Flight Captain of TAA's DC-9 fleet, and telling him what a difference the DC-9 training given me by TAA in 1974 (and thereafter) had made to my life. The rigorous training in cockpit management and applied airmanship I received in that world, and again in my DC-9 command training years later....have been with me ever since, in many other skies and worlds and airlines.
The lessons he and his peers taught then were, like the '9 itself, world standard. Clark, Winch, Maloney later followed by the likes of Lushey, Knappstein and Guggenheimer, were simply a different breed. Look hard today and you might find pale shadows of them, but their like has largely gone from the skies now and we are the sadder for it.
Nevertheless, many of these guys are still around and I urge older readers to do something tomorrow to pay some homage in some way to those who built what we now enjoy. And to younger folk who think history can teach nothing......study history a bit til you realize the truth.
Just in case you want some more nostalgia, you may not be aware of this website which has full high-resolution scans of a range of old timetables (every single page, not just the front cover) from the past.
There's TAA from 1951, '56,'63 and '65, along with a range of others like Guinea or MacRobertson-Miller that are long-forgotten.
Airline Timetable Images - List of Complete Timetables
Just click on the date (not the airline name), then click on each page in turn, and you can do a Save Picture As and then review them on your PC whenever. Takes a few minutes to get the whole timetable.
There's TAA from 1951, '56,'63 and '65, along with a range of others like Guinea or MacRobertson-Miller that are long-forgotten.
Airline Timetable Images - List of Complete Timetables
Just click on the date (not the airline name), then click on each page in turn, and you can do a Save Picture As and then review them on your PC whenever. Takes a few minutes to get the whole timetable.
Join Date: Jul 1999
Location: 58-33N. 00-18W. Peterborough UK
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teresa, from a much earlier post
Hugh Hefner was there first. 
1970's
I saw one in Oshkosh in the 90's painted in shiny black, all over, belonging to some sheik,
1970's
Join Date: Dec 1998
Location: Brisbane Australia
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Larry Blackman.
In the early 1970's I lived next door to Larry in 9th Street , Lae. It was not unusual to be woken up at 0700 on a Sunday morning with a knocking on the bedroom wall and a voice through the louvres saying " Care for a Fourex , shaggs ?".
In the house on the other side was Mace Denheld of the Wynyard approach fame.
In the early 1970's I lived next door to Larry in 9th Street , Lae. It was not unusual to be woken up at 0700 on a Sunday morning with a knocking on the bedroom wall and a voice through the louvres saying " Care for a Fourex , shaggs ?".
In the house on the other side was Mace Denheld of the Wynyard approach fame.
Infamous for the " Wynyard approach fame ".
Now I bet the young guns wonder what you mean!!
Now I bet the young guns wonder what you mean!!
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: gold coast QLD australia
Age: 86
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Mace died of a horrible form of cancer in country Vic, called to see him and was horrified at his suffering, am well aware of his problems within TAA, but who are we to judge. Those other great TAA pilots have to include Peter Kausman, Gordon Close, both WW2 bomber command pilots, the late great Larry Blackman who took part in the Berlin air lift, and talking about John Hickey, He was amazing how he got you to volunteer for a job, when you had no idea that you had! I well remember going into Faulty Towers one day at his request, thinking I must have done something terrible but could not think what it was, only for him to say, see that volunteer position on the Mineral Deposits DC3 over there, well it would look good for you if you considered it, I looked at it and thought no way,handed it to him and he signed it application filled! Off to Boulia I went, and on to VH -MI bloody M (as she was fondly known) for the next three years! As it turned out I enjoyed it very much, as we had a great bunch of geo blokes with us, and flew at 500 ft most of the time and though we were supposed to fly in uniform, we flew in only shorts, army boots and a cap, (except when the TAA bosses turned up) and used to drink up to 4 litres of waters a day. I won't even mention the mountain of beer cans that grew steadly larger at our various camps, which included Gordon Downs, Mount Hope, and the Cape, it was hard to go back to line flying after that, I don't think the young pilots of today would be impressed if it happened to them, and of course it wouldn't but I have no regrets, in fact It was great flying. (and TAA never knew we used the aircraft to go fishing!
Join Date: Aug 2000
Location: Australia
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I think from memory, the Queenairs operated for three - four years in Tassie, but longer up north. They were operated single pilot and did the intrastate runs in Tassie. I think the operation started in 1963 and finished about 1967. The charter operators thought it was great, every time it went u/s, they got charters. Normally, you would see a gaggle of 206's, 182's and 172's criss crossing Tasmania with TAA passengers
Stationair8. Ansett operated the DC9 on a ad-hoc basis BNE-ISA-BNE usually usung Flight Numbers 1692/1691. Most departures from ISA were at approx. 0400Lt to enable a resonable payload to be uplifted. From memory the main payload consideration was the possibility of an engine failure after lift off.
FYI The Ansett F28 also operated BNE-ISA-BNE for a brief period.
FYI The Ansett F28 also operated BNE-ISA-BNE for a brief period.
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Brisbane
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Hmmm,OK,fellow DC9 pilots. The added advantage of integral forward stairs was the way we pilots could support our weight on our hands & slide from aircraft to ground in a split second,just sliding down the handrails. *NOTE: not recomended when old lady pax boarding or when carrying a nav bag,unless the handle can fit in the mouth.
My American F/O told me that NWA still operate about 100 DC-9's
WOW, that's incredible.
Are they DC-9 dash 30's or newer ones?
The last time I sat on the jump seat of a DC-9 30 was on US Air about 9 years ago from LGA to Dayton, nice
Brought back a lot of memories of riding Ansett jump seats as a kid.
Oh, and I sat in the jump seat on an Impulse 717 during the 2000 SYD Olympics, it was nice too but a bit more Boeing ized.
WOW, that's incredible.
Are they DC-9 dash 30's or newer ones?
The last time I sat on the jump seat of a DC-9 30 was on US Air about 9 years ago from LGA to Dayton, nice
Brought back a lot of memories of riding Ansett jump seats as a kid.
Oh, and I sat in the jump seat on an Impulse 717 during the 2000 SYD Olympics, it was nice too but a bit more Boeing ized.
Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: gold coast QLD australia
Age: 86
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Or a set of keys like I did, and sliced thru the thumb flesh, and I used to think I was so smart sliding down those steps, sort of saw myself as a sailor in a WW2 battleship going to battlestations, and finally realised after a trip to the Quacks to have it all sewn up, that I confirmed what my wife always knew, that I was a idiot! And she being a former RAAF nursing sister, I got no sympathy what so ever!
Some readers may be surprised to hear that the original interest by AN in the DC9 was the series 20. Ansett-ANA signed a letter of intent for 6 DC9-20's on 17/3/64. The series 30 was then offered and accepted by AN with a firm order and options. The first a/c arrived in 1967.