Clipper, Vol. 11, No. 6, June 1954

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HUMBERTO MONZON, chief mechanic at Guatemala (center),
Egret to Tower! . . . What's Up, Doc?
THIS EXPERT flier (identified b y PubRel orno-thologists a s a n American egret) made an emergency landing recently in the CJ|j per parking lot at Miami’s In-.;, t e r n a t i onal Airport. Since he was about out of gas; obviously lost; and did not have the proper landing papers, Secretaries Mildred S h o u p (left) and Marilyn Powell of Pub-R e 1, quickly took him into custody and impounded him in a quiet lagoon at t h e nearby Miami Springs Villa.
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Cargo Blitz To Hit Caracas
The blitz attack has become a standard feature in LAD’s ambitious cargo sales efforts—and its effects have proved to be more than slightly devastating in areas where it has been tried in re----------------------------☆ cent months.
Passenaer Comment Wow* At the moment the division’s rmsenger comment ... now. Board Qf Blitz strategy, headed
by Generalissimo Shelby W. Merrill, is busy working out details of a new attack on the thriving metropolis of Caracas, Venezuela, and its environs.
The attack is due to be launched June 28 under the direction of Field Marshal Sidney R, Chichester, and will continue until June 10 without letup.
The Clipper got news of the impending attack on Caracas via a top secret memo dispatched from Generalissimo Merrill’s GHQ office, and promptly set about discovering exactly what happens when a Cargo Sales Blitz hits an important shipping center such as Caracas. *
This is it:
Field Marshal "Chichester moves into action with a team of top sales experts from IT. SL Sales, European cities, and key LAI) stations, to augment the local forces.
On the day the attack is launched, newspapers are filled with special Clipper Cargo advertising;
Shop windows are splashed with Clipper Cargo window display« and banners;
Local radio stations fill the air with spot announcements boosting Clipper Cargo;
Counter cards turn up at numerous shops calling attention to the fact that the merchant concerned is receiving merchandise via Clipper Cargo;
And special Clipper Cargo movies are featured at civic club meetings and other such functions daily.
The actual attack begins rather subtly—with a “get acquainted” party at which the blitz boys mingle socially with key shippers and consignees from throughout the target area.
The field action is directed from a local headquarters where specially marked maps of the area are distributed to various members of the blitz team.
Task- forces then launched a door-to-door solicitation drive, not unlike that conducted by the (Please Turn to Page 8)
RETT V BORCHARDT — something of a cute trick, herself, as this photo shows —r finds it’s no trick at all to please her passengers especially the male variety. So impressed was one of her recent fellow travelers that he wrote a letter to company officials praising Betty for her “natural beauty and sweet dispostion.” He also .had nice woMS'^to^Say about her courteous and efficient service.
Guests Drop in By Planeloads-
Station Manager Nathaniel (Vic) Vickers at Montego Bay, found himself acting as host to a bunch of guests he hadn’t expected recently when weather conditions at
Kingston made	,
people, and	j
Vickers’ MB J '■? staff is some- **	1
what on the VICKERS small side.	■
Keeping the customers happy until their flights could be resumed, might have turned into a problem of considerable proportions except for the ready-willing-and-able cooperation of members of the flight service group from the four aircraft.
Vickers was so impressed with the way Pursers Ernesto Hernandez, Hector Fuente, Oscar H. Perez and Marco Capellazzi; Stewardesses Reina Lamb, and Stewards Robert Fernandez, Ysidro Rendueles and Ray Hernandez, handled the situation that he wrote a letter of appreciation to Flight Service Superintendent Danny Gonzalez, Jr. praising their performance.
VOL. 11 — NO. 6
JUNE 1954
540614
BRAZIL PROGRESS CITED AT CONFERENCE IN RIO
LAD Plans Outlined at May Meeting
'Pay Later Plan'
Is Going Over Big, Martinez Reports
currently Is in Miami being checked out on DC-6B equipment. Explaining the intricacies of a Super-6 cabin supercharger here is Ground Training Instructor A. N. Hance (left) while Line Maintenance Inspector Charles O. Lord listens in. Humberto gained some practical experience on Super-6s during a brief <»cgign«»^^.A»-J^”--jUiaa^early this month.
Western Sector Stations Get Service by Super-6s
Super-6 Clippers are being placed into service in LAD’s Western Sector June 20, operating between Panama and Los Angeles with stops at Guatemala City, San Salvador and Managua.
The Douglas DC-6Bs will make^' the trip from Tocumen to Los '
Angeles in 13 hours and 35 minutes, cutting an hour and 25 minutes from the present schedule.
Key maintenance personnel in Guatemala, Salvador and Nicaragua already have received special training on the Super-6s in preparation for their introduction into the Western Sector.
The huge 6B’s -r- lai’gest and most modern aircraft in the Clipper fleet—first were used in LAD in January, 1953, on the New York-Rio-Buenos Aires route.
They were introduced to the Caribbean sector last fall and now are being added to the Western Sector^ to provide improved service over one of LAD’s most popular long distance routes.
The Los Angeles-Panama route was cited as one of the major LAD routes over which revenue passenger miles exceeded the forecast during the first quarter of 1954, at the recent Management Conference in Rio de Janeiro.
Nassau Gets Super-6s; HAV Flights Upped
Daily deluxe Super-6 Clipper service is now available between Miami and Nassau.
Super-6s were introduced on this heavily traveled run June 1. At. the same time, four additional Super-6 flights- were scheduled daily between Havana and Miami.
The four-engine, 85-passenger aircraft have replaced Convairs on two of the six daily flights between Miami and the Bahamas capital—401 leaving Miami at 8:30 a.m. and arriving at Oakes Field, at 9:15; and 402, which leaves Nassau daily at 10:10 a.m.
The additional Super-6 flights between Miami and Havana also replace Convairs. PAA now has 63 flights weekly operating between these points.
Key officials of PAA’s Latin American Division in South America, Trinidad, Puerto Rico and New York were told by Division Manager Edwin Drescher to “go out and face the facts and fight like the devil for every piece of business.”
His inspiring remarks touched off the two-day East Coast Management Conference at Rio de Janeiro, May 12 and 13, which discussed the ever-growing problems of competition, improved schedules and service.
At the opening session of the Conference in the Copacabana Palace Hotel, Humphrey W. Toomey, Vice President in charge of PAA operations in Brazil, Uruguay and Argentina, as the host, welcomed the group of 34 to the “Cidade Maravilhosa,” pointing out that the east coast of South America is the most important rout« of the hemisphere.
“Brazil has shown great progress, chiefly in its southern region,” he said. “High progress has been achieved with the industrialization of the important Rio — Sao Paulo area. Twenty years ago there was no steel miil and electric power was at a minimum. But snow, vast industrial improvements and greatly increased electric power facilities -have put Brazil in a leading position in South America.”
Toomey predicted that during the next two decades “we can foresee a great acceleration and development of air transportation in Brazil. Air transportation has been of great value in the development of the country, and we in Pan American can take great pride in having had a part in building up this area.”
In addressing the group of both Traffic and Operations representatives at the opening session, Drescher discussed the outlook for 1954 and the problems being faced in LAI). He pointed out that during the first quarter the revenue forecast had fallen short of its goal, however expenses were lower than forecast.
Reviewing the 1954 forecast he said “the trends are mixed and it is too early in the year to say there are definite trends. It will take until the end of June before we can see definite trends.”
On the revenue side, Drescher pointed out that the east coast service passenger miles was under the forecast while the Los Angeles service has shown a considerable increase. He also said (Please Turn to Page 10)
CUTS DOWN DEVIL'S ISLE TRIPS
Cayenne Radioman Makes Repairs by Remote Control
Lucien Prudent, LAD’s resourceful radio technician at Cayenne, has figured out a way to do part of his aerophare transmitter maintenance work by remote control.
As a result, he has been able to eliminate'a third of his scheduled trips to Royal (Devil’s) Island off the French Guiana coast.
The job would be a great-deal easier if the transmitter attendant, Gabriel Porphire, had a larger knowledge of the intri-
cacies of radio maintenance.
But Lucien doesn’t let Gabriel's lack of technical understanding hamper the success of his remote control operation.
If Royal Island aerophare transmitter No. 1 should be reported inoperative, Lucien would promptly contact Gabriel on the assigned radio frequency. Their conversation would go something like this;
Okay, Gabriel, give me all the readings.
Line voltage 220 ... Osc. volt.
0 . . . PA Plate volt 0 . . . No
needle move ... I have changed the fuses but it still doesn’t work . . . All tubes light very bright.
Okay, Gabriel, take it easy. Look on the top shelf. You will see a small tube marked 5U4G . . . Take it off and replace it with a new one.
I have it. But its marked 807. Naaaaoooow ... I said 5U4G. You just can’t miss it.
Okay, I got it. It’s replaced. What else to do?
Close the door and start her again.
Okay, okay. Now she works.
Fine, Gabriel. Goodbye.
The success of such an operation leaves everybody happy. The radio operator doesn’t have to send a NOT AM . . . Aircraft in the area don’t have to change their course . . . Dispatchers don’t have to alter flight plans . . . And Prudent doesn’t have to make a boat trip through the rough seas — or hop the helicopter for Devil’s Island.
— By Mario de Lepine.
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