CHAPTER FOUR

The Airway To Everywhere

CHAPTER FIVE

While Lake Central and Mohawk along with their own colorful history were in their infancy, All American continued to grow. When we left AAA, the war was still going and the company was still involved in the war effort. Employees of AAA topped their quota in the Sixth War Loan Drive by going over the top with a response of 12,480 dollars. This was 38% above their quota.

In January 1945, it was announced that AAA would pay employees for their inventions. If an employee had a patentable idea, he was paid $25.00 at the time a patent application was filed by the patent committee and if the patent issued, he was awarded an additional $25.00. There was a provision for more money above the two $25.00 payments if the patent had unusual merit.

On January 2, 1946 Colonel Robert MacClure Love became President of All American. He was from Brooklyn, NY and had attended Princeton University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology. This ended Major Hal Bazely’s “temporary for an indefinite period of time” presidency he had filled since the time of Richard C. DuPont’s departure. Major Bazely went to Pittsburgh as Vice President of Operations.

The time had now come for Triple A to get more involved in the rush for passenger service. All American had envisioned the adaptation of the Air Pick-Up to multi engine passenger planes over short routes to many intermediate points almost from the very beginning. They planned to make stops only where necessary to load or unload passengers and provide service to other places by Air Pick-Up, Pick-up planes had already carried many Government officials, members of the press and others on regular trips and almost, without exception, they expressed belief that combination Pick-Up and passenger service was not only safe, but, practical. After one such flight, James Streibig, Aviation Editor of the Associated Press, wrote:

“It brings a conviction that this is a practical way to link the nation’s main street for air travelers just, as it has for air mail.”

All American filed applications with the Civil Aeronautics Board to carry passengers on Air Pick-Up routes. it acquired twin-engine Beech 18’s. to conduct the service. They also planned conventional passenger operations over short-haul routes. There were additional plans in the future of AAA such as night pick-up operations. They finally accomplished this by developing a lighting system in the Pick-Up zone. It was planned to use Pick-Up with commercial cargo glider” since gliders could land in spaces too small for powered air-craft. They could land, he loaded with fresh produce, be picked up and towed to markets. They could be used in mining operations, fishing, and construction. Triple A figured to unlock many areas of rich natural resources which had been deemed inaccessible until 1946.

The first two Beechcraft 18C twin-engine aircraft were flown from Wichita, Kansas to All American’s operations base at the Allegheny County Airport in Pittsburgh during April 1946. They had been ordered the previous October for use in developing the company’s plan to inaugurate combination passenger and Air Pick-Up services, as well as night Pick-Up schedules on their (then) present routes.

On Monday, April 29, 1946, All American’s Air Pick-Up route B, previously operating between Pittsburgh, PA and Huntington, WV via 28 other points in the Ohio River Valley, was extended to Cincinnati. Along with Cincinnati came the Northern Kentucky town of Maysville and the Southern Ohio town of Georgetown. This route added g64 miles to the Company’s scheduled operations and increased the number of Pick-Up points to 121.

All things were not serious at AAA as this couple of items from the Vol. 6 April, 1946, No. 4 of ”The Pick-Up” relate:

“Sartorial excellence prevails at PT Operations. All pilots, radio operators, flight mechanics, and dispatchers have AAA uniforms. Even the spot on Karl Tewell’s tie are of the non gravy variety,” (Karl retired from Flight Control and has passed away. he had the honor of having a fake intersection named after him that a flight would report over if hijacked.)

“Captain Clyde Hauger, for many years an outstanding Air Pick-Up pilot, was forced to bail out recently after having exhausted his fuel supply in the Link Trainer. Clyde night have received a more severe ribbing from his fellow workers were it not for the fact that he brings in several cases weekly of fruit from contented chickens from his uncle’s farm.”

On Monday April 29, 1946 pick-up service was extended along Route AM49B to a western terminus at Cincinnati via Huntington, WV, Maysville, KY, and Georgetown, Ohio.

In the October, 1946 issue of “Pick-Up” (Vol. 6, No. 8), this was the headline: ”86 RIDE FIRST AIR PICK-UP-PASSENGER FLIGHTS”

It was done. Triple A had stepped forward into the passenger age. The first flight had actually taken place on Wednesday, September 25, 1946 with some important passengers on the first flight. These VIPs were James I1. Landis, Chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Board, and Representative (and still Congressman) Jennings Randolph of Elkins, West Virginia. Congressman Randolph was known in those days as the “Legislative father of the Air Pick-Up service.” They were accompanied on the historic first flight by Robert M. Love, President of All American.

At the annual meeting of stockholders on September 20, 1948, it was voted to change the name from All American Aviation, lnc. to All American Airways, Inc. The name change was voted to better identify the current. and proposed activities of the company with regard to Air Transport operations. The name change not only achieved the desired aim but preserved, at the same tine, the shortened name “All American” by which the company was generally known. This reason was given by President Love to the stockholders.

At this same stockholders meeting, the directors authorized the purchase of three additional DC-3’s to augment the six recently purchased ones in All American’s passenger services. Even in this new century airlines are busily trying to find ways to increase utilization without any more financial outlay. USAIRWAYS is at this very moment operating aircraft with more dense seating than any time in history. It is reasoned that by increasing density, that they’ll be able to buy more airplanes.

Things were a little simpler in 1948 when All American vas accomplishing greater utilization by cutting down on ground time. Their program called for two minute ground stops except when they were refueling. Local service carriers made many stops and the stop could be accomplished, the faster the trip from here to there. Now to accomplish a two minute stop, it was necessary to make a couple of provisions to insure success with the program. All American redesigned the door of their DC-3’s by installing what is known today as an air stair door. The passenger door had built-in stairs with a last step which would fold down and outward when the door was opened. This eliminated having to wheel a loading platform up to the airplane.

A second innovation vas a special VHF radio installed in the aircraft. Through this radio, the purser could contact ground attendants prior to landing and finalize plans for quick loading and unloading of the flight.

A third innovation was the relocation and enlargement of the cargo door in the rear of the airplane. The door was moved next to the air stair door and when the airplane landed, the purser would take his station between the passenger and cargo doors. From this position, he could receive passengers through the cabin door and ground attendants could hand him the cargo through the newly installed door there.

All of’ this happened actually before passenger service was inaugurated. All American made its first passenger carrying trip on March 7, 1949. Ray Elder, who was one of the original Pick-Up pilots had the honor of piloting the first passenger flight. Soon after on June 30, 1949, Norm Rintoul and Vic Yesulaites flew the very last Pick-Up route from Jamestown south to Pittsburgh on Route 49D.