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VOL. IV, NO. 12
APACE WITH THE PACEMAKER
DECEMBER, 1961
17 Martin 404's Purchased
Foster, Pressurized Aircraft To Reploce All DC-3's
Piedmont Airlines has nego
tiated a contract to purchase 17
Martin 404 aircraft from Trans
World Airlines. The 17 404’s and
Piedmont’s present fleet of eight
F-27 aircraft will comprise the
largest fleet of modern, pressur
ized aircraft in the local service
air transport industry.
In commenting on the pur
chase, President T. H. Davis
said, “Acquisition of the fleet of
Martin 404’s will enable Pied
mont to provide the traveling
public with a much superior
service in pressurized, air-con
ditioned, radar equipped, modern
aircraft. In addition, the sub
stantially increased efficiency of
the 404 as compared to the DC-3
will enhance our earning ca
pacity as our traffic and route
system continue to grow and
develop over the years.”
Included In Contract
The contract includes, in addi
tion to the aircraft, TWA’s re-
m a i n i n g inventory of spare
Pratt and Whitney R-2800 en
gines, propellers, air frame and
engine parts, shop tools and
ground equipment applicable to
the 404. A Dehmel 404 flight
simulator trainer is also in
cluded.
The program will involve a
total investment of $6,450,000,
financing for which has already
been arranged. A part of this in-
t:':
enmoJlL
Introducing the "Pacemaker 404'
Piedmont By-Laws Amended
J. F.Watlington Elected Director
John F. Watlington, Jr., Presi
dent of the Wachovia Bank and
Trust Company, was elected the
thirteenth Director of Piedmont
Aviation, Inc., at the corpora
tion’s recent stockholders’ meet
ing.
At the same meeting Pied
mont’s by-laws were amended
to change the number of Direc
tors from the previous 12 to not
less than 11 or more than 17
Directors.
Mr. Watlington, a native of
Reidsville, N. C., is a Phi Beta
Kappa graduate of Washington
and Lee University. He joined
the Wachovia Bank and Trust
Company in 1933 and advanced
rapidly through several official
posts. He was named Assistant
Treasurer in 1938; Assistant Vice
President in 1939; Vice Presi
dent in 1942; Senior Vice Presi
dent in 1946; and President and
a Director in 1956. He is also a
Director of Colonial Stores, Inc.,
and the Bank of Reidsville.
Watlington
Active in civic projects, Mr.
Watlington has worked diligent
ly to attract more industry to
this area. He is Vice President of
the National Municipal League
and has served as Regional
Brotherhood Week Chairman for
(Coatinued on Page Six)
Foster Named New
INT Area Salesman
General Sales Manager W. G.
McGee announces the appoint
ment of W. Andrew Foster as
District Sales Representative for
Winston-Salem, High Point,
Greensboro an d surrounding
areas. He replaces Ross Gordon
who has transferred to the Op
erations Department.
Foster is a na-
t i V e of Winston-
Salem and attend
ed Gray High
i School there. In
1955 he joined
Piedmont as a
member of the line
maintenance crew.
Later that year he
transferred to the
Service Department
where he served as a Flight At
tendant until his present ap
pointment. He was employed by
Vogler Funeral Home prior to
coming with Piedmont.
Foster is married to the form
er Jo Ann Fulp of Stokesdale,
N. C. They make their home at
Lake Hills, Pfafftown, N. C.
Foster
passenger
November INT Figures Show Increase Over Last Year
When Eastern and United Air
lines closed their stations in
Winston-Salem October 29 and
consolidated service at Greens
boro-High Point, there was con
siderable speculation as to how
this would affect Piedmont, left
to serve INT exclusively.
Month-end November figures
for the INT station show a
marked gain over the same
period last year. Officials attri
bute the rise in passengers and
cargo to the suspension of op
erations by the trunk carriers
and the addition of the Norfolk-
Knoxville route.
Station Manager Jack Brandon
lists 976 revenue passengers for
the past November,, a, figure 232
passengers over the same month
in 1960.
Last year, for the month, air
freight totaled 5,278 lbs.; air mail.
4,032 lbs.; and air express, 837
lbs. This year the figures are;
air freight, 14,483 lbs.; air mail,
7,059 lbs.; and air express, 6,706
lbs.
Brandon also pointed out a
large increase in the amount of
company mail shipped by the
INT base. “For November we
sent out 29,930 pounds of comat,”
he said, “and there are two
(Coatinued on Page Six)
vestment will include the cost
of installation of radar, over
haul, and inspection of aircraft
and engines, pilot and mechanic
training, and the purchase of
other miscellaneous equipment.
As a part of the re-equipment
program, Piedmont has con
tracted to sell 14 of its DC-3 air
craft and the major part of its
DC-3 spare parts inventory to
the Charlotte Aircraft Corpora
tion for one million dollars.
Present Fleet
Piedmont’s present fleet con
sists of 17 DC-3’s and eight F-27
prop-jet airplanes. The 36-pas
senger F-27’s were added in
1958 and represented at that
time the most extensive re-equip
ment program ever undertaken
in the local service airline field.
For several months Piedmont
has made an intensive survey
and study of aircraft types avail
able to replace its remaining
DC-3 fleet. For the survey sev
eral criteria, including acquisi
tion costs, operating costs, avail
ability, and operating character
istics, were set up.
“The 404 meets our tests on
all count s,” emphasized Mr.
Davis.
The Martin 404 has 40-passen-
gef'capacity as compared with
the 24-passenger DC-3. Unlike
the DC-3, the 404 is pressurized
air-conditioned, and is being
equipped with air-borne weather
radar for detecting storms while
the airplane is in flight and cir
cumnavigating them. It can
opei'ate virtually without restric
tions into and out of every air
port Piedmont serves. The Mar
tin’s powerful engines and re
verse pitch propellers will aid
the airplane in taking off and
landing on the shorter runways
in some of the smaller airports.
Rapid Climbs and Descents
Pressurization within the cabin
of the 404 permits rapid climbs
and descents with no passenger
discomfort. Descents by the DC-3
are normally limited to 300 feet
per minute.
Powered by two Pratt and
Whitney 2400 horsepower en
gines, the Martin has a cruising
speed of 265 miles an hour,
double the horsepower and over
100 miles faster than the DC-3.
This, plus greater fuel capacity
and under-the-wing refueling,
will result in fewer and faster
fueling stops and faster point-
to-point flying time.
It is expected that the DC-3
will be completely phased out of
Piedmont’s fleet by mid-1962. The
first scheduled 404 passenger
flights will begin operation Jan
uary 15, replacing the 500 series
DC-3 flights on the Knoxville-
Norfolk route and also replac
ing Flights 381 and 382 between
Knoxville and Washington.
More Martin flights will be
added to the system February
15, with additional flights added
in the coming months until all
scheduled trips are served with
either F-27 prop-jet or Martin
404 equipment.
In October Piedmont leased
three Martin 404’s from TWA
for use in training flight and
maintenance personnel.
Ideal For Expansion
The 404’s are ideal for Pied
mont’s projected route expan
sion. A final decision is now
being awaited from the CAB in
the Piedmont Area Local Service
Investigation, a decision which,
if favorable to Piedmont, would
result in almost doubling the
size of its system and the addi
tion of perhaps 14 new cities, in
cluding Atlanta, Ga., Baltimore,
Md., and Nashville, Tenn.
Piedmont’s cargo-carrying ca
pacity will be sharply increased
with the acquisition of the Mar
tin. The airplane can carry 6100
pounds of freight, a 117 per cent
increase over cargo capacity of
the DC-3.
Aid to Cargo
According to Director-Cargo
Service R. H. Reed, the increased
cargo space will help Piedmont
better meet the growing air
freight demands by industry and
other users.
The airline also expects to be
better able to serve its charter
customers as soon as the new
airplanes are available, particu
larly in the military and athletic
team charter markets.
Provide Top Service
Summing up. President Davis
said, “We are convinced that the
fleet of 17 Martins and eight
F-27’s will enable us to provide
unsurpassed local air transpor
tation services for our customers
during the challenging and
eventful decade ahead. We are
extremely pleased to be able to
offer this new service, bringing
with it new comfort, new speed,
new convenience, and new travel
opportunities.”
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