Bill Kyle (left), a retired Pied
mont pilot, and Herb Thomas, a
737 captain, flew the DC-3 from
Oshkosh, WI, to Winston-Salem
in February.
DC-3 in Piedmont colors rekindles fond memories
■‘There are two crazy nuts in a
DC-3 on our frequency claiming to
be with Piedmont!”
That's the message a ETTW agent
sent to CAK in February.
“We were on our way from Osh
kosh to Akron/Canton to have de-
icer boots put on the aircraft," Bill
Kyle, a retired Piedmont pilot,
chuckled. “Most employees didn’t
know that the company had pur
chased a DC-3. Fortunately, the
folks at Akron/Canton knew we
were coming."
Both Kyle and Herb Thomas, a
737 captain for Piedmont, have
great affection for the aircraft.
“I first flew the DC-3 on a trip
from Raleigh/Durham to Wilming
ton in March 1949,“ Kyle, who flew
his last trip in the cockpit of a 727
on August 20, 1985, said. “For a
living, 1 would rather fly the jets,
but for fun, the DC-3 is great.”
Thomas first flew on the DC-3
from Myrtle Beach to Winston-
Salem in 1953 when he was a
child. “And it’s a thrill to fly on it
again, especially in the cockpit,”
Thomas said. He joined Piedmont
in 1973 as a charter pilot for gen
eral aviation and for the past 10
years has flown for the airline.
He'S TOPS!
“John Tkdros is a folk hero in my
eyes. This extraordinary combina
tion of good faith and goodwill is
the sort of thing that really instills
some lost faith in one’s fellow man.”
These words of praise for EWR
Agent John T^dros appear in a let
ter recently sent to Piedmont by
a couple who had arrived at EWR
just as their flight was preparing
to leave. They were told that they
could not make the flight because
it would take them at least a half
hour to park their car.
“John Tkdros stepped forward
and said, ‘Go ahead, catch the
flight; I’ll park your car for you.'. . .1
handed him the keys to my brand-
new 1986 Saab turbo and caught
the plane,” the passenger wrote.
"Tkdros called RDU before I ar
rived to reassure me that every
thing was on the up and up, and
to reconfirm where the keys would
be upon my return. . .On Sunday,
we arrived back at Newark and we
were greeted by John Tkdros. . .He
simply stated. . .he was happy to
have helped.”
Our “new” DC-3 was purchased
last summer from Basler Flight Serv
ices in Oshkosh, WI, and this fall,
underwent a facelift. On February 9,
it arrived at its new home in
Winston-Salem where it will be
maintained by general aviation.
The DC-3 made its first appearance
at a special event when Kyle and
Thomas flew the aircraft to Fayette
ville in February for the opening of
the airport’s new facilities.
“The first time I ever flew to Fay
etteville was the fall of '49, and I
DC-3 schedule
The marketing department has scheduled the DC-3 for air-
shows and other special events as a way of telling Piedmont's
success story.
Following are tentative dates and locations where the aircraft
will appear:
April 11
Pope Air Force Base Airshow, Fayetteville, NC
April 12
TVavel Show '87, Newport News. VA
May 2-3
Tkllahassee International Airshow, Tkllahasee, FL
May 30-31
Lynchburg Airshow, Lynchburg, VA
June 4-7
AGFA Airshow, Louisville, KY
June 13
Allegheny County Airshow, Pittsburgh, PA
June 15
London Inaugural, Charlotte Douglas International
Airport
July 23-26
Dayton Airshow, Dayton, OH
July 31-
August 7
Experimental Aircraft Assn. Show, Oshkosh, WI
September 5-7
Cleveland National Airshow, Cleveland, OH
September 18-20
Piedmont Airlines National Balloon Rally,
Statesville, NC
October 3-4
Florida State Air Fair, Kissimmee, FL
October 17
Richmond Airport Opening, Richmond, VA
landed on a grass runway,” Kyle
reminisced.
Thomas added: “We had a lot of
fun with it. Any place you go, the
DC-3 draws a crowd. I'm looking
forward to seeing it around the
system.”
Affectionately known as the
“Workhorse” or “Gooney Bird," the
DC-3 made its debut on the air
line’s inaugural flight February 20,
1948. The aircraft was retired from
our fleet 15 years later.
Reproductions of artist George
Greig's original oil painting of a
Piedmont DC-3 in flight are avail
able through the Piedmont Gift
Shoppe in Winston-Salem. A
limited number of the 16 x 20
color prints, which are $12.77
each, are signed by the artist. Tb
purchase a print, call extension
5510 or stop by the Shoppe lo
cated at Smith Reynolds Airport.
8
i
A new concourse opened at
FAY in February. Piedmont now
has two gates with loading
bridges, and a third loading
bridge will be operationeil by
early summer. Above: Agents
(1 to r) Curtis Matthews, Quintin
McKinney, Johnny Fermanides
(supervisor), Donna Matthews,
Andy Ray, John Brown, and
Frank Verginio show off the new
ticket counter. The new facility
provides us with support areas
on the upper level, and opera
tions and maintenance eireas on
the lower left. Left: (1 to r) Red
Smith, maintenance; Donna
Reese, Christine Rosas, and
Dwain Wilkins, all ramp agents;
and Tbm Slappe, air freight su
pervisor; are proud of the new
8,000-square-foot air freight fa
cility (in background).
Piedmonitor • March 1987