Editors Note: I know we are aging as a group of
retirees and along with aging comes those times when some of our colleagues
have made their final flight West. Now I
know this issue comes out about a month and a half from the last one. In my misc inbox I do not “mark as read”
Carol’s death notices of our fellow pilots until I publish the newest
issue. There were 41 notices since the
last issue. Maybe that isn’t a record
but it is a lot of us flying West. Makes me pause a bit, makes me think a bit,
and it makes me wish it were not so.
Live each day to the fullest, love those in your circle do good for your
fellow man and make amazing memories. This life is short make the most of it.
And a great big thank you to Carol who honors our flown West colleagues with so
much respect and so beautifully.
More kudos for Carol from the group:
Stephen Mills smills470@gmail.com
Re: PCN - Death of WA/DL Capt. Richard
A. 'Dick' Deeds, age 87
Carol
Nicely written obit. Quite accomplished
too. I suspect you and your husband might have known him.
Steve
+++++
RE: PCN - Death of WA/DL Capt. Richard A. 'Dick' Deeds, age 87
Dearest Sandy (meant Carol),
I’m glad I sent this to you.
Western adopted the Big W paint conversion in 1961. The common objections I heard from other pilots was they didn’t like the “WEESTERN placed up the tail and the other was the absence of the Indian head profile.
Some foreign carriers adopted the treatment on the tails of their aircraft.
I thought some of the objections might have been placated if a mosaic of the Indian’s profile had instead of the WESTERN been painted on the tail, they would have been happy.
My thesis my last year of college was entitled “Elements of airliner paint design” “ I wrote all the domestic airlines asking them, among other questions why their planes were painted the way they were; how many man hours it took to paint the various aircraft; the weight of the paint applied; etc.
Most of the airlines too with these questions (including Delta and Western replied.
I liked the new paint job. It was simple, easily recognized, among other things. That big “red W” on the fuselage could be recognized for quite a ways away.
What bothered me was the slow conversion of the new logo on the existing aircraft in the fleet. Everything new from the factory had the new logo.
American converted their entire fleet of 700 planes in a year and a half. Western took over 3-years to change the 71 fleet over to the new logo.
Then in 1996 the bean counters reasoned who much weight could be saved if the white paint could be removed, thus saving costs. A three dimensional “W” was substituted. Remember, the employees called the new paint job “Bud Lite”?
The flaw in the reasoning was the weight of the paint in the cans and then how much the weight was after the paint had dried.
Delta even went to weighing an aircraft weighed before the white paint was applied, and how much more the aircraft weighed after the paint had dried. The difference was less than 100 pounds.
I made this known to the Marketing Department, but their replay was equivalent to a “Thank you very much and good day”.
Love,
Roger
From: pilotcommu...@googlegroups.com [mailto:pilotcommu...@googlegroups.com] On Behalf
Of death.flwnwst
Sent: Saturday, August 14, 2021 10:41 AM
To: Pilot Communication Net <PilotCommu...@googlegroups.com>
Subject: PCN - Death of WA/DL Capt. Richard A. 'Dick' Deeds, age 87
~ IN MEMORY ~
WA/DL Capt. Richard A. 'Dick' Deeds
February 16, 1934 ~ August 6, 2021
Dick joined Western Airlines 01-20-1964 and retired
with Delta Air Lines in 1994, based 030/LAX at the time of his
retirement. Left to mourn Dick’s passing is his wife Mary Ann, his sons
and many more family members, friends, and colleagues.
.....from son Ken's facebook page: “It's with the
heaviest of hearts I post my father, Captain Richard A. Deeds, passed yesterday
at the age of 87 after a long battle with several health problems.
I don't know if there are words
in life for when we lose someone that loves us as much as
my father loved me and our family. His final months were not easy and his
passing was a also a blessing at this point as he was in great pain and had no
chance of ever
leaving a hospital bed. To quote my father,
"Getting old isn't for pussies."
My father loved to fly. If you never were in cockpit
with my dad I don't know if you really knew the man. His love for flight
started from the first day he saw an airplane. He learned to fly by going
to the airport in Erie, PA, and cleaning and fueling planes for people.
They'd then sometimes take him and up and that's how he
learned. He worked on the original black box recorder for aviation
and has a wall full of awards for his work and dedication to airline
safety. At the top of those was the Rare Bird award from ALPA (pilots
union) which was for the single person that did the most for airline safety in
a year. My dad's concern and care for the passengers and other pilots was
second to none. He was lucky in that he spent his life doing what he
loved the most for work. I really don't know what happens
after life but I pray my father is just flying an airplane somewhere.
It's what he was born to do.
My father accomplished so many things in his lifetime it's
hard to list them here. He served during the Korean War, he became an
accomplished computer programmer after retiring from flying, he could make a
speech like few people ever can, and he was one of the first people to survive
a full kidney removal in the 1950s. But among his accomplishments
his love for me, my brother, and our family was probably his greatest.
You couldn't ask for someone to care more about their family than he cared
about us. You might match it, but you just can't care more than he
did. I thank you dad for all the great times and memories. I wish
your passing was easier for you and once again I just hope you are flying an
old biplane
through the clouds. I love you and we'll all miss
you. The earth is a quieter and duller place without you.”
https://www.lastingmemories.com/memorial/richard-austin-deeds
Condolences may be sent to the family at
6555 Gillis Drive , San Jose, CA 95120.
Thank you,
~ Carol for the PCN
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Re:
CORRECTION - PCN - Death of DL Capt. Donald Lee Hiers Sr., age 83
Dear Carol,
The thought of sending the correction of
company affiliation concerning Don Hiers crossed my mind as well in that I
happened to have had a distant relationship with him years ago and therefore
knew him. Obviously another friend or family member took that upon themself to
contact you you.
Appropriately enough you did reissue the
notice and quickly I might add. You have a daunting task these days keeping us
all informed with multiple groups who have become what we know as Delta. It is
sad news but news of people who have been part of our lives. It is appreciated
and you handle it with care.
Thank you, Capt. Dick
Gardner
Delta 1965 to 1996
Editor:
Capt Gardner, you are correct, that Carol has a daunting task and does it
impeccably. Thank you for recognizing that of her service. Carol always deserves our commendation.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Capt
Whitesell with a request for some collaboration. If you want to help him to recall infamous Captains of yesteryear please email
him directly with your willingness.
Larry
Whitesell oxpilot@gmail.com
Thanks Mark,
What I was
looking for was an old Delta only, or maybe with NEA and Western retired that I
saw years ago that had all the old guys we flew with, like Stew Hopkins,
Bondurant, Snake, etc. back to the '30s or '40s. I'm writing a column for
AirClips and would like to add correct names etc.
Larry
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Here below is an interesting article
with some info you may or may not have heard about. I publish it because it has been sent by a
valued contributor and we are all big boys and girls and can deal with info how
we wish.
There are some really good points made
here. You decide.
Tony P apapandrea@cfl.rr.com
Life is Good
In God We Trust
------ Forwarded Message
--------
From: A very smart friend who writes in green
Date: 8/30/2021 8:04:35 PM
Richard,
You started this argument a year ago, about natural immunity from
Covid 19. So here are some data points from a large study.
My take away.
1. The number of “cases” [define however you want and whatever to
include] for vaccinated and infected w/o full vaccination are so small that the
comparisons have no statistical correlation.
2. Which leads me to another conclusion. Natural immunity is just as
effective as vaccinations. Other papers we shared describe two types of immune
response – in mucous membranes and T-cell anti-bodies. The rub is to understand
when an infection leads to a beneficial immunity [beneficial to an individual
and beneficial to the entire community].
3. What I have not seen is a study of the Swedish experiment of
allowing infecting as many as possible for herd immunity. Wonder why not?
4. So what do I intend to do.
a. I did get the two-dose vaccine.
b. There are no data that say vaccines are dangerous [except for
just-reported contamination in Moderna manufacturing with resulting deaths].
c. I plan to abide by the New York advice about effectiveness of
chicken soup for colds – It can’t hurt.
So I do intend to get a booster shot. It can’t hurt.
d. Masks? They don’t screen out viruses, but do screen out droplets
which carry the virus. I will wear a mask if it makes sense -- it can’t
hurt. But I don’t go crazy or religious
about masks on myself or others. Hell, Asian countries wear masks during flu
season.
e. Political issue about mandates loss of liberty, or virtue
signaling and hypocrisy of Libtards – my favorite response. True, true and
true, but irrelevant. Imho, the call for mandates is just a political gimmick
to say “Look how good am I -- doing "something" about Covid.”
Effective or not.
Natural Immunity for the WIN! Israeli Study Suggests COVID-19
Vaccine Policies Should Change Now
BY STACEY LENNOX AUG 28, 2021 4:35 PM ET
The debate that never should have
started is over. Thankfully, one nation in the world recognized natural
immunity to COVID-19 in their vaccine program and has the data to force the
issue in other countries. All Israelis are required to enroll in one of four
national health funds. Maccabi Healthcare Services (MHS) covers 26% of the
population and maintains centralized electronic medical records, which
researchers anonymized and analyzed.
Israel used the Pfizer/BioNTech vaccine exclusively in their national
vaccination program. When it implemented a vaccine passport program, the
previously infected were provided with a passport and excluded from the
vaccination push. Later, these individuals were allowed to receive one dose of
the vaccine if they chose to, but it was not required to maintain their
passports.
The preprint study includes
over 700,000 Israelis in a matched cohort methodology. It includes MHS members
16 years and older who were vaccinated or had a documented SARS-CoV-2 infection
before February 28, 2021. It compared those who were vaccinated and never
infected, the recovered, and those who opted to take the single vaccine dose.
The rich data set includes vaccination with dates, diagnosed infections,
symptom profiles, hospitalizations, and deaths. Researchers evaluated four
outcomes: documented RT-PCR confirmed SARS-CoV-2 disease, COVID-19,
COVID-19-related hospitalization, and death.
After adjusting for
comorbidities, there was a 13-fold increased risk for a breakthrough infection
following vaccination instead of reinfection after recovery. The vaccinated
subjects had a 27-fold increased risk for symptomatic COVID-19 than the
previously recovered. There were eight hospitalized patients among the
vaccinated and one among the recovered cohort. Thankfully, there were no
deaths.
When researchers compared the
recovered with and without a single vaccine dose, the differences were slight.
Out of 14,029 subjects, the unvaccinated experienced 37 positive tests while
those with a single dose had 20. Symptomatic disease occurred in 16 patients
who received a single dose and 23 of their unvaccinated counterpoints. The
increased risk for those without the vaccine is less than one-fold. No one died
of COVID-19.
With such a large study population, these findings should have immediate
implications for public policy.
Any city, employer, or
educational institution requiring individuals to get vaccinated should amend
their policy immediately to allow for proof of infection or immunity as
acceptable. Any institution with mask mandates that apply only to the
unvaccinated must amend them to recognize recovered individuals. Employees,
students, and residents should insist.
An antibody or T-detect test
should suffice in place of a vaccine. A recent study estimates that
roughly one-third of the U.S. population had
COVID-19 by the end of 2020. Unfortunately, testing identified less than 25% of
the cases. Since the federal government is encouraging these mandates, they
should provide free immunity tests the same way they provide free vaccines.
The unqualified push to give all
Americans a complete vaccine series and boosters must be amended. Recovered
patients with natural immunity should work with their doctor to make the best
personal health decision. These decisions should take into account what we know
about other respiratory viruses and mitigating immunity. As Harvard associate
professor of epidemiology Dr. Michael Mina said in a
recent interview:
I’ve always said that we’re going to age out of this virus. People
are going to keep getting exposed. And whether it’s to Delta or to a variant in
five months from now, every time you or I or anyone else gets exposed — they’re
really building up a decent cushion of immunity with each of those exposures…
So it’s only a matter of time before we actually have not only vaccine-derived
immunity but natural infection-derived immunity, too.
Mina’s comments echo the predictions a group of researchers who study
human coronaviruses made earlier in the pandemic:
Our analysis of immunological and epidemiological data on endemic
human coronaviruses (HCoVs) shows that infection-blocking immunity wanes
rapidly, but disease-reducing immunity is long-lived. Our model, incorporating
these components of immunity, recapitulates both the current severity of CoV-2
and the benign nature of HCoVs, suggesting that once the endemic phase is
reached and primary exposure is in childhood, CoV-2 may be no more virulent
than the common cold.
The hypothesis requiring evidence
to the contrary should always have been that natural immunity would be strong
and durable. Early in the pandemic, researchers detected reactive immunity to
SARS-CoV-1 in survivors after 17 years. The viruses are first cousins. Add what
we understand about other human coronaviruses and the assumption should always
have been in favor of the immune system.
Israel always bet on natural
immunity, and the latest study of their results is irrefutable proof their
hypothesis was correct. Combined, recovered patients with or without a single
dose have a vanishingly small (0.3%) risk of symptomatic infections.
Researchers should perform additional studies of the vaccinated who suffered
from symptomatic COVID-19 during the Delta wave. Boosters for these individuals
may make very little sense.
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