Career Book
A look into the Career of Rick Broome
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Monday, April 21, 2008 01:33:19 PM
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FLYING JOURNALS My dreams of flying airliners came true so fast I really did not have enough time to enjoy it! I was getting seat time in United Airlines simulators when I was 15 years old. Actually, my first encounter with these marvels of realism was the year before. When I was a 14 year old Civil Air Patrol Cadet, our summer encampment was held at Lowry AFB in Denver. One of the local tours included the terminal building at Stapleton International Airport. Then we "toured" the United Airlines Flight Training (DENTK) facility. The neat stuff was in their old Hangar Five. We were offered the opportunity to see the simulators up close. In those by gone days, airports didn't have fences and a kid could ride his bike onto the flight line. I did just that with fellow Colorado Academy prep school pal, Chris Nims a year later. We took a tour of the airport and ended up checking out a brand-new Douglas DC-8 registered as N8019U. There will be a future story dedicated to this great airplane and Captain George B. Ferguson who showed us his jet. Stay tuned for "QUEEN OF THE FLEET."
Dreams do come true. I soloed on my 16th birthday and logged hundreds of hours in a variety of different aircraft while still attending high school. I also fell in love with my childhood sweetheart, Billie. Following graduation, Billie and I were married. We loaded up our car and headed to Inglewood, California where I would attend Northrop Institute of Technology. My course major was Aircraft Maintenance Engineering. Billie and I both worked full time to pay tuition and flying costs.
George Ferguson had introduced me to Ed Mack Miller when I was 14. Ed was like a father to me. He was a Training Captain for United and arranged lots of simulator time at DENTK. He and his wife Kathy had eleven children; I was considered their twelfth. That is how I met United Captain Russ Cottle. I was 16 years old and proficiently flying the DC-6 and DC-7 simulators while still in high school! Russ Cottle was Chief pilot for UAL in Los Angeles. One day after I had been accepted as a flight officer candidate, he invited me to his office for a "chat." He visited at length about how UNITED was forecasting a reduction in pilot new-hires once the Jumbo Jets started being delivered. United had firm orders for a bunch of jets including 40 new Boeing 737's, and advanced stretch 727-222's, new Douglas stretch DC- 8s, (Super 61's and 62s) plus a fleet of Boeing 747's and DC-10s.
My memory is clear about this flight into the future. We were climbing out over the Hollywood area when I fastened in. I recall looking down at the valley as we climbed through 15,000 feet or so. About then was when he gave me the wheel. The thrust levers were guarded from his left seat but the jet was all mine. I like to fly with the seat all the way forward so he took over while I made adjustments. The DC-8 was burning off fuel at an amazing rate so I used the "suit case" handle elevator trim rather than the control wheel toggle. The Collins FD-108 flight director was a piece of cake to follow as I hand flew the stretch-eight to cruise altitude. Once we arrived at our assigned flight level, the autopilot was punched in and I took a break from steering the wheel of this giant ship of the airways. I can still remember how stiff and sore I was. Not from the effort of flying the jet but from the tension of knowing I was really flying a commercial airliner on a revenue flight! When we were approaching Crater Lake, a PA announcement was made indicating that we were going to do some gentle turns over the site to provide a fantastic view for the souls on board. I was instructed to make gentle and smooth turns first to the right so I could see the same view and then to the left so I would know what wing bank was best. I did exactly that and will never forget that flight; and I have photos and movies of that trip, too. Stay tuned for my story "QUEEN OF THE FLEET" about a very special DC-8. Another story will follow about a test flight in a lightweight DC-8-Super 62 plus the exciting tale of flying jump seat aboard Len Morgan's Boeing 747 rating flight. Indeed, there will be many more photos and memories of both working the flight line and flying the line with UNITED AIRLINES… |
My first airline job was with Continental
Airlines loading fresh Wall Street Journals in the belly cargo
compartments of Boeing 707's headed to Houston. Over the next
several years, I worked my way up to being in-charge of the
outbound bag room for Continental at the then new Los Angeles
International Airport (LAX). Shortly after my 21st
birthday, I qualified for my FAA Airframe and Powerplant
(A&P) ratings. They complimented my flying certificate. My
total time flying logs (including right seat) by this time was
over a thousand hours. This was an impressive resume for a kid
who still didn't shave! FLYING TIGERS immediately hired me as a
mechanic and I was assigned to heavy maintenance at their LAX
facility. I gained valuable experience working on a variety of
airliners including the Lockheed L-1049G "Super
Connie," as well as the Canadair CL-44 freighter and the
Boeing 707-320 series.
After I had been certified in a number of
different heavy maintenance (C & D check) line items I took
my resume to United Airlines and was hired "on the
spot" as a flight line mechanic. TIGER's supervisors were a
little upset with my change of ships; flying the line for UAL was
my goal. Less than a year later I qualified as a flight officer
candidate but deferred attending Boeing 727 school until I
finished my Engineering degree at Northrop. I suppose you could
consider me a "favorite son" to UAL management. After
all, they had known me since I was 14 years old!
Per Company policy for new-hire flight officer
candidates, Russ offered me the opportunity to gain some line
flying experience. He issued me a FAA approved certificate known
as "Observer Member of Crew" (OMC) authority. Normally
this document is endorsed for only one or two flights. My
certificate was far superior and endorsed for UNLIMITED
authority. He knew my fond attraction for the venerable old DC-6
from my high school flying days and recommended I take a few
"hops" while the piston powered former Queen of the
Fleet was still operational.
United was the last airline in America still
flying the DC-6. Powered by four Pratt and Whitney R-2800 CB16-17
radial piston engines, three aircraft were in service to fly a
route from San Francisco to Salt Lake City because the airports
at Elko and Ely, Nevada were too small to accept jets. A week
later I presented my credentials and rode jump seat in a 727 out
of LAX commuting to SFO.
The crew of the DC-6 had advance knowledge of
my trip and we met in Company Dispatch the following morning. Hal
Bryan was the skipper and Rick "Fuzzy" Lewis had the
right seat. Over the next 18 months, I logged 216 hours in this
wonderful airliner. We would depart SFO for Oakland where we
boarded more passengers. We got the wheels up and then set up for
immediate approach to OAK; this was a short trip. Normally we had
a full airplane for the next leg of the trip to Reno.
Crossing the Sierra Madre Mountain Range was a
neat deal; on the eastern slopes, we set up steep descents into
Reno. This could produce an unpleasant ride for the passengers
who paid the price of their ticket. I have movies taken on one
descent where you cannot even read the gauges! There was a very
strong up-sloap wind from the east that required a number of
360-degree turns to overcome reported 100-knot head winds. We
dropped the main gear (which acted like a speed brake) brought in
half flaps and METO power while drilling holes in the sky. And we
still blocked in on schedule. This was a very strong airplane.
From Reno, the trip flew to Elko, Nevada. This
was a short uncontrolled field with a runway to short and narrow
to accept jets. Hence, the DC-6 was the airplane for this and the
next leg of the trip. I noticed many businessmen got off at Elko.
Later I would learn that these men were invited guests of a local
(and then legal) brothel!
Out of Elko we flew across the Superstition
Mountains toward our next destination, Ely, Nevada. This flight
took us directly across what is now known as the Famous Area 51.
I have lots of film shot in this area in color print, black and
white plus movies. And, yes, we did see some fast moving
aircraft, strange lights and possible UFO's every time we flew
this leg of the trip. It was routine; you didn't make a report!
What a wonderful secret this was; I took lots of photos and
movies. We also flew over the Kinnecott Copper mines on numerous
occasions.
The trip turned in Salt Lake City. One of our
Captains was not a big fan of prostitution, legal or otherwise.
He often canceled (engine problems) the return trip home. Of
course, we rode non-stop first class in a DC-8 back to San
Francisco. Of course, the return trip was canceled, thus
stranding a number of "businessmen" who had purchased
round-trip same day trips to do research in Elko.
In late 1969, United negotiated a wet lease
agreement with Frontier Airlines for the route. Convair 580
turbo-props were to replace the old DC-6B's. Known as Trip number
857 outbound and 837 returning to SFO we flew the final scheduled
four engine piston engine flight in America on February 28, 1970.
I rode jump seat and took rolls of film and
movies. We had a full airplane out of Reno to SFO; most were
retired United Airlines extended retirement family. When we
tucked the wheels in the wells out of Reno, a Cessna 310 joined
us in formation for a while as the sun set. We arrived home after
dark and crossed Oakland Hills just like John Wayne did in the
1955 movie, THE HIGH AND THE MIGHTY. Ol' Rick (age 23 at the
time) started whistling the tune made famous in the movie. I
could just imagine Captain Dan Roman (the Duke) fighting the old
DC-4 in the film made famous from our hero Ernie Gann's saga.
The skipper said I made a good call and the
crew joined in tune with the cockpit door open and the PA system
on. Seated in the Captain's chair is Bob Newcombe and the first
officer was Fuzzy Lewis.
I flew numerous other trips in the cockpit of
all of United's fleet with my OMC authority. This double exposure
photo was taken in flight aboard UAL DC-8-61 N8099U (fleet number
2599) in June 1969. It was delivered to UAL on June 16, 1969, and
had logged less than 100 hours TT when I flew it on a revenue
trip to SEATAC. This was the last stretch eight built for United.
I am the guy flying the jet on the left side of the double
exposure as shown. These are the things of which I recall in
capturing the Spirit of Flight in my fine art paintings.
I will never forget the flight from LAX up to
Seattle. I spent three days in the area. The voyage was to meet
my childhood hero Captain George B. Ferguson. He was the pilot I
met on the DC-8 at Stapleton when I was 14 years old. In
retrospect, the flight up there was really the start of my art
career. Using my OMC authority, I rode jump seat in a brand new
DC-8-61. I had made friends with the Captain when working his jet
as an A&P for UAL, LAXMM. I took a couple of my new
watercolors on the trip. These paintings were my earliest
professional serial numbers. (As I recall the DC-6B was serial
number 01 and a DC-8 over Seattle I painted as a gift for George
was number 02.)
Shortly after takeoff from LAX we established
the course heading for SEA. The skipper had logged a ton of hours
in both the DC-6 and DC-7 before qualifying for his rating in the
DC-8. He knew my weekends off were spent flying the line in the
old DC-6. Right after takeoff, he offered me the right seat! His
copilot obliged and I took the chair; I must confess my knees
were a little shaky. Later during the flight, I took out my
recently completed watercolors and both the Captain and his
copilot commissioned new originals. These were my very first
commissions as an adult fine artist.