On being furloughed from your job.

[trof]

I was a pilot for the late lamented Trans World Airlines (look it up, kids ).
During my 30+ year career I was furloughed three times.
1 to 2 years at a whack for a total of about a 5 year chunk out of my work life.
It was damn near impossible to get a job.

Every prospective employer wants a resume'.
As soon as they saw mine they knew that I'd be going back to work for TWA in a fairly short time.
At least back then ('70s and '80s) they wanted a long term commitment, especially if there was ANY training involved.

Some of my jobs were real estate sales (commission only), telemarketing (commission only), auto sales (commission only), etc., etc.
Of course my wife had to go back to work, once when our daughter was only 18 months old.

These poor government employees are facing a lot more than just missing a few paychecks.

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

1. TWA workers were furloughed for YEARS??

Wow man. What's your favorite airplane to fly??

[trof]

3. Lockheed L-1011, hands down.

Zero-zero landing capability.
Ceiling zero, visibility zero.
Unbeatable in the 80s.

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

5. Sweet plane. Is there any flight benefits to having one engine

on the tail? That's a big plane.

[trof]

9. Interesting (but longish) story:

Back then it was four engines minimum, over water, out of range of land, in case of engine failure.
Like the North Atlantic.
New York to damn near anywhere in Europe and beyond.

Lockheed got clearance from FAA for three.
They could still make it to a land airfield from North Atlantic airways.
Cheaper to maintain 3 engines, less fuel.
The name of the game with airlines is $$$$ bottom line.

Rather than reinvent the wheel, they BOUGHT the engineering specs/ "S" duct geometry of the Boeing 727 tail engine and up-sized it for the 1011. I guess it's pretty complicated. Boeing reportedly had some compressor stalls due to insufficient airflow in testing various 'geometries'.

This story was told to me by a Boeing engineer sitting next to me on a flight I was deadheading on.

The benefit of a tail engine is less yaw, less need for rudder trim (more drag), if you lose a wing engine. If you lose the tail engine there are practically no handling changes out side of less total thrust.

If you lose an outboard engine on a 4 burner there's a lot more control difficulty that must be overcome by rudder trim, which creates more drag, slows you down, and/or burns more fuel.

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

11. Super cool.

Rolls Royce too. Thanks for the lesson.

[trof]

15. Any time.

[SharonAnn]

18. As a passenger, flying for more than 50 years, that is my all-time favorite plane

I just loved flying on that plane. Loved everything about it.

[trof]

19. Only problem I ever had was with the entertainment system.

Sometimes the movie wouldn't run.
You could usually fix it by turning the system off, counting to ten, and turning it back on.
The 1011 was an electronic marvel.

[spanone]

2. K&R...

[Wellstone ruled]

4. If you had any possibility of returning to your job,

no one would ever consider you as a hire. If you could prove you had quit,then and only then would you even be considered. The Company I worked for in that time frame went bankrupt,and their Lawyers informed the State that all Employees were subject to recall at any time. Well,guess what,no Unemployment Bennies. Our Union sued in State Court to have that petition set aside. But,that took months before we could get the case on the docket.

[trof]

6. Egg-Zackly.

Hey, bro. I was AFL-CIO, ALPA.
AirLine Pilots' Assoc.

[Wellstone ruled]

7. Oh yes,spent many a day

with you Guy's on the Pickett line,got to love Saint Ronny and the damage he created.

[trof]

10. Ronny got me laid off the last time.

Controllers' strike.
Airlines had to cut way back on flights because not enough ATC controllers to keep 'em flying.
That cost me 2 1/2 years.

[Wellstone ruled]

12. Worked alongside of several ATC

Guy's who were in your position. Seven bucks a hour driving school bus six hours a day. Gave up my drivers seat to a Lady who was RIFed out at Farmington Center. Has one full time job and I did her Driving Training and Testing,when I found out what her story was,went to the Dispatcher and put her in my Seat. And she would be able to go at least eight hours. Me,six was pushing the boundaries with a full time job and two hours sleep.

[FakeNoose]

8. In the old days the employers expected open-ended commitments from their workers

But then, the companies stopped making a commitment to their workers. Pretty soon they tried to cut workers' benefits, they tried to cut hours, they tried to move people around so they would quit instead. There is no "great secure job" any more for anyone who isn't in the Billionaire Boys Club.

I agree that it sucks even worse now. These people have to work in a fast food joint or maybe a Walmart-type store just to put food on the table.

[keithbvadu2]

13. You didn't just get a bank loan or suck it up for the greater good?

You didn't just get a bank loan or suck it up for the greater good?



That seems to be the current empathy from our Trumpeteers.

[trof]

14. Yeah. Winn-Dixie wouldn't accept 'thoughts and prayers' at the check-out.

Neither would the mortgage company.

[joeybear]

16. Carl Icahn

Was Carl Icahn one of the reason you were furloughed, and did you ever know or fly with my uncle Dale Hupe. He flew L-1011s, his last flights were deadheading from MCI to NY or Chicago (I don't remember which) and flying to Paris and back? First US hijacked plane as I recall around 1970 and shot with a 22 but the plane landed safely.

[trof]

17. I blame Icahn for the demise of TWA, but no. Not furloughed while he was in charge.

I know the name Hupe, but never flew with him.