[ARC5] Commercial radiotelegraph code requirement, AE, etc etc

[Mike Everette]

As a follow-on to my earlier message, regarding Fred Noonan.  He was not a radio operator, but a navigator.  Pan American, in those days, required the entire cockpit crew of the trans-Pacific Clipper flying boats to be cross-trained in each other's jobs.  The crew consisted of Captain, first officer, navigator, radio operator, and probably a flight engineer depending upon the type of a/c.  

Assuming someone didn't want to go through all that, there may have been a great temptation to "qualify" by other means, hmm.

Having taken the Second Class Commercial and Amateur Extra CW exams, it simply does not seem logical to me that anyone who had learned enough CW to get a Second Class Radiotelegraph could be so incompetent with respect to CW as Noonan reportedly was, at the time of the 1937 Earhart flight. And, AE had decided to remove the telegraph key from her a/c before departing the US from Miami, as part of her obsession with "saving weight."

AE, unfortunately, seems to have disdained radio... she never qualified on using the radio compass equipment aboard her Lockheed Electra, despite the fact that it would be absolutely required in locating her waypoint, Howland Island, on the trans-Pacific leg.  (Much of the time Noonan rode in the aft section, where his work station was located, rather than in the cockpit where the radio compass was.)  She skipped her check-ride with a Bureau of Air Commerce inspector, because it conflicted with a publicity photo-op.  In fact she did not pay attention to several technical aspects of flying; her character as depicted in the film starring Hillary Swank as AE is probably spot-on.  She flew to "be FREE!"  

That was what ultimately killed her.

73

Mike
W4DSE

--- On Sat, 12/22/12, Richard Knoppow <1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com> wrote:

> From: Richard Knoppow <1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com>
> Subject: Re: Commercial radiotelegraph code requirement, AE, etc etc
> To: "Mike Everette" <radiocompass at yahoo.com>, "ARC-5 List" <arc5 at mailman.qth.net>, "David Stinson" <arc5 at ix.netcom.com>
> Date: Saturday, December 22, 2012, 2:11 PM
> 
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Mike Everette" <radiocompass at yahoo.com>
> To: "ARC-5 List" <arc5 at mailman.qth.net>;
> "David Stinson" <arc5 at ix.netcom.com>;
> "Richard Knoppow" <1oldlens1 at ix.netcom.com>
> Sent: Saturday, December 22, 2012 10:21 AM
> Subject: Commercial radiotelegraph code requirement, AE, etc
> etc
> 
> 
> AE and FN were flying under commercial rules.  Neither
> was a ham.
> 
> The aircraft radiotelegraph endorsement required 25 wpm
> plain text, 20 wpm coded groups.  Same as the first
> class radiotelegraph if I remember right (plus the 1st
> required documented time in service).  The 2nd class
> was 20 wpm plain text, 16 coded groups.  Aircraft
> endorsement on 2nd class required the higher code speed.
> 
> 73
> 
> Mike
> W4DSE
> 
>    I am going by memory and must look this
> up. I have a good idea of where to look.  The
> requirements for commercial operators licenses were changed
> several times over the years. For instance, the c.1930 rules
> offered a Commercial Extra First Class license with a
> requirement for both Continental and American Morse. I'll
> see what I can find.
> 
> 
> --
> Richard Knoppow
> Los Angeles
> WB6KBL
> dickburk at ix.netcom.com
> 
>