United Air Lines Pilot Training Promo Film - 1969

[@MrDugas]

I knew every square inch of that training center. Started in May of 1965 and retired in February of 1999. Retired as a 747-400 Captain at age 60. I'm still flying a Cessna Texas Tail-dragger at age 76.

[@adamgropper2072]

Don Dugas When you worked on the 747-400, what was your favorite destination?

[@MrDugas]

I had a 7 day trip out of O'hare airport in Chicago that went to Japan (Narita) and to Singapore. The layover in Singapore was amazing. Breakfast at Raffle's Hotel was a dream come true.

[@jimmcgarry2880]

Don Dugas say hi to Regina for me Don. My Dad began with UAL after WW2 in Management. My brother Brian McGarry just retired a few years back as a 777 capt. hope to meet you one day. Jim

[@solomonpilot2510]

I AM VERY PROUD OF U CAPTAIN.HAVE U EVER FLOWN BOEING 707 ?I HEARS IT IS THE HARDEST PLANE 2 FLY,IS THAT TRUE ?

[@MrDugas]

I never flew the 707 and United didn't have any of that type. UAL only flew the Boeing 720. I flew the DC-6, The Vickers Viscount, the 737, 727,DC-8 (all models), The DC-10, 747SP,100,200 and finally the 747-400.

[@RustyAimer787]

What an honor to have been a small part of this great organization! Captain Ross Aimer UAL Ret.

[@RustyAimer787]

You were doing good up to where you mentioned scab Lacy!

[@SteveSande]

Love it! My Dad worked at DENTK between 1963 and his retirement in the early 1990s.

[@bobbys2160]

Wow after 33 years at UAL TK looks almost the same...I been to TK too many times to count the transition training. Left UAL as a 777 Captain what a blast it was

[@mbazell]

Brings back memories of the DC-8 sim in Denver.

[@steveo1kinevo]

I enjoy being "The man up Front" :)

[@rapman5363]

I’m more of a backdoor man myself! 😉

[@marknelson9069]

Me too.

[@christopherdaniel4841]

Enjoyed this trip down memory lane. My dad was a United flight training instructor on 727s during this time, and for years after. He used to take me out to this training facility often and take me in the simulators. I developed the aviation bug early, and still have it. Thanks for posting.

[@dan059]

my Grandfather was a instructror also I remember going out to ride in the sims with him until the pilot strike in 85 then it became much harder for him to get me in after that I go on 23 years with ual next week

[@skinnerhound2660]

My Grandfather started flying for United (PAT) in 1928. There was no training center for the Boeing model 40 or the Fords but reading his log book he flew a Stearman trainer under hood routinely. Commercial aviation has come a long way in the past one hundred years.

[@chulaia4]

Enjoyed watching this film from 1969 and some of my favorite aircraft and livery of that time. Today the cockpit is all glass and computers have taken over much of the flying that was done by the pilot years ago.

[@sam_likes_airplanes]

*cough Airbus cough*

[@robertgary3561]

Today’s display systems are so much nicer honestly. Not endless rows of steam gauges.

[@ronniep3186]

Interesting, the history of flight training! I wish I'd gotten to fly that old 727 though, loved that old bird. Thanks to those pilots that paved the way ahead me!

[@doug9066]

I had always loved the 727, if I had became a pilot that be one bird I'd love to have flown.

[@mrtodd3620]

The Denver training center, on the outside, is largely the same today as when it was built.

[@dbc7772011]

Great video. Brings back many fond memories.

[@PittsSZ]

Thanks for posting that! I had the opportunity to visit the Denver training center a few times in the early '90's, and it looked much the same as in the video. Seeing all those full motion sims in a row in one room was an amazing sight.

[@robertwelch3240]

Visited thete a couple of times as a Civil Air Patrol Cadet in the 1980s.

[@patriot03062]

I really loved the Boeing 727. My favorite of all time

[@patriot03062]

janky pop-a-matic oh yes, the back stairway that I used a few times until D.B. Cooper hijacked a plane and used the back stairway to parachute out. Then the back stairways were sealedup

[@ShakespeareCafe]

"Joey, do you like movies about gladiators?"

[@rosemaryangela1825]

Love these old films

[@thomdigiacomo5154]

Been to Denver to be checked out on a 747 incredibly realistic A great experience

[@B1900pilot]

This is an excellent video from both an historical perspective, but also to compare and contrast with current airline training methodology. The most compelling line came from the DoT when he said, “we used to train pilots how to be able to build one of these things”...In my experience, there are or were airlines that stubbornly stick to the mantra of “build it in your garage” vs”if you cannot fix it or have an indication in the cockpit, it’s supefluous”.

[@bobdageek4193]

ahhh 14:11 the stall warning indicator ... remember doing those in my sleep lol

[@douglaswhitcomb9729]

Super cool video!! Thanks for sharing.

[@lasseloschenkohl3725]

What an amazing call-out during engine failure in climb-out: "take care of it Mottie..."

[@troposhere747]

While a bit canned at times, this promo film has an enormous amount of technical and historical interest to any aviation buff or person interested in history. We would NEVER see something so technically comprehensive today released by any airline. I wonder if we have the capacity or attention span to sit though anything like this today without losing interest via craving some sort of entertainment news or fake crisis to give us our next dopamine push!

[@TheCannonofMohammed]

I remember flying a United Convair 340 from SFO-SMF. A flight entirely too short. Also flew on UA's 727's and 720's, DC-10's, 747's and 737's. Not as cool as an old piston 340, though. Loved the PW 2800s starting up.

[@Pileits]

Don't forget those DC-6's

[@gerardosalazar161]

My airline sent us to Denver for DC-10 training and the best memory I carry from those years is attending Shotgun Willy’s nightly after the simulator session.

[@gabrielle-AV-n-PFloyd]

Hi, did you know my father UAL Captain James M. Hykes? He also went here for his DC-10 training. His career was 1960-1994

[@zman919]

It's really good to see so much diversity!! 😯

[@dave4shmups]

Awesome video! I'm a Denver native, and that flight training center is still there! It looks a lot different, and they also train Skywest pilots.

[@rileyk99]

Skywest training center is elsewhere in Denver.

[@Pileits]

I began working for United in 1969 as a "chock" and worked there 35 years and retired as a "chock" having no choice in the airline going bankrupt.

[@waterheaterservices]

Those were the days. DEN Stapleton.

[@gabrielle-AV-n-PFloyd]

Yes!

[@user-hw1cr5uq4z]

Our nextdoor neighbor in the Montclair area of East Denver Len Hatcliff was a Boeing 727 instructor at the UAF Flight Tng Center at this time.

[@rapman5791]

Old Lenny!! Jesus Christ, I haven’t heard that name in years.

[@walterarrigorriaga9573]

i recognized Arnold Palmer too , because l love planes and golf. greetings from Chile.

[@jeffthepilot11]

Amazingly much of the training center is unchanged in 2014. The dining room is the same and the twin spiral staircases are the same; walked them many times.

[@randolphpalma3962]

Same food too !

[@quink99]

Jeff Parkin Over the years I had the distinct pleasure of dining there many times. It ranked with some of the finest Marine Corps field messes I've ever been forced to enjoy. I'm happy to report I survived. The rest of the film was quite well done for a corporate propaganda piece and accurately reflected the pressure I felt each time I returned to The Flight Training Center (DENTK). It was perhaps the one part of my career from 1964 to 1991 that I don't particularly miss but it always accomplished what it set out to do and it did it well.

[@clarencecopping2274]

Jeff Parkin A 2 year renovation was completed in the fall of 2018. Quite a few changes to be seen. UAL 1978-2020.

[@triplanelover]

well, in 1969 procedure was, "your airplane" after engine failure. no good now. The PF should stay with it until its stabilized and trimmed, then give it to the F/O...fly the airplane first !! I know these were the procedures as I flew them as well, but we've changed quite a few things..callouts are different; "set takeoff power" is no longer, "set thrust", also "positive rate" callout , then "gear up" ...oh well, what a career I had like a lot of you guys reading this..

[@doug9066]

Interesting video.

[@mapp47]

awesome video thanks a lot!

[@andrejohnson1488]

Very nice video.

[@Turbojets_Channel]

this was awesome

[@KB-ke3fi]

Wow...69. That's when they opened Houston Intercontinental Airport in Humble, Texas...it was incredible. Subway trams...circulating restaurants, hotels, bars, really wide passanger loading pods and halls...200 foot ceilings, it was beautiful..the most modern and most accessible airport in the United States at the time. People coming in for the first time were shocked...a major airport in the middle of a forest with 100 foot trees and rivers.. Plus we just landed on the moon 3 months before that. Frankly, I was hoping they would have named it after Howard Hughes, since he was born in Humble just 5 miles down the entrance of the airport. It's also ironic that the only DeLorean delaership in the U.S. is 4 miles away...back to the future. Also the home of Exxon, formerly Humble Oil Co, who blended the 1st jet fuels for the jet age. The road it's on was called "Jet Era" Blvd....but some dummy in another state mispelled it to "Jetero" but they already made the road signs and map updates for the entire area so they left it. Now it's Will Clayton Blvd.

[@gabrielle-AV-n-PFloyd]

My father was a UAL Captain, James M. Hykes, 1960-1994. SFO Based

[@lbowsk]

Mal was probably there when this was filmed. He's still there today.

[@luchatrokaalvaradoguajardo5185]

a 1968 best Beautifull LIBERY UNITED airlines

[@clarencecopping2274]

Hey was that Bernie Sterner in this video answering oral questions in the rapid fire sequence?

[@johnrubino6098]

I was at TK for 12 years

[@johnh.2405]

What a shame, you use to get hired on your qualifications, now it’s just so the airline can “check” the right box.

[@solefinder3708]

Not true, if weren't 'white' back then, regardless of how qualified you were, you weren't getting hired...it was a different era. Heck, Hollywood didn't cast Bruce Lee in the Kung-Fu series, cause he looked to 'Asian'... And I don't see to many planes falling out the sky today, so I'm sure whomever they hire can do the job. No pilot has a death wish. (Well, other than Kamikazes from WW2)

[@Springbok295]

United pilot training was scrutinized after numerous accidents in the 1960s. Overall it was considered very poor.

[@allenhayes1803]

As ex-UAL, 1964-2000, was there more times than I can count. The film is a little canned, but overall, pretty accurate. Brings back many memories, mostly all good. I remember director Jim Cross. Good guy. All of aviation, not just UAL was experiencing a high rate of accidents back then. Since the 60's, technology has introduced ground proximity warning systems, better radar, GPS, and digital video displays that make situational awareness improve exponentially. Also the ground based navigation and landing systems have made flight safer, not to mention the engineering of the aircraft themselves and the human engineering and understanding that began in earnest in the mid to late 70's. The low hanging fruit for safe flight has been picked, and commercial flying is much safer today than it was in the 60's. But despite advances in technology, and the improved safety record, issues still remain. To pick out United alone as having a poor flight training department is disingenuous. It was the best in it's day, and advanced with the rest of aviation to what it is today, still one of the best.

[@Springbok295]

Allen Hayes I read accounts from a guy who did flight training for Flying Tigers at LAX in the 60s. His views didn't show United flight training in a positive light during those years. According to him United was the pits.

[@CurtisGregoryLTI]

Springbok295 you were misinformed, I was trained at UAL in 69 and Tigers in 72, both were great.

[@atpg5]

Allen Hayes Hello Captain Haynes. I had the good fortune to hear you speak on two occasions. I very much enjoyed your stories and they made me more professional in a Gulfstream V. Also, thank you for all you do for Little League Baseball. Be well. Art

[@TheCannonofMohammed]

I think United training was good, but, on the other hand, the 727 crash in SLC showed that their transition training wasn't thorough enough. The 727 just didn't have the glide of a DC-8, and the pilot didn't figure that out until too late.

[@frankdenardo8684]

a lot of pilots have engineering degrees and the armed forces.

[@gerardosalazar161]

And your point is?

[@frankdenardo8684]

@@gerardosalazar161 I had a neighbor who was a pilot with Delta Air Lines. He served in the United States Navy active duty. He holds a degree in mechanical and electrical engineering. He retired on his 60th birthday and also received his pension from the Navy Reserve.

[@frankdenardo8684]

@@jankypop-a-matic58 Thanks for serving.

[@fernandagarmabello2622]

Pensar que jenni rivera viajo en ese avión, y que el avión tenía la misma edad que ella

[@RKOAviation]

Good ol' "TK" still looks the same......:}

[@kevincjensen]

Very cool!

[@randolphpalma3962]

What's a Go-Go Dancer ?

[@clonSanG]

If you were the man up front u had everything

[@frontcentermusician]

Pilots today have it so easy. all automation. Little pilot time.

[@mileswrich]

Gale C. Kehmeier took his 727 training there.

[@islandcactus1508]

Had the pleasure of being a a JFO for United in the 80s on the 72 and 73, real birds! Recently on the 787 and it’s boring as soft core porn in comparison!

[@Rodgerball]

DA Tee Kay

[@WorldAviationTravel]

737 in 1969? -0....))))

[@maxsmodels]

I can only guess what 15 hours of training per pilot cost the airlines. No wonder they invented level D sims.

[@karenblaine7266]

Plus it’s a lot safer.

[@RichardAnderson-v7w]

Anyone here have any stories about Moby Dick?

[@stratus262j2]

Great time in aviation. Nowadays glass cockpits have taken over and the pilot's only function is to babysit the computer systems.

[@HEDGE1011]

Stratus 262J We are still plenty busy in the front of my A-320 with much more complex airspace and procedures. I started in the DC-9 and B-727 and I can assure you that we're at least as busy now as we were then although the challenges are somewhat different. What are you flying to base your judgment on?

[@sundar999]

Nope. You are obviously not a pilot:)

[@mitchmaverick7491]

When men dressed and acted like men.

[@gabrielle-AV-n-PFloyd]

Yes, classier times. My father's era as a UAL pilot

[@user-yk4gd1fl4z]

I like pizza

[@robertjonas6216]

The lack of diversity is noticeable. I’m glad the world has changed since then.

[@walternerd3147]

What do you mean..??

[@solefinder3708]

@@walternerd3147 Younger people look at films like this through the lens of today...they have no idea how different times were back then. I'm a person of color and could care the less about diversity based on skin tone. I, instead, prefer intellectual diversity. I live in a black community now, and there's like zero diversity of mind, thought and culture, everyone listens to rap, act the same, behave the same...everyone is black, but beyond that there's like zero diversity among thought and behavior.