John Willmott - The Post-War Years
John & Joan on his 90th birthday, 11/18/04
As told by John:After the war, I flew for American Overseas Airways (AOA). They merged with Pan Am in 1950, and I lost 8 years of seniority (ALPA # 5401) with the likelihood of 7 more as relief captain. Ralph Cox, a friend, was in the same boat but he left AOA earlier because his "Aunt Rebe" in Wildwood, NJ bought him 7 DC-4's outright. He called me since I had checked out as captain and was on the "reserve" list for a new contract or next summer's bus season.
Ralph offered me relief captain and the jump to captain when he got enough DC-4 flying. Paul Campus, a friend, became Chief Pilot. He assigned me the Atlantic Runs and to the Mid East since I had flown them for years while some others flew the Korean War contract. I flew a great mission for the Shah of Iran hauling Howard Piper and his spray planes to Iran and hauling insecticide for a locust elimination program. After a while some complained I got the good trips. Ralph who was a personal friend called me to the Chrysler Building office and told me the situation. He said I had to take 6 months, two 3 month periods flying the Pacific. and said I'd make Captain quicker there since the "new" guys flew the military contract which would put me near the top.
While away flying the Korean Airlift, I became a "war casualty" by not even getting a "Dear John" letter which ended my first marriage. I came home to an empty house. The baby sitter was near the P.O. next door when I came home and told me what had happened. I got family leave but overstayed so was out of a job.
I decided while between jobs and still free to take a trip in my 90-hp Stinson 10-1 to Miami via lighthouse to lighthouse. I hoped to continue to Rio on the PAA coastal "light house" routes. In a last lawyer consultation, my lawyer said he'd like to go with me since he had also gotten a divorce and was free before a new life. We did quick plans and flew out of Danbury, CT one winter morning when the temperature was near zero. Key West was my jump off place for Havana in my Stinson following the routes to Rio we flew in the early Pan Am clippers; all daylight VFR except the blind RDF approaches and landings we did with seaplanes. I got to Rancho Boyeros Airport in Havana and found my 90 horses did not perform safely on takeoff with me, my huge lawyer friend, an under-powered friend in a high humidity, high-temperature environment. On takeoff we could not climb high enough to clear all the tall Royal Palms, so snaked through them southbound until near the end of the harbor and turned north over the harbor and passed by Morro Castle Prison at window level headed to the USA.
With the house sold, I slept under my Cape Cod dory on the beach until I got a job in 1953 as student pilot for American Airlines on Convair 240's out of NY at $190 a month, then $375 on line. Got ground school head of class and on line in CV240, but daily growing more broke. Meanwhile, every few weeks I hit on Paul Mlinar. Finally, the next time I went to visit personally, he said he was hiring 4 to 6 new men and needed captain-qualified Relief Captains. I accepted, and quit AA because I could not live, let alone exist and pay my bills. In Feb. 1953, I signed up with Seaboard. Paul Mlinar gave me three bounces at night, instrument approach, engine out and go-around, and made me Relief Captain at $750 a month on DC-4's!
Now in his 90's, John, with Joan's help, has been building a new house in Florida. This is the pond he built.
