| Tail Art? | |
| Norwegian Air Shuttle ASA advertise on their web page, "The tail fin of our aircraft are adorned by portraits of heroes who have pushed boundaries, challenged the established and been a major source of inspiration." We at the Arthur A. Collins Legacy Association are proud to see our founder included into this prestigious group of "Heroes". To visit their "Tail fin heroes" web page. go here… |
 Arthur Collins - American Radio Communications Pioneer — G-CKWB image courtesy of Atle Straume |
| Arthur Collins' son, Michael Collins reports: “In the summer of 2017 I was contacted by Dave Yeoman of Rockwell Collins, who passed on a request from Norwegian Air asking me, as a representative of the Collins family, for permission to so honor Arthur Collins. In addition to signing an agreement, they asked for pictures of AAC to be used in direct rendition as well as a basis for artwork for the tail fin image. Rod Blocksome and I gathered several images of proper content and resolution. After submitting these, we were told to expect a spring 2018 rollout and handover from Boeing to NA. Dave Yeoman and I both tried to obtain a date as spring approached. At the last moment, Boeing and NA asked if I would like to visit during the handover, a date was proposed, and then abruptly changed to a week earlier. My wife Pat and I gratefully accepted and flew to Seattle on March 8. Corey Moseley, head of the RC field office on site at Boeing, kindly drove us to Boeing on an appropriately rainy morning, where we were graciously treated to breakfast and a brief ceremony. We then drove to the newly-certified-for-handover 787 and given a tour around and inside the aircraft. I enclose a shot of Corey explaining the basic functions of the RC glass cockpit. This was poignant for me since I grew up around airplanes and flew with Dad as pilot in a succession of aircraft. We were building the FD-108/9 when I worked for Fred Johnson and Harry Passman in Cedar Rapids in the mid 1960s.” |
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 Atle Straume -Norwegian, Pat Hamilton, Chris Thomsen -Rockwell Collins, Corey Moseley -Rockwell Collins, Will Cooper -Rockwell Collins, Brian Aiken -Rockwell Collins, Ray Hamilton -Boeing |
“We got a tour also of the assembly area for the 787. A huge place; I was reminded of the Vehicle Assembly Bldg. at Cape Canaveral. First impression: how quiet it was due to the elimination of mass riveting of panels. Most of the plane is carbon fiber based material. Pat and I were so lucky to have been invited. I left Corey with my last copy of the “Innovation” DVD. His lasting comment to me was how very seldom he saw failure of the old avionics gear, during the time he was a travelling field rep. (Most problems were wiring, incorrect installation or modification, or worn plugs.)” “The Collins family is certainly grateful to have been a part of this event. Our collective thought was that Dad would have been embarrassed at all the fuss!” |
 “Arthur Collins in his early years with early amatuer radios built by Collins Radio.” |
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 Norwegian G-CKWB departing Boeing Field. image courtesy of Atle Straume |
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| 2018 - Boeing-787 Dreamliner ‘all-glass’ Cockpit | |
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| A few years earlier… | |
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| Back in the late 40's we made these… | |
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