SANTA IS COMING TO THE TWA MUSEUM!!
SANTA WILL BE AT THE MUSEUM
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2020, 2 - 4 PM.
CHECK BACK WITH US SOON FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Welcome to the first article in our Short-Hauls section. In it, we'll present stories that are shorter than our blog's full-length articles, focusing more on specific people and/or topics. We hope you'll enjoy this and future Short-Hauls stories.
Our first Short-Hauls article is really two stories in one. First, a photo essay of TWA's retired fleet of Convair 880 jets as it was residing at TWA's maintenance and overhaul base next to Kansas City International Airport, in 1977. We think the photos speak for themselves.
The second story is about the photographer. A (then) 21-year old young man from Amstelveen, the Netherlands and how he found his way to Kansas City, to spend a day with the Convairs.
Fons Schaefers was (and still is) a self-described "aircraft buff". In the spring of 1977, he made his first trip to the United States with a plan: “To see as many interesting aircraft spotting sights as possible.” After landing in New York, Fons rode buses across the country, mostly heading to the airport of each city he visited (he admits to some “conventional" tourist activities in a few major cities). Heading west, Fons made one of his stops in Kansas City, as he knew about a group of 25 retired TWA Convair 880 jets sitting together at TWA’s overhaul base. Figuring these airplanes would soon be sold, scrapped or moved elsewhere, Fons hoped to photograph the world’s largest gathering of Convair 880s. On May 12, 1977, he stepped off a Greyhound bus in Kansas City and headed for the Kansas City International Airport.
Upon arrival at the airport, Fons walked into Terminal B, home of TWA's passenger operations. Looking east from the terminal, he could see the Convairs parked, however, they were about a mile away. As Fons recalls, "Being young and not so organised, I had not contacted TWA beforehand." Undeterred, he approached a TWA agent asking if he could “visit” the Convairs. "Quite to my pleasant surprise, the agent found someone at TWA maintenance willing to help me." A few minutes later, Fons made the short trip from the terminal to the overhaul base by taxi. There he was greeted by Larry Andrews, a TWA employee in materials management. Fons remembers, "He allowed me to wander around the set of 25 identical aircraft and take photos. He was even so kind as to drive me back to the terminal afterwards." The result was a series of great photographs that today take us back to a moment in TWA's history. A tribute to the Convair 880s.
Today, 43 years later, Fons is a retired aircraft safety engineer and lives in the quiet village of Surhuizum, in the Netherlands. His career included working for the Fokker aircraft company, Martinair (a Dutch airline) and SGI Aviation Services (a consulting company). He currently is in the process of writing a book about the history of aircraft cabin safety. He points out that TWA played a pioneering role in the research and development of large commercial aircraft evacuation, beginning in the early 1950s.
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| Fons Schaefers takes a break with N814TW - May 12, 1977 |
We at the blog consider ourselves fortunate to have heard from Fons and thank him for sharing his story and photographs. We also want to recognize the great TWA people who played an important role in the story: The unknown airport agent who cleared the way for Fons to head to the overhaul base and, of course, the late Larry Andrews, who welcomed Fons, once there. TWA's Convair 880s are long gone, but the memories of that day still resonate with Fons. "I only now realize how privileged I was to be permitted to walk and take photographs there and then.” We, too, are privileged to have been given the opportunity to present the photographs and story of a young man from the Netherlands, who made it to Kansas City and spent a day with the Convairs.
On a final note
We first heard from Fons Schaefers in May. He had been searching online for pictures of TWA’s 25 retired Convairs at the overhaul base and came across our blog’s Photo of The Week that was posted on November 5, 2018 (it’s shown below). After comparing the notes and photographs from his 1977 visit, he determined the time our photograph was taken and the time of his visit were very close. He emailed us his story and photographs and the rest, as they say, is history. Fons was even able to identify the ship number of each of the 25 Convairs in our photograph and we’ve included that information below our original photo. For those of you with an interest in TWA’s Convairs, here’s your chance to identify each one, as they stood together in 1977 (click on the photo to enlarge). Thanks, Fons.
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| Original photographs property of the TWA Museum |
Tell us your Short-Hauls story
We'd like to give our blog readers the chance to tell their stories about having been a TWA passenger or employee in a Short-Hauls article. If you have an idea for a story, let us know. We'll get back in touch with you to see if it might become a future article. Please address your correspondence to: twamuseumguides@gmail.com.
Article written by: Wayne Hammer
Edited by: Larry Dingman
Copy editor: Pam Tucker
Unless noted, all photographs are the property of Fons Schaefers
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ARTICLES
JON PROCTOR
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| Photo courtesy of jonproctor.net |
It is with a deep sense of sadness that we recognize the passing of Jon Proctor, on April 22, 2020. Jon was known worldwide as a preeminent commercial aviation journalist, historian and photographer. He authored and contributed to numerous books and aviation magazines. During his career, Jon also served as a Senior Editor and Editor-in-Chief at the prestigious Airways and Airliners magazines.
And Jon was a TWAer, having served the airline for 27 years. He held many positions at TWA, starting as a transportation agent in Los Angeles in 1964. From there he wore many other hats, even serving as a bus-driving tour guide at the Kennedy Space Center, when TWA ran the public tour operations there! Jon is perhaps best remembered for his work in TWA's in-flight operations, serving as (among other positions) an onboard Director of Customer Service.
Jon was also a good friend of the TWA Museum, often sharing his writing talent and photographs with us. Many of our volunteers knew Jon personally and many worked with him during his time at TWA. We all mourn his passing. Rest in peace, Jon.
AN UPDATE FROM OUR DIRECTOR CONCERNING OUR MUSEUM’S CONTINUED CLOSURE
April 5, 2020
As we all are aware, non-essential social interaction and sheltering-in-place continue to be strongly recommended or mandated by federal, state and local governments. For that reason, the TWA Museum will remain closed. We will evaluate the situation again on April 30th. Based on predictions of COVID -19 peak occurrences for this part of the country, it is highly likely we’ll remain closed beyond April 30th, but we will remain flexible and will continue to assess the situation on a rolling basis. Again, we encourage you to check our website’s home page (www.twamuseum.com) for the most current closure information.
As we’re dealing with this most unexpected and difficult situation, I want you
to know that our museum’s Board of Directors understands how much we matter to
our donors, friends, volunteers and the visitors we’ve hosted over the years.
We also view ourselves as an important institution related to the culture and
history of Kansas City. We are working diligently to remain operationally and
financially sound during our closure.
In the meantime, we continue to be “open” online and hope you’ll visit us
there. Our website and blog are up and running and we’re actively updating
their content. Again, we appreciate your support and understanding during this
difficult time.
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Pam Blaschum, Director
TWA Museum
A MESSAGE FROM OUR DIRECTOR CONCERNING TEMPORARY MUSEUM CLOSURE AND OUR UPCOMING HANGAR DANCE
In consideration for the safety and well-being of our guests and staff, the TWA Museum will be closed for the remainder of March. At this time we plan to re-open the museum on Wednesday, April 1, however we will evaluate that decision again in a few days. An up-to-date museum operating schedule is posted on our website's home page (www.twamuseum.com) so please check there, if you're planning a visit. You can also call our museum at 816-234-1011
On a related subject, our annual Hangar Dance which was scheduled to take place on April 25 has been moved to October 10. Tickets already purchased will be valid for the new day. We'll be sending more details in the future.
We know these are difficult times for everyone, but we feel we all must do our parts to be sure the virus is contained and affects as few people as possible. We appreciate your understanding and look forward to life soon returning to normalcy for all our museum's family and friends, around the world.
Stay safe!
Pam Blaschum, Director
TWA Museum
WE'D LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU!
Have a comment or question about our blog? We'd really like to hear from you. There are several ways to contact us:
Email: Drop us a line anytime at twamuseumguides@gmail.com. We read our email every day and an actual human being will respond to you (no robots here!).
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Our website: You can use the contact form on our museum's main website (twamuseum.com). Messages pertaining to the blog will quickly be slipped under our door!
Email: Drop us a line anytime at twamuseumguides@gmail.com. We read our email every day and an actual human being will respond to you (no robots here!).
_______________________________________________________________________
Our website: You can use the contact form on our museum's main website (twamuseum.com). Messages pertaining to the blog will quickly be slipped under our door!
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Facebook: Our Facebook page is facebook.com/TWAMuseumKC. We read every comment sent to us. If you post a question, we'll reply to your post.
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Twitter: Become one of our 1,300 followers on Twitter. You can find us at @TWAMuseum. You can also message us on Twitter and we'll get back to you.
Facebook: Our Facebook page is facebook.com/TWAMuseumKC. We read every comment sent to us. If you post a question, we'll reply to your post.
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Twitter: Become one of our 1,300 followers on Twitter. You can find us at @TWAMuseum. You can also message us on Twitter and we'll get back to you.
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