Training at McDonnell Douglas Corporation USA (Part1-1974)

 

McDonnell Douglas Corporation was a major American aerospace manufacturing corporation and defense contractor, formed by the merger of McDonnell Aircraft and the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. Between then and its own merger with Boeing in 1997, it produced well-known commercial and military aircraft, such as the DC-10 and the MD-80 airliners, the F-15 Eagle air superiority fighter, and the F/A-18 Hornet multirole fighter.

 

(Picture of DC-10 cockpit fetched from internet)

Pakistan International Airlines ordered a total of 10 DC-10-30 airplanes in 1971 after a significant loss of its fleet in East Pakistan. A team of concerned people was sent as usual for training to maintain and fly the new aero plane.  I was one of the member in 1974 to get Automatic Flight Control System’s training of DC-10 aircraft. We were 8 members inclusive of technicians and aircraft engineers staying in two separate apartments at Long Beach California.

I am really grateful to Mr. & Mrs. Hicks (Owner of our 200 apartments building) who offered me to be his adopted son as he had no heirs of his property and a huge amount of wealth behind after his death. I used to pay the monthly rent in his office when he told me his story of the only brother who recently died in a crash of his air taxi he was flying. I had no idea about the system over there, discussed with my colleagues insisting me to be agreed but I could not accept it mentally, hence came back home clean as earlier at departure from Pakistan.

This is called “Mr. Hicks proposes, God disposes”. Ha-ha-ha