Jack C. Pitts Pilot Collection

Collection — Multiple Containers

Identifier: 2024-05-22

Contents of the Collection

The Jack C. Pitts Pilot Collection is a small collection of textual materials that pertain to Pitts' pilot career at National Airlines and post-retirement activities as founder and member of the Retired Airline Pilots Association (RAPA), also known as the Buccaneers, dating from 1934-1993. Included in the collection are photocopies of clippings about Pitts, National Airlines, and RAPA; photocopies of Pitts' identification cards and licenses; profiles on the history of NAL and RAPA; a 1993 biographical profile of Pitts; a 1980 "RAPA Day" proclamation certificate; and Pitts' flight time records, qualification reports, and flight pay vouchers from NAL for 1971-1972.

A highlight in the collection is a handwritten National Airlines employee roster. It begins in 1934 and lists every hire, in order of date of hire, by last name and first initial, up through 1974. There are some names at the end of the list that do not have accompanying dates. The roster also includes "Dates, Retired/Resigned" with a column for birth and death dates, most of which are not entered. Of note within the roster is a section between February 25, 1948 and December 18, 1950 that lists names under the heading "Scabs." These are not dated, but are employees hired during a 6-month strike that began in January 1948 by the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) and International Association of Machinists (IAM).

Dates

Creation: circa 1960s-1993

Creator

Pitts, Jack C., 1915-2002 (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

This collection is open for research and is accessible in the Dahlberg Research Center by appointment. For more information contact us.

Conditions Governing Use

The Museum of Flight (TMOF) Archives is the owner of the physical materials in the archives and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written permission must be obtained from TMOF archives before any publication use. TMOF does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from copyright owners. Consult repository for more details.

Biographical Note: Jack C. Pitts

Jack C. Pitts (1915-2002) was a pilot for National Airlines and a founder of the Retired Airline Pilots Association (RAPA).

Jack Coleman Pitts was born on March 24, 1915 in Readyville, Tennessee to Virgil M. and Fannie (Richardson) Pitts. In the late 1920s, after spending time at two of Nashville, Tennesse's airports, Richland Creek and Sky Harbor, he became interested in aviation. Pitts graduated high school in 1932. He soon obtained a job at an airport and spent time in fixed base operations, flying airshows, and barnstorming. During the late 1930s through the early 1940s, he was a contract flight school operator for the Civilian Pilot Training for the United States Army Air Corps. He later served in Air Transport Command as a Command Pilot and helped found "SNAFU Airline," which became Military Air Transport Service (MATS).

After World War II, he operated an airline from Bar Harbor, Maine and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He later joined National Airlines as a pilot, where he remained until his retirement in 1972. In 1974, he helped found the Retired Airline Pilots Association (RAPA) and was elected as first Chairman and President of RAPA. He served as President until 1984, when he became President Emeritus and continued to be active in the organization.

Pitts married Dorothy DeSimone on June 1, 1945 in Great Falls, Montana. The couple had one daughter, Janet. Jack C. Pitts died on January 14, 2002 in Seattle, Washington.

Source: Biography derived from collection materials and donor information.

Extent

.3 Cubic Feet (1 legal size 2-inch document box, 1 oversize folder (20x24"))

Language

English

Additional Description

Separated Materials

As part of the the archival processing some items were separated from the archival component and are kept in Objects, including National Airlines playing cards, a decorative car plate, slippers, kits, matchbooks, puzzle, tie tacks and pins, and a trophy. For more details, contact us.

Additionally, a small amount of material has been separated and is kept in the Commercial Airlines Collection: