Interviewed on December 11, 2020
The interview describes the life and career of Captain Terry Rinehart; family’s history in aviation during World War II; mother’s [Barbara Erickson London] service as a squadron commander with the WASPs (Women Airforce Service Pilots); father’s [Jack London, Jr.] service with the 6th Ferry Command; uncle’s status as an American Ace flying a P-47; mother’s service, the role of the WASPs during the war, her Air Medal, and her work in aviation after the war; childhood in an aviation-oriented family; decision to become a commercial airline pilot; education in the aeronautics program at San Jose State University; earning licenses and ratings; process of applying for pilot’s jobs in the 1970s; encounter with the chief pilot for Western Airlines; work as a planner for United Air Lines at the SFO maintenance base; test flights between San Francisco and Oakland; hiring at Western in 1976; training on the Boeing 737; initial work as “GIB” (“Guy/Girl in Back”) on the 737; advancement to flight engineer on the Boeing 727, copilot on the 737, copilot on the Boeing 767, and captain on the 737; impressions of working for Western; lack of discrimination she experienced; benefits of the seniority system; marriage to a United Air Lines pilot; pregnancy in 1979 and the lack of pregnancy leave; career decisions and family choices to balance work and family life; transition from Western to Delta; cultural differences between the two airlines; experiences with overt and systemic sexism at Delta; conditions that create gender-based gaps for commercial pilots; seniority and the role of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA); experiences on 9-11 and impact on her work; decision to retire from Delta in 2005 prior to the airline’s declaration of bankruptcy; work as a corporate pilot; differences between corporate and commercial airlines; experience of seeing her daughters fly her and her mother to Washington DC to accept the Congressional Gold Medal in 2010 for their service in World War II; work with the Ninety-Nines and the International Society of Women Airline Pilots (ISA+21); experiences flying the Powder Puff Derby with her mother.
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