European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - November 6, 1987, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Capt. Bob paty left and first officer Tom Young in the cockpit of their twinset md-80 Airliner during a three Day swing that took them 6,335 Miles across the United states and Back a trip that involved nine stops five different aircraft 17 hours and s3 minutes of flying 28 hours and 48 minutes on duty and 63 hours and 26 minutes away from Home. Rican Odyssey by h. Josef Hebert associated Pressi t is shortly after 5 . And the Oklahoma Prairie is not yet awake As Cap. . Bob paly aboard american airlines flight 548 guides his jetliner and 52 sleepy passengers through the dark skies. The twin engine Mcdonnell Douglas md-80 has the sky virtually to itself cruising at 29.000 feet gone is the Normal chatter on the air traffic control radio band although a controller briefly Breaks the Calm to advise thai flight 548 will have a direct path into Dallas fort Worth 200 Miles away the outlines of land below and the cockpit where lights hundreds of them it seems illuminating each switch Knob and dial stand As testimony to both the Beauty and comple uly of flight. It is what paly a soft spoken mississippian who has been an american airlines Pilot for two decades must have had in mind when he remarked the Day Beloro that airline pilots love their work because they  to Fly. To show what the life of an airline Pilot is lit e paty and his co Pilot. Torn Young permitted a reporter to travel with them in the cockpit jump seat for three Days on a swing that look them 6.335 Miles across the country and Back Only 1 i hours Belore departing from Tulsa. The 0b seemed far from inspirational As paty. His co Pilot and three flight attendants gulped Coffee in a deserted hotel lobby wailing for a 3 30  Van to take them to the Airport this is the glorious life it could t gel any hotter " mocked Young a tall 38 year old Navy Veteran  spent his military me flying on and off aircraft earners yes it could came Back a sleepy flight attendant As the group entered the Van paty and Young had flown into Tulsa from Washington do with a Quick Stop in Chicago the Day before. Now they Are in the second Day of a three Day swing to the Wesl coast and Back. It s an Early morning hop to Dallas fort Worth to Hook up with american s first Rush of flights out of its biggest Hub then on to new Orleans Back to Dallas and finally a 3vz-hour flight to Sacramento. Calif. The next Day they Fly from Sacramento to Santa Ana near los Angeles to Dallas Forl Worth and Back to Dulles Airport outside Washington d their Home base. The trip will involve nine stops five different aircraft 17 hours and 53 minutes of flying 28 hours and 48 minutes on duty and 63 hours and 26 minutes away from Home base despite All the talk of delays the flights for the most part Are close to schedule. Afterwards paty and Young will have four Days Oil and then Fly another three Days although to different cities. The two pilots among 405 american pilots based in the Washington area Are a team for a month then May not Fly together again for months the Industry has changed dramatically since paty first joined american airlines in 1967. The biggest changes have come since 1979 when Young was first hired Only to be let go a year later when the Industry furloughed 2.000 pilots and to return in Early 1986 airline routes have changed with flights now much Shorter. There Are More landings and takeoffs More time in the air and less waiting at an Airport or Hole and the skies Are More crowded the planes More automated and the air carriers More conscious of costs and efficiency White today s pilots Are under new pressures. Paty and Young Are emphatic that the cries about airline safety Are exaggerated at the same time they have concerns they worry about the threat of an Aerial collision from Small private planes As airspace near major airports becomes More  about the Quality of some of Friday. Novembers. 1987 the newer pilots flying at major air carriers about the internal discord they see at Many airlines that have gone through mergers about How automation will change the character of flying about the effect rapid Industry expansion and intense Competition will have on their lives and underlying All that is the uneasy feeling shared by both pilots that the image of their profession Mote than 40,000 pilots Strong is under attack. Somehow we have to get Back to reversing the image that we have we Are professionals but somehow we re being perceived in the wrong Way says paty but he acknowledges an increase in Pilot errors ind says some of the fault rests with pilots themselves the summer began with an eerie spate of Pilot incidents at Delia air lines mistakes that in two cases almost resulted in disaster. Then came the or  of a Northwest airlines md-80 Jet in Detroit killing 156 people in which the pilots May have violated one of the Basic rules of flying by not be temp the flaps correctly that prompted the Federal aviation administration s new administrator. Allan Scarlor. To Call Lor heightened Pilot awareness " he lectured pilots to return to the basics " paty and Young resent it ii he does t quit making these statements he s going to lose us  says paty pilots resent the act they should All be lumped together because a few have done some stupid things complains Young despite such squalls the life of an airline Pilot remains a Good one most airlines limit pilots to 75 to 78 flying hours a month three Day trips followed by four Days Oft Are common giving pilots about two weeks free each month a Small number of pilots who Fly Long overseas trips May work As Tew As nine Days a month paty earns about $115.000 a year the Middle Range for airline captains whose pay scale can vary  continued on Page 14 the stars and stripes Page 13