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Captain Michael Gitt Papers

National Air and Space Museum

Object Details

Creator
Gitt, Michael.
Names
Air Lines Pilots Association (ALPA)
Colonial Airlines
Eastern Airlines, Inc.
Topic
Aeronautics
Airlines
Aeronautics, Commercial
Discrimination in employment
Collective bargaining -- Aeronautics
Provenance
Patricia and Brian Gitt, Gift, 2003, NASM.2003.0033
Creator
Gitt, Michael.
See more items in
Captain Michael Gitt Papers
Summary
Captain Michael Gitt was a pilot for several airlines from 1940 until 1968, most notably Colonial Airlines and Eastern Airlines. This collection consists of materials from Captain Michael Gitt's aviation career, particularly his thirty years as a commercial airline pilot for Colonial Airlines and Eastern Airlines. Of special note are the documents from his 1969 age discrimnation lawsuit regarding the "Age 60" mandatory retirement rule for pilots.
Biographical / Historical
Captain Michael Gitt (1908-2002) was a pilot for several airlines from 1940 until 1968, most notably Colonial Airlines and Eastern Airlines. Michael A. Gitt learned to fly on a Brunner-Winkle Bird at the Flushing Flying School in 1931. In November 1931, he bought a Buhl Flying Bull Pup and a Taylor Cub E-2 in March 1935. He earned his transport license in 1937. He studied with the Aircraft Radio and Instrument Company at Roosevelt Field. Between 1938 and 1940, he was employed by Aero Service for aerial photography, Bennett Air Service, and Standard Flying Service at Somerset Hills Airport in Basking Ridge, New Jersey. In August 1940, Gitt began his career as a commercial airline pilot with Canadian Colonial Airwayss, which was renamed Colonial Airlines in 1942. In 1956, Eastern Airlines purchased Colonial and Gitt continued his employment with Eastern until he retired as a Senior Captain in 1968. Gitt was also extremely active with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) union from 1946-1956. He served as chairman of numerous negotiating committees, including the retirement committee and the Colonial #28 Council. Gitt filed many grievances with the airlines on his own behalf over issues such as vacation time, compensation, and seniority. In 1969, he filed one of the first airline pilot age discrimination suits against Eastern Airlines in response to the "Age 60" mandatory retirement rule for pilots.. F. Lee Bailey served as one of his lawyers. His suit was not successful and the mandatory retirement age for airline pilots remained 60 until 2007, when it was changed to 65. After his retirement from the airlines, Gitt began a second career as director of Marine Activities for the Park District of Great Neck, Long Island, New York. Besides his work and many civic and community organizations that he was involved with, Gitt also fulfilled a dream during the 1970s by earning his glider pilot license. He also was a member of the Retired Eastern Pilots Association (REPA).
Extent
5.71 Cubic feet (11 document boxes, 1 oversize box)
Date
1931-2002
bulk 1938-1970
Archival Repository
National Air and Space Museum Archives
Identifier
NASM.2003.0033
Type
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Correspondence
Technical manuals
Legal documents
Financial records
Maps
Citation
Captain Michael Gitt Papers, Acc. NASM.2003.0033, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Arrangement
The collection is arranged into five series. Materials within each series are arranged chronologically. Series 1: Early Aviation Career Series 2: Canadian Colonial Airways and Colonial Airlines Series 3: Eastern Airlines Subseries 3.1: Age 60 Lawsuit Subseries 3.2: General Eastern Materials and Retired Eastern Pilots Association Series 4: Logbooks, Licenses, and Cards Series 5: Personal Materials
Processing Information
Arranged, described, and encoded by Elizabeth C. Borja, 2021.
Rights
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Genre/Form
Correspondence
Technical manuals -- 20th century
Legal documents
Financial records
Maps
Scope and Contents
This collection consists of materials from Captain Michael Gitt's aviation career, particularly his thirty years as a commercial airline pilot. Documents include: flight logs and aviation licenses; applications for employment; aerial negatives and photographs of the New York City area; correspondence, mostly to colleagues at Canadian Colonial Airways, later renamed Colonial Airlines, and the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA); Colonial Airlines bulletins and staff newsletters; material relating to his employment at Colonial Airlines, including aircraft manuals for the DC-2 and DC-3; rosters and documentation relating to the Retired Eastern Pilots Association (REPA); and legal briefs and correspondence associated with his age discrimination case against Eastern Airlines in 1969. A small selection of personal materials include correspondence, licenses, housing documentation, and an autobiography and obituaries. There are also materials regarding his wife, Cornelia Gitt, her flight records, and her attempt to organize a Colonial wives safety petition. Note: The digital images in this finding aid were repurposed from scans made by an outside contractor for a commercial product and may show irregular cropping and orientation in addition to color variations resulting from damage to and deterioration of the original objects. Materials with personally identifiable information have not been included.
Restrictions
No restrictions on access.
Related link
Record ID
ebl-1529530827165-1529530827168-0
Metadata Usage
CC0
GUID
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pg2070e9c2d-c70b-4ed7-8c37-95806cf0a19f

In the Collection

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  • Eastern Airlines

  • Permit of Local Board for Registrant to Depart from the United States

  • Taylor Cub NC-14780

  • Captain Eugene "Gene" Garges - Colonial/Eastern Merger

  • Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York

  • Aviation Week

  • Congressional Action Lobbying for Age 60

  • Gitt Correspondence with ALPA on Age 60

  • Retired Eastern Pilots Association

  • Colonial Airlines - Licenses, Awards and Cards

  • Business Card Wallet

  • Correspondence, Retired Eastern Pilots Association (REPA)

  • Eastern

  • Colonial Seniority and Bidding Systems - A.K. Murray Correspondence

  • Loose Materials in Front of Scrapbook

  • Pilot Log Book

  • Licenses and Cards

  • Agreement between Colonial Airlines, Inc. and Air Line Pilots Association International, Effective August 10, 1940, with 1947 Amendments

  • Canada - Air Regulations 1938 with Amendments to March 12, 1947

  • Pilot Log Book

  • Seniority List

  • ALPA Correspondence and Grievances

  • Canadian Colonial Airways Bulletins and Manuals

  • ALPA - CAB Acccident Reports

  • Colonial Airlines Annual Reports 1946, 1948, 1953, 1954

  • Canadian Colonial Airways

  • Age 60 Committee Minutes

  • Pilot Log Book

  • Customer Flight Reviews

  • Pilot Check Reports and License Application and Renewal

  • Pilot Log Book

  • "Sketches of an Airline" Eastern by Vern Renaud

  • ALPA Headquarters Correspondence 1950

  • ALPA Data on Age 60 Gitt Research

  • Retired Eastern Pilots Association - Human Resources Materials

  • Air Transport Certificate Applications

  • Nelson Rockefeller Campaign

  • Pilot's License Wallet Contents

  • House Bills

  • Pilot Log Book

  • Gitt ALPA Correspondence

  • Colonial Airlines Airplane Directory, May 1942; CAA Approach and Departure Procedures; Directory of Airports and Seaplane Bases, Part II: Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, 1939

  • Letterhead (Blank) - Colonial, ALPA

  • Cornelia Gitt and Edward Gitt (Civil Service and Flight Records)

  • Gitt Correspondence Regarding Retirement

  • Personal Materials

  • Pilot Log Book

  • United Airlines Stock Certificate

  • Pilot Log Book

  • Supplement to Civil Aeronautics Manual 60 - Approach Control

  • Colonial Bulletins and Notices

  • Civil Service Exams and Job Applications Folder 2 of 2

  • Photo: Ninth Convention Air Line Pilots Association

  • Pilot Log Book

  • Sailplane Pilot's Log Book

  • "A Chronicle of the Aviation Industry in American, 1903-1947," 1948; Supplements 1947-48, 1950, 1951

  • ALPA Correspondence 1951

  • Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences

  • Gitt Correspondence and Personal History of Canadian Colonial Airways

  • Gitt ALPA Private Correspondence and Leave of Absence from Colonial

  • Aero Service Corporation Aerial Photographs - New Jersey and Rutgers University

  • Personal Correspondence, Housing

  • ALPA Master Executive Council (MEC) 1948 National Airlines Strike

  • Curriculum Vitae (CV)

  • Articles - Eastern Airlines

  • Island Air Ferries

  • "Weather Maker" and Meteorology

  • Pilot Log Books

  • Colonial Bulletins and Notices

  • Pilot Log Book

  • Gitt ALPA Correspondence

  • ALPA Contract Committee

  • Canadian Colonial/Colonial DC-2/DC-3 Airplane Manual

  • Pilot Log Book

  • Signed Photo from Lawrence Tibbett

  • Employment Applications - American Airlines, Canadian Colonial

  • Loose Materials from Scrapbook, Between Pages 6 and 7

  • Colonial Airlines - Safety and Accidents

  • Colonial-Eastern Proposed Merger

  • Canadian Colonial Airways

  • Identification Cards (loose)

  • Agreement between Canadian Colonial Airlines, Inc. and Air Line Pilots Association International, Effective August 10, 1940, with 1947 Amendments

  • Pilot Log Book

  • Employment Applications - Aircraft Radio and Instrument Training Co., E.W. Wiggins, Rutgers University, etc.

  • Pilot Log Book

  • Licenses and Cards (loose)

  • Petition of Gitt and ALPA to the FAA for Exemption to Age 60

  • State of New York: Executive Department Division of Human Rights, on the Complaint of Capt. Michael A. Gitt Against Eastern Airlines and S.L. Higgenbottom, Vice President Operations Group

  • Requests to Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)

  • Eastern Airlines Pilot Retirement Plans

  • ALPA Headquarters, Charles Ruby, and Age 60 Retirement Committee

  • Seniority List 1955

  • ALPA Retirement Committee Correspondence

  • Pink Slips - Colonial Interoffice Correspondence

  • Home - Flushing, Queens, New York

  • General Eastern Materials and Retired Eastern Pilots Association

  • Canadian Colonial Airways and Colonial Airlines

  • Pilot Log Book

  • Colonial Airlines - Corruption Investigation

  • Home - Great Neck, Nassau County, Long Island, New York

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Captain Michael Gitt
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