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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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  • War Department, TM 1-900, Technical Manual, Mathematics for Air Crew Trainees

  • Military Aviation Materials (Air Corps Reserve)

  • Presentation: Before ALPA Executive Committee Meeting January 16 - 18, 1968 Submitted by: J. R. Richard & M. A. Gitt EAL MEC Age 60 Retirement Committee

  • Aviation Career Scrapbook

  • Internal Revenue Service (IRS) - Pilot Tax Credits

  • Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) Violations

  • Remarks on "Olden Days of Flying"

  • Gitt - Colonial Earnings and Expenses

  • Age Discrimination Lawsuit Materials - Briefs, Memoranda

  • Age 60 Lawsuit - Herbert A. Levy and Donald W. Madole

  • ALPA and Colonial #28 Council

  • DC-4 Training Fiasco

  • Newspaper Articles on Colonial

  • Loose Materials from Scrapbook, Between Pages 5 and 6

  • Photographs - Gitt Personal

  • Pilot Log Book

  • Miscellaneous Correspondence 1950 Bob Silver

  • ALPA All Members Memo

  • Airlines in Favor of Age 60 Actions

  • Gitt Colonial Pilot Check Reports

  • ALPA 1930-1944 Historical Pamphlet; "The ALPA Story"

  • Colonial Airlines Timetables

  • Mrs. Cornelia K. Gitt - Wives Safety Petition

  • ALPA and Colonial #28 Council 1951

  • Colonial Bulletins and Notices

  • Flight Crew Log - Trip and Expense Report

  • Pilot Log Book

  • Instruments and Weather Materials

  • Michael A. Gitt vs. Colonial Airlines, Inc, Grievance, ALPA File 372

  • The Airline Pilot (ALPA Newsletter)

  • Gitt - Colonial Earnings and Expenses

  • Seversky Aircraft Corporation - Pay Stubs

  • Employment Applications - Pennsylvania-Central and Northwestern

  • CCA News (Canadian Colonial Airways)

  • Computational Instruments

  • Loose Materials from Scrapbook, Between Pages 7 and 8

  • Aero Service Corps Aerial Photographs - New York and New Jersey

  • Colonial Employees Mutual Fund

  • Gitt Colonial Commendations and Correspondence

  • Retirement, Memoir, and Obituary

  • Colonial Airlines Correspondence

  • ALPA Retirement Committee Correspondence 1948

  • Financial Ledger for Aviation Business

  • Drafts, "Explanation of Bill to Establish Retirement System for Airline Pilots"

  • Certificate of Appreciation

  • Civil Aeronautics Board - Acquistion of National Airlines - (Texas International, Denied; Pan American, Accepted)

  • Pilot Log Book

  • Employment Applications - United Airlines and TWA

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

  • Gitt - Colonial Earnings and Expenses

  • Loose Materials from Back of Scrapbook

  • Colonial Airlines Bulletins and Summaries

  • Publicity Age 60 Lawsuit

  • Bennett Air Service Advertisement

  • Gitt Colonial and ALPA Correspondence

  • Pilot Log Book

  • Colonial Airlines Bulletins and Manuals

  • Correspondence

  • Retired Eastern Pilots Association / 55 Alive

  • REPArtee, Retired Eastern Pilots Association Newsletter

  • ALPA All Members Memos

  • Flight Instructor's Manual, Civil Aeronautics Bulletin No. 9

  • Journal of Aeronautical Meteorology, Vol. 1, No. 4

  • Photos - Gitt with Colonial Air

  • ALPA All Members Memo

  • ALPA Retirement Committee Correspondence and Q and As Presented to the Executive Board

  • Logbooks, Licenses, and Cards

  • Pilot Log Book

  • Age 60 - Briefs and Information (2 copies)

  • Nicholas-Beazley Flying Club Association

  • Colonial/Eastern Merger

  • Age 60 Materials - F. Lee Bailey, William Q. Keenan, and ALPA

  • Civil Service Exams and Job Applications Folder 1 of 2

  • K-10 Aero Camera

  • Gordon, Thomas. "The Airline Pilot: A Survey of the Critical Requirements of His Job and of Pilot Evaluation and Selection Procedures," Civil Aeronautics Administration

  • ALPA and Colonial #28 Council

  • Captain Harry Orlady Correspondence with ALPA on Age 60

  • Business Cards (loose)

  • The Air Line Pilot - Memorial Edition for David L. Behncke

  • Employment Applications - Pan American Grace Airways, Mid Continent, and Continental

  • Pilot Log Book

  • Shepperd, L.A., "Illusions of Flying," Pan American

  • Gitt Eastern Correspondence

  • ALPA Retirement Committee 1949

  • Gitt Correspondence

  • Personal Insurance

  • Colonial Employees Mutual Fund

  • Pratt and Whitney Aeronautical Vest-Pocket Handbook; Aircraft Speeds and Settings

  • ALPA and National Airlines Strike

  • ALPA Council #28 Correspondence

  • Age 60 Lawsuit

  • Personal - Rent Payments

  • ALPA Age 60 Committee Recording Complaint

  • Pilot Log Book

  • ALPA Local Executive Countil (LEC) and Master Executive Council (MEC) 1968

  • ALPA Elections

  • Early Aviation Career

  • ALPA Correspondence

  • ALPA All Members Memos

  • Gitt Colonial Correspondence

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Captain Michael Gitt
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