Mailbag Monday - August 10, 2015

Stories and photos contributed by readers. Fun and random. Hot off the press!

The original voice of the ATL underground airport shuttle revealed!

Kelly McCoy

When I created the page about "HAL" the robot voice on the underground shuttle at Atlanta Hartsfield Airport, I mistakenly wrote that "he" had been there from day one.

Kelly McCoy, known to Atlantans as a popular radio personality at WQXI "Quixie" and B98.5, wrote in with this great story and sets the record straight:

"I was the "original voice" of the "new" Atlanta Airport. I think your dates could be wrong for Hal. He came in after it was decided my voice was "too friendly," and people weren't paying close attention. Hal definitely got your attention. Once we were awarded the Olympics, rumor has it that Hal may have been too frightening to the visitors from all over the world. My friend, Bill Murray (not the actor) was the kinder voice after that, if memory serves correctly."

I asked him about the details of the recording session.

"I was working at WQXI "Quixie" at the time.  It was sometime in 1980. I got a call from a friend who was manager of a rock and roll band I'd done commercials for in the late 70s.  He had a studio in Hapeville. Westinghouse, who was providing the sounds for the train, airport, etc., called and said a problem had developed with the train voice. The airport hadn't officially opened yet, and President Jimmy Carter was about to get a tour. They asked John, the studio manager, if he knew of a voice person who could do a quick turnaround. He called me. After I got off the air, I went to the studio and recorded all of the needed elements. It was creepy to record the emergency elements in case there were problems. Anyway, that's how I was the voice of the airport for quite a while.  It was cool hearing myself on a train when my wife and I would fly somewhere. She'd embarrass me by pointing to me and saying "that's him" to fellow train travelers. All they did was look at us with a weird expression."

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Red Carpet Airlines lobster flights

Red Carpet Airlines DC-3

Becky Wilson was a flight attendant for Red Carpet Airlines and wrote:
I was a flight attendant for Red Carpet Airlines in the early 1970s. We took charter groups to dive trips for the most part. My "uniform" was an outfit I already owned and the passenger meals were bologna and cheese sandwiches made by me during the flight. On one trip to Grand Cayman we were given a shipment of 2 thousand pounds of frozen lobsters to bring to Pinellas Seafood. We took out the seats and flew those lobsters home. It was freezing inside the DC3. I got a garbage bag full of frozen lobsters for my efforts. What fun!

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New photos of former PBA DC-3 N130PB

In response to last week's update of the PBA DC-3s: Where are they now? page, Frank Dalpe posted these photos of former PBA DC-3 N130PB (msn 2213), taken on August 8, 2015. The aircraft is now at the Lone Star Flight Museum in Galveston, Texas and is painted in the classic colors of Continental Airlines. The current registration is N25673. Thanks Frank!