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Captain Henry T. Olden
Captain Henry T. Olden (1902-1989) was a brother, husband, father, grandfather, friend, and pioneer aviator. Born in Dorchester, Massachusetts, and raised in Quincy, he held an ass...view moreCaptain Henry T. Olden (1902-1989) was a brother, husband, father, grandfather, friend, and pioneer aviator. Born in Dorchester, Massachusetts, and raised in Quincy, he held an assortment of jobs to pay his board and to make his way as a young man. Whether it was stocking the shelves at the local A&P store or riveting steel ship hulls in Quincy, Henry always found pleasure in his work. But it was a $5 flight in an open-cockpit biplane at East Boston Airport in 1927, which propelled him into a career in aviation. He began as a student pilot at Dennison Airport in a Waco-9 biplane, accumulating enough hours and expertise to earn a Transport Pilot license and a job as a flight instructor at the New Bedford-Acushnet Airport in Mrs. Bartlett’s apple orchard. This inauspicious beginning paved the way from the grass landing strips and beaches of Massachusetts to air bases across the North Atlantic, providing a wartime airlift service as a Northeast Airlines captain. It was in the service of Northeast that he continued his career until the final flight of his career on the Convair 880 in 1963. All told, Henry logged 23,000 flight hours and piloted forty-eight different makes of airplane in a thirty-six year span. This is his story, in his own words.view less