DAVE NORLAND 1967 - 1986 PILOT DEN I just now talked to Carolyn Norland, Dave's wife, and leaned he has Lou Gehrig disease and hasn't been able to speak for almost a year now. He is in a hospice and from all indications, will be going west in a few days. Dave's date of hire: 6-5-67 Birthdate: 1-12-36. -Ace Avakian (10/8/07) Email to Ace: I did a web search. Did Dave race a P-51 at Reno and other places back in the 70s? -Jake Lamkins (10/8/07) Yes, he did and Jack McLaughlin (another of our pilots) was his A&P mechanic. -Ace Avakian (10/8/07) I spoke with Dave's wife Carolyn today. Dave is still hanging on. For those of you not aware of Dave's situation, he has MLS (Lou Gherig's Disease). For the past year he has not been able to speak. Dave and Carolyn have handled this extremely tough situation to the extent one can only admire them for. It is a real tough break for a really great guy. It looks to be minutes or perhaps hours before he lines up on Runway Two Seven for his Flight West. I called a week or so ago. Then, he could signal his understanding of what was said by squeezing her hand. Presently, he is unaware of anything or anyone. Sad. Blue Skies & Tailwinds... -Billy Walker (11/27/07) With deep regret, the Gone West of; Capt. Dave Norland 11-28-07. There will be a Celebration of Life of Dave on December 12th in Denver, Colorado with details of place & time, etc. forthcoming. -Ace Avakian (11/28/07) Sorry to hear about Dave. I will always cherish the memory of a ride in his P-51 when I was a young man and taking flight lessons. We took off from Jefco and cruised through the foothills, passing over a train. Dave did a couple of rolls and a loop that caused me to start blacking out from the Gs. My sister Bonnie snapped a picture of me climbing out of the cockpit that I display with pride. Dave, thanks for the great memory. -John Dahl (12/3/07) Please be advised, there will be a "Remembrance Gathering" for Dave Norland on Wednesday, December 12th between the hours of 1500 and 1800 MST at 90 Corona St in Denver, Colorado. -Ace Avakian (12/3/07) OBITUARY: DAVID M. NORLAND, 70, Ormond Beach, a retired pilot for Continental Airlines, died Wednesday. A memorial service for David M. Norland, 70, Sea Harbor Drive, Ormond Beach, who died Wed., Nov. 28, 2007, will be 3:30 p.m. Thurs., Dec. 6, at Dale Woodward Chapel By The Sea, 1780 Oceanshore Blvd., Ormond Beach, with the Rev. Wiley Lowe officiating. Mr. Norland was born in Grand Island, Neb., and moved to Florida in 1994 from Denver, Colo. He served in the Naval Reserve. A pilot for Frontier Airlines for 20 years, he later retired from Continental Airlines. Mr. Norland was predeceased by his parents, Arthur B. and Pauline Frasier Norland and brother, James. He is survived by his wife of 17 years, Carolyn Cunningham Norland. In lieu of other remembrances, the family suggests donations to Florida Hospital Memorial Hospice, 770 W. Granada Blvd., Ste 304, Ormond Beach, FL 32174, or Odyssey Health Care Hospice, 149 S. Ridgewood Ave., Ste 600, Daytona Beach, FL 32114. -Daytona Beach News-Journal (12/4/2007) I spoke with Carolyn Norland this afternoon. She asked if I would send out a reminder. With the terrible weather in the Denver area, she is naturally concerned that no one will be there. This will not be a religious service, but a time to remember and tell some stories about 'Van Gough!' Dave and I got acquainted flying out of Jefferson County Airport in the early 60s before either of us became part the Frontier Family. Carolyn has put together a lot of photos of Dave's career showing his early days, the Reno air racing and his airline career. -Billy Walker (12/11/07) Here are some photos, a memorial hand-out, and Carolyn Norland's story about Dave's unusual last flight from 1996 under the onerous Age 60 Rule (now Age 65). Illness prevented Cheryl and my not being at the memorial. Dang! Dave & I had been friends prior to our becoming part of the Frontier family. Dave, along with Dave Kaplan and I flew out of Jeffco airport in the early 60s. Kaplan went to Frontier in '66, then Dave & Butch Carr in June of '67 with me in the June 5th class. Dave met Butch Carr at Jeffco and they stayed close friends thru the CO experience. I flew Butch and his Dad to Jeffco from Stapleton where I was a salesman for the Piper distributor. A few weeks later, I went to work for Joe Roach at Jeffco. Joe later sponsored Dave with his P-51 Reno Air Race #76. Frontier Captain Jack McLaughlin was his Crew Chief. Jack could not only fly 'em, he has a great reputation as a mechanic. Dave, Butch Carr & I used to lament that we should have gone to Frontier a year earlier when we had the chance. Kaplan finally convinced us that we'd still have fun and a future too by going with the airlines. All the airlines were hiring then, but the attraction to us was sitting in a forward facing seat and lots of take-offs and landings. We all felt the Frontier experience was the best of the best! -Billy Walker (12/19/07) Here are 3 more photos of Dave Norland's P-51 for your use in his Memorial page. Blue Skies & Tailwinds... -Billy Walker (12/20/07) Thank you for putting together the memorial page on Dave. It is beautifully done. He still looked like those pictures in the last trip photos until about 2 years ago when illness really took hold. Again, thank you. -Carolyn Norland (1/3/08) Back when Dave Norland was a young First Officer he was involved in a baaaaaad motorcycle accident. Among his many injuries was the severance of one of his ears. But to save it, it was attached to his abdomen to keep it healthy until such time as the wound on his head had healed enough to sucessfully re-attach it. After recovering from the rest of his injuries, he was back flying the line again. We had a new Flight Attendant along on a 580 trip and when she came up to that noisy cockpit and asked what beverage we would like, Dave would act like he couldn't hear her and she would repeat the question in a louder voice, nearly shouting it out. Meanwhile Dave would be unbuttoning his shirt, exposing his ear and turning sideways while shouting for her to talk into his ear so he could hear her! The look on her face was priceless and we all had a good laugh. He had that ear on his belly for about 6 months, if I remember correctly. He was kiddingly called the 'Van Gough of Frontier Airlines'. Dave was a one of a kind and will be missed by everyone. -Frosty Frost (1/3/08) Dave Norland's P-51D "No Name Dame," is currently owned and operated by NASCAR owner Jack Roush. It has been painstakingly restored and is painted up to represent the 357th Fighter Group's "Gentleman Jim." It was flown by Capt. Jim Browning during WWII. Browning was killed in a mid-air with an ME-262. "Gentleman Jim" can be seen flying each summer at various airshows all over the United States. It is a beautiful Mustang! -Jim Baumann (1/4/08) That's a great story about Dave, there are probably 20 or 30 of us who witnessed and undoubtedly remember this one: We had just been 'captured' by Continental in late 86 and were all down in Houston going through indoctrination. The atmosphere was much like a POW camp, we were told exactly what to do and how to do it in no uncertain terms. The head of the emergency procedures program was an autocratic German named Ted Rousch who ran the program with an iron fist and displayed no sense of humor whatever. We were going through water survival training in the big pool and we had to each put on a life vest, pull the lanyard to inflate it, get into the raft, sit down, get up and out the other side. Then we had to get a couple of new CO2 cartridges, and replace the ones we had used when inflating the vest. Someone had accidentally put an adult cartridge into a child's vest and Dave picked it up at random, and put it on. When he pulled the lanyard, that side of the vest exploded with the sound of a shotgun blast. Dave fell to the floor and started screaming 'My ear, my ear' at the top of his voice. When Rousch rushed over and bent down to ask if he was alright, Dave pulled back the hair from over his ear and moaned "Does this look like I am alright?" Rousch nearly fainted. All of us who knew Dave were howling with laughter. It was proably the funniest spontaneous thing I have ever seen in my life. He will be missed. -Mike Hampton (1/5/08) Reading through the Winter edition of our Frontier News was almost like a High School reunion for me. In June, 1949, my Dad was transferred from ABQ to DEN. That fall I went from a rural school to a school in the city The very first classmate that befriended me was Dave Norland. We remained classmates and friends all through junior high and high school at Denver South High. About ten years after graduation, while I was working weight and balance at ABQ, the crew came in off an in-bound flight, and one of the pilots was Dave Norland. The out- bound flight was almost delayed while we caught up. This picture is from the 1955 South High Yearbook. -Jim Wilds (2/4/15) FLacebook - FL Club FLight West: Dave Norland DEN pilot Dave Norland's memorial webpage has been updated: http://FAL-1.tripod.com/Dave_Norland.html Several items added and the webpage updated. -Jake Lamkins (3/31/16) One of the great guys to fly with ! Good memories ..... -Ed Woodson (3/31/16) Dave was a great guy! I knew him from the days before FAL when he worked at Jeffco and I worked at SkyRanch. -Joanne Griffin (3/31/16) Brother Dave! -Jack McLaughlin (3/31/16) He was one of my favorites. -Roberta Karr (3/31/16) What a great guy. -Cherylann Morgan (3/31/16) A truly great guy. -Pamella Corvelli (4/1/16) He gave me a ride in his P-51! -Bonnie Dahl (4/1/16)