On Mon, 21 Jan 2008 21:04:21 +0100, Mxsmanic
wrote in :

I wonder how the real Eastern captain felt as mere copilot to the Hollywood
Eastern captain in the person of Arthur Godfrey.


Henry Tindall "Dick" Merrill was the Eastern Airlines captain on that
flight. Judging from the account below, and Merrill's book, The Wings
Of Man," it would appear that Merrill and Godfrey were personal
friends.

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0581276/bio
... The couple settled in Miami with Dick assigned the Eastern
Airlines Miami to New York runs with occasional flights to South
America. Too old for a commission, Dick signed on as a civilian
MTD pilot and flew the China-Burma "Hump" in DC3's and C-46
Commandos during the war conducting critical supply lights and
survey missions. He returned to Eastern Airlines after the war and
officially retired from Eastern Airlines on Oct. 3, 1961 after
flying a DC8 from New York to Miami, reputedly with the most air
miles of any pilot in commercial aviation history, and ranked as
the second most senior pilot with the airline. Dick continued to
fly into his 80's whenever the opportunity arose, accompanying
friend Arthur Godfrey on an around the world flight in 1966, set a
speed record at age 78, delivering a Lockheed L-1011 Tri-Star from
California to Miami at an average 710 MPH ground speed, and once
flew an SST Concorde. Virtually no civilian pilot in the history
of aviation piloted such a vast range of aircraft. After Dick's
death in October, 1982, Toby spent the remainder of her life
actively promoting her husband's rightful place in the annals of
aviation history. ...


http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0323960/bio
... He [Arthur Godfrey] was rated as a Naval Aviator in 1950 (his
previous attempts to serve during the war were thwarted by a leg
injury). He was certified to fly virtually every type of aircraft
in existence during his lifetime (rotor, jet, multiple engine,
helicopter, holding FAA type ratings from the DC-3 to the
Constellation) and was an honorary pilot for Eastern Airlines. He
appeared in a 1953 Eastern Airlines film with famed pilot Dick
Merrill at the helm of a Constellation. His friend Capt. Eddie
Rickenbacker gave him a customized DC-3 in 1947, which he more
than returned in kind through plugs for the airline along with his
endorsements about flying safety to his millions of flying-wary
listeners during the 1940s. ...