![]() “In the daylight we could see wind streaks on the surface of the sea, shiny lines running 90 degrees to the waves. If the sky was overcast we could not use our octants. When the sky was partly cloud-covered, we plotted whatever navigational stars we could see. ![]() On a Boeing-314 we had a glass hatch atop the cabin through which we could “shoot stars”. Every Pan Am pilot was required to learn two methods of star computations to lay a position on the chart. “When crossing an ocean in a Pan Am flying boat such as the Boeing-314, we navigated celestially using an octant. “Today, we have the sophistication and luxury of jetliners to fly over many of those boiling storm masses, cabin pressurization for oxygen supply, and radar to show us the dangerous storm cells, enabling us to fly around the violent depictions shown on the weather radar screen. To do so, we developed a seat of the pants technique – literally- whereby our bottoms were being bumped, rather than slipping or sliding. Before high-altitude jets flew commercially, we had to fly through wide storms rather than over them. “When I joined Pan Am in 1942, one of the first phrases that I learned was “flying by the seat of your pants” – an old adage used to describe proper flying techniques. It appears in the book Pan American World Airways – Aviation History Through the Words of its People, published by BlueWaterPress. Below is a story he wrote about his experiences flying this aircraft. The return trip by the Clipper originated in Bathurst and stopped in Natal, Brazil and Trinidad, arriving in Miami 30 January 1943.Ĭaptain Bill Nash, a retired Pan Am pilot, joined the airline in 1942 and spent his first years in the flight deck of the Boeing 314. The route was Miami-Trinidad-Belem, Brazil-Bathurst, Gambia and then by army transport to Casablanca. Roosevelt flew on the Dixie Clipper to the Casablanca Conference, becoming the first American president to fly on a commercial airliner while in office. On 11 January 1943, President Franklin D. From Honolulu, the flight eventually arrived in New York after stopping in Canton, Suva (Fiji), Noumea, Auckland, Gladstone, Port Darwin, Surabaya, Trincomalee (Ceylon), Karachi, Bahrain, Leopoldville, Natal and Port of Spain. Originating in San Francisco, the flight was required to return to the United States on a westward course due to military action after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. In January, 1942, the Pacific Clipper, commanded by Captain Robert Ford, completed the first flight around the world. The aircraft played an important role in World War II and completed two history-making f lights: Trans-Atlantic passenger service was inaugurated on 29 June 1939 with the Dixie Clipper between New York and Marseilles, via Horta and Lisbon. The Yankee Clipper also inaugurated mail service between New York and Southampton, England about a month later. Over the course of their careers, the B-314's operated by Pan Am made approximately 5,000 ocean crossings and flew more than 12.5 million miles, including in military service during World War II.The Boeing 314 inaugurated Pan Am’s trans-Atlantic service and on, was first to operate mail service with the Yankee Clipper from New York to Marseilles, France via Horta, Azores and Lisbon, Portugal. Big, safe, and luxurious, the 314 was the apex of flying boat technology, and Pan Am made it the finest way to fly. Pan Am designed their Clippers for luxury air travel the B-314 could carry 74 passengers and 10 crew, although in overnight sleeper configuration, the ship accommodated 36 passengers in seven luxurious compartments, complete with lounge and dining area. Boeing also eschewed pontoons and instead built in sponsons into the hull structure for stability while floating in water.Ī large aircraft for its day, the B-314 weighed over 40 tons and had a 152 feet wingspan, with an astonishing range of 3,500 miles, enough to cross either the Atlantic or Pacific. The 314 used a series of thick ribs and spars to create a robust fuselage and cantilevered wing, with no external struts to brace the wings. The Boeing 314 Clipper was a long-range flying boat made by the Boeing Airplane Company and operated by Pan American World Airways from 1939-1946.
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