Those glorious Pan Am flying boats...

[Jedburgh OSS]

http://flyingclippers.com/

Also have a good book on this titled "Wings to the Orient" by Stan Cohen which I found at a museum gift shop at the Honolulu airport. There's a novel called "Night Over Water" by Ken Follett (Eye of the Needle) that takes place onboard a flying clipper over the Atlantic in September, 1939.

 

[Twitch]

We go off on the Clippers before. Here's some links you may enjoy.

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=12294&highlight=clipper+alameda

http://www.thefedoralounge.com/showthread.php?t=6353&highlight=clipper+alameda

 

[BegintheBeguine]

http://flyingclippers.com/

Also have a good book on this titled "Wings to the Orient" by Stan Cohen which I found at a museum gift shop at the Honolulu airport. There's a novel called "Night Over Water" by Ken Follett (Eye of the Needle) that takes place onboard a flying clipper over the Atlantic in September, 1939.

Cool! I'm reading "Night Over Water" now, among other things.

 

[Dixon Cannon]

This is 'Razor' Conn, the real deal! I met him at the CAF Night In the 40's Dance last week. He's in his original Pan American Airways uniform from his career as a pilot. 'Razor' started his flying career on the magnificent Boeing 314 'Flying Boat'

-dixon cannon

 

[dhermann1]

"Non-Stop New York"

If you want to see a truly hokey 1930's film set in a very fictional trans Atlantic Clipper, see "Non-Stop New York", 1937. Most of the action takes place in the plane. The coolest thing about this plane is that it has an outdoor observation deck! Can you imagine standing outside with a 130 mph wind blowing in your face? And they have nice quiet little intimate conversations out there, too! But it's a fun hokey thriller. Actually made in England, but they put New York in the title just for box office appeal.

 

[Randy]

There's a certain magic about the old flying boats that's always captivated me. The only flying boat I've been on was a Short Sunderland (in flying condition but I didn't get to fly in her), but it was awesome! I can only imagine what it must have been like to fly those old Clipper routes. There are a number of good books out on the history of PanAm, flying boats in general, and the 314 in particular - check your favorite bookseller.

- R

 

[Twitch]

Dixon do you know if that is Jay Robbin's P-38 in the painting print on the wall behind at left? Think that's Tommy McGuire's plane in profile to the right.

 

[Jedburgh OSS]

Great input everyone, thanks, and here's more!

Enjoyed the images and the links to the previous postings. Turner Classic Movies shows China Clipper (1936) with Humphrey Bogart and Pat O'Brien every few months. Look for the December, 1936 issue of National Geographic which has an article titled "Flying the Pacific." The author rode along on the China Clipper for a first hand account. This issue also has a maginificent map of the Pacific (usually found separatley) that only NG can do. Looks great on the wall if you have room. If none of you are familiar with the story of the Pacific Clipper and its long journey to get back to America just after Pearl Harbor was attacked here's an article that appeared in the August, 1999 Air & Space Magazine: http://www.radiocom.net/Clipper/ At least two books have been written about this with one of them to be the basis for a movie which is probably in development hell.

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Dixon do you know if that is Jay Robbin's P-38 in the painting print on the wall behind at left? Think that's Tommy McGuire's plane in profile to the right.[/QUOTE]

Twitch, next time on out at the hanger, I'll check on those for you! Without seeing them up close, I just don't know.

-dixon cannon

 

[Diamondback]

Anybody who's a Clipper junkie needs to hit Foynes, Ireland at least once. The museum there has a full-scale mockup, out to IIRC the outboard nacelles, you can tour...

Wonder if they'll rent out the "honeymoon suite"?lol

 

[Dixon Cannon]

Oddly enough....

Anybody who's a Clipper junkie needs to hit Foynes, Ireland at least once. The museum there has a full-scale mockup, out to IIRC the outboard nacelles, you can tour...

Wonder if they'll rent out the "honeymoon suite"?lol

It's on this Foynes sight that there is a photo of my friend Capt. Jim Johnston sitting in the left seat of the Clipper wearing his uniform. Jim is part of a search time attempting to locate and raise the "Honolulu Clipper" off the floor of the Pacific through an organization called UAS (Underwater Admiralty Sciences). I'll keep you posted on their progress.

They are currently locating and interviewing Pan Am crew and staff from the Flying Boat era to record on video their experiences and anecdotes for future generations. As the "Honolulu Clipper", pending it's current condition assessment, may be the only surviving piece of the Golden Era of Flying Boat airline service.

-dixon cannon

 

[John in Covina]

Second to None

I am ennamored with the whole Pan Am Clipper idea. Travel in the 1930's and 1940's seemed to have a whole different concept. You were dressed like it was anything but casual and the demeanor of the staff made it more like a spa than simple travel. The same goes for ocean liners and even train travel. The companies that ran the plane, trains and liners were in competition and seriously competed for the title of the Best. In train travel the service on those famous routes 20th Century Limited, California Zephyr, or the Super Chief conveyed the idea that you were travelling on the best that company offered. From what I have seen the Clipper was also in that Best category, offering an experience that was second to none.

It seems we may not have the chance to experience it in our lives in many things. (I always wanted to fly the Concorde, now that is gone, too.)

 

[Mike in Seattle]

I'm with you, John...until 3 years ago, I hadn't flown and traveled in a tad over 10 years. I'd often be picking up or dropping off friends at the airport so I knew how most people now travel like slobs. That first flight...security check-in getting stripped down to slacks and t-shirt (lucky me - I got pulled for the secondary level search...on Christmas EVE! Dressed nicely for going directly to a party on arrival, so that went out the window...), and people carrying on food & drink...and spilling on travel-mates. Everyone bringing more than the allotted number of carry-ons...all larger than the specifications...it felt like a total cattle-car.

But I remember flying as a kid in the 60's and almost everyone being dressed up. Air travel was still something of an event. Didn't the Twentieth Century disappear about the time of North by Northwest - didn't they keep it running a few extra months just for the publicity in the film? As the song goes from the 70's musical - "New York in 18 hours...anything can happen in those 18 hours...as across the night, America the beautiful rolls on." Friends were complaining with some recent flight cancellations & such, it took them 36 hours to get from NY to Chicago. I couldn't resist commenting "Gee, that's twice what it took in the 30's on the Twentieth Century..." I got quizzical looks - "That's a train. You should know this...you're in theater..."

 

[Diamondback]

No, Mike--NxNW was '59 IIRC, the Century hung on 'til '67. (Although it might've been better for the institution of it if they'd pulled the plug earlier... believe me, as a student of NYC operations I have a whole blacklist of managers who would've been removed from employment if I had been the one to replace Robert R. Young instead of that oxygen-thief Perlman and his cronies!)