“The Good Old Days” -By Tom Kuehne

The Pan Am Clipper

Recently, I ran across some articles about The Pan Am Clipper. I think it was the name that grabbed my interest. There was something familiar about the name and I had to discover why. I'm sure that there are probably some folks that can remember hearing about some of the accomplishments of this plane.

The clippers were built between 1938 and 1941. They were quite unique, even today, when one considers that they didn't use a typical airport, but did their takeoffs and landings in the water. They were actually a flying boat. The Clippers were built by Boeing and they were all purchased by Pan Am, which was a big airline travel company at that time. They were in service for shortly more than 10 years, which included WWII, when the government used them to transfer people and materials over a long distance.

One of the memorable features was it's design. It had 4 large Pratt and Whitney engines, which turned a 3 bladed 12 foot propeller. The rear of the planes body was controlled by 3 vertical fins coming out of the horizontal tail, which was the most noticed and remembered feature. It was large. The wingspread was about 50 feet longer than the Boeing 757. It was capable of moving 104 passengers and crew. The plane was used to make the route from San Francisco to Hawaii. This journey lasted 16 hours and there were no in flight fueling connections, however the plane had a cruising range of 5200 miles. The passengers had access to separate washrooms with hot and cold running water. The toilets were flush-type which discharged the contents outside of the airplane into the air. Sleeping bunks were also part of the passenger convenience package along with food available in the dining room, which served 14 passengers at a time.

The last of the 12 Clippers that were built sank in a storm in 1951. There are no Clippers to be seen in any museum. It would be enjoyable to be able to walk around one of these famous planes and examine the size and capabilities of this great machine.

The safety record of these 12 planes is remarkable, since there was only one crash that caused death to any occupants. In 1943 the only crash involved 39 passengers with 24 casualties.

The remarkable part of this plane's history is the change and development of aircraft that occurred between December 1903 when the Wright Brothers were able to get the first flying machine off the ground and 36 years later we were able to see how things have changed. It's definitely a sign of engineering accomplishment to see the progress. We went from a framework covered with canvas to airplanes that can travel 5200 miles and fighter planes that can go 350 miles per hour in less than 40 years.

It makes it easier to understand the progress of technology in recent years.

For feedback or story ideas, email Tom at tom@swanvilleinsurance.com.

If you need help with Health or Life Insurance or for Senior Health Solutions Contact: Tom Kuehne 320-360-0343

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