ERA | EXPLORATIONS
The Life and Times of Dinner Key, by Doug Miller: A story that looks at the development of Pan Am's Miami flying boat base in the 1930s. (PDF).
Pan Am in 1934 by month. Colorful history of Pan American Airways operations & stories of its people, aircraft and far-flung destinations.
Mission to China, Parts 1-4 by Eric Hobson. 1932-1938, Juan Trippe enlisted the help of the talented Harold Bixby to map out PAA's Pacific routes.
PAA Adventures 1936: Clipper Pop Culture / Plans for China & the Pacific / So. America Travel / Atlantic Aspirations / JTT's Timely B-314 .
Celebrating the life of Pan Am pilot Capt. Ed Musick. He is legendary for breaking the isolation of the remote Pacific island of New Zealand.
Pan Am's First Marine Base at Dinner Key Miami was a two-story houseboat that served as terminal until a more permanent structure was designed.
The 1939 arrival of the B-314 California Clipper survey flight, on a new route to Auckland, the first flight to NZ since the loss of Samoan Clipper in 1938.
Dream Boats: How Igor Sikorsky's evolution of a dream, pushing the envelope of flying boat design for Pan Am in the 1930s.
Preparing for the Pacific, Oct-Nov '35: China Clipper demos in NYC & DC , PAA testing in the Caribbean & Alameda, plus innovative shortwave broadcasts .
1936 Notes: F-91 Jungle Clippers, S-43s, M-130 Hawaii Clipper & SS North Haven II. PAA terminals on Southern routes & Pan Am in pop culture.
H. Donald “Doc” Singer: Pan Am’s Salesman at Dinner Key & Humanitarian Extraordinaire, Parts 1&2 by Eric Hobson, iIlustrations by Vic Zimmer.
Stepping-stone surveys: S-42 Pan American Clipper extended the Pacific route by one island on each flight, arriving in Guam Oct. 1935 on its fourth survey.
Oct. 1, 1932 Juan Trippe ordered the first S-42s from Sikorsky Aircraft. S. Paul Johnson details the plane's features and construction in March 1934.
The Yankee Clipper: In 1939 Pan Am's Boeing-314 flying boat was christened in Washington, DC by Eleanor Roosevelt, with Juan Trippe looking on.
After a record-breaking flight to Europe, it must have been trying to veteran flying boat skipper Capt. Charles Lorber to wait to land on the return home.
The 2nd Pan Am Pacific Survey flight, June 1935: Pilot Ed Musick & his crew celebrate their arrival at the remote Midway Atoll, 1,254 miles beyond Hawaii.
