ERA | PAN AM TAKE-OFF
January 9, 1929. The day that marked the beginning of Pan American’s coordinated route system, which would grow exponentially in years to come.
Chili & the Generalissimo. Pan Am/CNAC pilot Chili Vaughn's adventure with William Bond & Chiang Kai-shek: 1940s aviation diplomacy in China PDF.
Capt. Frank E. Ormsbee, pilot of Pan American Airways' 1930s flying boats & land planes, pioneered air routes in the Caribbean & South America.
Keeping the Pan Am story alive falls to a generation of writers born after 1991. This article introduces new perspectives by Jack Seufert.
April 1931, the story of PAA Radio Operator, Hans Frederick “Fred” Due, who worked on the expedition into Brazil’s western frontier, Matto Grosso.
Pan Am 1933: "90 Years Ago" month-by-month by Eric Hobson. PAA's formative work, people, aircraft & far-flung destinations.
Preparations, anticipation, and deadlines: Pan Am's very first flight with Cy Caldwell piloting the La Nina, October 19, 1927 from Key West to Havana, Cuba.
January 16th, 1928 was a very auspicious date for Pan Am. For the very first time, people would pay to ride a Pan American Airways plane.
Feb.1931: A royal pilot, the Prince of Wales and his brother Prince George, accepted invitations from Pan American Airways & Pan American-Grace Airways.
Pan Am’s Cornerstone Moment: October 28, 1927, the day that was the true start of Pan American Airways, as a scheduled airline.
Four Engines Out and Going Down: Aviation’s first forced landing, PAA's Sikorsky S-40 Caribbean Clipper piloted by Stanley J. “Red” Williamson.
A View from Ketchikan: Pacific Alaska Airways, subsidiary of Pan American Airways, based on an article by Dave Kiffer (2006).
Pan Am inaugurated “express” shipping by air in Latin America, expanding by 1936 to carry shipments across the Pacific.
Pan Am's very first named Clipper, Sikorsky S-40 flying boat "American Clipper," shows Pan Am seaplane base personnel at Dinner Key, Miami, 1931.
The "Pernambuco," a Sikorsky S-38 flying for New York Rio Buenos Aires (NYRBA) became a Pan Am plane when NYRBA was absorbed by Pan Am.
Pan Am's First Clipper. Sikorsky S-40 “American Clipper" was the very first to be named a Clipper, delivered to Pan Am in October 1931.
Pan Am's Base at Brownsville, during the early years. Gateway to Mexico and laboratory for instrument flying techniques.
The 1928 loss of a passenger during the crash of Fokker "General Machado" from Havana to Key West marked the start of Pan Am's radio navigation. PDF
