ERA | PAN AM TAKE-OFF
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.
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.
The Battle for South American routes: Pan American Airways and the New York, Rio and Buenos Aires (NYRBA) line, in 1930.
Pan Am's Base at Brownsville, during the early years. Gateway to Mexico and laboratory for instrument flying techniques.
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.
Pan Am's Arctic explorations: Following the Viking Trail - Newfoundland to Greenland to Iceland. Then on to Europe, Africa, South America and home again.
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
1929, A challenge to archeologists: On PAA's first mail flight over the Yucatan, Lindbergh saw pyramids jutting through dense, unmapped jungles PDF.
Chili & the Generalissimo. Pan Am/CNAC pilot Chili Vaughn's adventure with William Bond & Chiang Kai-shek: 1940s aviation diplomacy in China PDF.
Pan Am 1933: "90 Years Ago" month-by-month by Eric Hobson. PAA's formative work, people, aircraft & far-flung destinations.
April 1931, the story of PAA Radio Operator, Hans Frederick “Fred” Due, who worked on the expedition into Brazil’s western frontier, Matto Grosso.
Miami and the Flying Honeymoon" - A chapter about Pan Am's early days, from Peter Leslie's book on the airline's pioneering flying boat era. PDF
Uncovered history shows PAA ops in Key West as much as a decade after the company moved to Miami in 1928!
A video history on the beginnings of international aviation in Miami: The story of Pan Am Field's original Hangar Five, circa 1929.
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.
Influential figures in the Pan Am's incorporation March 14, 1927: Investors and military officers who had concerns for the safety of the Panama Canal.
Lessons Learned: In the 1927 Dole Race to Hawaii, tragedy provided valuable lessons for the transpacific future of Pan American Airways.
Racing down the South American East Coast: Starting on the "Lindbergh Trail," the new route became the foundation for Pan Am's spectacular growth.
