ERA | PAN AM TAKE-OFF
Capt. Frank E. Ormsbee, pilot of Pan American Airways' 1930s flying boats & land planes, pioneered air routes in the Caribbean & South America.
April 1931, the story of PAA Radio Operator, Hans Frederick “Fred” Due, who worked on the expedition into Brazil’s western frontier, Matto Grosso.
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.
Pan Am’s Cornerstone Moment: October 28, 1927, the day that was the true start of Pan American Airways, as a scheduled airline.
A video history on the beginnings of international aviation in Miami: The story of Pan Am Field's original Hangar Five, circa 1929.
January 9, 1929. The day that marked the beginning of Pan American’s coordinated route system, which would grow exponentially in years to come.
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.
Ralph O'Neill's Magic Carpet: The Once and Future Commodore by Doug Miller.The story of Pan Am's Consolidated Commodores. PDF.
Keeping the Pan Am story alive falls to a generation of writers born after 1991. This article introduces new perspectives by Jack Seufert.
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 very first named Clipper, Sikorsky S-40 flying boat "American Clipper," shows Pan Am seaplane base personnel at Dinner Key, Miami, 1931.
Lindy Gets Pan American Airways Rolling: Lindbergh's Sikorsky S-38 airmail flight from Miami to Cristobal, Panama Canal Zone, in February 1929.
A Flying Boat Christmas: "Delivering the mail took precedence over tradition, so when Christmas coincided with a flight day, someone had to fly."
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
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.
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.
