![]() ![]() ![]() A one-way trip on this route took over six days to complete. The first 314, Honolulu Clipper, entered regular service on the San Francisco- Hong Kong route in January 1939. Operational historyįlown cover carried around the world on PAA Boeing 314 Clippers and Imperial Airways Short S23 flying boats 24 June–28 July 1939 ( The Cooper Collections) In conditions of poor or no visibility, pilots sometimes made successful landings at fogged-in harbors by landing out to sea, then taxiing the plane into port. Rigorous training in dead reckoning, timed turns, judging drift from sea current, astral navigation, and radio navigation were conducted. Before coming aboard, all Pan Am captains as well as first and second officers had thousands of hours of flight time in other seaplanes and flying boats. Only the very best and most experienced flight crews were assigned Boeing 314 flying boat duty. Although the transatlantic flights were only operated for three months in 1939, their standard of luxury has not been matched by heavier-than-air transport since then they were a form of travel for the super-rich, at $675 return from New York to Southampton, comparable to a round trip aboard Concorde in 2006.Įqually critical to the 314's success was the proficiency of its Pan Am flight crews, who were extremely skilled at long-distance, over-water flight operations and navigation. Men and women were provided with separate dressing rooms, and white-coated stewards served five and six-course meals with gleaming silver service. The aircraft had a lounge and dining area, and the galleys were crewed by chefs from four-star hotels. The seats could be converted into 36 bunks for overnight accommodation with a cruise speed of only 188 mph (300 km/h), many flights lasted over twelve hours. Pan Am's "Clippers" were built for luxury, a necessity given the long duration of transoceanic flights. To quench the radial engines’ thirst for oil, a capacity of 300 US gallons (1,135 L) was required. The later 314A model carried a further 1,200 US gallons (4,540 L). To fly the long ranges needed for trans-Pacific service, the 314 carried 4,246 US gallons (16,100 L) of gasoline. The sponsons, which were broad lateral extensions placed at the water line, on both the port and starboard sides of the hull, served several purposes: they provided a wide platform to stabilize the craft while floating on water, they acted as an entryway for passengers boarding the aircraft and they were shaped to contribute lift while the aircraft was in flight. Boeing addressed the flying boats' other drag-inducing issue, stabilizing pontoons, by incorporating sponsons into the hull structure. This sturdy structure negated the need for external drag-inducing struts to brace the wings, something other flying boats of the day could not boast. Internally, the 314 used a series of heavy ribs and spars to create a robust fuselage and cantilevered wing. The Clipper's triple tail was chosen after Boeing tested conventional and twin tails which did not provide enough controllability for safe flight. Boeing engineers adapted the cancelled XB-15's 149 foot (45.5 m) wing, and replaced the original 850 hp (640 kW) Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp radial engines with the more powerful 1,600 hp (1,194 kW) Wright Twin Cyclone. Boeing's bid was successful and Pan American signed a contract for six aircraft on 21 July 1936. ![]() The 314 was a response to Pan American's request for a flying boat with unprecedented range capability that could augment the airline's trans-Pacific Martin M-130. Twelve Clippers were built for Pan Am, three of which were sold to BOAC in 1941 before delivery. One of the largest aircraft of the time, it used the massive wing of Boeing’s earlier XB-15 bomber prototype to achieve the range necessary for flights across the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The Boeing 314 (known erroneously as the Clipper or Super Clipper, after the name given by Pan American World Airways) was a long-range flying boat produced by the Boeing Airplane Company between 19 and is comparable to the British Short S.26.
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