Pan Am Series – Part XXXVII: The DC-6B

28 February 2017 2 Comments

On 26 February 1952, Pan Am took delivery of the DC-6B. Some years later, I was a passenger on this aircraft type, flight 515 from Los Angeles to Guatemala. My first ever airplane trip.

JPB TRANS CONSULTING, LLC

Drawing by Mike Machat in Pan Am - An Airline and its Aircraft by Ron Davies Drawing by Mike Machat in Pan Am – An Airline and its Aircraft by Ron Davies

The Workhorse of the Fleet

During the heyday of Pan American World Airways’ prop-era and well into the jet age, one particular airplane figured prominently in its operations around the world: The Douglas DC-6B “Super Six Clipper”.

According to Ron Davies in Pan Am – An Airline and its Aircraft, Pan American ordered a total of forty-five of the aircraft that were delivered between February 1952 and June 1954. During its deployment in Pan American’s fleet, the Super Six performed just about every duty conceivable. It could be configured in an all-first class service with 44 seats, all tourist from 88 to 109 seats and in a dual configuration with 82 seats.

The Super Six, however, played a very important part in Pan American’s history when Clipper Liberty Bell inaugurated  all-tourist Rainbow service on…

View original post 1,514 more words

Filed under Uncategorized

Pan Am Series – Part XLVIV – Pan Am’s 90th Anniversary Book

8 February 2017 Leave a comment

747-cover-1

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT

Ninety years ago, Pan American Airways was modestly launched with a contract to fly the U.S. Mail from Key West to Havana, Cuba. This year, friends and supporters of Pan Am will commemorate this landmark event with the publication of a special 90th Anniversary volume that looks back at the history of the airline that helped mold the international commercial airline industry of today.

Pan Am – Personal Tributes to a Global Aviation Pioneer is being published by the Pan Am Historical Foundation (PAHF). A true collector’s item, this commemorative hard cover edition measuring ten and a half by twelve and a half inches will be the perfect coffee-table book and will feature a colorful dust jacket. It will contain more than 80 stories written by former Pan Am employees and international media friends who had personal experience with many of Pan Am’s key events during its history.

The anthology will recount the history of Pan Am from its first flight to its very last. It will be illustrated with more than 300 images, many in full color, from a variety of sources including the Pan Am Historical Foundation’s unique photo library. It will also include posters, promotional brochures, timetables and baggage tags, the very essence of our industry.

This book can be purchased on eBay at https://www.ebay.com/itm/184289917388 or on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/0692820450/

 

Filed under Airline History, Airlines, Aviation Law, Pan Am Tagged with , , , , , , ,