Clipper, Vol. 2, No. 16, November 1945

              PAM AMERICAN
SLIPPER
LATIN AMERICAN DIVISION
VOL. 2—NO. 16
451115
Copyright, 1945, by Pan American Airways, Inc,
NOVEMBER, 1945
BUY VICTORY BONDS
Modified Military Craft To Join PAA Clipper Fleet
Tried and tested during the war years for speed, safety and operating efficiency, the DC-4 will soon be cruising over the skylanes of Latin America as part of Pan American World Airways Clipper fleet.
Two of the DC-4’s have already been modified in Miami and sent to New York to begin landplane operations across the Atlantic. PAA engineers and Maintenance employees worked for 20 days on the first DC-4 turning it from a military model to a luxurious passenger Clipper. The plane’s interior tastefully done in Bermuda beige has blue-gray plush seats and moss green carpets. Different from other DC-4 airplanes to be used by domestic airlines, the ship has seats for 38 passengers, a men’s smoking lounge, a women’s powder room, three toilets and coat and luggage storage space necessary for trans-ocean travel.
The aircraft which weighs 42,000 pounds gross, and carries a payload of 20,000 pounds, is capable of spanning the Atlantic in 15 hours.
For safe commercial use many parts had to be designed and manufactured to modify the plane. Many were made by hand by Pan American’s machine shop which worked on a round-the-clock shift. In addition the aircraft’s four engines and accessories were completely overhauled.
Pilot of the first aircraft on its nonstop flight between Miami and New York was Capt. P. M. Borg. The second plane was piloted by Capt. Scott Flower.
The DC-4, commercial version of the C-54, is powered with four Pratt and Whitney engines totaling 4,400 horsepower, has a wingspread of 117 feet and cruises at 220 miles an hour. In military service this aircraft circled the globe with Ambassador Joseph E. Davies who was on his second mission to Moscow. President Roosevelt flew more than 6,000 miles in the C-54 in his historic conference with Churchill at Casablanca.
SIGHTS UNSEEN
Approximately six per cent of the total pilot hours flown by the Africa-Orient division in 1944 was instrument flying. Approximately 41 per cent was night flying.
THREE FLIGHTS ADDED TO AVIANCA SERVICE
Making the scenic and healthful Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta country and its snow-capped mountains in Colombia more accessible to world travelers, Avianca, PAA’s nationalized Colombia affiliate has added three additional flights between Bar-ranquilla and Cienaga, air terminal for Santa Marta.
These additions make a total of 10 weekly flights, connecting with the 11 weekly Miami to Barranquilla Clippers as well as with flights from. Central America, Venezuela and other points in Latin America.
The beautiful country surrounding the town of ’Santa Marta, reached through Cienaga, ranks with Colombia’s finest. Santa Marta’s harbor, nestling at the foot of the Sierra Nevadas, is one of Latin American’s most beautiful, though least known. Founded by Spanish colonists in 1525, Santa Marta has long lured travelers searching for links with the past.
Today, with the daily service of Avianca into Cienaga from Barranquilla, and daily service northward from Barranquilla to the United States and southward to other cities throughout South America, travelers are within easy reach of the Colombian resort.
In addition to regular passenger, mail and cargo service operating from Miami to Colombia’s gateway city, Pan American has two weekly all-express services to Barranquilla.
Besides the three new Barranquilla-Cienaga flights, Avianca has increased its service between Barranquilla and Riohacha via Cienaga. Two flights weekly are now operated to Riohocha, Colombia’s most northerly city, located on the Rio Mag-delena. Riohocha, one of the principal seaports for the export of pearls, hides and medicinal plants, is on direct air lanes connecting principal cities of Colombia with Maracaibo in Venezuela and Curacao, Netherlands West Indies.
Clipper Statistics Soar To Stratospheric Heights
The flying Clippers of Pan American World Airways flew a total of 178 million passenger miles during the first half of 1945, traffic statistics recently released disclose.
Reporting only the traffic activity of the three U. S.-based operating divisions of Pan American, not including Latin American affiliate companies or the China National Aviation Corporation, in which Pan American is in partnership with the Chinese government, the half-yearly figures record 9,357,182 pounds of Clipper express and 8,122,531 pounds of air mail carried.
The Clippers carried 170,317 passengers during the first six months of 1945, an increase of 7,000 passengers over the total carried during the same period one year ago.