Clipper, Vol. 7, No. 5, March 1, 1951

              16th YEAR PACIFIC-ALASKA DIVISION
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Read From California To Calcutta, From Alaska To Australia
19th YEAR PAA HAS FLOWN IN ALASKA
Vol. 7, No. 5	PUBLISHED BY THE EMPLOYES OF PAM AMERICAN WORLD AIRWAYS	March 1, 1951
BUILT BY THE PAD
Project 20 Progresses to Point Where Plans Are Made to Shoot the Breeze in the Fuselage
POSTING A WYNN
Better wear your badge next week or you’ll get hauled into this guard booth. Only instead of finding sweet young Lynn Wynn as your captor you’ll be in the clutches of one of Chief Guard Shaen’s boys in blue.
Sopac Boeing Winging Its Way Toward Sydney
New Luxury Service Will Slash Nine Hours from Old Schedule
At this moment a Pan American Strato Clipper is flying southwest out of Honolulu, bound for Sydney, Australia. Taking off from Honolulu Airport yesterday under command of the PAD’s Chief Pilot, Dick Campbell, the plane represents the first flight of the new luxury service being provided Sydney passengers.
The twice weekly B-377 service now offered will shave nine hours from the westbound schedule and ten hours from the eastbound schedule. Total time between San Francisco and Sydney is now only 37 hours.
The B-377 flight will connect at Nandi with a DC-4 which will provide service to Auckland, since PAA is not authorized to serve Australia via New Zealand.
The Stratocruiser, first ever to go to the Sopac area, will be on display at Nandi, Auckland (the Auckland-Sydney leg will be a proving flite only), Sydney and Melbourne.
In addition to Captain Campbell the crew for the inaugural flight was composed of First Officer Bob McDonald, Second Officer Holt Atherton, Flight Engineer Ed Barnett, Flight Service Supervisor Tommy O’Leary, Pursers Hope Parkinson, Glen Orf, Don Nepple and Stewardess Pat Moloney.
Project 20, the building of an airplane from the hull and four engines that arrived in San Francisco, continues to attract the most manpower from the PAD Maintenance Department. The new ETA for the finished product is now September of this year. The retarding of the completion date was caused by the heavy increase of defense orders at the Boeing plant. These top priority projects have caused a critical shortage in some of the material that we m'ust obtain in order to convert the aircraft for line service.
Insofar as it is practical, many necessary items are being manufactured here on the San Francisco base. But in cases where expensive tools or dies would be needed it will be more expedient to await the arrival of parts from Boeing. Use is being made of much of the large amount of surplus material recently purchased from Boeing before the influx of defense orders.
The material planning organization which was under the direction of Dick Harbottle is now disbanding. They leave behind them a stack of plans five feet high. Dick, with one or two assistants, will watch over the work sequencing and as-
signment until the project is completed.
To date most of the re-plumbing and re-wiring work has been accomplished. In the case of the electrical system, much of the existing wiring had to be re-worked in addition to the installation of new wiring for systems not originally included on the airplane.
In the main cabin the cargo and galley doors have been installed and the ceiling structure completed. The flooring and dressing room partitions are now being fitted.
One of the most interesting phases of the work will start next week when the pressurization test is run. Five compressors will be connected into a single ven+uri, and the interior of the plane will be put under a pressure of three pounds per square inch. (This is, of course, three pounds in addition to the normal atmospheric pressure).
Since it is almost impossible to get every little crack plugged up the first time, it is probable that at this point there will be loud screeches and wa'ls as the air escapes from the hull. After any leaks are repaired, the pressure will be (Continued on Page 4)
COCKPIT
CURRICULUM
Check Engineer Steve Kitchell is explaining the battery system in the 909 series Stratocruisers to Flight Engineer Tommy James, seated, and Chief Pilot Dick Campbell. All captains, first officers and flight engineers are receiving a two-hour ground checkout on the former AOA planes.
Engineers Getting Check Out on Curtis Propellers
Former AOA Planes Arriving Equipped With Electric Props
With the coming of the former AOA B-377’s to the Pacific-Alaska Division the training school at San Francisco has hastily added another course to its growing curriculum. Altho the differences between these planes and the “10V” series presently in the. PAD are few, all B-377 flight engineers are receiving a week in ground school before being assigned to the new equipment.
The principal difference of course, is in the propellers. The former AOA planes are equipped with Curtis electric props, identified by the round tips as contrasted to the square-tipped Hamilton Standard propellers. The blade angle of attack, or pitch, is changed on the Curtis propeller by an electric motor, while the same change is effected by hydraulic action on the Hamilton propellers.
In addition to the instruction on the propeller differences, the engineers are also learning about new trouble-shooting techniques and new patterns for the engine analyzer that have been developed by its inventor, John Lindberg.
Following their classroom work all engineers are being given a ground check-out in the cockpit of the first of the former AOA B-377’s.
PRIMPING FOR A FALL COMING-OUT
Here’s an outside look at Project 20. The “monster” will be sitting right here for a long time, but the mass of individual jobs are being completed one-by-one, and by the time footballs are in the air next fall this plane will join them. The planning part of the project is now complete. All that remains is the muscle work.