Clipper, Vol. 11, No. 7, March 31, 1955

              20th YEAR PACEFIC-ALASKA DIVISION
23rd YEAR PAA HAS FLOWN IN ALASKA
Read From California To Calcutta, From Alaska To Australasia
Vol. ll NO. 7	PUBLISHED BY THE EMPLOYEES OF PAN AMERICAN WORLD AIRWAYS	March 31, 1955
THEIR CHEERS HELPED DONS WIN
Here are the 106 rooters who flew from San Francisco to Kansas City last week to cheer the USF Dons as they brought the NCAA basketball title to San Francisco. The Clipper was chartered by the Dons Club, a USF alumni organizations If you look real hard you can see that the group spells out USF.
JUST A BUNCH OF SMOO-OO-THIES
Use of Vibrometer to Dampen Effect of Propeller Vibration Gives PAD Passengers a Smoother Ride
Two Crew Fatalities as Clipper Ditches at Sea
Survivors Praise Crew for Skill in Handling Emergency
The Pacific-Alaska Division suffered a serious blow last Saturday when the Clipper United States and two veteran flight crew members were lost as the Honolulu-bound plane ditched off the Oregon coast.
Surviving passengers were high in their praise of the crew’s skill and coolness in making the forced landing and evacuating the Clipper. The accident was the first that Pan American had suffered in its Pacific commercial operations since 1938.
The two crew members who died were 1st Officer Angus Hendrick and Flight Engineer Don Fowler.
Angus Hendrick was hired by Pan American in February of 1942, when he flew in the Africa-Orient Division. In January of 1946 he was loaned to CMA and flew with PAA’s Mexican affiliate for almost four years. He was later based in Seattle since July of 1951.
He is survived by his wife, Susan, and four children—Carroll, Susan, Angus and Charles, all of Seattle.
Flight Engineer Don Fowler was hired in December of 1938 in Baltimore. He advanced from his first position of mechanic’s helper, be-(Continued on Page 8)
PAA GOES FOR KOREAN BUSINESS
This shows Hugh Grundy, president of Civil Air Transport, signing the agreement whereby his airline has become the general agent for PAA in Korea. Standing, left to right, are Willis G. Lipscomb, PAA vice president, Traffic/Sales, Dave Hickler, regional manager for CAT, Bill Ortwin, PAA’s DTSM in Tokyo, where the agreement was signed, and Herb MiUey, PAD Traffic/Sales manager.
The following letter was recently received from a PAD passenger: “I want to tell you how much the smoothness of the engines in flight impressed me. Not only myself but several other passengers commented on the smoothness and quiet of the operation. I think you all deserve congratulations on a major achievement. I hadn’t flown PAA for a long time, so the difference was quite striking to me.” The PAD Flight Engineering section can take the bow for this letter.
They recently designed a new instrument — a vibrometer — that measures the vibration in the cockpit (and hence the entire airplane). The principle behind this instrument was not new, but the application was new.
Here’s how it is used.
One of the four blades on each of the four propellers is infinitesimally heavier than the others. It is possible, by arranging these “heavy” blades on each propeller in a certain relationship to each other, to cancel out the vibration effect set up by the propellers. Suppose that the number one
blade was the “heavy” one on each engine. And suppose that as the four propellers turned in flight, the number one blade was always straight up on all four propellers at the same instant. That may produce a certain amount of vibration.
But if the relative position of each number one blade to each other number one blade could be changed, the vibration might be lessened.
After leveling off and going into cruise power, the flight crew synchronizes the four propellers so (Continued on Page 8)
Now You Can Read Tomorrow's News Today
As a special service to all employees the CLIPPER presents in this issue a release of hitherto suppressed information on the-latest division plans.
A special supplement appears on pages five and six. It is date-lined tomorrow, which is the day on which most of the changes will become effective.
PAD DC-4 Races Time To Beat Alaska Thaw
Extra Sections From Seattle Carry Material for Radar Job
Pan American is playing a role in the building of a radar net that will extend from Alaska across Canada.
A DC-4, normally used on CAM charters, has been assigned to Seattle for almost two weeks and will remain there for another couple of weeks to transport vitally needed materials for the project. It is being used to operate extra sections (all cargo).
From Fairbanks the material is being flown by the USAF to Pt. Barrow. From there big “cats” will haul the shipments over the ice to the work sites. Air transportation is essential, since the ice will begin to thaw about April 15th.
Most of the cargo carried by Pan American to date has been prime grade plywood and other building materials.
Two co-pilots from San Francisco have also been temporarily assigned to Seattle for the duration of this operation.
Some of today’s jet aircraft fly at such altitudes that 90 per cent of the total weight of the atmosphere is underneath them.
NO GREAT SHAKES
This shows the vibrometer installed at the flight engineer’s station. This simple instrument plays a leading role in providing passengers with the smoothest trans-Pacific flight aloft.