Tuitokelau
Tagimaitoga
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Wednesday, May 9, 2012
Another history about Captain Steve BANCROFT :
Tom Kewin :
My first training flight on the B314 was in April, 1943. When an airplane came out of overhaul it was sent on a 12 hour "slow time" flight before being put back into service. That was probably a good idea, with four newly overhauled engines. So I was assigned to the flight as a student engineer. There were so many students and observers on board that they put on two stewards to prepare our meals. It was an ideal first exposure, since we students had ample time to explore the wing tunnels and nacelles, sit at the engineers station for a few hours, and even take a nap. Captain Steve Bancroft had his own agenda. After flying over Mount Shasta, Lake Tahoe, and Yosemite he headed for Fresno, his home town. He put down partial wing flaps, descended to about 400 feet and while the co-pilot circled over a friends ranch, Steve took some rocks out of his briefcase and pelted the barn!
http://www.flyingclippers.com/scrapbook1.html
Pan American Airways Boeing B-314 CLIPPER
View of the flight deck of the museum's full size Boeing 314 replica, "Yankee Clipper" NC-18603
The flight deck of the Boeing B314 Clipper was very large, so room to move around was quite abundant, as you can see. To the left is a full size navigational chart table and above (not visible) is a bubble so that the navigator can take star-shots with a sextant for calculating the aircraft's (boat) position. In the lower right is the flight engineer and the engine panels are in front of him, while just behind the flight engineer is the radio operator.
More info : www.clipperflyingboats.com/pan-am/boeing-b314
Address of Foynes Flying Boats & Maritime Museum : Foynes, Co. Mimerick - Ireland - http://www.flyingboatmuseum.com/
NC-18602 – California Clipper (renamed Pacific Clipper for a few months in 1941) arriving over the San Francisco Bay
View of cockpit of the full size replica B314,"Yankee Clipper" NC-18603 (located in the Foynes Flying Boat Museum)
A view of the Flight Engineer's station on the museum's Boeing 314 full size replica aircraft, "Yankee Clipper" NC-18603
View of the flight deck of the museum's full size Boeing 314 replica, "Yankee Clipper" NC-18603
More info : www.clipperflyingboats.com/pan-am/boeing-b314
Address of Foynes Flying Boats & Maritime Museum : Foynes, Co. Mimerick - Ireland - http://www.flyingboatmuseum.com/
Tuesday, May 8, 2012
Wallis Island, Halalo beach, 1943
Lou BRISTOW :
"This 4 motor Pan American seaplane landed on top of a reef at Halalo and tore a hole in the bottom. The pilot ran the flying boat 4 motors up on the beach next to fuel ramp. It took 30 days to fix.
Steve BANCROFT, pilot Pan American Airways. I am in the picture, Lou BRISTOW.
In 1944, Steve flew this same plane UNDER the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. He was a real dare devil."
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