The Round The World Saga of the "Pacific Clipper"

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CaptainEd
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Joined: 27 Jan 2005, 00:00
Location: Brick NJ

The Round The World Saga of the "Pacific Clipper"

Post by CaptainEd »

http://radiocom.net/Clipper/

The Round The World Saga of the "Pacific Clipper"

By John A. Marshall

December 7, 1941 The first blush of dawn tinged the eastern sky and sent its rosy fingers creeping onto the flight deck of the huge triple-tailed flying boat as she cruised high above the South Pacific. Six days out of her home port of San Francisco, the Boeing 314 was part of Pan American Airways' growing new service that linked the far corners of the Pacific Ocean. With veteran Captain Robert Ford in command, the Pacific Clipper, carrying 12 passengers and a crew of ten was just a few hours from landing in the harbor at Auckland, New Zealand.

The calm serenity of the flight deck early on this spring morning was suddenly shattered by the crackling of the radio. Radio Operator John Poindexter clamped the headset to his ears as .................................



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Here's a classic true story of an airline Captain who found himself thrust into a situation that demanded his utmost ability and skill as a pilot and a leader, and how he exercised his authority correctly.

(If this has already been posted, my apologies.)

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