The Commercial Flight that Circled the Globe

 The next model is a diecast model.  I wish I could find a proper model of one but I don't think many people make them.  When I ordered the plane, I thought it was bigger but it's not too bad, I guess.  It can fit in with some of my other airliners and not look too out of place.

The Boeing 314 Clipper was a large flying boat that was produced from 1938 to 1941.  In that time, twelve were produced.  They were used by Pan American, the British Overseas Airways (predecessor to British Airways) and the US Navy.  It had a crew of 10 to 16 and could carry 68 day passengers or 38 sleeping passengers.  It had a top speed of 210 miles per hour with a range of 3,685 miles.

I will have to say it is a pretty nice looking plane and is a throwback to more civilized age of passenger flying.  It probably could rival rail service.

Anyway, that's not the story I wanted to tell.

Pan Am Flight NC16802 (also the tail number of the plane but not my model) was a regular scheduled flight from San Francisco to Auckland, New Zealand.  On December 2nd, 1941, the pilot took off from Treasure Island in San Francisco.  It landed at Pearl Harbor on the same day, refueled and left for New Zealand.  On the way to New Zealand, it had stops on Canton Island, Suva, Fiji and Noumea, New Caledonia for refueling.  It arrived in New Zealand on December 7th, 1941.

Captain Ron Ford learned of the attack on Pearl Harbor and was instructed not to head back to the United States by way of the Pacific.  He then received instructions to take the employees of Pan Am in Noumea to Gladstone, Australia.   They arrived in Noumea on December 16th and flew to Australia in the same day.

From Gladstone they flew to Darwin, Australia.  There they refueled but they had to do it manually.  They then flew Surabuya where they were intercepted by the Royal Dutch Air Force.  They had to convince them they were non-threatening.  They had to pick up a lower grade of fuel which didn't help their trip to Ceylon.

En route from Surabuya to Ceylon, they saw a submarine and were fired upon but not damaged.  They reported it to the British in Ceylon but they didn't believe.  From Ceylon, they went to Karachi.  He had to drop off two mechanics there so that Pan Am could establish a base.

From Bahrain, they went to Khartoum and had to leave another mechanic.  They landed on the Nile in Khartoum.  From there, they went to Leopoldville.

then they went to Natal and then Port of Spain.

On January 6, 1942, the crew was elated to see the New York city skyline as they landed at LaGuardia Airport.  They struck a sandbar as they were taxiing, but no damage was caused.

A map of the flight.

The plane was purchased by the US Government but operated by Pan Am during the war.  After the war, it was sold to Universal Airlines, then American International Airways in 1947 and World Airways in 1948 and scrapped in 1951.

There are no surviving aircraft although there has been talk of salvaging one of two that sank during operation.  That has never come to fruition.  That's kind of sad since this would be a window into a different era of flying.

 

Catching a Seaplane

So I got to the part of the weekend that I wanted to do which was boatwatching.

 As I was waiting for my first ship of the morning, I saw this guy pass over.  I managed to catch a picture of him as he passed by.

 I thought that would be the last picture I would get of this plane which is a 1956 Cessna 180.

 It turns out that he was coming in for a landing in the little pond that is behind Mission Point.

 Unfortunately, I couldn't get over there fast enough to catch the plane as it landed.

 I did managed to catch it as it taxied to the dock.  I think this might be favorite picture of the set.

 Although this one is pretty close.

He was greeted by a Customs Agent.

Catching a Seaplane

While I was taking pictures of the AlgoCanada, a plane appeared overhead.

 I think the plane is a Murphy Rebel which is a kit built aircraft.

It was pretty neat to see.

Catching a Seaplane

Sometimes you get to see some odd sites at the Soo.

 This plane was docked across from Mission Point and when I went to start taking pictures of it, it was starting to float away.  I realized that it was sort of taxiing.

 As it reached a point in the river, it started to take off.  I'm not sure how far down it was, but it was pretty cool.

 Getting takeoff speed.

 And it starts to lift off the water.

 And a little further over the water.

 and it flies by.

The plane in question was the Stinson 108 made by the Stinson division of Consolidated Vultee.  These planes were produced in Wayne, Michigan and are based on the prewar Model 10A Voyager.  In 1949, the Stinson division was bought by Piper.  In total, there were a little over 5,000 aircraft built from 1946 to 1950.

A Brief Stop in Ann Arbor

I took kind of a convoluted way home, so I decided to make a quick stop at the Ann Arbor Airport on the off chance that I could catch a plane or two.

 First up was this Piper Arrow taking off.  I didn't get my camera ready in time to catch it.

 Next up was this Beechcraft Bonaza seaplane.  Normally I just see it sitting at the airport but Saturday I saw it in the air.  I didn't get any pictures of it in the air but I got a different angle than I normally do.

And it went back to its normal spot.

A Pair of Planes

When I hear a plane, I can't help but turn up and look.

 First up was a seaplane.  This is a kit aircraft built by a company called Progressive Aerodyne and it is called a SeaRey.  For some reason it reminds me of a Catalina.  It is powered by a Rotax engine which can be 64 to 115, depending on which version you buy.  It can carry one passenger in addition to the pilot.

And this was a United CRJ heading into Grand Rapids, I think.

Watching a Seaplane

As I was taking pictures of the ships, there was a plane doing touch and goes on the water.  Since I don't get to see seaplanes all that often, I decided to head over to where I could get pictures of it.

 The plane in question is a Murphy Rebel which is a kitplane built by the Murphy Company out of Chilliwack, British Columbia.

 The plane was designed by Darryl Murphy and Dick Hiscock who was one of the designers of the De Havilland Canada Beaver.  I guess that explains why it looks similar.

 I was able to get right under the approach path except it was getting late, so the pictures aren't as great.

 A shot from behind.

Landing with a splash.