August 19, 2005
i’ve just returned from a short vacation to a distinctly un-san francisco like location… hawaii! it took me a little while to come up with a san francisco connection, but on the flight home i remembered that san francisco was once home to the “china clipper”, the first transpacific airline service to those gorgeous islands. these titanic yet graceful flying boats were the ultimate way to travel to the newly accessible paradise of the south pacific. they take us back to a more gracious and elegant period in the history of travel, and i hope you enjoy the podcast, as well as the photos, videos, and websites listed below.
» flyingclippers.com is a wonderfully complete and nostalgic history of these lovely craft.
» this pbs website provides newsreel videos and some great photos.
» a newspaper account of the first flight over the pacific.
thanks to kevin macleod for the use of the track “modern jazz samba”. check his royalty-free music site at incompetech.com.
August 24, 2005 at 4:48 pm
Great work, R. I just want to add that there is a Clipper exhibit at SFO in the international terminal. You can see a real propeller from a Clipper. In October there’ll be a whole Pan Am exhibit there.
So… if you’re ever bored while waiting for a flight at SFO, head over to the museum.
October 29, 2005 at 4:49 pm
Your word pictures are simply amazing. Your recreation of a trans-Pacific flight was incredibly detailed. The highest complement I can give you is that I could see every detail in my mind’s eye that you described. I have enjoyed all of your Podcasts, but, so far, this one is my favorite.