@cmartell21.bsky.social
Reposted
Part 3 of my ongoing series about the incredible WW2 flight of the California Clipper is now up and free to read.
Imagine having to fly your aircraft on regular gasoline, which it has never used before.
Now imagine having to work out how to do that while you're flying over the vast Indian Ocean...
Imagine having to fly your aircraft on regular gasoline, which it has never used before.
Now imagine having to work out how to do that while you're flying over the vast Indian Ocean...
In 1941, Pan Am's California Clipper had to do something no commercial flight had done before: circumnavigate the world.
In Part 3 of our series looking at her journey, the crew must work out, mid-air, how to fly her on regular gasoline. Something her Wright Cyclone engines were never designed for.
In Part 3 of our series looking at her journey, the crew must work out, mid-air, how to fly her on regular gasoline. Something her Wright Cyclone engines were never designed for.
Into the unknown: The remarkable journey of the California Clipper, Part 3
Unable to source military-grade aviation fuel, our crew are forced to cross the Indian Ocean using regular gasoline. Something no Boeing 314 has ever flown on before.
theupfront.media
November 14, 2025 at 11:18 AM
Part 3 of my ongoing series about the incredible WW2 flight of the California Clipper is now up and free to read.
Imagine having to fly your aircraft on regular gasoline, which it has never used before.
Now imagine having to work out how to do that while you're flying over the vast Indian Ocean...
Imagine having to fly your aircraft on regular gasoline, which it has never used before.
Now imagine having to work out how to do that while you're flying over the vast Indian Ocean...
Reposted
More from me over on the Up Front.
One of the most extraordinary moments in aviation history.
One of the most extraordinary moments in aviation history.
Part 2 of our history of the remarkable flight of the California Clipper in WW2 is now available.
To get back to the US after Pearl Harbor, Ford and his crew are asked by Pan Am to do something no commercial aircrew or passenger plane has done before:
Circumnavigate the world. #history #aviation
To get back to the US after Pearl Harbor, Ford and his crew are asked by Pan Am to do something no commercial aircrew or passenger plane has done before:
Circumnavigate the world. #history #aviation
Flying blind: The remarkable journey of the California Clipper, Part 2
What Pan Am were asking of Ford, his crew and his aircraft was to do something that no commercial flying boat had ever done before: complete a circumnavigation of the world.
theupfront.media
November 7, 2025 at 7:01 PM
More from me over on the Up Front.
One of the most extraordinary moments in aviation history.
One of the most extraordinary moments in aviation history.
Reposted
In December 1941, Pan Am flight 18602 was trapped the wrong side of the Pacific by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
To get home, her civilian crew would need to do the near-impossible: circumnavigate the world in commercial seaplane.
In our new series, we tell tell their remarkable story.
To get home, her civilian crew would need to do the near-impossible: circumnavigate the world in commercial seaplane.
In our new series, we tell tell their remarkable story.
The Long Way Round: The remarkable journey of the California Clipper, Part 1
In 1941, the Japanese attacked Hawaii, leaving Pan Am flight 18602 trapped the wrong side of Pearl Harbour, To get home, its civilian crew would have to do something incredible: circumnavigate the wor...
theupfront.media
October 31, 2025 at 10:21 PM
In December 1941, Pan Am flight 18602 was trapped the wrong side of the Pacific by the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
To get home, her civilian crew would need to do the near-impossible: circumnavigate the world in commercial seaplane.
In our new series, we tell tell their remarkable story.
To get home, her civilian crew would need to do the near-impossible: circumnavigate the world in commercial seaplane.
In our new series, we tell tell their remarkable story.
Spring is upon us!
September 21, 2025 at 2:52 AM
Spring is upon us!
Reposted
*Marilyn Monroe intensifies*
July 7, 2025 at 5:21 PM
*Marilyn Monroe intensifies*
One of my favourites:
January 28, 2025 at 7:42 AM
One of my favourites:
