![]() The British Overseas Airways Corporation (BOAC) Short Sandringham passenger flying boat, a demilitarized conversion of the Short Sunderland military flying boat, taxiing for its maiden flight from the Short Brothers facility in Rochester, England on November 28, 1945. The 17-hour trip was flown at a blistering cruise speed of 125 mph, while passengers tolerated the thunder of four 1,600-hp Wright Cyclone radial piston engines. The 25 passengers per flight headed from San Francisco to Honolulu were pampered by four pursers on the luxurious lower deck of the Clipper. (Want to bring back that idea of not stuffing planes to the gills, airlines? We're all for it.) It could carry as many as 74 passengers, but was configured for 40 or fewer for overnight flights. In service from 1939 to 1948 - and drafted into the US military during the war - the 314 had a cabin almost as wide as a 747's. Oh, the romance of the Pan American Clippers, captured in exotic settings on the gorgeous travel posters of the 1930s! They were the archetype of the seaplanes that dominated long-haul air travel before and immediately after World War II.īoeing's Model 314 flying boat was the ultimate in pre-World War II intercontinental travel. TPG climbed into the dusty hangar of aviation history to find out about two-floor aircraft: Some that pioneered international air travel, some that were one-of-a-kind and some you still can fly today. Toulouse, March 20, 2019: Delivering to the customer a beautiful animal from a dying breed (Photo by Nicky Kelvin / The Points Guy)ĭouble-decker aircraft aren't limited to those two icons, however.
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