Home of Pan American World Airways Retired Pilots and Employees
1927-1991
New historic district documents Pan Am’s influence on commercial aviation, global travel, diplomacy, and commerce
• Pan Am Hangar 5 (built in 1929), the last and largest of the airline’s original hangars at the former NW 36th Street Airport, is today the oldest surviving building at Miami International Airport. Still in use and in remarkable condition, Pan Am Hangar 5 continues to occupy the same spot on which it was built 97 years ago, providing a living link to the birth of international commercial aviation.
• Pan American’s double-hangar, shop, and office complex (built in 1943) was constructed after improvements in aircraft technology signaled a return to land-based operations, succeeding the famous 1930’s era of Pan Am flying boats operated by the airline from Dinner Key. Immediately upon its completion, the huge new 36th Street double hangar was put into use as a major maintenance base for Pan Am’s significant World War II collaboration with the U.S. Army Air Transport Command.
• The Pan Am Latin American Division Headquarters and Stewardess College (built in 1964), was locally designated as historic in 2014. This architecturally stunning building, once popularly known as the “Taj Mahal,” is currently being meticulously and respectfully renovated and repurposed as a VIP passenger terminal, slated to open later in the year.
• Pan Am’s system-wide jet maintenance and overhaul base (built in 1964), a seven-acres-under-one-roof facility described as a “city within a city,” was the most technologically advanced jet overhaul facility in the world upon its completion and supported the airline’s global jet operations at their peak.
Deborah Stander
Email: webmaster@hangar5foundation.
News and Updates
We had our PAA Flight Engineers’ picnic last week. The guy on the left is Jim ???? and the next guy is Bill Glathe. Bill and I were in the same Reserve Squadron at Alameda. Bill had an old Slope – backed Volvo and I had that old Jaguar with the patched paint. We used to admire our cars driving up to Alameda. Bill was a Sigma Chi from Stanford and had been a springboard diver on their swim team. And the guy with the blue hat is Gerry Mahan, a real old timer and had flown on the old Pan Am flying Boats! (sigh) POP
Pan Am Captain is greeted at WWII Memorial with other Vets who flew combat missions out of England on D-Day (June 6th, 1944). VIP photos were taken in June 2008 with Senator Bob Dole and other senators. Lt. Colonel Art Milow flew 66 bombing missions in the ETO during 1944-45, with the 409th Group as Squadron Commander. Aircraft were Douglas A-20’s and A-26. Milow returned to USA in 1945 as director of Training at Westover Field, MA, separated from teh Army Air Corp on June 1, 1946. On June 20th, 1946, he was employed as co-pilot by the Chief Pilot in Miami, FL, Captain Cy Goyette. Milow retired on March 25, 1978 after 32 wonderful years with Pan American World Airways.
An Airline At War – by Robert L. Willett
This book was inspired by the memory of my cousin, James Sallee Browne, who lived near our family in Winnetka, Illinois in the late 1930s. Jim was one of Winnetka’s first WWII casualties, dying in a China National Aviation Corporation crash in the Himalayas in November 1942. Jim was my idol, a mischievous, fun-loving, happy-go-lucky young man who loved to fly. Before the U.S. entered WWII, he flew for the R.A.F. Then he signed up for C.N.A.C. and went to China. He was just twenty-one when he died.
It’s a little like my previous books, about lesser-known events of history. But let me have you read the publisher’s words – objective, earthy and honest – as they always are:
“For many, the story of the U.S. and China during the years leading up to, and including, World War II is a period shrouded in mystery. An Airline at War: The Story of Pan Am’s China National Aviation Corporation and Its Men, by Robert L. Willett, sheds light on this extraordinary period through the adventures and exploits of the pilots who shared a rare and heroic bond in the skies above a war-ravaged China. The China National Aviation Corporation was a multi-national and dual-cultural collaboration, which operated for twenty years, between 1929 and 1949. In its lifetime it took the lives of 150 crew-members, and some 261 passengers, and was a lifeline for China’s survival through civil and international wartime. Accessibly written and scrupulously researched, An Airline at War: The Story of Pan Am’s China National Aviation Corporation and Its Men will enthrall history buffs, academicians, and anyone who just loves a good story.”
Some of you have asked if you might be able to get a copy, and my humble answer is, “of course!” The book so far is only in soft cover, in a handy 6” X 9” size at the cost of $18.99. You can do it one of two ways: through Amazon.com (after Oct. 1) or from me directly if you want it inscribed or signed. I do add $3.00 for shipping (sorry). Just drop me a line –
Robert L. Willett
4423 Sea Gull
Merritt Island, FL 32953
and let me know how many and how you want them signed or inscribed. Visit our website at freewebs.com/rlwillett, still a work-in-progress, but you can use Pay Pal if you use the website Web Store.
5/26/2010 – A QUESTION:
My father, Finley Goslin, was a pilot with Pan Am from 1940 – 1960, based in Miami, Rio, Houston, London and New York, and was an active member of the Clipper Pioneers until he passed away on February 06, 2007.
The reason I am contacting you is regarding the attached photo that has been circling around the Internet. The box that is being loaded on the flight is the first IBM ‘SUPER’ computer released in September 1956. The pilot on the right with his arms crossed looks VERY much like my father.
I was wondering if perhaps the photo could be posted on the Clipper Pioneer website asking if anyone knows who the crew was on that flight or at least what route it was on. I have scoured the Internet but as yet haven’t come up with further information.
Thanks so much Jerry. Keep up the good work as we all enjoy and greatly appreciate the PAA connection!
Best regards,
Priscilla Goslin
Those who read the story of the Doolittle Raid that you recently posted might be interested in the attached PowerPoint file of pictures that was just sent me by a friend. Keep up the good work, the Clipper has become a great read for we 93 year olds who no longer get to reunions.
Best Luck… Lee Nelson