from Hacker News

A Plane That Accidentally Circumnavigated the World (2014)

by kenneth on 5/8/18, 4:36 AM with 50 comments

  • by alexhutcheson on 5/8/18, 6:38 PM

  • by esaym on 5/8/18, 6:44 PM

    Similar articles have been posted before. All of them are based on the book "The Long Way Home". I bought it for my 88 year old grandfather last Christmas. He power read through the thing in a couple of hours and handed it back to me, telling me to read it too.

    Certainly an interesting read. But with a little more historical context, you will find that even as early as the 1930's, the US was worried about dominance in the Pacific. They used the consumer travel market and Pan Am as an excuse to built bases and refueling networks all across the Pacific. Quite good foresight that certainly helped out once WWII broke out. (there's another book with these details but I can't remember the name of it)

  • by tlb on 5/8/18, 7:22 PM

    "...with a wingspan of over 150ft, the Boeing 314 was (and remains) one of the largest aircraft ever to take to the sky"

    "Remains" is stretching the point. The original 747 (1975) was 195ft wingspan. Modern 787s are also around 195ft. The 767-200 (1981) is comparable at 156ft.

    By weight, the 314 was small by modern standards: 84000 lbs MTOW, less than a 737-200 at 128000 lbs MTOW.

  • by 8_hours_ago on 5/8/18, 6:37 PM

  • by ocdtrekkie on 5/8/18, 6:33 PM

    Have the movie rights been sold yet? I can totally see this movie in my head already.

  • by peterburkimsher on 5/9/18, 8:28 AM

    It's a long, but exhilarating read. My grandpa told stories of his wartime flying experience, including stealing a plane to go to a party at another RAF base where Clark Gable was attending. Some things sound exaggerated, but it's an impressive story nonetheless. I'd really like to see it turned into a film.

    Wikipedia says the registration was NC-18609(A), not NC18602 as in the article. I also noticed that the photo of the first ever Boeing 314 shows registration NC18601, which would make 18602 the second model ever built. Can anyone confirm which registration number is correct?

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Clipper

  • by clon on 5/8/18, 8:08 PM

    Wonderful story!

    There seems to be a healthy number of other pilots / aviation enthusiasts here, so I'll ask - did they really use the OVER & OUT in aviation phraseology back then? Modern aviation RT omits these, so I wonder if it is a journalistic addition.

  • by elihu on 5/8/18, 10:06 PM

    Whatever happened to large sea planes? I imagine they were phased out because they were too expensive, unsafe, or for some other logistical reason, but it seems like they would still be practical for some purposes.

  • by overcast on 5/9/18, 1:19 PM

    Fun fact, also the same plane(China Clipper) that Indiana Jones took in Raiders of the Lost Ark from San Francisco to the Philippines.

  • by imglorp on 5/9/18, 1:24 PM

    I'll also link my favorite podcast who just did a piece on this. They probably have some different details and anecdotes than OP article.

    https://www.futilitycloset.com/2018/04/16/podcast-episode-19...

  • by thedrbrian on 5/9/18, 12:49 PM

    There’s also a plane tales by Captain Nick from the APG that talks about the same trip http://airlinepilotguy.com/no-distant-lands/

  • by Twirrim on 5/8/18, 7:01 AM

    That was a fascinating read. Thanks for sharing!