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PAN AM Boeing 377 Stratocruiser
Again I'm getting "propliners mood" and I hope someone will do my request... What I'm requesting? A plane which I've always considered as one of the two most iconic propliners along with Lockheed Constellation. Boeing 377 Stratocruiser in PAN AM meatball livery. Such a beautiful and very distinctive plane. I love flying it in Microsoft Flight Simulator 2004. Quite heavy and slow, but gives a lot of fun. Especially on route from San Francisco to Honolulu.
So, could anyone make my little dream come true? Just a nice recolor of Bruno's 1/300 B377. That's all. File in attachment.
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Kacper |
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#2
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Ecard models, has a very nice Stratocruiser with PAN AM late livery. Check here
https://www.ecardmodels.com/index.ph...per-model.html Although no purchases can be made, Mr. Gutzmer is fixing the page and hopefully it will be available again very shortly. |
#3
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I know everybody has his own livery preferences, and so do I. There were several 377 liveries for Pan Am. The earlier ones were what we saw on the ramp. The first time the 707 landed on a Pan Am ramp people forgot all about the Strats. I guess they slapped the meatball on the tail to make it match the jet. I flew from Tokyo to Honolulu on this plane, the Queen of the Pacific, in December of 1955. One year before, an engine and prop parted company from the airplane. Fortunately they were able to limp into Johnson Island. Love to see a model of one of these.
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#4
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If you're not adverse to buying it, I do have a 1:76 version on my site:
https://murphs-models.webs.com/boeing-377 |
#5
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Quote:
Old PAA livery is great too, but I know that making recolors of airliners is probably the most difficult. Meatball version is just easier for recolorists. I think I could make it but someone would have to make cheatlines for me. That's the worst thing. Bruno did some other Pan Am propliners so I could take logo and "PAN AMERICAN" inscription from them. Murphyaa, I prefer small version from Bruno which would suit my collection of paper propliners in 1/160(I enlarge them from 1/300). Picture in attachment.
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Kacper |
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#6
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Quote:
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#7
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Thanks, Aki. I do enjoy it. It’s so hard to remember these birds in color. I appreciate your work.
Jon |
#8
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Trivia: The early Stratocruisers touched down first on their nose gear followed quickly by the main landing gear. Always looked a little odd, but that’s how they did it. |
#9
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We flew the Stratocruiser from Tokyo to San Francisco via Wake Island and Honolulu (where we changed planes). The flight was scheduled to leave in the evening, but the plane broke down or was damaged in some substantial way, and our flight was canceled. We were taken to a very nice hotel where the airline took care of us overnight and sent a limo to bring us back for the next evening's flight. The airplane was a spare that they flew in from Guam to make the flight. It was older and looked a little worn (but still very nice by today's standards). Everything on board was designed to make the passengers comfortable. It was pretty quiet compared to other piston-powered airplanes. You could converse without difficulty. My father sat in the seat ahead of me and was a little worried about the flight. He summoned a flight attendant and asked her about the flames coming from the engine exhaust outside his window. She told him it was nothing to worry about. She said that the time to worry was when the flame stopped. I woke at dawn to see the plane in the traffic pattern over Wake Island. We came in over the water and taxied to the Pan Am facility. We got off while the maintenance people worked on the plane. I don't remember how long we were there, but it was an interesting place. Remember—we were all dressed for Tokyo winter on the plane. The weather at Wake and at Honolulu was a pleasant change. Everyone wore suits or dresses, of course, and the atmosphere on the plane was like a fine club. The food was good, and the adults would go downstairs to the bar. On our flights, the airplanes performed well—without drama—and they remain a very pleasant memory. When you crossed the dateline, the airline sent a certificate to commemorate the event. I still have mine on the wall. Guess they don't do that anymore. I got up in the middle of the night and went to the cockpit. The navigator was getting ready to take some star sights with his octant. He stood on a little stool and worked from a little dome in the ceiling. He drew three lines on his chart and told me we were somewhere in the triangle formed by the intersecting lines. I remember that the approach to San Francisco was a little bumpy and one of my brothers threw up. The flight attendant took care of him without any fuss. Top quality people. To the best of my knowledge, no one was able to operate these high-maintenance birds at a profit. The plane we rode from Tokyo ended its days with the Israeli Air Force. I found a blog post by someone who traveled six months later: Pam Am Stratocruiser Across the Pacific Passenger, May, 1956 My first airline trip took place when I was six. We left SFO for Hong Kong via Hawaii, Wake Island, and Tokyo. We flew on Pan Am, aboard the four-engine Stratocruiser, complete with berths and a walk-down bar-lounge. All the passengers were in coat and tie, and the women were in dresses or traveling suits complete with hats and gloves--a far cry from what the dress is now. It took 12 to 14 hours to get to Oahu, and we overnighted at the "Pink Palace" Royal Hawaiian. The next day we took off and refueled at Wake Island and took on passengers. While on takeoff, we developed engine problems, stopped, and headed back to the ramp. (Later my Dad told me that we "blew a jug" on the port outer engine--my parents blew several jugs of their own settling their nerves.) We were delayed for two days on the island. Pan Am set us up at the guest house and took us on a tour of the island, where I remember seeing a beached Japanese destroyer rusting away in the surf. My two older sisters were fairly rattled at the aborted takeoff, but I felt it was a great adventure. Pan Am brought another Stratocruiser in and flew the injured bird back to Hawaii, and we continued our uneventful trek across the Pacific. Pan Am at that time was the queen of the Pacific and a great airline. They treated us very well. I was greatly saddened when Pan Am folded her wings. ***— Rodney Bell, California My guess is that there will never be another Pan American. I attached an interesting article on these airplanes. It's from a magazine from long ago that I scanned (poorly) before giving the magazine away. It has a picture of our plane minus one engine and propeller after its emergency landing on Johnson Island. Hope you find it interesting. I'm ready to start building one. Jon |
#10
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Huge thanks, Jon! It was a pleasure to read this. My interest in classic propliners is fairly new. I "discovered" them about 4 years ago and now they're one of my passions. These old planes were unique, they were flying pieces of art. DC-7, Britannia, Stratocruiser, Constellation, Viscount, Boeing 314, Il-18, NAMC YS-11, L-188 Electra, DC-3, Convair CV-580 and many other... You'll never see so many different and beautiful airplanes on modern airports. Wish I could invent a time machine...
I hope that someone will make this recolor, maybe even in older PAA livery. Transocean is also a nice livery, quite unusual for 377.
__________________
Kacper |
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