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That is a beautiful model—one that I imagine is difficult to build. I remember these airplanes very well. I flew across the Pacific in Clipper Queen of the Pacific in December of 1955, from Haneda to Wake to Honolulu to San Francisco.
Before the 707s these were the height of air travel luxury, comfort, and speed. They were, however, very complex and subject to propeller problems and engine failures. Our flight was delayed twenty-four hours due to airframe damage from something or other.
Our pilot was Captain F. K. Schader. I would love to know his story.
I can still see the navigator standing on a stool under the astrodome, shooting the stars with his octant in the middle of the night. We were all, of course, welcome to chat with the crew as they went about their duties. Nothing was too good for the passengers on these old beauties. I'll never forget the red-hot glow of the exhausts on our climb from Tokyo. Our flight landed at Wake Island just after dawn. There was a small terminal building there where you could get breakfast. Orange juice and a danish for me. Then we flew toward Honolulu and landed there in the early evening. We got on a fresh airplane there to finish the trip. I don't remember why we changed planes, but when the plane we were originally scheduled to fly was damaged they flew another one to Tokyo from Guam, which we rode to Honolulu. The replacement (and I do not remember its name) was considerably newer and more nicely appointed.
The plane on which we rode ended up as a tanker in the Israeli Air Force. We visited the US Air Force Museum in Dayton, Ohio several years ago. I spent a long time looking at their KC-97. In the '70s the Wisconsin Air National Guard flew these monsters as tankers. When they flew across the Atlantic, a friend who served on their aircrews said they carried a 55-gallon drum of oil in the cabin, from which (evidently) oil could be pumped to the engines in case of need. They called this the "by God" oil.
Didn't think a model could bring back all these memories. Sorry for gassing on like this.
Cheers.
Mike
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