Interview conducted by Mauree Jane Perry on January 14, January 19, and February 5, 1999.
The interview describes Captain Lewis’s experiences as a pilot with Pan American World Airways from 1946 to 1983, military training and service, and civilian training with Pan American at Coast Guard Station in San Francisco International Airport in 1946; memories of watching the China Clipper depart from Treasure Island for the first time as well as the departures for Pacific survey flights; aircraft he flew,: Boeing 377 Stratocruiser, 707, 747, and 747-SP, Douglas DC-4 and DC-6; routes flown from bases in San Francisco and New York to Honolulu, Hong Kong, Anchorage, Fairbanks, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Rio de Janeiro, Taiwan, Sydney, Bangkok, Tokyo, Saigon, Da Nang, Cam Ranh, and Guam; working conditions at Pan American; furlough process and his representation of furloughed pilots during negotiations with the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) in 1948; factors that led to the closure of Pan American and his efforts to convince Congressional representatives to protect the airline; flight operations, navigation and meteorology; equipment changes; culture of Pan Am pilots; stress and methods of coping; effects of his work schedule on his family; encounters with Charles Lindbergh, Juan Trippe, Kris Kristofferson Sr., Kimball Scribner, Jack Hunt, Najeeb Halaby, “Miss Lee” and Betty Barrett (Pan American employees in San Francisco), David Behnke (a founder of ALPA), and Frank Gledhill (Pan American VP of Operations).
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