Interview conducted by Carol L. Osbourne on November 25, 1997.
83 pages
Final transcript
The interview describes Captain Kenneth V. Beer’s career with Pan American World Airways from 1929 to 1963; his military training with the Army Air Division at Brooks Field and Kelly Field in San Antonio; his work as a pilot with Western Air Express in 1928; hiring and training by Pan American,; his work as a co-pilot, pilot, and assistant chief pilot for training; the flight manuals he wrote for instrument flight and seaplanes; the airplanes he flew: Fokker F-10, Ford Tri-Motor, Sikorsky S-38, S-42, Consolidated Commodore, Martin M-130, PBM Mariner, Boeing 314, 377 Stratocruiser, Douglas DC-4 and DC-7; his experiences as captain of Honolulu Clipper’s first trans-Pacific flight on March 16, 1939; the routes he flew in the Latin American Division: Brownsville to Mexico City and Panama, Miami to Havana, Puerto Rico, Cozumel, Merida, and Buenos Aires; and the Pacific Division: San Francisco to Honolulu, Midway Island, Wake Island, Guam, Manila, Hong Kong, and Brisbane; early days of commercial flight; instrument flight; in-flight mechanical incidents; Alameda’s seaplane port, Treasure Island, Mills Field, and San Francisco International Airport (SFO); encounters with Ed Musick, Andre Priester, Igor Sikorsky, and Charles Lindbergh.
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