Oral history interview with Captain Frank Urch, conducted May 11, 1999; military pilot between 1935 and 1940; Pan American World Airways co-pilot and pilot from 1940 until his retirement in 1973; describes early life and education; military service and training, aircraft: Consolidated NY-1 trainer, Stearman NS, Boeing F4B-4, Vought O3U3, Vought SU Corsair, Martin PM-1 and PM-2, and Consolidated P2Y-2 and PBY-5A; hiring and training by Pan American, extensive description of simulator training; experiences on the flying boats: Grumman J4F Widgeon, the Boeing 314, and the Consolidated PBY; flights on the African routes in 1940 and 1941; bases in Miami and New York (1940-1947), routes: Bermuda, Lisbon, with a detailed description of flying into Horta (Azores); transfer from seaplanes to land planes: Douglas DC-3, DC-4, DC-7, Boeing 377 (referred to as the 307), 707, and 747; routes from Miami and New York to Natal, Trinidad, Cuba, Azores, Bermuda, Casablanca, and Lisbon; transfer to the San Francisco base in 1947; routes to Honolulu, Fiji, Manila, Saigon, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Bangkok, Tokyo; impact of seniority on his career; minor descriptions of ALPA’s gains for pilots; in-flight weather and mechanical incidents, including the loss of an engine on the Boeing 377 (referred to as the Double Bubble and the 307); brief descriptions of San Francisco International Airport in the 1940s; discussion of health issue; change from propeller airplanes to jets, differences in flying techniques, overall effect on the industry; navigation technologies he used over the years; brief discussion of R&R routes into and out of Saigon in the early 1960s; thoughts on Pan American as a company and an employer; encounters with Harold Gray, R.O.D. Sullivan, David Benke (ALPA), André Priester, Juan Trippe, and Charles Lindbergh.
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