Wonderful Jet World of Pan American, The (1959)

[Music] in the beginning man's world was no larger than his eye could see his Horizon no further than his legs could carry him the far side of the Earth was a [Music] mystery slowly bit by bit down through the centuries man ventured out across the seas groped his way to the distant corners of the earth marked the lonely latitudes explored the jungles discovered the pose by the beginning of our Century most of the world was on the map but for the ordinary man who wished to know the far places to see Baghdad Bangkok Istanbul Rio to walk the Streets of London and aens for him time was the enemy so vast an earth so little time until now until the birth of this new age the age of the [Music] jet here in the sky we make our peace with time the sky is our element now up here is where man conquers the clock and the calendar it took the pilgrim ship Mayflower 65 days to batter its way across the Atlantic an American's jet Clipper makes it in 6 and2 hours it took the Conquistador Francisco pizaro four heartbreaking months to get from Panama to Peru jet passenger time from New York to South America is 4 hours and 15 [Music] minutes it took Sir Francis Drake 3 years to circle the globe pan Americans jet Clipper can fly around the world in less than 3 days as far back as you can remember there are those rare moments of Discovery moments when you suddenly realize that the simplest things are remarkable when you can gaze at a flower and discover a continent and after that nothing is ever quite the the same again for as long as you live within you there will always be a touch of Balboa seeking new worlds there is a curiosity in us all a Restless hunger to learn and out of it has come Mankind's most profound triumphs in the child who watches and waits and wonders how and wonders why you can see Copernicus struggling to unlock the secrets of the universe and see Sir Isaac Newton groping towards the truth of gravity now in our lifetime comes one of those rare moments when a great door swings open and man enters a new age the age of the jet no one person brings a new age it is ushered in by thousands most become obscured by the haze of History who was Magellan's cook or Columbus's Carpenter no one can tell you their names yet each did his part to change the [Music] world today at this huge Airline maintenance hanger in this the age of the jet many are doing their part clerks mechanics secretaries Engineers instructors technicians of every kind Communications checking in messages through buenos Isis a memo from London an urgent request from Rome and meanwhile up in scheduling every flight is planned every crew member assigned for weeks ahead which plane will be in Tokyo on the 15th which pilot will be in Johannesburg on the 22nd which Navigator will be leaving New York on the 29th and landing in Istanbul on the 30th and all the while a training program in progress a miniature University here refresher courses in design and hydraulics engine Theory radar and Communications crack flight Engineers mechanics with a dozen years experience going back to the classroom to keep in touch with the latest development of the jet for every hour in the air the jet Clipper spends 25 manh hours on the ground being checked and tested strip down the engines x-ray those hidden places inside the wings and fuselage replace the worn Parts check and recheck and check again jet Clipper 709 to maintenance Foreman jet Clipper 709 is ready to be toed to run up spot please notify yard aircraft up this is the nerve Center maintenance control in touch with every ground crew on the line knowing just what has to be done to each plane and knowing exactly when it will be ready to fly got some s [Applause] Mar oh very [Applause] [Music] nice Meet Harry Larson keyman in maintenance 39 years old long a Master Mechanic a skilled technician hands sure as a surgeon eyes sharp as a Jewel's a virtuosa with a wrench and a screwdriver 18 years on the line playing nursea to airplanes back in Sweden his ancestors were toolmakers for six [Music] Generations sometimes I come in for work in the morning and find myself thinking of everything going on in just this one building all it takes to keep those jets flying on schedule right here in maintenance control is where I begin my day stop by and pick up my assignment flight 116 she has to be checked out and ready to take off for Paris in exactly 3 hours look closely this is the the key that unlocks the door to a new age the jet Clipper bringing the far ends of the world within reach of us all when you come from a family of tool makers one thing you inherit is to know that a fine machine is beauty without a wasted line nothing meaningless is perfect as a seashell already had a complete going over in the hanger now comes another another operational check tool bench my father used to say make it clean make it simple they sure did it with this jet engine the air just drives in through the front gets squeezed by the compressor heated by a burner to build pressure then shoots out through the tail pipe the jet Clipper twice the length of a railroad car with a wingspan big enough to line up a regiment cruising speed 600 M an [Music] hour before the first passenger ever stepped aboard there were four years of test flights millions of hours of engine time month after month for all its power it's the simplest aircraft engine ever devised fewer moving Parts less wear and tear easier to service she's a mechanic's dream it takes an intricate team to open the door of a new age his name is Captain Don Michaels pilot on the jet run to Paris this afternoon 20 years of flying experience including a thousand hours in Jets an hour ago he was playing with his kids in his backyard in Connecticut Before Dawn tomorrow he'll be checking into a hotel off the shaiz it's an hour and a half to departure now and Captain Michaels has a lot of work to do pick up the flight plan and weather folder no problems today up there in the jet stream it'll be clear skies and a Tailwind all the way across the Atlantic up in the briefing room the crew is waiting sign in and make sure they're all here co-pilot Navigator flight engineer purer and stewardesses pass on the word about the route in the weather regulations call for a checkup quiz on flight procedures before every takeoff just to make sure everybody's on his [Music] toes flight attendants come from 88 countries France Sweden Germany California Connecticut Minnesota Elbow Lake Minnesota to be exact her her name is Dorothy Robinson she speaks three languages Hobbies listening to Jazz and putting together an international wardrobe the ring is Italian the compact is from Paris the wristwatch from Hong Kong 49 minutes till departure panaman paging passenger Paul Johnson Paul Johnson please come to the panamerican passenger information counter number [Music] eight there are explorers who will never have their statues in a public square discoverers of new worlds who will never be mentioned in the history books adventurers like this family from Kansas City about to take off on their first Jet [Music] flight [Music] 45 minutes till departure and they buttoned up the operational check [Music] now 709 runup completed and ready to taxi to departure gate for flight 116 maintenance Forman to scheduling Clipper 709 leading for departure gate [Music] 11 months and 2 weeks a year he's a Salesman on the road in Kansas while his daughter's learning spelling and long division and his wife is busy with the laundry in the supermarket but for the next 2 weeks they'll be Marco Polo and Company journeying to Cafe Cafe being a blaze of lights on the rivers sand called Paris all the months of planning dreaming wondering what will it be like to fly in a jet now when the answer is so close every tick of the clock seems an [Music] [Applause] eternity on this bright spring day Kansas City has a Rendevous with Paris what will it be like to fly in the calm air above the winds 27 minutes till they know the answer 600 Gall a minute enough to reach Paris with ease plus a healthy Reserve check deliver the menu for today pheasant and roast beef Lobster caviar champagne check and then the crew takes over for a final last minute [Music] inspection seeing her here on the ground you can't know what she's like believe me you don't really know a jet until you fly in [Music] it check the GS four of them each with an infray cooking range automatic coffee Brewers pouring out 32 cups every 2 minutes check the cabin lights air conditioning rron stands waiting in all its Stone Glory Paris Waits [Music] and here bit by bit the intricate design of departure falls into place check gyro Compass check oil cooler valve override check a sweet aircraft this one with everything The Genius of man has been able to devise to make her safe and simple and easy to handle I remember the first time I stepped aboard a jet and sat down at the controls I felt like a like a kid on Christmas [Music] morning [Applause] [Music] time is racing now the last cargo is stowed aboard the two passenger doors go into place in [Music] counterpart good afternoon ladies and gentlemen this is paname 707 jet Clippers service flight 116 to Paris Captain Michaels and his crew wish to welcome you aboard what's it like to fly in a jet 4 minutes and they'll know what's it [Music] [Applause] [Music] like 709 on flight 116 to ID wild Ground Control ground control to Clipper 116 you are clear to taxi to the inner perimeter over we're ready to taxi to the inner perimeter [Music] over [Applause] [Music] [Applause] a [Applause] out Power number 160 [Music] ready so smooth you can hardly tell when you start down the [Music] runway and suddenly you're Airborne you wonder for a moment What's missing and then you realize [Music] what above the capricious winds and weather up into the pure blue of the stratosphere outside in the thin air it's 60° below zero but here in the cabin it's like a gentle June [Music] morning [Music] up here the sky is blue deep blue Bluer Than any sea there is no sens of speed you seem to be floating Motionless in the air and a kind of Peace settles over you so quiet Only The Whisper Of The Wind rushing by and a majestic silence as distance slips past at 600 M an hour and you try to imagine what it will mean to the world this age of the jet how it will shape the life of man our future our children so much more to be seen and felt and heard in a [Music] lifetime men fly out to meet their fellow men and with intimacy comes understanding the last generation was a stranger to the people of far places the Next Generation becomes a neighbor [Music] the Jets inscribe their signature across the sky the great door swings open and man steps Across the Threshold into a bright new [Music] age