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Though President Trippe has never said so, it is probable that the North Atlantic route interested him more. But he soon found it far more difficult to push through. Prime trouble was neither equipment nor operation, but landing bases in foreign territory. Unlike his easy conquests in South America, he found European airlines unwilling to cooperate, their governments unwilling to award him favorable concessions.
In the Pacific, politics proved the smallest worry. Quietly Pan American acquired control of all the Chinese, all the Alaskan airways. Then it set about the purely physical task of flinging its planes across the ocean. Calling in all the best aircrafters, Adviser Lindbergh showed them a set of specifications which completely flabbergasted all but two—Igor Sikorsky and Glenn Martin. Though they called his plans a "flying miracle," they went to work on them.
"Flying Miracle." First to produce results was Builder Sikorsky. In 1934 he launched the Brazilian Clipper, which promptly broke ten international performance records, carried 99.8% of its own weight, reached a top speed of 192 m.p.h. (TIME, Aug. 13, 1934). Sent off to Capt. Musick in the Caribbean, it became a test ship to train Pan American personnel for the Pacific. Pan American now has three of these 19-ton Sikorsky monoplanes, has ordered seven more at a cost of $1,000,000 each. One of the three was the plane which did all the Pacific pioneering.
Builder Martin contracted for three ships along somewhat different lines. Not until last October did he finally become satisfied with the results of his work. Then he handed over to Capt. Musick Clipper # 7 which is now called China Clipper, though it has never had a real christening. A sister ship, the Philippine Clipper, arrived at San Francisco last week. A third, the Honolulu Clipper, will soon slide down the ways at Baltimore. Weighing 25 tons, the Martin Clippers are slower than the Sikorskys, but can carry 102.1% of their own weight, have a greater cruising range. Of cleaner line, they have sponsons instead of wing-pontoons, are much more luxuriously outfitted. Costing $1,200,000 apiece, they will be used exclusively on the transoceanic runs.
While building its planes and training its men, Pan American also set about preparing the Pacific to use them. First it obtained Navy concessions on the islands of Midway, Wake and Guam. Next it wrangled a base at Manila, another at Macao, about 60 miles from Canton. To all these operations Japan strenuously objected, without avail except in the case of Macao. There Pan American has everything except landing permission from China. This China has withheld because it fears it will be obliged to grant similar concessions to Japan. Last week President Trippe announced that Macao will soon swing into line. Then for the first time it will be possible to fly all the way around the world on scheduled airways,*