What plane did he fly in?
Discussion
I'm currently transcribing a diary written by an ancestor in 1954 on a visit to the USA and Mexico.
He flew from Guadalajara Airport to Houston then changed planes, circling up over flat country... he writes: 'rise to 21,000 feet at speed 380-390 passing over Mississippi... 400mph now! A fine plane but had chosen a bad position by strengthening partitions by wings which produced considerable noise and slight vibration... soon down into Washington... a smooth landing almost down without knowing it.. stay aboard and change seats further back by entrance - great improvement. 25 mins only - just get a breath of cold fresh air and then away again to fly at 7,000 ft only for 1hr.30 mins to New York'
I'm guessing he flew with Eastern Airlines but what plane I wonder?
He flew from Guadalajara Airport to Houston then changed planes, circling up over flat country... he writes: 'rise to 21,000 feet at speed 380-390 passing over Mississippi... 400mph now! A fine plane but had chosen a bad position by strengthening partitions by wings which produced considerable noise and slight vibration... soon down into Washington... a smooth landing almost down without knowing it.. stay aboard and change seats further back by entrance - great improvement. 25 mins only - just get a breath of cold fresh air and then away again to fly at 7,000 ft only for 1hr.30 mins to New York'
I'm guessing he flew with Eastern Airlines but what plane I wonder?
Eric Mc said:
Did Eastern fly 7's? I know they flew Constellations.
According to Wiki they did, but only the 7B - not sure when it came out.If I come across any more clues in the diary I'll let you know - already found that his agent originally bought him a ticket on Pan American from *Guatemala* instead of Guadalajara!
Simpo Two said:
Eric Mc said:
Did Eastern fly 7's? I know they flew Constellations.
According to Wiki they did, but only the 7B - not sure when it came out.If I come across any more clues in the diary I'll let you know - already found that his agent originally bought him a ticket on Pan American from *Guatemala* instead of Guadalajara!
That speed is too high for a DC6 or a Connie, so it could only really be a Seven I would think...?
aeropilot said:
You said though that you are guessing it was Eastern rather than it definately being Eastern..?
Yep, simply because it's an east coast route and I know (from Rickenbacker's autobiography) that Eastern were a major carrier there, if not exclusive. Perhaps after buying the wrong ticket from Pan-American he could only exchange it for another flight from them, or maybe they didn't cover that route, I dont know.I thought the bit about a 'strengthening partitions' might identify the plane, but that would need a depth of knowledge that might even test Eric!
What you don't know is whether he is quoting true air speed or ground speed. If he is relaying what the flight crew announced over the PA, it could very well be ground speed - with an assisting tailwind. So that could mean he was flying in an older design, such as a DC-4 or DC-6. He could even have been flying in one of piston twins that were operated in those days by many american airlines, such as the Convair 240/340 family, or the Martin 202/404.
As for the "strengthening partition", I wonder is he just referring to a bulkhead in the cabin - which would be there mainly to segregate the different "classes" of seating and usually would have no structual function.
How aviation literate was he?
As for the "strengthening partition", I wonder is he just referring to a bulkhead in the cabin - which would be there mainly to segregate the different "classes" of seating and usually would have no structual function.
How aviation literate was he?
Simpo Two said:
aeropilot said:
You said though that you are guessing it was Eastern rather than it definately being Eastern..?
Yep, simply because it's an east coast route and I know (from Rickenbacker's autobiography) that Eastern were a major carrier there, if not exclusive. Perhaps after buying the wrong ticket from Pan-American he could only exchange it for another flight from them, or maybe they didn't cover that route, I dont know.I still favour the Seven because of the speed, so likely a United or American flight...?
Eric Mc said:
How aviation literate was he?
Not keen enough to note the kind of plane, but he was an architect by profession and very observant and enjoyed collecting information. I agree he would only have known the speed from the cabin announcements so what you say about a tailwind may well be true... I'll add any more details as I get to them... quite a long diary... reading ahead I see that he started his trip to Mexico on a 4-engined plane out of Chicago - watch this space!Eric Mc said:
What you don't know is whether he is quoting true air speed or ground speed. If he is relaying what the flight crew announced over the PA, it could very well be ground speed - with an assisting tailwind. So that could mean he was flying in an older design, such as a DC-4 or DC-6.
Possible, but, you would need to be up at modern jet FL35+ levels in the jetstream to get the sort tailwinds to add 100mph+ to the speed of a Four, Six or Connie. It's about right for a tailwind on a Seven though.Eric Mc said:
He could even have been flying in one of piston twins that were operated in those days by many american airlines, such as the Convair 240/340 family, or the Martin 202/404.
Very unlikely, a Houston-Washington route would be just beyond the safe range of a 340 and significantly beyond a 404, which is why those twins weren't really used on such trans-continental routes.Edited by aeropilot on Wednesday 13th January 18:21
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