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Don Boyd | all galleries >> Memories of Old Hialeah, Old Miami and Old South Florida Photo Galleries - largest non-Facebook collection on the internet >> Miami and Florida AVIATION Historical Photos Gallery - Airports, Airlines, Aircraft - All Years - click on image to view >> Historical Pan American Airways System and Pan American World Airways Photo Gallery - click on image to enter > 1930 - Pan American Airways System Consolidated Commodore passing over piers of Miami yachting clubs
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8-DEC-1930 Florida State Archives

1930 - Pan American Airways System Consolidated Commodore passing over piers of Miami yachting clubs

Miami, Florida


From the state archives description: "Giant 22 passenger flying boat passing over the piers of Miami yachting clubs."Pan American Airways Inc." is written on the tail section of the fuselage."

The Consolidated Commodore designed as a Naval patrol flying boat originally. It was the first passenger aircraft to have upholstered seats. Pan American used these aircraft in the Caribbean area during the 1930's. The aircraft had 22 seats, flew at 108 mph, had a 17,600 pound max gross takeoff weight, 1000 mile range, was powered by 2 Pratt & Whitney Hornet engines (575 hp), was 68 feet long, 16 feet in height, and a 100-foot wingspan. Pan American had 14 Commodores. The last one left service after 16 years of flying for Pan Am on September 19, 1946.

In addition to passenger service, Pan American trained hundred of Royal Air Force navigators in Commodores modified for navigational training in 1944.


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Mark Lincoln 10-Nov-2016 12:25
The Commodore was all silver except for the dark area on the top of the wing which was orange. The registration number was black.
Don Boyd10-May-2015 03:57
Thank you for the corrections, Mark. I have removed the incorrect tail number from the title and deleted 1920's from the years that Pan American operated the Commodores. And thank you for all the additional information on tail numbers and their fates and the fact that NYRBA founded the airline base at Dinner Key, presumably at the former NAS Miami which was used during World War I.

Don
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Mark Lincoln 09-May-2015 23:57
Pan American sold Commodore NC667M on June 1, 1945. Commodores NC669M and NC670M, were stored in 1939 and 1940 respectively. NC668M crashed in Biscayne Bay on September 24,1943 during a test flight. Commodores and S-40s were used for training navigators for the RAF during WW II. NC660M was destroyed in a hanger fire at Dinner Key April 16, 1935. All others were transferred to airlines in South America and China. Twelve had originally been bought by the New York, Rio, and Buenos Aires Line, the rest were bought by Pan Am. Pan Am did not fly Commodores in the 1920s as it did not purchase the NYRBAA until 1930. Commodore service between NY and Buenos Aires by NYRBAA first took place between February 19 and 25, 1930, using eight different Commodores. Pan Am took over the NYRBAA on August 24, 1930. NYRBA founded the airline base at Dinner Key.
Mark Lincoln 09-May-2015 22:57
I do not know where the State Archive got that registration number. The Pan Am Commodores were NC658M, NC659M, NC660M, NC661M, NC662M, NC663M, NC664M, NC665M, NC666M, NC667M, NC668M, NC669M, NC670M and NC855M. NC970 was a Curtiss JN-4 Constructors Number 5324.
See: www.airhistory.org.uk/gy/reg_N2.html