Editing Pan Am (section)

==Flight crews==
[[File:Sikorsky S42 (crop).jpg|thumb|The [[Sikorsky S-42]] was one of Pan Am's earlier [[flying boat]]s and was used to [[Fred Noonan|survey the San Francisco – China route]].]]

Critical to Pan Am's success as an airline was the proficiency of its flight crews, who were rigorously trained in long-distance flight, seaplane anchorage and berthing operations, over-water navigation, radio procedure, aircraft repair, and marine tides.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://thescuttlefish.com/2010/09/pan-ams-seaplanes/ |title=Pan Am's Seaplanes : The Scuttlefish |access-date=September 27, 2011 |archive-date=November 6, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111106134848/http://thescuttlefish.com/2010/09/pan-ams-seaplanes/ |url-status=live }}</ref> During the day, use of the compass while judging drift from sea currents was normal procedure; at night, all flight crews were trained to use [[celestial navigation]]. In bad weather, pilots used [[dead reckoning]] and timed turns, making successful landings at fogged-in harbors by landing out to sea, then taxiing the plane into port. Many pilots had [[Merchant Navy|merchant marine]] certifications and radio licenses as well as pilot certificates.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://b377.ovi.ch/brochures/captain/index.html |title=Meet Your Clipper Captain |access-date=September 27, 2011 |archive-date=September 12, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100912001059/http://b377.ovi.ch/brochures/captain/index.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>[http://www.clipperpioneers.com/NL09/CPNews509.pdf May 2009 – Clipper Pioneers Newsletter; ''Would You Believe?''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120424225305/http://www.clipperpioneers.com/NL09/CPNews509.pdf |date=April 24, 2012 }} by Robert L. Bragg, Capt., Pan Am and United, Ret.</ref>

A Pan Am flight captain would normally begin his career years earlier as a [[radio operator]] or even mechanic, steadily gaining his licenses and working his way up the flight crew roster to navigator, [[Second Officer (civil aviation)|second officer]], and [[First Officer (civil aviation)|first officer]]. Before [[World War II]], it was not unusual for a captain to make engine repairs at remote locations.<ref name="Masland, William, 1984">Masland, William M., ''Through the Back Doors of the World in a Ship That Had Wings'', Vantage Press (1984)</ref>

Pan Am's mechanics and support staff were similarly trained. Newly hired applicants were frequently paired with experienced flight mechanics in several areas of the company until they had achieved proficiency in all aircraft types.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120419212824/http://runway.cloudaccess.net/points-of-departure/stories/78-recollections-of-dinner-key-.html ''Recollections of Dinner Key'']</ref> Emphasis was placed on learning to maintain and overhaul aircraft in harsh seaborne environments when faced with logistical difficulties, as might be expected in a small foreign port without an aviation infrastructure or even an adequate road network. Many crews supported repair operations by flying in spare parts to planes stranded overseas, in some cases performing repairs themselves.<ref name="Masland, William, 1984"/>