OPENING QUESTION:   (Espagnol)

Please have a conversation with your group about what was going on in the world in the 1930's.

Now please narrow that down just a bit to what was happening in the Pacific Ocean region during the 1930's.

OBJECTIVES:

CALENDAR: Please schedule your presentations with me today

WORK O' THE DAY:

  • How much do you suppose it cost to rent a modest home in Seattle in 1939?
  • What years were the Great Depression?
  • Why did Pan American Airlines decide to pioneer a flying route from San Francisco to Manila - The capital of the Philippine Islands

Let's take a few moments to review the amazing B-314

It may surprise you to know that the average salary of an American worker was just under $2000 in the 1930's during the Great Depression. A month's rent was under $20. per month.

Keep in mind that was 80 - 90 years ago so prices have had a lot of time to go up.

The reason I want you to keep in mind is that our next project is ALL ABOUT one of the most luxurious airline adventures in history:

The Pan Am Clipper

Over the next week or so, you'll be working with your group and by yourself to develop a series of slides to represent a "Diary" as if you had actually taken that trip with your rich Uncle Indie and Aunt Marion from San Francisco to Manila in the Philippine Islands.... which is to say clear across the Pacific.

From our opening question we now know that the Philippine Islands were an American Colony at that time, and there was a need for business and government travel back and forth.

Taking a ship took between 3 and 4 weeks!

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Before we dive into our project, let's learn a wee bit of background on "Pam Am" Airlines

They started by flying mail 90 miles from Key West (off the southern coast of Florida) to Cuba in the 1920's

Airports were expensive to build and not always the modern massive structures we see today. In many parts of the world, they were still little more than open fields.

The folks in charge of Pan Am realized that all they REALLY needed was a river or a calm bay to land in and flying boats were born!

As sea-plane technology advanced, they started island hopping through the Caribbean and then down around the coast of South America:

After perfecting flying boat technology, Pan Am and a few other airlines around the world saw the potential to fly VERY long routes:

  • Take a look at THIS map of the Imperial Airlines routes flown by that British airline in the 1930's.

By the way, why was it called "Imperial Airlines" and why did the British need to travel so far?

Please do a quick search on how long it would take to fly from London to Capetown back in 1935

It may interest you to know that the actual flying boat used for the interior filming of that scene in "Raiders of the Lost Ark" is still around

 

Remember, however, this was during the 1930's depression that was going on around the world. Clearly 'regular' working folks were not going to be doing much travel.

That meant instead of trying to fly a number of passengers paying a modest fee, the emerging 'airlines' in some parts of the world saw a chance to make money by charging a very few passengers a great deal of money.

In order to do that, they had to make that travel VERY luxurious.

It will be your job to describe that luxurious travel in a by-gone era as if you had actually done it!

Let's take a look at your project specifications HERE