@ San Carlos, CA
September 2025
This 747-100 forward fuselage was once attached to G-AWNG with British Airways livery, entering service March 1971 until retirement in 1998. This 45 feet section of fuselage had to be cut into two sections and transported as an oversized load over 1,500 miles across three states to reach the Hiller Aviation Museum. The exhibit was previously painted in the colors of Flying Tigers to honor a major benefactor of the project, retired Flying Tiger Captain Al Silver. In this refurbishment, the Museum decided to honor Pan Am, a tribute to the golden age of air travel and the local community. The name “Clipper San Carlos” honors the tradition that every Pan Am aircraft was given the name “Clipper,” beginning with the airline’s iconic flying boats of the 1930s. Beginning in 1958 the fuselage title initially read “PAN AMERICAN” but from 1970 onward the titles were shortened to simply “PAN AM” (to reflect the airline’s popular nickname).
The arrival of the 747 marked the beginning of the “widebody era.” However, the immense cost of acquiring and maintaining the large fleet of 747s, combined with a downturn in the economy and engine reliability issues in the early years, contributed to the airline’s major financial struggles in the 1970s and 1980s, eventually leading to its collapse in 1991.
