Golden Age of Flight. Test pilot Eddie Allen flies Boeing 314 NX18601 Clipper on its first flight, June 7, 1938, off Elliott Bay and remained aloft for 38 minutes. The Clipper had a wingspan of 152 feet, length of 106 feet, and a gross weight of 84,000 lbs. The flying boat had a range of 5,200 miles

. . . with a cruising speed of 184 mph and top speed of 199 mph, powered by its four 1,500-horsepower Wright GR-2600 Double Cyclone engines. The 314 became Boeing’s first “Air Force One” when FDR flew the Clipper to Casablanca in 1943. Sadly, following World War II the flying boats could not compete against land-take-off aircraft. The last Clipper flew in 1946: