THE BOEING _CLIPPER_ HAD A TOP SPEED OF 190 MILES PER HOUR AND COULD FLY NONSTOP FOR 3,100 MILES WITH 40 PASSENGERS. IT WAS OF ALL-METAL CONSTRUCTION AND DIVIDED INTO ELEVEN SECTIONS BY BULKHEADS. IT HAD AN UPPER DECK FOR THE FLIGHT CREW AND STORAGE SPACE. THE MAIN DECK WAS DIVIDED INTO TEN COMPARTMENTS FOR PASSENGERS. BELOW THIS DECK WERE A SERIES OF WATERTIGHT COMPARTMENTS. A PASSAGE THROUGH THE WINGS PERMITTED THE SERVICING OF THE ENGINES DURING FLIGHT. THE FIRST BOEING _CLIPPER_ TO SPAN THE ATLANTIC WAS THE LARGEST COMMERCIAL AIRPLANE IN THE WORLD. THE _CLIPPER_ WAS EQUIPPED WITH EVERY AVAILABLE SAFETY DEVICE AND LUXURIOUSLY FITTED FOR THE DAY AND NIGHT COMFORT OF THE PASSENGERS. THE STURDY, SAFE _CLIPPERS_ OPENED A NEW ERA OF AIR TRAVEL.] [Illustration] Boeing achieved such excellent results with its two-engined planes that its engineers went on to plan four-engined super-planes. When Juan Trippe wanted a plane for his Atlantic service, Boeing was ready with the 41-ton Boeing 314. The 314 _Atlantic Clippers_ carried 74 passengers and boasted of compartments that could be converted into berths, dressing rooms, a dining salon, and a real kitchen for serving hot meals aloft. On May 20, 1939, just twenty years after the first transatlantic flight of the Navy NC’s, the _Atlantic Clipper_ took off on the trip that inaugurated Pan American Airways service to Europe. Juan Trippe’s dream was reaching around the world. [Illustration] PRIVATE PLANES In the very early days of aviation, before the start of World War I, most of the airplanes, with the exception of a few military ships, were sold to private owners. Those buyers were either barnstormers or wealthy sportsmen. Some advertising in national magazines even tried to create sales, for private planes. This activity ceased with the beginning of the war in 1914, and owners turned their planes over to the Government for training purposes. At the end of the war there were hundreds of young men who had learned to fly. This situation brought about a considerable amount of private flying. However, most of the ex-service men bought surplus war equipment, such as the Curtiss _Jenny_, so that there was not a large market for the manufacturers of new private planes. Following the Lindbergh flight to Paris and other spectacular aviation achievements, the American public really became air-conscious. It was at that time that the private plane came into its own. People began to find that airplanes were of practical value, and business firms began to use them in various ways. Sales and service representatives could cover vast areas in a short time. Essential equipment could be carried swiftly by airplanes over stretches of country which before had been almost inaccessible. Ranchers used planes to cover far-flung ranges. Explorers and scientists alike used the airplane to search for hidden treasure and precious minerals in spots which before had been impossible to reach by land transportation.