Daily Tribune‘The China clipper, a flying boat which belonged to the Pan American Airways fleet, took off from San Francisco, USA for Manila on 22 November 1935. Piloted by Edwin Musick and Fred Noonan.’
The National Historical Commission of the Philippines on Saturday unveiled a historical marker commemorating the first commercial plane flight connecting the USA and Philippines at the Manila Yacht Club on Roxas Boulevard which opened the country into the international route dating back to 1935.
The unveiling of the historical marker was attended by US Ambassador MaryKay L. Carson, Dr. Emmanuel Franco Calairo Chriman of the NHCP, Past Commodore Ildefonso Tronqued and Commodore Ildefonso Marco Tronqued, both of the Manila Yatch Club and former SC Justice Antonio Carpio and other top naval officials.
The marker states that: “The China clipper, a flying boat which belonged to the Pan American Airways fleet, took off from San Francisco, USA for Manila on 22 November 1935.
Piloted by Edwin Musick and Fred Noonan, it crossed the Pacific skies with stop overs in Honolulu, Hawaii, and arrived in Manila Bay, 29 November 1935.
The seawall at the site presently occupied by Manila Yatch Club was originally built to serve as docking site of the China Clipper: Its use as such was approved by the US Federal aviation owing to its flawed technical design.
The transpacific flight of the China Clipper paved the way for the use of aircraft as a commercial vehicle connecting the Philippines and the United States October 1939.
This expedited the flow of governance, transportation and communication between the Philippines and the United States.
Commodore Tronqued, in his speech, reminded the first flight of the Pan Am China Clipper took off at the City of Alameda at San Francisco Bay Area carrying 11, 985 letters as cargo that signal the preparation of commercial flight that was followed by the opening of more routes in Asia.
US Ambassador Marykay Clarson, in her speech, says it is truly a pleasure to join the NHCP and the Manila Yacht Club at the arrival of the China Clipper, a milestone in the history of aviation and US-Philippines relations.
“In May last year during President Marcos 5-day official trip to Washington, DC both our presidents agreed to and I quote “expand air connectivity and modernize our bilateral aviation relationship. This is exactly the type of momentum we need to further modernize our aviation type as we seek to upgrade our bilateral agreement that is now 40 years old.”
