The Boeing 314 Clipper was developed as a long-range flying boat capable of crossing the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean with a capacity of 77 daytime passengers and 36 nighttime passengers, with the seats being convertible into bunk beds.
The first flight of the prototype 314 Clipper took place on the 7th of June 1938, piloted by Eddie Allen – flying in and out of Elliott Bay. The first design had insufficient rudder control so the single vertical rudder was removed and twin rudders were installed on each end of the elevators. This too was found to be insufficient, so the original vertical central rudder was reinstalled – with three rudders the aircraft handled well, and Eddie Allen signed off on it.
If you’d like to read more about the Boeing 314 Clipper you can click here, and if you’d like to download either of the desktop wallpapers you can click them below to load them in full resolution in a new window.
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
