Pan Am Clipper Pilot Turns 100

IOLA, WIS. – The Central County Flyers celebrated the 100th birthday of one of their members – Paul Johns – who flew a Pan Am Clipper during World War II. About 50 airplanes and over 100 people came out to the Iola Airport to celebrate his birthday on Friday, October 11, 2013. Each Friday the airport club puts on a lunch for pilots that fly in and for local residents, but this Friday was special.

Johns soloed a glider in 1929 at age 15. Two years later, he went on to obtain both his commercial and airline transport pilot certificates. He joined the Naval Reserve where he obtained both maintenance and radio repair ratings, and became a flight instructor for the Navy and United Airlines.

Johns was hired by Pan Am in 1939 to set up an instrument flight-training program for pilots flying to Europe via South America. He then started flying Pan Am’s DC-3s in Central and South America. By 1944, he was flying PB2Y3 amphibian aircraft for Pan Am across the Pacific, and logged a total of 220 flights.

The Central County Flyers has a display cabinet in the main hangar with artifacts and memorabilia donated by Paul Johns, which describe his career and the aircraft he flew.

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