From the state archives: "Pan Am's sturdy Boeing 307 Stratoclippers, the first airliners with pressurized cabins, made their maiden flight on July 4, 1940 and were retired from active service in 1947. The Boeings carried half a million passengers more than 10,000,000 miles in Latin America without an accident. The maiden flight, from Miami to Barranquilla, Colombia, set a record of six hours and made history as the first inter-continental overwater landplane service. The Boeing 307s had a gross weight of 45,000 pounds, four Wright Cyclone engines, 1100 horsepower each; a wing span of 107 feet; an overall length of 74 feet; and a cruising speed of about 200 miles per hour."

The B307 flew at 220 mph and had a range of 1250 miles. Pan American only ordered three of these aircraft in 1937 and each aircraft cost $315,000. The Boeing 307 had to use the longer runways at Miami Municipal Airport until the runways at 36th Street Airport were lengthened.

Eleanor Roosevelt christened the first B307 with a bottle of water garnered from all the world's Seven Seas. The first Boeing 307 flew December 31, 1938.