This piece originally ran in the September 2024 issue of EAA Sport Aviation magazine.
Back when a commercial flight was still an event to dress to the nines for, Pan American World Airways commemorated a passenger’s crossing the equator with a little memento. On April 25, 1948, Sylvester “Steve” Wittman was accepted into the “Empyrean Realm of His Exalted Majesty Jupiter Rex,” the same year his airplane Bonzo finished third at the National Air Races. “Crossing the line” ceremonies were common among sailors, with participants receiving a similar certificate from “Neptunus Rex” and sometimes his scribe, “Davy Jones.” Pan Am felt that its passengers making the same journey in the air deserved to be celebrated. While this certificate is small enough to fit in one’s wallet, others range in size from that of a greeting card to diploma size with much more elaborate artwork.
