When I was 6 (I am 72 now) I begged my father to take me to see the 707's that were now at Idlewild (now Kennedy airport) He took me up to the old observation deck at Pan Am. And watched in shock in awe as the smoky loud beast shot up into the sky. I remember hiss stunned "Oh my God" as if it was yesterday. For business and pleasure I have probably flown 300 times in my life, and always have a tear in my eye at every take off remembering that day.
I flew São Paulo - Rio de Janeiro ( L188A Electra ), Rio de Janeiro - Lima Peru ( B707 320, the same aircraft until Tokyo ), Lima Peru - Los Angeles, Los Angeles Honolulu, Honolulu - Tokyo. Two or three times, always with PP-VJS or PP-VJT the remaining duo of the original three 707s Varig bought brand new from Boeing. The first one, PP-VJR was lost whist maintenance into hangar in Rio de Janeiro, due to fire and complete destruction of aircraft and hangar.
I had a similar experience, when TWA landed a 707 at Greater Pittsburgh (PA) airport in 1959 or 1960. Several hundred of us lined up for a walk-thru, and then retired to the upstairs, open-air observation deck to enjoy a loud and smoky takeoff.
I'm in straight turbojet heaven. They disappeared very quickly. These things make 727's sound quiet!! At 6:07, a Convair 990! Rare treat. Fastest bird in the sky (commercially) until Concorde.
I miss the smoke and the noise of the older jets. I am glad I got the opportunity to fly in the Boeing 727, 737-200, Caravelle, Convair 990 A Coronado, DC 9, MD 88!
Wow, beautiful, shiny & gorgeously noisy old jets...very nice! I'm actually quite amazed at those old DH Comet 4s...they looked VERY futuristic! Just look at that nose profile, not unlike the ultra-modern types today...B787, A220 etc.
When you look at the old jets, you can see how they're designed without the benefit of computers and such optimizing the designs like today. There's a lot of brute design that just functions, like the beefy pylons on the DC-8s, and the simple flaps on the 707.
Yea the convair 880's and 990's were the kings of smokey takeoffs. They actually smoked nearly the whole flight. Back then gas was cheap, environmental concerns weren't a thing, and noise concerns were in their infancy. Plus these were early commercial jet engines. All of the early jets were smokey some more than others due to water injection on takeoff which spewed thick smoke. The 880's turbojets didn't have injection systems yet they were the kings of smoke. Only the water injected j57 engines on the b52 could rival the convair. The smoke was due to incomplete combustion.
This is wonderful footage of an av-geek's favorite pastime. I can relive these great memories, as if they just happened yesterday. This was the real deal. Aviation back then was a very glamorous thing, and it was quite easy to take a trip on a jet, and was exciting back then. Things seemed way better around airports and any airplane was loud on take-off, and very smokey as well. They were things that I miss dearly. I miss those old noisy airplanes of yesteryear.
Experienced the golden age as a kid. I dressed up in my best suit and tie…. I didn’t mind because I understood how special 34k feet at 600mph was. I was treated like a boy king and I thought the stewardesses were beautiful. Nothing in common with todays subway experience. We have devolved and lost so much.
I remember flying as a kid I guess around 10 the stewardess lit my cigarette for me. The flight crew got a kick out of me chain smoking the entire 5 hour flight from LA to JFK on a TWA Tristar. Still chain smoking them camels at 64 year young. 3 packs a day for almost 60 years. No health issues so far and still jog 5 miles a day!
Flaps full DC8 was, if i recall, 50°. Alot. Because we didn't have LEDs . ( leading edge devices/ flaps). The B707 did, big difference in the two aircraft
Great footage! Both of the rare (RR Powered) 707's and Dc-8's. Those huge full-flaps and tiny entrance door on the Comets. The wonderful CX 880 take-off looking like the local mosquito control going through. This brings back wonderful memories.
Those are actually "ejectors," they were standard on the early DC-8s. In addition to offering some noise reduction, they also contained the thrust reverser mechanism. They were aft for takeoff, landing, and ground operations, and forward where they blended with the rest of the cowling. Their position was controlled by two (IIRC) switches in the cockpit.
They were loud, they smoked and they were beautiful.....and now they are quiet, the don't smoke unless they are on fire, and they all look the same. The airport magic is gone...
That's a TMA of Lebanon DC-8 at 5' 34" parked at the far left of the Cathay Pacific 880 going past. You won't find any photos on Google of that DC-8, they only had the one briefly and no one thought to take a photo. Amazing to see it here.
That is indeed a 707, not a DC-8. The engine cowlings and leading-edge slats are the give-away signs. Also, when N802SW, a DC-8, was leased to TMA it was not painted in their livery. It was white with red underside, a legacy of operations with International Air Bahama.
Man you have seen so much nice planes. I saw lot of DC8, B707, VC10, etc but never the Comet and Caravelle. Your airport was extremely busy with so beautiful planes and liveries. Thanks a lot.
Fantastic video! Oh for the days of distinctive airliner designs, and a galaxy of different liveries. I count myself so fortunate to have been a ‘spotter’ on the roof terrace at London Airport/Heathrow during the 60s, 70s, and 80s. The era before the ‘invasion’ of skinny, white, anonymous looking twin jets that plague our skies and airports today.
I just love these early Airplane video clips takes me back 2 my Era and it Sure was a Great time, a Better time because I C that the World is losing its values at a Rapid pace!! Thanks for the video clip !!
Thank you, it's always a pleasure to see the old jets flying, especially MEA and UAA and the DC-8s. Fantastic!! Can I ask what the frame rate was when you encoded the video?
I am still learning English, so please forgive me the errors. It seems that the DC-8 on the final approach, even with a high angle of attack, does not have the nose elevated in the same proportion due to the angle of incidence between the wing and the fuselage. I read somewhere that Douglas transferred some piston aircraft landing features to the DC-8 to ease the transition for pilots.
The CVR 880 & 990 Coronado, despite their sleek aerodynamics & speed, entered the four-engine jet airliner market too late to suitably compete with the Boeing 707 & the Douglas DC-8. General Dynamics had the idea that speed was more important than range? At any rate, both the CVR 880 & 990 left an unhealthy & expensive carbon footprint, while the jet engines turned kerosene into raw power. I had a friend who worked for TWA in the 50's till the late 80's. He flew a lot & said the passenger cabin of the CVR 880 was not as comfortable as the B-707's. Bottomline, the 880 & 990 where thrust (no pun intended) into a niche that was already filled by the 707 & DC-8. As a dyed-in-the-wool low-time pilot & airliner buff, I still thought there were fascinating aircraft. I flew to Florida a lot in the 60's, 70's, & 80's. At that time, Delta flew 880's to ATL from PHL. I never flew on one, as it would've meant changing planes to reach MCO. Interesting mechanical footnote, out of all the prominent four-engined jet airliners, the 880 was the only one that could safely reverse on the ground, under its own power.
I swear that at about the 1:10 mark where the controller calls NY to tell them their Pan Am flight 323 just landed in Jamaica was lifted out of the James Bond movie Dr. No . . .
I've been on most of those planes 707, 880M, DC-8 etc Cathay Pacific from HKG to KUL on the Convair 880M. I remember those days no security at all just get on the plane and everyone smoked on the plane yikes.
Such a cool video! So crazy interesting! Did you film all of these yourself or is this compilation? What airports was this filmed at? What year time-frame are these videos from?
This is a compilation from different movies from the Mid and Late 60's and Early 70's showing airports like Honolulu, Hong Kong Kai Tak, Bangkok, Cairo, Beirut...
Take-offs were so much more thrilling back then. Can someone tell what make and model jet Cathay Pacific was flying - the one that made so much smoke on take-off?
Leider wohl zum größten Teil Ausschnitte aus früheren Spielfilmen mit Nachvertonung ( Landegeräusche) aber trotzdem sehr schöne Bilder und schöne Erinnerungen an die 60er und 70er Jahre
Jets were more beautiful then and noisy bring back looks and noise ..more impressive. Airlines if reading this improve your luxury ..look back to the 60's and reinvent yourself
