I remember as a child, the huge propeller driven airliners starting up at the Cleveland Airport. In the dark blue December twilight, clouds of fire and smoke bellowed from those huge radial engines as they cranked over. Machines as living creatures. Angry tethered dragons. With names like Douglas, Constellation, Viscount and Convair. These were the brothers of the thundering machines that had rained bombs on Hitler’s Germany...
It was Saint Augustine who said that “The World is a Book and those who don’t travel read only a page”. Before I got into radio I travelled on the Professional Tennis circuit and I would say that I consider myself a well seasoned traveller. People have often asked me what makes a great traveller. Well it’s a pretty simple equation really, firstly you need...
Flying, as we know it, began with the Boeing 707. This was the airplane that leaped us into the ‘Jet-Age‘. Today’s millions of air-travelers can hardly imagine what a jump in performance, comfort and safety the 707 provided. At twice the speed of previous propeller driven airliners, the 707 also flew at almost twice the height. Far above the annoyances and hazards of the ‘weather‘...
Home video shot in 1962 that depicts some quite amazing piece of silent film history. We start with a early departure at Boston Airport and then take to the skies and land at New York City and Idlewild airport (now JFK) where we first take a look at a legendary Pan Am Boeing 707 and then tour the Googie designed Eero Saarinen TWA flight center...
Scandinavian Airlines (or simply SAS), was founded in 1946, when three Scandinavian transatlantic airlines merged. In the late 1950s, SAS was the first airline to offer round the world service over the North Pole via the North Pole shortcut Copenhagen – Anchorage – Tokyo. This “polar express” became popular with Hollywood celebrities and production people travelling to Europe. SAS entered the jet age in 1959 when its...
The Boeing 747 was introduced in 1970 as a answer to handle the demanding mass tourism boom of the late 1960s. Built by the Boeing Corporation and guided by legendary Juan Trippe of Pan American airways – it allowed almost 500 people in its biggest configuration to be elegantly whisked around the world in style at 30,000 feet – without having to be a person...
The first Concorde prototype takes to the air in this British newsreel clip from 1969. The first flight with passengers took place seven years later in 1976. It flew successfully over the globe until it met its fate in 2003. However, there are plans to take it up in the air again for the 2012 London Olympics. Until that happens – here’s the trailer for...
