American Douglas DC-7 - "New York to Los Angeles" - 1954
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 18 เม.ย. 2014
- I'm sorry for the abominable quality, this is a tough one to find in better condition. For educational & non commercial purposes only. A wonderful period piece to be sure. Be sure to check my channel for the best in VINTAGE & RARE airliner videos!
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My mother, sister and I flew on an American Airlines DC-7 non-stop from La Guardia to Los Angeles in June, 1957. I was 8 and it was the first time I ever went on a plane. Someplace over the desert the number 4 engine caught on fire! Flames were shooting out even after they turned it off. We had to make an emergency landing in Phoenix. They had fire trucks waiting on the tarmac. Everybody had to get off and they put us on another plane to finish the trip.
Exciting. I was taking off in a commercial sea plane from Catalina Island to San Pedro in 1979. The left engine exploded as we lifted off and we spun and crashed in the water. We all survived.
ManInTheBigHat
Wow. That’s crazy. How did everyone survive?
I’m interested in your story if you wouldn’t mind to elaborate.
I’ve never been in an incident but for some reason I’m fascinated with all the stories.
ManInTheBigHat now that’s exciting stuff !!!!
Remember when the Captain came through the cabin on every long distance flight ? And you were invited to visit the cockpit. Gone.
As an EAL mechanic from 1963 to 1991, I worked on these as well as the 'Connies', Convair 440's, L-188 Electras, DC-9's, Boeing 727s, &757s A-300s and Lockheed 1011s. Good times, good and bad weather , great friends and a lot of funny stories.
. Quite a life!
I'm an ex-airline pilot and although I had a long rewarding career, one thing I dislike in retirement is flying as a passenger in this modern world. A lot of folks have highlighted the reasons in the remarks below. It truly was a gentler and happier time in the days portrayed in this short movie.
Can I just say-I'm very glad they pointed out that they made as many landings as they did take-offs every day.
I was born in 1954...Am I as vintage as these scenes? My goodness, life just flies by. What a nostalgic video
Alfons Llana I was in 1957 and my first flight (ALONE) was on 1961 (4 yrs old) in a DC6-B
Me too I'm a 1954 model, as is my wife Nancy.
I was also born in 1954. I never got to fly on a DC-7 but the DC-3 and the DC-6 were the two planes that flew from my home town into Anchorage. I flew on the DC-6 many times, but never the DC-3. They were eventually replaced with the YS-11 and the Lockheed L-188 Electra.
In 1957, as an unaccompanied child, I traveled from from San Diego to Tulsa on a DC-7. What a trip! The stewardesses, food, pilots...all were awesome. I got to visit the cockpit to get a pilot's-eye view of the world rolling by below. 'Seemed very fast at the time. One of the pilots even gave me a set of wings. That was American airlines at its best. Look what's happened since. In my experience, that airline has declined into something else.
Thanks for posting this video. It brings back fond memories.
When air travel was great and people dressed with some pride. The seats were very nice then and the stewardesses were beautiful.
When I was a kid flying across the Atlantic everyone would applaud upon landing. It was a ritual I miss. It was FUN to fly back then. Not a drag like now.
I'm amazed at the complexity of the systems devised to run the airways with relatively low tech equipment of the times. Have to say that when I went to college in 1976 we were still using punch cards. Pretty amazing.
Congratulations for giving us the opportunity to see this video.
When it was recorded in 1954 and it was a cutting-edge technology, we should be grateful to this documentary, thanks.
Back when flying was pleasure and not a hassle
Awesome video and thanks! I flew on an American DC-7 in 1954 from Boston to Fort Worth, Tx. Back then the Ft. Worth airport was called Greater Southwest airport but was demolished shortly after it was built for political reasons. Years later they built DFW airport about a half mile from the old GSW airport. The reason I know is because my mother kept the AA certificate they give me all these years stating I was a member of the Sky Cradle Crew on their flagship DC-7. Still got it in mint condition. It has the date and was personally signed by every crew member of the flight deck and cabin crew. It had my age at 15 months old. I'm 64 now. Can you imagine a flight today where the crew fills out documents for all their passengers? We live in a very different age no doubt.
Another example of when flying was comfortable. Great clip!
Those were great days. Not so fast,not so crowded and really good food. Now that's class flying. I remember it well. Thanks for a super video and a trip into my memory. Pete
The DC 7 was built at the Douglas Aircraft Plant in Long Beach, CA. It was Douglas Aircrafts flagship airplane. A later version had a stretched fuselage with a longer flying range titled the “Seven Seas”. It came on the advent of the DC 8 , a four engine jet liner that competed with the Boeing 707. I grew up on Douglas Aircraft in an upper middle class household that came on the hard work of my Dads 37 years of employment at Douglas Aircraft. His two favorite Douglas airliners were the DC 7 and the DC 10. Donald Douglas and William Boeing, two pioneers in commercial aviation we good friends, the irony of Douglas Aircraft, (aka McDonnell Douglas), is now under the auspices of Boeing Aircraft. Indeed those are the good ole days. I’m a Boomer and so grateful to have grown up in what I believe was the golden age of aviation. As part of my legacy I went on to obtain my pilots license and enjoy flying over California’s Central Valley.
Great video! Thanks for sharing. I'm going to attempt to show this to my 90yr old mother who was reservationist for Delta in '55. She looked very much like the woman with the headset on in this film. Her eyes are dim now w cataracts but I think she'll get a kick out of it.
Good for you!
How lucky we are to be able to actually see, and appreciate these amazing old films, your efforts are greatly appreciated. Retired ATC. Thank you for your efforts.
Thanks Terry!
Erm,this is your Captain speaking and today we're not descending to give you a better look at the Grand Cyn, we don't want to run into any other planes today. Pre-transponder days, an unfortunate event that took place a few years earlier.
Thank-You for posting this.
The air fare from LGA-LAX in 1954 was $70.00. In 2014 dollars that's $620. But back then every seat was first class and the service much better. That $620 included free pillows and blankets, beverages, first class meals, playing cards and 5 cigarettes for the smokers, complimentary soap bars, and a Captain who would come back and chat with passengers at cruise in smooth air.
$70 in 1954 is equivalent to $490 today. You could make a reservation by phone, but you could not pay for it immediately. You had to stand in line at the airport counter to pay, and only currency was accepted. City center ticket offices were important in those days. Suburban people booked and paid for flights via travel agencies. Given the crudeness of the information technology (punched cards read electromechanically), mistakes were more common than now.
Golden age indeed, classy planes but a much greater chance of an unscheduled landing somewhere en-route
It sure as hell wasn't any $70 back then. American Airlines New York to LA on the DC-7 was $302 round trip according to the Smithsonian Air and Space museum. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, that amount in November 1953 dollars had the equivalent purchasing power of $2,839.08 today. So no, all that nice stuff did not come cheap. But was it worth it? Hell yes!
Passenger service was unparalleled in those days. They really did make you feel special and that your comfort and enjoyment mattered. You would need to fly first class on Arab Emirates to feel that way today..
***** I think you should take into account that flying was far more expensive in those days than it is today. Economy class fares were more expensive than today's business class ones, and, in some cases, than first class. And present day business class and first class services are obviously far better.
lospazio I agree with most of your comment. However, people in general, do not treat other people the same as they did 50+ years ago. Good manners and gracious behavior have taken a serious hit in the 21st Century!
+StellarBlue1 Exactly...and that's the point that is so often missed. An F/A can hand a guy in flip-flops a stale bag of peanuts, BUT it CAN be done with politeness & civility from both parties. And it doesn't cost one thin dime to do so. Even if they squeeze you in tight like sardines, the airline should still say how happy they are to have you on board, and all pax should appreciate that, and exercise politeness in return.
+StellarBlue1 Hit the nail on the head.
This is a great video about the DC-7. I know for sure, when I was a young child up through my teen years, I have been on Constellations from TWA and DC-6 Mainliners from United Airlines. Those were fun planes to fly in. In looking back, and through a kid's eye, I liked the idea that the flight took longer and so we could stay in the plane longer looking at our beautiful country. Both planes were comfortable and the humming noise from the engines was something I always liked too. Thanks for posting this and other videos as it does bring back some good memories for me...
0:51 - A giant magnetic drum, an early semi-electronic reservations computer. 'Magnetronic Reservisor', custom-built for American and installed at New York. Could track reservations for 1000 daily flights 10 days into the future. The company that built it went on to make versions for other airlines and railroads. In 1954, electronic computers had been for sale only a few years, used vacuum tubes, and were relatively slow and unreliable.
I love this film. I was born in 1954. Incredible to think about the changes... most notably not the aircraft but the reservation systems between then and now!
Great video! Thanks for posting this. 21:45 I couldn't help but notice how effortlessly this couple changed seats. Good luck with that today in our sardine cans.
Check out the action at 21:50. The people in two side by side seats can get up and in front of the seats (not in the aisle) swap seats, sit back down. The guy has enough room to leisurely cross his legs.
The DC-7 was basically a souped up DC-6 which in turn was a huge leap forward from the slower non-pressurised DC-4..
Thank you for this exquisite time capsule - and so many others which keep alive what commercial flight used to be like, and the pride the airlines used to take in their cabin service. This one was fascinating for all the cockpit detail and for learning that the DC-7 had speed brakes on its main landing gear - first time I've seen main gear lowered independent of nose gear, prop or jet. Superb narration, too!
Your channel is nothing less than addictive. Keep 'em coming!
+Steve Ember Steve, it's comments like yours that help keep me focused on this operation, thanks ever so much for the good words.
It was a lot more fun flying back then! Today it is like a Greyhound bus!
barrybmlv you said it !
barrybmlv worse
Beautiful video. Thank you so much, loved every second of it.
Thanks for having this on TH-cam. About 6 years after this film. my 8-year-old sister and I would fly on AA from Memphis, TN to New York, NY (IDL) going back home after a month's visit with our uncle down in Arkansas. My Dad and Mom greeted us at Idlewild, and our Mom breathed again because her 2 babies were back home. Our Dad was all smiles because his two kids had flown for the first time on an earlier Douglas plane, the DC-4, which he knew as the C-54 from his last days in the ETO after World War Two. Since we were not accompanied by an adult, a stewardess was assigned to make sure we were alright during the flight, and she accompanied us, hand in hand, to our parents at the terminal in New York. Gawd, she was pretty! Blond hair, light blue uniform, white blouse, dark blue high heels and stockings with perfectly straight lines on the back of her legs. I was in love.
You sure have memory for details! ;)
Not so today. Grotty, fat, snotty females and fat, grotty, bearded males hired by AA and other US 'heritage' carriers are the rule of thumb on today's flights. About the only exception is WN.
I remember Memphis airport back in the 1960,s.....what a great time to fly ! Delta literally owned Memphis airport...
A lot of you comment that cabin service was more elegant in those days. Keep in mind that back then, a government agency set airfares. Fares were set high so that it was fairly easy to make a profit outside of recession years. (Most passengers were business men and government officials flying on expense account.) Government permission was required to fly from A to B, anywhere in the USA, and into or out of the USA. There was no price competition. So airlines competed by the quality of service they offered.
40 years ago, the airline industry was deregulated. Vigorous price competition began. Southwest Airlines introduced a new business model -- no food, no reserved seats. Airlines began making chronic losses, even in nonrecession years, and spending a lot of time in bankruptcy court (where the main outcome was offloading the traditional defined benefit pension plans for their employees). Something had to give, and that was the amenities.
I first flew in 1957, and flew a number of times before deregulation. Damn near all passengers back then were middle class. If an unsophisticated American needed to get from A to B, (s)he used Greyhound or drove.
Sufisticated peaple flying crude noisy vibrating and shaking metal tube, they where the only thing sofiscated up there at that time !
American's DC-7s had one thing in common with the Lockheed Constellations operated by other airlines, the Wright "Turbo-Compound" engines.
Absolutely Priceless, Many Thanks!!
Didja notice how EVERY ONE was dressed in their Sunday finest??
My dad was Pan Am engineer in the 40s and 50s. Even as a 10 year old I was expected to wear a suit and tie, my sister a dress. Food served on china and silverware. Things were simple and civilized then. Now planes are no more than cattle cars.
One might be lead to believe that every night the interior of the aircraft is top to bottom, the exterior washed and polished to a bright sheen, the windows crystal clean. I doubt that any airliner was cleaned weekly or that the windows received special attention, today American, United and Delta, clean exteriors every 6-8 weeks, or every two months. Subcontractors quickly go over the carpets with a sweeper and restock the lavs, flight attendants pick up newspapers, wrappers, and anything left at the end of the day.
Your films are great finds and excellent historical documents of our aviation past.
+Richard Byrne Thanks Richard, that means a lot.
I find these videos so wonderful. It is nice to live today and have the means to look at the past with so much detail. Being able to actually see people living their lives back then, not just read about it...
Wow what an old classic footage! Liked
Antone else recognize American stage, film, and television actor, Carmelita Pope @4:45 ?
You younger viewers may remember her as the 'PAM Cooking spray' lady.
Presently, she is 94 years old and still kicking.
Good eye!
Would Carmelite Pope fly today?
Very nice. That technology was "current" through the late 70s. I remember hearing the teletypewriter and actually had one for amateur radio.
I can vaguely remember flying LA to Pittsburgh on a TWA DC-7 as a very little guy maybe 4-5yo. I remember my dad handling our very important tickets and the constant roar of those engines ha. 🛫
Most of these pilots were ex military from WWII and Korea.....Most had thousands of hours in multi engine props.....My first plane ride was on the old Southern Airlines..Memphis to Gulfport,Ms on a C-47...You could see military markings under the paint job.....I was just a kid and I loved it...
That was when passengers with an assigned seat were not dragged out of the main cabin 😂
Fun to see. Those planes were very loud and lots of vibration. We thought we were in heaven tho. Now packed in like sardines with no service.
My first flight was in one of these Manston (Kent) to Pisa. Slow and low we got a lovely view of the Alps!
On take off, it shook to point of terrifying my fellow passenger as the fuselage
felt as though it was shaking itself free of the wings!
Still a much more pleasant experience than a flight today.
My dad was pilot on this, my mom stewardess, they got married, he continued flying 39 yrs for american
From a time when you could have a real meal in the air !
nejsig in the 80’s on United breakfast was a choice of an omelette or French toast. No joke. With real silverware.
nejsig... And after that good meal, you could enjoy a good smoke.
Still available. Lufthansa business class serves three course meals. You'll lick the plate! Only $7,000 one way from USA to Europe.
@@ManInTheBigHat We got a two meals on Lufthansa flying coach from NY to Frankfurt, but that was in 1969!
It's very interesting to see where we came from. Thanks for posting.
the pilot counts eight blades to make sure the cylinders are clear of excess fuel and oil and dont lock up and pop a jug off the crankcase, then hits the magneto switch.
Yes indeed, it is a wonderful period piece. Thanks.
I love how the Tower working today, 62 years later is still the same. :D
I'd gladly fly the DC-7 for that kind of legroom.
Used to fly on DC 6s but never the 7. Long time ago but remember it quite well. The Margin 404 was a great plane as well. Times have certainly changed!
I installed a suite of silver crown radio's,removing the original avionics,mostly RCA .But what was really interesting the job was for Bill Dempsy younger brother of Jack the champ fighter.He was using this DC 7 for forestry service fire fighter.
So much nostalgia in one short video clip. Such a different world and time then. And it does make me feel a bit old given having flown in some of these magnificent birds and some of its predecessors! Flying is easier and safer now, but not as elegant I think.
your right, my first flight was on Eastern Connie. got the flying bug, just retired after 40 years flying. How I miss it
Back in the 1930s the main civil airport in London was Croydon. An airboat service flew from there to Australia in 200 mile stages. The air hostesses used to shop in Croydon market for food for the first stage of the flight. These planes were very comfortable and spacious but ,of course, only the extremely rich could afford to fly. Croydon closed and was replaced by Heathrow in the early 50s.
Watching these movies I wonder how people will look back to our time 60 years from now. "Oh, watch! It took them several hours from New York to LA. Now we have much faster hypersonic planes, but we have to stand still instead of seating like in the old days!" :-D
Great video, much thanks!! Don't apologise for the quality, made in 1954, it has to be analogue, and not digital, this makes it all the more authentic! ... yes? ... :-)
Great video of great, exciting days. Loved the airline meals. Nowadays you have to beg like a dog to get anything.
..and it's usually dog food or a dog biscuit for short flights.
Right, and when you finally get something you are sure it is dogfood.
What??? I got peanuts and pretzels last time I flew!
Thank you for sharing... stunning video. MERCURY CLASS
Man, I'd really love to fly in one of these...
Good video; Interesting how things have changed in air travel since 1954, in particular, the "speed brakes" that were the landing gears on the DC-7, I'm not sure if that was the case with the older Douglas aircraft, like the DC-4, and DC-6, and others. I'm not too familiar with older piston-powered aircraft, but I can't imagine any Boeing 7x7 or Airbus 3xx commercial airliners relying on landing gears to slow them down while they're still aloft, instead of deploying the spoilers. :-)
I spent 30 yrs in air traffic working for the FAA. We've come a long way. Watching this is kind of scary. Many changes. All for the better. Unfortunately, most changes were paid for with lives.
Wow, shrimp cocktail, lamb chop and ice cream sundae.... I don't eat that good at home now!
This old prop plane is nostalgic, but give me a modern jet any day. A DC-7 flying from New York to Los Angeles took eight hours or more. The DC-8, the new jet passenger jet from the same company shaved about three hours off the same trip. It was much quieter and vibration free.
I'd still prefer the old Piston Aircraft, the vibrations were nothing, everything was at a steady pace, rather than the cattle like loading and having your knees around your ears, Today's 'super quiet flights' i.e screaming brats, idiots banging against your seats, and food fit for pigs. Todays pax don't know what they've missed.
If you're above traveling with the common folk, there are plenty of charter companies with private aircraft to cater to your every whim (for probably the same relative cost as the "good old days").
America's golden time !!
I sure don't miss turboprop noise and vibration; but I do miss the legroom and the really good food.
Mike Owen that was not a turboprop. Those engines are known as reciprocating or piston engines, not that different from your car. A turboprop is a prop turned by a turbine engine which isn’t much different from what you may think of as a jet engine.
Outstanding video, thank you.
Those 2 guys smoking and playing cards look like classic gangsters of the early 1950's. :)
Back then I was one of the younger men flying that way. It was quite enjoyable compared to today unless you have the cash for first class. On one flight into NYC, the pilot lost altitude way early and then announced he was going to give us a tour of Niagara Falls. He circled the falls several timers at a few thousand feet, first one way and then the other so everyone had a great view.
Cool!
I like First Class. It always gets to my destination sooner than economy class.
This is a fantastic pc of history on the DC 7 one of the very high end but not well known aircraft.
The entir DC line of aircraft was he most successful in avation history. Look at the DC 3,r4d,or all the other nanes for the most successful aircrft in history.
Wow!! what an exquisite upload
i actually by accident stumbled apon it, America and the good ole days of aviation!!
0:46 Agent uses the revolutionary Magnetronic Reservisor, which was introduced by American Airlines in 1952.
In 1956 , Trans Canada Airlines, now called Air Canada took delivery of their first 707's. To celebrate they offered Toronto to London Return for $707 ! Flying was expensive then. We make 20x in wages today as in 1956, and you can still do Toronto to London Return for about the same amount.
In 1956, when I was 4, we went from Edmonton to Montreal by train, then to the UK by Ship. Why? Because it was cheaper than flying !
+jackpontiac52 - Sorry to mess with a fond childhood memory, but the Boeing 707 first entered commercial service with Pan Am from New York Idlewild to Paris Le Bourget on October 26, 1958.
And AIr Canada never had the 707 as part of its fleet. They were a large operator of the the 707 competitor, the Douglas DC8
Yes, and you would have enjoyed super service aboard either the CP's "The Dominion" or "Canadian" or the CN's "Super Continental". Better back then than flying.
The only prop job I've ever ridden were C-130s except for the DC-4 I flew from Hawaii to California as a baby. This looks like flying in style.
Recently flew on a non-stop from New York to San Francisco and got a bag of peanuts.
What's sad is, nowadays the flight "kitchen" has to prepare the flight's food by placing the bags of overly sugared peanuts into a basket ... for the flight attendants to pass out :-)
Those seats actually look comfortable.
Great film. Much better Era for travel.
AND all tube electronics and avionics..full time job just keeping that working..
Nowadays, vacuum tubes are used for the most expensive stereo high fidelity systems.
Peter Givens , ...and nostalgic tube radios among those old school, ham radio operators!
@@Snookynibbles Whoops, oh boy, how could I have missed that? I have a bunch of antique radios, with those old tube types in them. There is something I just love about tubes - easier to fix, and have that nice, warm sound.
Oilsmoke - that was job security! :o)
excellent i flew in DC 3 in 1951as a youth Great Memories Rangoon to Madras
This such a neat video . hope air travel was pleasant in the 50 s. did not know DC-7 could cruise at 365 mph 20,000 ft. my aunt was very nice looking never married she traveled on American Pan Am and TWA back in the 50- 60 s when Jetliners arrived. Thanks for Classic video.
Maybe she never married because she spent all her time traveling?
What a classic plane here. I've been told the DC-7 engines were very temperamental like a Porsche 911. Tolerances were tight and maintenance was constant. The DC-6 was more rugged and dependable. Nonetheless, this plane represents commercial aviation at it's best.
Great video!
Everything was done with care and consideration in those days..People were decent and polite and treated each other with respect .They were unspoilt and appreciated things.Sadly lacking today.
Last time I flew, not to long ago, I was asked if I wanted to buy a snack lunch.
No free lunch.
Damn I hate the way airtravel has gotten so "no frills" that everything is "extra!" 30$ a bag to get your luggage on plane!! No free booze! Its just so chessy nowadays. Flew SAS airlines Chicago to Stockholm and then on to Brussels. Everything was "extra." Will never fly them again.
beautiful vid =)
Wonderful!
Track One looks good to me. Tell the passengers to sit their butts down, strap in, let's go.
I really enjoyed this video, I didn’t know they had so much technology back then!
No offence but do people not receive educations today, wow it's hard to believe how clueless young people are today.
What a great video. You just got yourself a new subscriber! Thank you so very much for the upload!!
Thanks!
wonderful video
These pilots were probably all ex-air force,
Lol Flying sure has Changed. Nice Sounding Engines
previous flights with sleeper and births available---whewwww-I can't be up there so long time
I used to fly in Pan Am back in the mid 60's, I was a little boy and afraid of getting into a plane, but the trips were always so smooth and quite that you could actually walk down the isle without the need to hold to a sit,,,WTF is going on now???You fly and all of a sudden it feels like if thats the end of your life, bumpy trips and planes full of problems..Our technological advances are not that great..
"Wheres the car?" in the parking lot ... "No shit?"
This was the best time to fly......the hey day of flying.....Flying was special,it was fun and it was adventurous..You were treated like a king....
I LOVE your channel!
Thanks very much.