Vintage SAA

[Tableview]

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[Chris Scott]

Thanks for conjuring boyhood memories, Tableview.

Flown SLF in both those big pistons. The L749 preceded the DC7B by many years, so I'm guessing the seventh picture - which seems to have a Seven in the background - might have been around 1958? The Connie was coming to the end of its career by then, IIRC. Remember them at their peak, transiting Lusaka (City) in 1953-5. Firing up in the dusk was an impressive sight, and there always seemed to be one donk that needed a second attempt (after a suitable pause for draining).

The 800-series Viscounts came much later than CAA's 748Ds (1956/7), but I can't remember when.

[Fareastdriver]

Super shot of a '57 T Bird. I see there were frequent flyers on the Lodestar.

[JW411]

What Beech? Do you mean the Lockheed Lodestar?

[Sultan Ismail]

FAJS is no more, it's now FAOR

When I first arrived at Jan Smuts the Station names were painted boards, long before electromechanical and processor based systems, and I was intrigued by a station name called "Valle". Not being familiar with the local taal it took some time to work out it meant "Falls" as in Victoria Falls.

You travel halfway round the World to visit one of the natural Wonders of the World and end up with a bum steer.

[Tableview]

A few more.

If anyone would them by email, with the captions, please PM me.

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[Chris Scott]

Ahhh...

The last one really takes me back: looking south-east from the balcony of the terminal building across the apron at SAY, with New Sarum tower and hangars in the distance, together with RRAF Daks and C4s. (No sign of Canberras or Vampires, which were a regular sight in those days.)

Is the cabin interior a Connie, or DC7B?

[WHBM]

Is the cabin interior a Connie, or DC7B?
The cabin interior appears to be American Airlines, judging by the logo on the right hand cabin front wall.

[Tableview]

The caption is :

On board a Lockheed Constellation in 1955. Smoking on board an aircraft was not a problem back then – and note also the open overhead luggage tray!

[BobM2]

Super shot of a '57 T Bird. I see there were frequent flyers on the Lodestar.
Lockheed vs T- Beech id is easy if you can see the tail. All multi-tail Lockheeds have the tips of the horizontal stab on the outside of the vertical fins. T-Beech does not. Oh, & it's a '56 T-bird.

[Sultan Ismail]

The T-Bird has "CB" plates, from Port Elizabeth.
Company demonstrator no doubt.

[India Four Two]

– and note also the open overhead luggage tray!

tableview,

Hats and coats only - no luggage allowed as I was advised very rapidly on my first flight in 1970 (in an Air Canada Stretch 8).

Perhaps that cabin picture was a promo shot, or maybe luggage was allowed earlier, until there were a few "incidents"

[Fareastdriver]

BobM2: Mark me 0/10 for recognition.

[WHBM]

Did the Comet 1 in the first shot have any identifying markings when operating in SAA service ? Maybe not if they were rotated with the rest of the BOAC fleet onto SAA's runs. It was one, G-ALYY, operating for SAA as SA201 (but often mis-described as a BOAC service) that was the final Comet 1 crash that ended the type's service.

How were they crewed ? BOAC flight deck and SAA cabin crew ?

[PAXboy]

It's the car on the apron that I like - folks waving as if it was their front drive! Just goes to show that PR people were selling kak back then too! :p