I was a school boy in the mid 40s to the mid 50s and have many happy memories of Mascot as it was known.I spent every available minute after school and on week ends exploring its aircraft and hangars as well as collecting dozens of airline brochures from domestic and international departure lounges.
Recollections, not in order are, clambering over an abandoned Halifax freighter, riding bikes in the prop wash of tethered Hudsons and DC3s doing engine runs, the first sight of a jet aircraft, a Vampire on close left base for rwy 04, the first heavy jet, a Valiant parked where the Virgin terminal is today. Security was of course non existent, enjoyed a ride in a fire truck after running across rwy 16 in front of a departing DC3.
Aircraft noise was never a problem, being woken up every morning to the glorious sounds of engineers running up large radials and the evocative sights and sounds of an endless early morning gaggle of departures climbing away into the blue Sydney skies, no SIDS then the skies seemed to be covered with aeroplanes tracking in all directions.
Present airport operators would not welcome B377 Stratocruisers which dripped gallons of oil onto the tarmac, on one occasion I got into the flight deck and obtained the Captains autograph, he without thinking pocketed my cherished turned brass biro and I wasn't game to ask for it's return!
In early 1954 I spent hours one day searching the skies for the first Comet arrival only to be bitterly disappointed to read in the evening papers that it had crashed in Karachi. I wonder how many readers recalled the subsequent arrival 18 months later of the first jet airliner into Sydney, a BOAC Comet 3 in December 1955. A large crowd had gathered along the flight strip of rwy 25, on short final the spectators surged forward and the aircraft was forced to go around. A most memorable sight from mid way down the runway!
When rwy 07/25 was built but not commissioned we rode our bikes along it for hours from the 16 intersection to the 07 threshold. I was fortunate enough to know I was on my last flight in 2006 (rather than not know it was my last flight), that long final across the beaches and eastern suburbs onto Rwy 25 could have gone on forever as I thought about those exciting days at Mascot over 50 years ago.
Apologies to the young guys that read this, it's really meant for old guys with long memories.