How did Heathrow used to look ?
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Does anyone remember the maps, published by one of the fuel companies, 1/6d if I remember correctly with a big map of LHR ( LAP) in the middle and colour pictures of aircraft around the edge. Amazing how many comets Aerolineas Argentinas, BEA, BOAC Olympic, Sudan, MSA, MEA, Kuwait and Egyptair/UAA included there are round it.
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It seems a long time since I uploaded a picture of my 1/400th scale Heathrow model in the '60s, so following several requests, here are some more. It's about to get a complete revamp with photo-quality infrastructure..watch this space!
Busy day with lots of activity - great variety of sounds with jets, turboprops and pistons galore!
A BOAC 707 about to start its take-off roll on 28L
An Air France Caravelle heads the queue for departures, followed by a Pan Am Boeing 707, TWA Super Constellation and an Aeroflot IL-62 (sorry, no TU-104 model available in this scale!!)
A BOAC Britannia on finals inbound from New York
...and finally, here is what inspired me to capture all this in model form .
This is me (aged 11) on the roof gardens of Terminal 2 in 1961 with Loftleider DC-6 behind and lots of lovely BEA propliners! The wonderful '60s when you could take photos without a telephoto lens, no hassle,no terrorist threats and it always seemed to be sunny!
Busy day with lots of activity - great variety of sounds with jets, turboprops and pistons galore!
A BOAC 707 about to start its take-off roll on 28L
An Air France Caravelle heads the queue for departures, followed by a Pan Am Boeing 707, TWA Super Constellation and an Aeroflot IL-62 (sorry, no TU-104 model available in this scale!!)
A BOAC Britannia on finals inbound from New York
...and finally, here is what inspired me to capture all this in model form .
This is me (aged 11) on the roof gardens of Terminal 2 in 1961 with Loftleider DC-6 behind and lots of lovely BEA propliners! The wonderful '60s when you could take photos without a telephoto lens, no hassle,no terrorist threats and it always seemed to be sunny!
Last edited by Amos Keeto; 18th Oct 2008 at 13:32.
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Very nice Amos. I know that I would not have had the skill, nor the patience for a project like this.
Funny, but I remember those days in exactly the same way. I think that they were the best days as you had such a mix of propeller and jet aircraft.
The wonderful '60s when you could take photos without a telephoto lens, no hassle,no terrorist threats and it always seemed to be sunny!
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Wow your model heathrow is amazing! Did you build it all yourself?
I was looking on youtube and found this interesting video about the construction of heathrow. It shows quite a few shots of heathrow from the air too..
YouTube - London Airport (1949)
I was looking on youtube and found this interesting video about the construction of heathrow. It shows quite a few shots of heathrow from the air too..
YouTube - London Airport (1949)
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Yes, built it all myself. It is only the SE corner of Heathrow and is built on four 4' X 3' boards totalling 8' X 6'. The models are all diecast 1/400th scale made by Aeroclassics and Gemini Jets and are readily available.
Currently, I'm constructing the BEA Engineering Base so will post more photos when finished.
Currently, I'm constructing the BEA Engineering Base so will post more photos when finished.
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Thanks for replying. I thought a few of those were gemini jets models. I think one of my BOAC VC-10 models is a gemini jets model. Mind you i've got about 200 models of all makes but they are all boxed. 
Thats really impressive. How long did it take? Are you going to have the whole airport modelled or just certain parts?
Thats really impressive. How long did it take? Are you going to have the whole airport modelled or just certain parts?
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1947 - BOAC Connie in the snow & air hostesses.
The Winter of 1947
Low level attack! Deep snow at London Airpot (Heathrow) brought flights to a standstill. Here a group of BOAC air hostesses attack the Station Deputy Superintendent in the lunch hour. 30th January 1947
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Amos, what a great model layout. Like you my love for aviation started plane spotting on the Queens building, but some time later in the early 1970's. I had the pleasure of working at LHR for fourteen years and miss it terribly, there was such a buzz about the place as they say.
How did you manage to capture that BOAC Britannia on finals? I did not see any string!
How did you manage to capture that BOAC Britannia on finals? I did not see any string!
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Please keep this thread going , as most of my life was at L.H.R. Heathrow, London Airport , this allows me to wallow in nostalgia, my time was 1947 to 1949 and 1954 to1994 working first for B.O.A.C then after RAF service B.E.A. /British Airways as for the building work it has never stopped since 1945 if you watch the film about the early days of the place it said it would take 6 years to compleat [that caused a smile]
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Amos
Your photos are fantastic, and brought back some very good memories. My first long haul from Heathrow was on the South African Airways Boeing 707-244 to Johannesburg via Isla do Sal. That was June 1969.
Earlier flights were in the Air France Caravelle to Paris and the Swissair Coronado to Geneva. Another Air France flight to Paris was in their Super Constellation.
I recall the SAA 707 had a ventral fin, something to do with longitudinal stability at the gross weights being used by SAA. In those days they were obliged to "go round the bulge".
Somewhere in my archives I have slides taken during the departure from Heathrow in the SAA 707, I was seated on the left hand side just in front of the engines. I also took pics as we arrived in Jo'burg, typical winter weather blue sky brown earth.
Your photos are fantastic, and brought back some very good memories. My first long haul from Heathrow was on the South African Airways Boeing 707-244 to Johannesburg via Isla do Sal. That was June 1969.
Earlier flights were in the Air France Caravelle to Paris and the Swissair Coronado to Geneva. Another Air France flight to Paris was in their Super Constellation.
I recall the SAA 707 had a ventral fin, something to do with longitudinal stability at the gross weights being used by SAA. In those days they were obliged to "go round the bulge".
Somewhere in my archives I have slides taken during the departure from Heathrow in the SAA 707, I was seated on the left hand side just in front of the engines. I also took pics as we arrived in Jo'burg, typical winter weather blue sky brown earth.
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I believe the Ventral fin was fitted by the order of the A.R.B of the time as the B.O.A.C 707s fitted with Rolls Engines would snake on take off and unless better stability was found they refused to give the plane a Cof A. if this is incorrect I'm sure it will be corrected. later 707s were fitted with a bigger fin
Last edited by avionic type; 7th Jan 2010 at 14:30. Reason: more info
Spoon PPRuNerist & Mad Inistrator
707 series ventral fin was discussed on PPRuNe last year:
http://www.pprune.org/tech-log/36273...fin-story.html
SD
http://www.pprune.org/tech-log/36273...fin-story.html
SD
amos model and i recognize u! and why 3 runways parallel?
amos omg i recognize you from your 1960's pic !
i used to be there too always every school hols or weekends...about 1964 onwards, i am abit younger than you.
did you work later at LHR?
i then went onto work at LAP (well LHR i suppose) from 1974 for BA-northeast
on the trident 1e holiday charters (ex BKS stuff)
then eventually BMA ops and traffic/pax 1977 onwards...
my BMA traffic office eventually was in the old queens building.
this is a great thread,
my first flight ever was on a british eagle britannia trojan to barcelona for
our summer hols july 1964.
eagle had its own air terminal off high st kensington i think,
we used to get on the coach there.
why did they want 3 parallel runways when LAP was first built from the nw/se direction? 14/32?
http://www.pprune.org/aviation-histo...ml#post4299247
weird...
was that to launch lots of bombers against mr stalin should the need
have arisen?
marvellous reading all this,
lots of happy memories, thanks
just remembered being on the jump seat on flight deck of midland baby dc9 from teeside into LHR on rwy 23 (mega windy day)
that was over the big tower... the whole approach was like a roller coaster
captain was tony belcher, hehe
wot fun
i used to be there too always every school hols or weekends...about 1964 onwards, i am abit younger than you.
did you work later at LHR?
i then went onto work at LAP (well LHR i suppose) from 1974 for BA-northeast
on the trident 1e holiday charters (ex BKS stuff)
then eventually BMA ops and traffic/pax 1977 onwards...
my BMA traffic office eventually was in the old queens building.
this is a great thread,
my first flight ever was on a british eagle britannia trojan to barcelona for
our summer hols july 1964.
eagle had its own air terminal off high st kensington i think,
we used to get on the coach there.
why did they want 3 parallel runways when LAP was first built from the nw/se direction? 14/32?
http://www.pprune.org/aviation-histo...ml#post4299247
weird...
was that to launch lots of bombers against mr stalin should the need
have arisen?
marvellous reading all this,
lots of happy memories, thanks
just remembered being on the jump seat on flight deck of midland baby dc9 from teeside into LHR on rwy 23 (mega windy day)
that was over the big tower... the whole approach was like a roller coaster
captain was tony belcher, hehe
wot fun
Capot :
It's a well-known photograph which has appeared in several places. I believe it was featured as a still in the TV programme made in 1996 for Heathrow's 50th birthday. It also appeared in Propliner magazine. It tends to go with an exterior shot of the same tent, alongside which is the communications centre, namely a group of several traditional red telephone boxes standing at slightly drunken angles as they separately gently subside into the mud all around. Being 1946 my guess also would be that the tents were RAF surplus.
My guess is that it was issued by Heathrow in 1946 as a publicity photo. If your father was actually the photographer that would indeed be a find.
It's a well-known photograph which has appeared in several places. I believe it was featured as a still in the TV programme made in 1996 for Heathrow's 50th birthday. It also appeared in Propliner magazine. It tends to go with an exterior shot of the same tent, alongside which is the communications centre, namely a group of several traditional red telephone boxes standing at slightly drunken angles as they separately gently subside into the mud all around. Being 1946 my guess also would be that the tents were RAF surplus.
My guess is that it was issued by Heathrow in 1946 as a publicity photo. If your father was actually the photographer that would indeed be a find.
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WHBM
Many thanks for that interesting response. The picture is an original contact print, on the photographic paper of the period, but he was definitely not the photographer.
I like to picture him in the WH Smiths, once he had dealt with the cables, while waiting to be invited to walk out to the aircraft, and picking up the picture as a memento.
Perhaps WH Smiths offered him a paper bag for 1d.
It would have compared favourably, in terms of comfort, to his 8 departures for Germany a couple of years earlier flying his Lanc; the final trip was a longish one to Belaria for 18 months with a long walk westwards to round it off.
Many thanks for that interesting response. The picture is an original contact print, on the photographic paper of the period, but he was definitely not the photographer.
I like to picture him in the WH Smiths, once he had dealt with the cables, while waiting to be invited to walk out to the aircraft, and picking up the picture as a memento.
Perhaps WH Smiths offered him a paper bag for 1d.
It would have compared favourably, in terms of comfort, to his 8 departures for Germany a couple of years earlier flying his Lanc; the final trip was a longish one to Belaria for 18 months with a long walk westwards to round it off.
Capot :
Here's the pic on line elsewhere.
London Heathrow Airport History
Good on your dad for his Lanc trips (mine was on Halifaxes, fortunately with as many landings as take-offs). If he was flying from Heathrow in 1946 he was quite possibly in a Lancastrian "conversion", which probably looked a little bit familiar ...... !
Here's the pic on line elsewhere.
London Heathrow Airport History
Good on your dad for his Lanc trips (mine was on Halifaxes, fortunately with as many landings as take-offs). If he was flying from Heathrow in 1946 he was quite possibly in a Lancastrian "conversion", which probably looked a little bit familiar ...... !