Idlewild-JFK-pg2-Jets

Idlewild - JFK - 1957 - 1968 Page 2 - Jets	Bob Bogash

Within maybe 24 months - it went from this..... to this

as Boeing and Douglas cranked out 707s and DC-8s, that filled the skies...

....and filled the major airports

An interesting photo

In October 1958, in a bit of a race, BOAC with the Comet, beat Pan Am with the 707, to be the first to inaugurate jet service across the Atlantic - by a week or two. And here I captured the two of them together.

The Comet IV was the result of about 6 years of development that resulted from early accidents involving the Comet I - the world's first Jetliner.

A beautiful and pioneering aircraft, the Comet had but a short stay on the world's airliner stage.

Some say Boeing was able to benefit from the early Comet's weaknesses and so took advantage of the Comet's pioneering efforts.

That's not really true as the Comet's basic weaknesses lay in its configuration.
In a nutshell, it was too small, too slow, and too short-ranged.
While Boeing and Douglas addressed some of their initial product short-comings in continual new models, deHavilland did not, or was unable - engineering-wise, and financial-wise.

The body was too narrow resulting in too few passenger seats, negatively impacting the economics. Boeing widened the 707 body - not once, but twice, first to satisfy USAF, and then to satisfy American Airlines, match the DC-8, and give six abreast seating.

See my history of the 707 by clicking here.

The wing was too fat and had inadequate sweep back resulting in a slower and shorter ranged jet.
(Wing sweep - Comet- 20 degrees; DC-8 - 30 degrees; 707 - 35 degrees.)

The engine location was problematic as well, including maintenance reasons, but greatly impacting landing gear location and fuel capacity.

When jet engines first arrived on the scene during WW II, and thereafter, there was great confusion over where to put them; and where to put the landing gear. First attempts were to put them - engines and gear - where they had been on propeller planes - on and in the wing. Airplanes like the B-45, XB-46 and XB-48 were examples.

Many early (and some later jets) went for the "buried engine" approach. The Comet was one example - so were the British Victor and Vulcan bombers, and the Soviet TU-104 and TU-124. Buried engines usually resulted in landing gear that had to be retracted into the wing - like the Comet and the Tupolev's. The result for the Comet was a "fat wing" which was aerodynamically slower, weighed too much, and which gave up wing fuel storage space - hence negatively impacting range. Probably gave birth to the "slipper tanks" to regain fuel volume.

Boeing solved all these problems by hanging the engines on pylons on the wing (which provided many benefits, including wing bending relief), and buried the landing gear in the body. This approach was developed for the B-47 (one of the world's most significant aircraft designs), and then used on the B-52 and finally on the 707 series. Actually, it became the semi-standard configuration for many of the world's airplanes, including those from Douglas, Convair, Airbus, and the Russian design bureaus.

You can read about these developments in my B-47 page - click here.

The end result was most airlines that flew the Comet - like BOAC, Olympic and Aerolineas Argentinas - quickly migrated from the Comet to the 707. Actually, BOAC saw the writing on the wall early, and ordered their first 707s in 1956 before their Comets even entered service in 1958.

Back to JFK Jets....

May 16, 1959 was an exciting day for me and my pal Paul Nevai. We had hitch-hiked out to Idlewild to see what we could see. And we saw our first Jet! The "Jet Age" was barely 6 months old, and we happened upon American 707 N7503A parked on the ramp in front of the American hangar.

Fences and restrictions having little effect in those days, we crossed the ramp for a closer look.

It turns out this airplane made American's first transcon jet flight

25 January 1959: “The Jet Age” opened when American Airlines began the first scheduled transcontinental passenger service with its new Boeing 707-123 Astrojet. Captain Charles A. Macatee III flew Flagship California, N7503A, from Los Angeles International Airport on the coast of southern California, to New York International Airport ¹ in New York City, in 4 hours and 3 minutes.

Soon, Jets filled the ramps.

QANTAS in later marking and a BOAC VC-10 - more on them later...
Tail mounted engines were another alternative to wing pylons.

A few years still later, and 727s, Convair jets, and DC-9s had joined the mix

PAA DC-8 with propliner behind

BOAC Britannia - about to disappear into aviation history .... followed by the Comet

BOAC 707s replaced the Comets

Flights to the West Indies and Caribbean as well as to Europe and California.
Like Malaysia-Singapore Airlines (MSA), BWIA (BeeWee - or British West Indies Airline), which was the joint airline of numerous Caribbean islands and nations, splintered when individual national airlines were formed - like, e.g. Air Jamaica.

An Air Jamaica DC-9 I photographed at Montego Bay

Bahamas Airways BAC-111 at JFK

Convair 990

727

Varig 707-420 (Rolls-Royce Conway engines)

A Qantas 707-138 (short fin, short body, and pre-fan conversion)
with BOAC DC-7C and Britannia behind. (VH-EBG).
Boeing built only 13 -138s, especially for Qantas - shorter even than a 720.
I photographed this one in 1959.
A Good One!

I photographed this same aircraft again at JFK in 1968, this time with the fan engine conversion and the vertical fin mod, after being sold to British Eagle 13 Mar 1968

British Eagle went bankrupt 6 months later, and the airplane went to Laker, and then a long list of other operators. It may still be active today flying as the Presidential aircraft for the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It has an extremely interesting history (which is why I like tracking this "stuff"), which can be found by clicking here.

Speaking of Laker, here's a 707-138B ex-Qantas sistership that I photographed at JFK in 1968 that also passed from Qantas through British Eagle and then on to Laker. It also had an interesting, albeit much shorter history, being scrapped at Paris Le Bourget in July 1983.

Another good one - Panagra DC-8
Hal Hemke, one of my early Boeing bosses, started out working for Panagra in Lima, Peru, where he met his future wife Iola.

Avianca 707-320B HK-1402 at JFK - 1968
Trips I flew aboard this aircraft included JFK to Bogota on 24 May 1968
It was part of a project I was assigned to - we were preparing to fly the Pope to Bogota for an ecumenical congress

On 22 Aug 1968, we flew Pope Paul VI on this aircraft
non-stop from Rome to Bogota.

Airplane landed at El Dorado Airport at 10:19L after 11 hr 45 min flight.
More than 50,000 people were at the airport for the arrival.
More than 500,000 lined the road into the city.
I have a future photo web page planned for this little career adventure.
Click here for my somewhat similar adventure flying the Queen.

British Overseas Airline Corporation - BOAC - was a major 707 operator, although they won the trans-Atlantic jet race against Pan Am by about 2 weeks with a Comet IV.

Initially flying Rolls-Royce Conway powered 707-400s which replaced their initial Comets.

...later, Pratt powered 707-320B and C's

and VC-10s

A really fine picture of a really beautiful flying machine.
Pat yourself on the back for that one, Bob!

And one more good one - a Five-engine VC-10 (with Fifth Engine Pod)!!

A 1968 JFK pic of a VC-10 with another operator - BUA

The similar Russian IL-62 was equally good looking
Note the little pogo landing gear at the back end.
I have another story about that too! For another day....

VIASA was the Venezuelan airline - also serviced the Dutch Antilles
They worked with KLM flying DC-8s and CV-880s

Military

While I was the Boeing Rep based at Pan Am Hangar 18, I got to see a lot of unusual equipment. Pan Am had a large hangar complex there and a huge ramp and acted as sort of an FBO for the World. The RAF (Royal Air Force - UK) used them a lot.

Britannia

Comet

VC-10

... and even a Belfast!

The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming....

A number of times, we got a real treat - a Russian airplane landed at JFK at a time when such operations were more akin to Martians landing here.

This TU-104A landed at IDL - CCCP-L5445 - in September 1959. It was carrying Soviet Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko, and had made stops in London Heathrow and Keflavik. Wikipedia says the Port Authority refused authorization due to noise concerns, but you can see something resembling the airplane in question in the photo I took, so score one more for Wikipedia! Many consider the TU-104 the first successful jetliner, after the Comet was withdrawn from service, although it too was eventually grounded due to a poor accident record. Note the crowd of ground workers looking at the airplane.

Next up was the incomparable TU-114, one of the largest airplanes ever built. It was based on the Russian TU-95 Bear Bomber, which is still in-service. This photo was taken from the IAB Observation Deck and is believed to be about June 30, 1959, having brought Khrushchev non-stop from Moscow to the UN for his shoe banging performance. It was so tall that the airport steps could not reach the door, and an aluminum extension ladder had to be used on the top steps of the mobile stairs. Its arrival and presence were well advertised and drew folks like me like a bear to honey.

In the background, you can see the Pan Am umbrella/parasol terminal under construction. In the early 1960s, a series of unique terminals were built around the Idlewild Terminal core, each designed and specific to a major airline tenant. This terminal was certainly unique - Pan Am called it the Worldport - and it can be seen in a number of my photos. It has since been torn down (along with all the others - except TWA) and replaced with more modern, monolithic structures - which are now also being torn down, to be replaced by even "more modern", more monolithic structures.

Here the terminal can be seen after completion

V.I.P.'s - and the UN

Besides being a commercial and financial center, New York was also home to the UN and periodic conferences and meetings brought a huge array of never seen airplanes - many normally "banned" from the U.S. (e.g. Cubana and Castro.) They all parked on the Pan Am ramp and were fair prey for me in 1968 with my camera and ramp access.

Air Force One was a frequent arrival

One day, this IL-18 (Russian Electra) showed up. It was carrying Russian leader Leonid Brezhnev to a UN meeting. After the arrival formalities, the airplane was left on the ramp for a few days. There was no security. One day, there were steps up to the airplane and the door was open, and nobody around. So - you know me - I invited myself on-board. I was surprised at the totally non-VIP interior that could be best described as very spartan. Of course, there was the usual Moskva household refrigerator in the galley; it was a fixture on many Aeroflot airplanes that I visited (or flew on.) The rest of the airplane was a standard one-class coach interior. The only VIP feature was a circular sofa in the very back (like an Eastern DC-8) which surrounded a standard K-Mart style kitchen dining table, complete with chrome frame and legs and a Formica top. I guess that is where the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union rode. A lot different than Air Force One!!!

The Russians had jet transports at this time, so I was surprised the Head Man was riding around in this beater. But this was the only airplane that arrived for the occasion.

On another occasion, they brought in this IL-62.
Surprised he didn't ride in it for the first trip.

The Russian VC-10 was also a good looking airplane

Another IL-18, this one from Romania

An early Braniff 707-220 - only five were built; one was lost in a training accident at Boeing. They had more powerful engines from the -320 (JT-4s) on the smaller -120 airframe. Braniff flew out of many high altitude airports in South America and wanted the extra thrust.

Later Braniff's can be seen here below.

DC-8-62

A Blue DC-8

A Blue 707

I have a whole story about the above 707 - too long for this web page.
My Field Rep "Baptism by Fire" or How to get Fired on your Third Day!

Delta CV-880

Like BOAC and Olympic, Aerolineas Argentinas transitioned from Comets to 707s

QF New Livery

720B

A World Airways 707 leased to El Al

...and a World 727 leased to Air Jamaica

Question: Did Lufthansa ever operate DC-8s?

Note: This 720B below (D-ABOR) is one of 8 DLH 720B's, it later went to Pan Am and Alia Jordanian. Two were lost in training accidents.
Behind it is a DLH RR-powered 707-400.

or were they 100% a Boeing operator?

Answer: You're wrong again - yes they did - at least this one!

An Historic aircraft!
This is the very first DC-8. Made it's first flight 30 May 1958.
Was then used as flight test airplane being converted into several different DC-8 versions.
Finally, it was used as a interim lease airplane to assorted airlines
until finally, sadly, scrapped at Marana Arizona in 1993.
Thanks to Mitch Grayson for the Heads-Up.

OK - another one. Was KLM a CV-880 operator?

Better quit while you're ahead. Yup, they operated this one

Surprise!

... jointly with Viasa - which had their paint job on the left side!
Check the common registrations - service to Caracas.

While I was a Boeing Rep in New York in 1968, I had an office in Pan Am Hangar 18 at JFK, and was assigned responsibility for La Guardia and Newark Airports, and also as the Primary Rep for two airlines based at JFK who were new First Tier operators, taking new-build aircraft from the factory. They were Seaboard World, introducing Boeing 707-320Cs, and Trans-Caribbean, introducing 727-200s.

Seaboard

Here is one of their two 707s

.... and a DC-8-50F

.... and a DC-8-63CF

Click here for my Seaboard story in detail. This DC-8-63 was on its maiden arrival at JFK from the factory and then departed for Japan on a USAF charter when it was intercepted by Russian fighters and forced to land in the Kurile Islands.

Competing with Seaboard was their later merger partner - Flying Tiger Line from California. They both operated similar fleets - Connies, CL-44s, 707s and DC-8s.

This 707 - N322F - photographed at JFK in 1968 - was nick-named The Pole Cat.

14–17 November 1965: Captains Fred Lester Austin, Jr., and Harrison Finch, two retired Trans World Airlines pilots, took off from Honolulu on a 26,230-mile (42,213 kilometer), 57 hour, 27 minute flight around the world—from Pole to Pole!

The pair leased a brand new Boeing 707-349C, c/n 18975, registered N322F, from Flying Tiger Line. Nick-named Pole Cat, the airplane was crewed by a total of five pilots, all rated captains. In addition to Austin and Finch, there were Captain Jack Martin, Chief Pilot of Flying Tigers Line; Captain Robert N. Buck, TWA; and Boeing Senior Engineering Test Pilot James R. Gannett. Three navigators and three flight engineers completed the flight crew. John Larsen, TWA’s chief navigator, did most of the planning and the other two navigators and all three flight engineers were Flying Tiger Line employees.

Most of the cost of the flight was paid for by Colonel Willard F. Rockwell, Sr., founder of the Rockwell Corporation, who was one of 27 passengers aboard. The airliner was equipped with an experimental Litton Systems Inertial Navigation System (INS) and the very latest Single Side Band (SSB) communications equipment from Collins Radio.

The flight departed HNL and flew north to the North Pole, then south to London Heathrow, where they stopped for fuel. Unexpected runway restrictions limited the 707’s takeoff weight, so they had to make an extra fuel stop at Lisbon, Portugal before flying to Buenos Aires, Argentina. After another fuel stop there, they continued south, circled the South Pole four times, then headed north to Christchurch, New Zealand. From there, they continued on to Honolulu.

Total elapsed time for the flight was 62 hours, 27 minutes, 35 seconds with just under 5 hours on the ground.

FTL - DC-8-63CF

Trans Caribbean

Trans-Carib operated primarily DC-8s, but also 707s (second hand) and also a mix of new and used 727s.
Here is one of my 727s.

727-100

I took this picture 21 Sept 1968. I was flying 727-100 N531EJ (pictured above) from JFK to San Juan.
The Flight Time was 3:05
The taxi time from OUT (push off the blocks) until OFF (Take-off) was 2:42.
Yes - almost 3 hours and almost equal the length of the flight -- just to take-off!
We sat in this long take-off queue with only one engine running to save fuel, while trying not to fill the cabin with the prior airplanes exhaust.
Congestion ain't nothing "new"!

Trans-Carib 707

DC-8

Northeast flew both the Convair 880 (above) and the 990 (Below)

Aeronaves DC-8 taxiing SW. In the background is Runway 07R-25L.

On 19 Jan 1961, an Aeronaves DC-8 (perhaps this one?) was involved in a fatal runway overrun accident departing to the NE on Rwy 07R. It was night time and it was snowing. An Eastern check captain pulled the throttles to Idle during the take-off run. There were four fatalities, including the other three members of the cockpit crew. The Eastern Capt survived.

The airplane overran the end of the runway, crossed Rockaway Blvd (where I used to hang out taking pictures!) and crashed and burned in a field north of the highway. Large quantities of aircraft wreckage remained in that location for years (perhaps still there); here is a souvenir piece I recovered at a later date.

Captain Poe was the only survivor of the four cockpit occupants. He stated as follows: The checklist was accomplished normally. The runway condition was good and everything apparently occurred in a routine manner through the 100-knot time check when the first officer called out "***" (Spanish for 100). Upon reaching approximately 130 knots (the V1 speed) the first officer called out V1 and VR rapid succession. The aircraft was then rotated quickly and somewhat excessively. Poe did not see the airspeed go over 130 knots and as rotation started he saw the airspeed start to drop back quite rapidly to about 110 knots. At this time the Aeronaves captain called or pointed to the airspeed indicator. Poe felt that the aircraft could not become airborne under these conditions and that the runway remaining was not long enough to put the nose back down to start the takeoff again from that speed. His only choice, so he stated, was to try to get the aircraft stopped on the runway. Poe unfastened his safety belt, stood to gauge progress down the runway, moved forward, shoved the throttles forward briefly, noted a normal and uniform response from the engine instruments (the EPR gauges were reading normally from 2.52 to 2.54), and then pulled the throttles full back.

Captain Gonzales "immediately" pulled the reverse throttles back into reverse thrust and used wheel brakes. Poe extended the spoilers and then sat down on the jump seat without refastening his seat belt. He believes that the aircraft did not take off Whether it did or not wall be discussed later in this report. Poe's actions would have taken about three seconds, an shown by later test. The aircraft continued ahead the full length of the 10,000-foot runway, beyond it, through a blast fence, catching on fire, through the airport boundary fence, and across Rockaway Boulevard where it struck an automobile injuring the driver and sole occupant. After going through the blast fence, many parts were shed before the aircraft came to rest in flames 830 feet beyond the end of the runway. Emergency vehicles from the airport and of the New York Fire Department were quickly started for the scene. Although impeded somewhat by weather conditions, they reached it within about six minutes and extinguished the fire. Evacuation and rescue of the occupants had already been effected in a total time of about five minutes, although most persons were out of the wreckage and away from the fire site in half this time. Many of the survivors were taken to hospital in privately owned vehicles. Destruction of the aircraft was extensive.

Probable cause:

The Board concludes that the aircraft did become airborne. Investigation of the accident has pointed out that Captain Poe erroneously believed that if the speed of rotation were appreciably below the calculated VR speed, a longer takeoff run would result. The Board concludes that the takeoff was discontinued as a result of the action of the check pilot, who was not seated in a pilot seat, in reaching forward without warning and pulling the throttles back. This action caused power to be decreased or all four engines.

The Board determines that the probable cause of this accident was the unnecessary discontinuing of the takeoff by the check pilot, who was not in either pilot seat. The contributing factors in this accident were the marginally poor weather, snow on the runway, and the possibility of the Pitot head heat not having been on.