1950s TWA AIRLINES PLANE NEW YORK TRIP VIA LOCKHEED CONSTELLATION AIRPLANE 89404

Рет қаралды 9,816

6 жыл бұрын

This short film produced by Academy Films (most likely in the early 1950s) serves as an informational film for those who have never flown on a commercial flight before. The film follows the Martin family as they arrive at the airport (00:10) for their flight to New York-TWA flight 376, aboard TWA’s Constellation airliner (the Lockheed Constellation is a propeller-driven, four-engine airliner built between 1943 and 1958). The film reveals the passenger experience, as well as behind-the-scenes airport logistics, to ensure new travelers will be comfortable with much of the commercial flight process (however, the film does not cover landing, de-boarding, or baggage retrieval). The film teaches viewers about TWA’s skycap service (00:42); weight limits for luggage; locating departure gates and times; how luggage is checked (03:16) and then transported to the plane on baggage carts pulled by tugs (03:40); and inflight food service (04:31, 06:00). The film also provides an overview of the flight crew and their respective roles. The hostesses check that the cabin is ready for passengers, then they greet the passengers as boarding begins, review flight times, destinations, and safety requirements (10:26), prep food trays (14:00) and serve food, and ensure the passengers are as comfortable as possible. The Captain and First Officer board the Constellation (07:53) and go through the safety chart in the cockpit (09:00), before firing up each engine individually (11:35) prior to takeoff. The Flight Engineer checks the plane’s exterior for any problems and verifies that pre-flight tasks-such as refueling from a Shell fuel truck (08:15)-have been completed. The film concludes with a shot of the Constellation flying above the clouds (15:46) on its journey to St. Louis, then Chicago, and finally New York.
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Пікірлер: 39

@Code3forever 3 жыл бұрын

I remember ohhh so well flying TWA to Kansas City in 1955. Am 70 and I recall flying over the Grand Canyon. The pilot circled a couple of times to show us the beauty and I can remember my mom becoming airsick and needing to go to the restroom. Shortly after this trip, there was that horrible collision between TWA and United. I guess those courtesy tours came to an end then. I was about 6 then and remember this clearly as it was exciting. We flew on the Constellation as I remember the triple tail. Hard to believe it was 64 years ago.

@austindarrenor 8 ай бұрын

In 1960 I flew on an SAS DC-7 from LAX to Copenhagen when I was four yrs old. Still have vivid memories of the flight. Though I can't remember the flight "hostess" bringing us our meals which bothers me. A Scandinavian flight hostess, I'll bet she was stunning 🤓

@zms8092 9 ай бұрын

I’ve been in the airline industry for 25 years and as much as it’s changed, it basically still operates exactly like this. Great video ❤

@austindarrenor 8 ай бұрын

Though somebody came up with the idea of tray tables that fold up and down 😆 Don't know when that was.

@dorothygale5896 2 жыл бұрын

That "Super Connie" was one of the prettiest airplanes ever The triple vertical stabilizers enabled the plane to fit into existing hangars of the time.

@WAL_DC-6B 9 ай бұрын

It appears several Lockheed 049 Constellations stood in for making this film. I agree the "Super Constellation" was the prettiest of the Constellation/Super Constellation/Starliner series (and airplanes in general). I especially like the Super "G" Constellation in white TWA livery with the wing tip tanks and black radar nose.

@austindarrenor 8 ай бұрын

I have a hard time deciding whether the prettiest airplane ever was the Super Connie, L-1011 or B 707. I love them all.

@semsemeini7905 Жыл бұрын

I remember the pillows on Swissair to put the food tray on. There were no tray tables. I flew on the Air France and KLM Connie. Loved this plane. My parents would fly on the TWA Connie from Cairo to Geneva, Switzerland. One crashed on take off in 1950 from Cairo's King Farouk Airport.

@austindarrenor 8 ай бұрын

In 1972 flew on a Swissair Convair Coronado 990. Remember looking out the window and seeing the big blisters on the wing. At the time didn't appreciate what a rare flight that was because of the extra expense in fuel just to get there ten minutes early. For it's time that airplane came in as the worst corporate disaster in history. In the 1980s I saw a bunch of them just parked out in the desert near Mojave, Calif. They had TWA livery on them that was painted over.

@ricardodesa109 6 жыл бұрын

When my family moved from Rio de Janeiro to New York in 1957, we went on one of these airplanes, from Varig Airlines. He made stops in Belem and Trujilos. I was a kid, but I clearly remember this trip.

@johneddy908 2 жыл бұрын

How long did Varig fly the Constellation and what versions did it use?

@ricardodesa109 2 жыл бұрын

@@johneddy908 I don't know the exact time, just that the inaugural flight between Rio de Janeiro-Galeão and New York (later renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport) was on 2 August 1955

@bowenfulwood-griffiths2482 3 жыл бұрын

Incredible how sophisticated and smart they actually were

@tedmichaels1951 Жыл бұрын

Excellent acting

@WAL_DC-6B 9 ай бұрын

"Top Notch!"

@austindarrenor 8 ай бұрын

You sound a little facetious to me.

@angelaspodek1195 6 жыл бұрын

I remember flying to New York in 1957 on a plane like this but it was through PanAm. In 1975 flew to Europe on a TWA 747. The seats were roomy and you actually got to choose your meal from a menu. The meal was served on real dishes with real silverware. Wine was served in real wine glasses. It was really a pleasure flying.

@johneddy908 2 жыл бұрын

It was just three years before that Pan Am flew the first scheduled around-the-world flight - using a Lockheed Constellation named the "Clipper America."

@austindarrenor 8 ай бұрын

In 1971 I flew on a TWA 747 out of LAX and I remember spending what seemed like a very long time on the runway. To be honest I think that a plane loaded with enough fuel to make it all the way to London, the passengers, all their baggage plus freight manages to get airborne AT ALL is an utter miracle 😆

@trickeydick5024 3 жыл бұрын

And every stewardess looked pretty and we're built good.

@austindarrenor 8 ай бұрын

I drive a cab in Las Vegas and have had passengers that were stewardesses with Virgin Atlantic. One for one they were ravishing. Until Richard Branson got in trouble for not hiring stewardesses that may have had more experience but weren't so "ravishing", lol. I say leave people alone and let them hire whoever they want.

@49LivingtheDream 3 жыл бұрын

My grandparents flew TWA from New York to Europe in June and July 1952. The "route and other plans" as written in her travel diary include TWA, Air France, British Air Lines, and Lai Lines. The Lai Lines I haven't been able to find information.

@Ben-xe8ps 3 жыл бұрын

Never heard of British Air Lines either.

@semsemeini7905 Жыл бұрын

It must have been BOAC; British Overseas Airlines Corporation or BEA; British European Airways.

@jumpinjack1 Жыл бұрын

Looks like the plane taxied away with the right service door open and then took off oops.

@austindarrenor 8 ай бұрын

They do that just in case someone gets skittish and changes their mind about flying.

@SueBobChicVid 6 жыл бұрын

I wonder where this would have been shown. It must have been very informative to the novice flyer of the time, but at times it sounds as if it was written for a 5 year old. I found it interesting to see the luggage being loading through the Connie's wheel well.

@skylerroxasmidoriyatardisp2882 Жыл бұрын

The script seems to have the same kind of word usage as a college student trying to reach that 1000 word minimum for their essay

@austindarrenor 8 ай бұрын

Yes, "verbose", lol 😆

@princessmalabar1834 3 жыл бұрын

Fantastic airplane. What do you think about my Connie on KZfaq?

@gregsmith2449 6 жыл бұрын

At 7:09, what is the name of the aircraft???? I cant read it...too blurry. Look like "FROM THE EXCHANGE" ???? Any chance a high resolution image can be made of this frame???

@PeriscopeFilm 6 жыл бұрын

I don' t think that's the aircraft name, that would have appeared on the forward hull. Hard to say what it says (although might be visible in our 4k scan) but probably a warning about prop blast or similar.

@WAL_DC-6B 4 жыл бұрын

The TWA fleet number above the nose landing gear door appears to be 558. That would have been N90814, a model 049 Lockheed Constellation and named the "Star of Cairo." But, I agree, it does appear something like "from the exchange" to the left of the passenger entry door. Perhaps a short lived name used on the Connie for some reason or even a foreign language wording as for example TWA's "Star of Madrid" was also named "Estrella de Madrid." By the way, the shot of the Connie's front fuselage seems to read "Star of France" beneath the captain's cockpit windows (and the French spelling beneath it) which would make this aircraft N86504, fleet number 504 and another 049. That would indicate several TWA Constellations stood in for the making of this film.

@listohan 2 жыл бұрын

Talk about labour intensive. How many “agents” with. Official hats would be needed for today’s passenger numbers?

@Gannett2011 Жыл бұрын

That's the thing: people remember the golden age of flying, with comfy aircraft, real food service, etc, but there was so much labour behind the scenes. Now a lot of this stuff is more efficient (for example they just wheel the luggage carts into the hold now, not hand the bags up one by one!) that has brought the cost down, but it has also made flying rather mundane.

@Ben-xe8ps 3 жыл бұрын

A very interesting film although the narrator does appear to be talking in a manner suited to an audience of very young children. I did find some of the interactions in this film to be false to the point of being amusing. It is like bad actors reading a badly worded script. The way they are speaking at the check-in desk for example, the way the check-in agent finds it necessary to remind the passengers of the baggage allowance and then inform the passengers of the exact weight of each piece of baggage as it is weighed, the odd phone call after check-in is completed and the assumed extreme ignorance of the passengers in his explaining to them about the departure board etc. Had they never even travelled on a train before? The interior shots of the cabin and welcome aboard announcement are fake. Where is the hostess with the clipboard standing to make this welcome aboard announcement? Where does that strange looking door behind her with a door handle more suited to a house lead? How many rows of passengers can actually hear this announcement? Is this aircraft really not equipped with a PA system? Does she make her way through the aircraft repeating the announcement every few rows or what? Are there really only 2 hostesses as she claims? I notice that the hostess takes Mrs Martin's coat and places it on the rack twice ... once before take off when asking them to fasten their seat belts and once more immediately prior to the meal service. Did anybody notice how the direction of the food service and therefore the location of the galley changes from just behind to just in front of the rows of seats where the Martin family are seated? The meal trays being placed on pillows is a new one on me. I guess they must have really done that but I could hardly believe it when I saw it. I wonder where they stored enough of these quite large pillows for the every passenger to be given one on a full flight? I also am not a fan of the way that the 'tea. coffee or milk' is served with the meal rather than the coffee being served after the meal and the apparent lack of anything else other than the hot beverage to drink with the meal, such as a glass of water or even wine.

@md9680 2 жыл бұрын

The film was made by a company called "Academy Films", suggesting it was aimed at an audience of school children. I started school in 1958 and remember being herded with classmates into "the" auditorium to be shown 16mm instructional films, which this one seems to be. We kids wouldn't have been aware of the stilted nature of the script but could, on occasion, be induced by the monotonous voice to fall asleep! (By the time I was in the 6th and 7th grades, I had been made a "projectionist" and would set up the projector, speaker and screen to show these types of films, in the auditorium and sometimes in classrooms. Sometimes I could leave my classroom to perform these duties. This and being made a crossing guard naturally had the effect of making/labeling me a Geek for the rest of my life.) Flying in the '50s and '60s was very expensive and people, especially families, were still taking trains, buses and especially the family car for trips. So, it was a real treat to fly. I would have loved flying in one of these Constellations. I first flew via commercial airliner in a DC-7. Very noisy and un-pressurized. The stewardess (Yes, that's what they were called. Can't change history.) made her announcement while the engines were being started and was almost shouting by the time all four were running. Jets, pressurized cabins (the Constellation was pressurized.) and the intercom made for a quieter, more comfortable ride. Flying in the beginning of the jet age was truly fantastic, almost luxurious and . . . fun. Quite unlike the experience we now have.

@austindarrenor 8 ай бұрын

@@md9680 You say flying nowadays is unlike earlier decades? How about the captain of a Southwest Airlines flight I took to San Diego recently talking about emergency procedures. He said to locate an emergency exit find one of the screaming flight attendants 😆