Absolutely I miss this aircraft. I was a first officer on a cargo L-188 Electra, it was the best turboprop I have ever flown!

Started my flying career at the ripe age of 23 years old (1967) on the Electra with National Airlines (Miami Florida). A special thank you for the guidance, inspiration, and instruction from the GREAT aviators who I flew with and who helped me. Capt. Bucky Smallwood, Capt. Bill Henderson, Capt. Stan Barfield, Capt. Pat Ledford, and the many Flight Engineers (2nd Officers) that were a help & inspiration. And a special thank you to Capt. Earnie Bean (when I was struggling in the Sim.) told me get down in there and make it do what you want it to do when you're on instruments. IT WORKED !! I Retired off the 747-400.... Roy

The L-188 Electra has forever a special place in my heart. In 1970, then a very green 22 year old, I was at the departure lounge of Wellington Airport in New Zealand, about to depart on the adventure of a lifetime and my first flight overseas... only a hop across the Tasman Sea to Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. Sitting on the tarmac was the biggest aircraft I'd ever seen, an Air NZ Mk IV Electra passenger airliner. On subsequent trips home to see family I loved flights on the Electras and their successors, the DC-8 jets. Back in a time when passengers were treated like individuals, and flight deck visits were freely available. Great memories.

Thank to my wife who let met alone to watch this with a glass of wine..

All the Electra have migrated south. I visited Brazil some years ago and flew in an Electra from Sao Paulo to Rio. Great flight, no problems in a plane that was older than me. Curtains on the windows and all.

Here um Brazil we have good memories of Electra. From 1975 till 1992 on most important route, from São Paulo to Rio, there was 15 planes exclusively. One takeoff every 30 min, 90% full of pax. I remember this beautiful sound.

Brings back fond memories of when I worked air freight in the 70’s / 80’s. We serviced Electra’s, Convair 580’s, C-130’s and several other planes that ran the Allison 4000 HP turbo-props. Those were great planes!

Damn, Lockheed built some great looking aircraft. P-38, Connie, L-1011 etc... sweet stuff.

Allison turboprops .....One hell of an engine .

I think the Electra is still one of the most attractive designs ever. I first rode one in 1960. A flight to remember.

Thank you for the great startup video. Note the vertical position of the prop blades prior to start. Engine oil levels must be good! Used to fly the Electra for TPI and CAM Air. Great experience. Love that sound, too.

Great sound. Remember flying the Electra on American Airlines back in the day. They had a little "lounge" at the back of the aircraft.

39 years since I flown on this aircraft as a kid, will never forget the sounds of the Allison's. Great video, thanks

Returning from my school holiday. I flew for the first time in my life on Garuda Indonesia's electra in 1967 from Bali to Jakarta. I was 11. What a great experience that was. Sweet memory. ❤🇮🇩

I love that whistle when the props start up but the better sound is when the turbos are up and turning in this great video. Whether it's the P-3 orion anti sub hunter or this civilian airliner the L-1088 electra,its music to my ears. In the naval base of Coronado if the humidity is up you can actually hear when they are taxiing on the runway over there.

What can I say? Just amazing, five stars. I had the privilege to fly on that lady when Varig operated them on shuttle service between Rio and Sao Paulo.

Dez felizes anos voando essa MAQUINA FANTASTICA, na Ponte Aerea Rio- Sao paulo. THOSE WERE THE DAYS...

Flew on those as a young lad and would fall asleep to the music of the engines.

The most beautiful engine sound ever!

A very satisfying video. My favorite video of my favorite turboprop, the L-188. A great aircraft (once they fixed that wing falling off in flight thing).

Recall these from the 70's at CRW airport; we lived 3 miles away and can still hear the Piedmont Airlines turboprop's starting, idling, taxiing and flying away. SO much glorious noise, it was unreal when we were at the airport to see someone off on a journey

Isso fazia um barulho infernal, he, he! Quantas tardes passei no aeroporto Santos Dumont vendo estes aviões chegando e partindo!

I used to live in a place called kenilworth which was only a mile or two from the airport at coventry, you could hear the Electra coming in to land late on a Friday night and reversing thrust when she touched down, eerie as hell but lovely at the same time!

Actually they are jets even though they have propellers. The turbine spins at 14k RPM and is geared down to 2k RPM for the propeller. They use JP8 fuel. That orange cart provides the initial starting power as the Electra (like most earlier jets) had no self starting capabilities. It always took a little while to get the engines into phase (all 4 props in sync).

85% of the Electra's wing was in the prop wash. So if you you got in a stall, all you had to do was kick the throttles and you had instant lift. It made for a bumpy ride sometimes though. Electra's were used in the short-to-medium range market. The were not customarily used for transatlantic flights.

That's some nice footage right there! Nothing sounds like a turboprop! 👍👍

I used to love ggoing out to MSY early in the morning and catching the TACA viscount start up then National and Easterns' Electras start up.Brings back many fond memories of my youth,thanks!

electra varig from brazil, I miss you.....

Allison Wonderland! I was fortunate to fly aboard two of these beautiful aircraft back in the '90's, with NWT Air and Reeve. Those flights are some of my best memories. Thanks for posting!

caraca! mesmo com a idade qie ele tem, é um avião de respeito, essa máquina tem charme, deve ser muito bacana acelerar esses 4 motores turbo-hélices Alison , o som é perfeito e empolgante.

My dad used to take me to then National airport in Virginia in the 60's to watch aircraft. Really nice to hear the sound of an Electra. I saw those DC-4's6's and 7's along with Connie's, Convair's. Thanks for the history lesson!

Funny thing about the Electra. They lost a few because of structural issues early on. Once those were remedied, that plane has flown for money for more than 50 years. As a kid, we'd stand on the observation deck at what is now Reagan National Airport and watch the Electras from American, Eastern and National make their milk runs. Brings a tear to the eye.

I can't stop commenting on the beauty of both sight and sound of this video. There are alot of L188/P3 videos out there, start-ups, shut-downs, in-flights, etc., but none of them even come close to this one in purity of sound and beauty of the picture. Please thank your wife for getting mad at you. We all owe her a debt of gratutide. :)

I love the growling noise, it sounds like the low growling dash 8-100 which i love too

Apart from the new zealand airforce which flys the p 3 orion ,our countries Air new Zealand used to fly the electra duing late 60's into early 70,s .I remember going on one of these planes from Wellingto to Sydney about an 3+ hr flight ,and i particularly remember the start as an eight yr old AWESOM SOUND thanks for posting

Oh man, what a beautiful noise! This brings back so many memories when I was a kid riding my bike around Long Beach Airport (KLGB), when Western Airlines (The classic red and white 'Indian Head' livery) was using these babies, and 'Gate 3' was a open walk to the tarmac starting with a chain link fence on either side of you.... :) And the near by Douglas Aircraft plant had changed it's name to McDonnell Douglas and seeing the first DC-10 takeoff from RWY 30.... TYVM for the upload! :>

Don't try to tell that Electra it's the jet age. She doesn't mind getting up and going to work! What a great video of a fantastic aircraft!

I remember Air California flew L-188s into Orange County Airport in the late 60s early 70s. Love em!

He volado en los años 80 desde Santa Cruz de la Sierra a Asunción con este avión; un acontecimiento!

No other plane on this planet sounds Like a Lockheed Electra., My Favorite Prop driven Plane.

Cara eu sou apaixonado por esse avião hj estamos em 2024 e vamos reconhecer electra ❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

That must be one hell of a GRU to get those things turning that quick! Impressive and what a great sound!

Electra is the iconicest aircraft in Brazil

Love those Allison engines during turn up. flew with VP 47 and 50 back in the 70's from Adak Alaska. One of the all time great aircraft the Navy used for years.

You know, I have almost 200 vintage airliner videos uploaded, but this...to see & hear this in 2008 is surreal. This is the BEST Electra video on YT PERIOD. Discussion is over!

This video is 14 years old and still is good

wow, what a difference from all the large piston aircraft. no drama or smoke, just a wail and off goes the prop! i'm sure people were amazed back on those days of the "big props."

I love the L188 and in a freighter configuration is as good as it gets.Great start up!

Thanks for the info, my father use to work on these planes back in the sixties for the air-line he worked for!!!!

Many times I sat on the ramp at GCI to watch a Channel Express Electra start up, what a great noise those engines make.

From the days when flying was fabulous

First vintage turbo prop video that I've watched that doesnt spew exhaust clouds....engines sound amazing

I remember as a kid living 9 miles north of DTW, hearing CV-580s on approach all the time with their unmistakeable turbo-prop whistle.  On rare occasions, I'd see/hear an L-188 going into Willow Run (about 10 miles west of DTW). Same whistle but much louder than the Convair. That's a sound I will never forget. I wish all prop-jets sounded like this. Beautiful video! Pity that SAS truck driver spoils the shot by lingering in front of the camera!

I love the electra, don't know why, just special!

Thanx for all your comments. It was truely amazing standing there for 9 minutes fliming thisone. Even when she turned an dI got the jetblast directly into my eyes . But who cares. The result was perfect

When I was teenager, I loved flying with Electra Turboprop of Mandala Airlines. Missed those four turboprop sound.

The most beautiful sound there ever was in aviation!

the baritone hum of the engines, just love turboprops

These great airplanes, after some tragic accidents, like the DC-10, ultimately proved themselves. They were very fast, efficient, and made plenty of money for American, and most notably Eastern Airlines, among other carriers. The U.S., and other governments modified these under the original P-3 type and later, for a long and very successful career in ASW and electronic patrol duties. I saw thousands L-188's, I grew up living in the LaGuardia runway 4 ILS approach in Queens, N.Y. Loved this vid!

Wow! What a beautiful classic airliner. Thank you. Best regards. J

Wow!!!! That takes a mighty long time! Before takeoff they even discus a refill for all the kerosine used! What a joy it doesn't need to be cranked by hand! Seeing the official walk up to the nosewheel gives me the creeps as if he wants a new haircut! The plane landing flew through a cloud of ted paint!! And I am just trying to be funny! Don't be angree!

I was first fascinated by this aircraft type when I was about 10 years old in 1962. Had my first airplane flight on a National Airlines Electra in 1963. Still love this airplane to this day.

La época dorada de la Sociedad Aeronáutica de Medellin , con su flamante flota del ,ELECTRA - 188 . ," SAM " Colombia .

Love the sound of these. One of the companies at our airport owns the largest fleet of electra's in the world

started those many time when we owner some. worked for hunting cargo in the 90s.

my fav part on aviation flight, the sound of those prop starting, i miss them

Ditto that! I LOVE the spooky whistle when they fly over too!

I just love the sound of C-130's and Electras on the tarmac and taxing!! Nothing else like it!!!

Loved loved loved flying the Electra. It was a dream to fly. Touchdown was another story. lol

I've seen aircrafts Lockheed PC-3 Orion being a military modification of Electra. A lot of them are still in service.

I can hear these engines running on the tarmac of a local airforce base where i live. the base is 10-15km away. The Australian airforce uses the AP-3C Orion based on the Electra. They often fly overhead also. ;)

Same here...can't stay away, and keep coming back for more!

we had eastern electras flying into chattanooga when i was a kid back in the sixties. i dont know how i remembered this but the starting sequence was engine 3, then 1, 2 and 4. 3 would start and then the stairs would be raised. we usually had at least 2 to 3 flights per day going to charlotte nc if i remember correctly,

I flew many times between Rio and Sao Paulo on the shuttle service. That was a very beatiful flight over mountains and the sea. I also once flew on the cockpit from Sao Paulo to Rio. It was fantastic to see the sea coming close on Santos Dumont landing in Rio. For the record, there were 14 Electras on the shuttle, and each one flew approximately 50.000 flights. We missed a great airplane

I flew in Electras a few times during the 1950s. They were very spacious compared to today's sardine cans. They, & the Vickers Viscount were made for the comfort of passengers. The advent of the Boeing 727 & Douglas DC9 (the T jets), put an end to passenger comfort & were the beginning of today's sardine can DVT generators.

Back in 1968 when my fiance was headed home for Christmas vacation I took her to the airport. We were early so we sat down for a coffee & danish. When the Electra taxied up I told her the story about the wings falling off the plane in it's early days and how they had fixed it. Smart move, she was a nervous flier anyway and she roundly cursed me when she got back. Said she damn near pissed her pants every time they hit any turbulance on the trip. She married me anyway, be 40 yrs in December. :-)

Yesterdays wings! Nice Vintage airliner!

I miss Varig's Electra

omg ...how beautiful does this sound ........

I consider myself very fortunate to have been able to fly on one of these back in 1965. Western Airlines from Stapleton (Denver) to Sioux Falls, SD.

Great video. it is such a great feeling knowing that these classic birds are still flying.

Love this very real aeroplane. Always a pleasure to fly an Electra.

That's a beauty right there. Old is gold

I remember watching these planes fly in and out of Burbank with my dad when I was a kid back in the mid '60s. That awesome sound, especially at 7:02 brings back wonderful memories.

The next time this beauty visits us, I intend to be there for the departure and get it on film again

Thanks for the video, I too could smell the burnt kerosene as it taxied out. I only had a couple of flights in the Electra, Braniff I think, but 4000 hours in the back of a P-3 running sonar & radar. A most wonderful airplane. It will be a sad day for aviation when they're gone for good.

the sound of those 4 × Allison 501-D13 turboprop engines is a melody for my ears.....

Thanks for this video! Great aircraft and great sound :)

So, so beautiful!

On some later models the #4 engine was retrofitted with an electric starter to facilitate starting without a huffer. Zantop's L-188s are equipped with these. The remaining engines were then started with bleed air.

Vim do Avioes e Músicas. Fenomenal

the sound of those 4 Allison 501-D13 turboprops is just awesome......!!!

I lived about fifteen miles from O'Hare International Airport during the 50s, 60s and 70s which provided an opportunity to watch thousands of airliners ascending and descending at a fairly close range. The Lockheed Electra was by far my favorite because it seemed so graceful and quiet. I would describe the sound it made as a subdued whine. Jets were certainly fascinating when they first appeared but I soon tired of the engine roar and smell. Too often they were deafening. It's a shame the Electra ran into some problems that couldn't get ironed out in time to insure better sales. We live in a fast paced unforgiving world where important decisions are sometimes made a little too hastily. Vinyl records and photographic film can be added to the list of things discarded a little too quickly for our own good.

I had once seen the engine start-up of a Beech B200c Super King Air. It was great.

Para qq um que ama a Aviação ouvir o ronco desses motores é como escutar o som de uma bela canção...

I remember 2 Airlines in my Country who Fky this kind of Planes AERICONDOR, and SAM in Colombia, beautiful Memories.

Does anyone remember BI? Braniff International - They flew cargo Electra's out of Love Field - Dallas Texas back in the day.

I remember a Convair with Allison engines very similar to these. I remember they started one engine without the propeller and ran it like a jet for about 15 mins, presumably to charge the battery. Very interesting.

Now this is real music to my ears :-)

The Lockheed Orion What a fantastic airplane and occasionally I still see them at an altitude of 10,000 ft. This is from the naval station of point magu USN and just love seeing them go back to north island naval air station in coronado it happens about 2 times a month. Great airplane just to see it flying.