Heathrow in the early 1970s - some scanned slides

[andygolfer]

I've been scanning slides over the last week or so and had many of Heathrow, sadly some are rather poor quality - in those days I only had a kodak colorsnap 35mm until my father bought me a Praktika SLR for my 21st birthday and then I only had a rahter basic 200mm tele lens for it - no zoom in those days. Added to that they haven't stored well and all seem rather blue which takes some getting rid of!
I'm always amazed how much Heathrow has changed over the years since my first spotting visit in 1968, in those days it was always the Queen's building and I have a wide range of pics from there and I thought I would start off with a sequence going clockwise to show what the airport was like then - the south side was positively rural. I hope this will be interesting even if the image quality is disappointing.....

starting off from the high level balcony over the indoor lounge (where a lady used to announce each arriving aircraft from a list which frequently was out of order but in those days we didn't have FR24 and smartphones so anything was a bonus!) looking northeast-ish over to the north runway (I think):
1 LHR 1973 Iberia B727 b by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

and a bit further round to the 28R threshold
2 LHR 1973 Air Canada B747 touchdown on 28R b by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

eastwards towards the BEA stands served by terminal 1
3 LHR 1972 vieweast from Queens building BEA Tridents b by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

4 LHR 1972 SIA B747 & Tridents b by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

then the old British Eagle sheds, I can't remember who was using them by this time,
5 LHR 1973 British Airways Viscount b by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

next we get to the (then) BEA maintenance area, the large Tristar hangar and then the original maintenance blocks and further round the 28L threshold, Myrtle Avenue is on the right side of this photo. This and the subsequent ones were taken from the high level viewing area towards the west end of the viewing terrace, it was always into sun which didnt help photography but at least the spotting views were reasonable
6 LHR 1972 view south from Queens building, LH & Air Algerie B737s Austrian & swissair DC.9s, b by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

this is looking south across to the old Pan Am hangar which later disappeared under terminal 4, Cains Lane is just left of the hangar
7 LHR 1973 PanAm B727 Finnair Caravelle & CSA Tu134 b by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

continuing clockwise from the Pan Am hangar we see the Hunting hangar which was the main biz jet centre at the time (and a few biz props in those days) all that is now replaced by T4
8 LHR 1972 Delta B747, LOT IL18 & Rousseau Aviation HS748 b by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

the area between the Hunting hangar and the threshold of the old cross runway 05/23
9LHR 1974 LH B727 b by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr
a bit further round and in this pic you can just see the threshold of the old cross runway 05/23, the visible end being 05 which I don't ever remember seeing in use, there used to be fuel tanks on the airfield boundary and again (yes!) T4 brought about their demise!
10 LHR 1973 Alitalia DC.8 b by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

this is as far round as I can find pics for, the VIP terminal is in the background and to the right but out of view is the cargo terminal which in those days was very small compared to what it has become. It's amazing how rural it was in those days!
11 LHR 1973 THY DC.10 b by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr
hope they are interesting, I'll add some of my pics of the aircraft tomorrow if I can get away from decorating for a while!

comments welcome but I know they are a bit crap so criticism not really necessary unless you are expert on editing scanned slides which have turned rather blue!
Andy

[Nighthawke]

No need for criticism in my opinion - they are what they are - scanned film of classic aircraft. Image quality for these situations is far less important than the subject. Tridents, 727s, Il-18 - thanks again for more pure nostalgia.

[Mike]

Great stuff, just look at the diversity of types and not just all Airbuses and Boeings.

[andygolfer]

Great stuff, just look at the diversity of types and not just all Airbuses and Boeings.

thanks for the comments, I've done a bit of reading up on slide scanning and editing this morning and have had a second go (lesson to self - read up BEFORE trying something new!) and have now re-done the pics and re-posted them so hopefully they are a bit better. I've also added an extra one that I missed out.

[andygolfer]

to follow on from the first set which showed the 'all round' view from the Queens Building, here are a selection of scanned slides from between 1972 & 1974 showing a selection of the aircraft that were commonly seen at Heathrow at that time. The quality isn't brilliant but the intention is to show those who were either too young, never visited or are too old to remember (I fall into that last category) hope you like them and there are plenty more in my flickR album (some may be repeated as I had a second 'go' at some to try to improve them and may not have deleted all the originals

from the higher viewing area above what was until it's demolition T2, B747s were common by 1974, moreso than now probably
LHR 1973 TWA 747 b by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

Rousseau Aviation operated Nord 262s as well as HS748s into LHR
LHR 1973 Rousseau Aviation Nord 262 a by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

The RAF's royal flight Andovers were regularly seen
LHR 1973 RAF Royal Flight Andover a by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

LHR 1973 PanAm B747 2 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

Caravelles were still quite common in the early 70s, Lybian Arab were replacing their's with B727s around this time
LHR 1973 Lybian Arab Se.210 a by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

LHR 1974 Tunis Air Caravelle by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

LHR 1973 Royal air Maroc Se.210 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

DC.8s were being replaced by 747s by some operators including JAL, this was 1972 - by 74 they were gone from LHR
LHR 1973 JAL DC8 a by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

LHR 1974 Iberia Dc.8 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

B.707s were still fairly common throughout the mid 70s
LHR 1973 Ethiopian B707 a by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

LHR 1973 Aerolineas Argentinas B707b by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

LHR 1972 Qantas B707 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

in pre digital days you didnt realise you had caught a lamp post until the film came back from the processor
LHR 1972 Saudia B707 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

LHR 1974 Sabena B707 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

and BOAC were finally over their crew dispute and operating 747s, for a year or so the first 3 (G-AWNA, B & C) were parked in the maintenance area unused
LHR 1973 BOAC B747, 2a by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

I've got no idea what the Convair was but it was a one off as far as I know
LHR 1973 Alitalia DC.9 & TWA B747 a by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

Tarom operated BAC 111s licence built in Romania, their Il.18s were some of the earlier ones to disappear
LHR 1972 Tarom BAC111 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

early series DC.9s were one of the short haul workhorses
LHR 1972 JAT DC9 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

a LHR1968 KLM DC.9 & JAT Se.210 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

LHR 1972 Air India B747 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

VC.10s were much in evidence with BOAC (and being repainted to British Airways), UAE, East African, Nigerian and Ghana's sole example
LHR 1973 East African VC.10 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

LHR 1973 UAE VC.10 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

BA were also repainting their 747s around this time (I believe some were delivered new in the BA livery)
LHR 1973 British airways B747 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

LHR 1973 Delta B747 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

A300s were just starting to appear in 1974, this was F-BVGA the first production aircraft
LHR 1973 Air France A300 & others by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

LHR 1972 TWA B747, LOT IL18 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

Seaboard World were operating cargo flights with 747s by 1974
LHR 1973 Seaboard World B747 & Iberia B727 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

and 737s were becoming common
LHR 1974 Sabena B737 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

a selection of European operators and types
LHR 1974 mix 2 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

as I said earlier, Caravelles were being replaced by many operators such as the Lybian Arab ones - they started operating B727s to Heathrow
LHR 1974 Lybian Arab B727 by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

and Tu.134s were taking over from Il.18s with some east European operators
LHR 1974 Balkan Tu134 & BMA viscount by Andrew Goldsmith, on Flickr

they don't make them like that any more!!!!!

hope you enjoyed the history lesson and/or the memories, thanks for looking

C&C welcome
Andy

[PorkScratching]

Andy these are fabulous. It's so good to see LHR as it was back then, and the wonderful selection of types and carriers. This was all 10 or so years before I was old enough to get into the hobby properly, so is really interesting to see.

[Nighthawke]

Totally agree - fabulous post. Some of these take me back to my first visits to LHR - not that I've done many visits over the years but I did start out on Queen's and T2. Airports aren't what they used to be.

[Mike]

Wonderful shots which bring back so many happy memories.

The Ethiopian 707 looks rather short, is it a 720 perhaps?

[andygolfer]

Wonderful shots which bring back so many happy memories.

The Ethiopian 707 looks rather short, is it a 720 perhaps?

Might well be, just checked and they had 3 720s until Oct 73 when they acquired a 4th and 2 more in SEPT & Nov 74. They had 2 707s delivered in 68 but I believe they were for cargo ops. also found a pic of a 720 at LHR so all in all it is most likely a 720

[mach one]

cracking set Andy

my first ever visit to an international airport was to the queens building at heathrow in 1972, it was a school trip and a cant remember why we went but I know i have been back many times since

the queens building was a cracking place to go spotting and it is was a real shame when they closed it

[mach one]

I know the queens has long gone but if you could get up on the roof of the terminal now i bet you could nearly recreate this shot today




A 747 touching down on 27R with the 1970s design icon the renaissance hotel in the background

[Barton Buzzard]

Brilliant stuff, a real pleasure to sit in a comfy chair and roll back the memories!
My log from 20th January 1973 has the Convair as N440WA, I well remember that livery, just a pity I didn't get a snap of it- so glad that you did
Cheers
Gary

[james143611]

Thanks for sharing these! What a dream line up!

It's a shame I got into aviation only a couple of years ago, even as a kid in the 90's I would have missed a lot! I remember my mum saying we went to Barcelona when I was 1, which would have been 1988, I don't remember it but that was from Heathrow, would have loved to know what I was on.

I suspect the noise from that viewing deck was immense!

[Mike]

I suspect the noise from that viewing deck was immense!

Not really - but the smell of all of that burnt jet-fuel was lovely.

[pig hunter]

Sure takes me back

thank you

it is such a pity the 'Row had not maintained proper facilities for spotters (cf. FRA, most Japanese airports), SIN, MIA, HKG, GIG, LAX, SYD to name but a few)

but then the cretins in charge of Heathrow prefer to cater to revolting ultra rich foreigners that lowly spotters

the 'Wick too

"security and money" are all that are important these days

NOT a fascination about aviation

no wonder the UK does not make any commercial aircraft these days

such a shame with a/c like the Britannia, 1-11, Trident, Comet, 146, Viscount, Vanguard all regulars at the 'Row at one time
now just 767/777/787/330/340/380 .....boring!!!

none like this either.....



all best to all

a sad pig hunter, who first spotted in the 'Row in 1965 arriving on BEA Viscount........on 28R

[mach one]

what year did the heathrow runeways change from 28/10 to 27/09?

[pig hunter]

the 27s just have no class

the 28's has class

like 09L and 12 in MIA......

at one time 09L had some of the finest aircraft photography in the world

as you were farther up the r/w than the numbers, sitting on the car roof above the fence line, the barbed wire on the top twisted to make a hole to shoot through

so they passed YOU as they started the t/o roll, everything hangin' out

lost quite a bit of my hearing there....the UN -Q HK- 721s in those days straining to get off with a full load in 100 degree/100% humidity weather

the exhaust gasses breaking the sound barrier

or a geriatric DC-8-30F from Colombia packed to the gunnels

a HH- fruit freighter DC-6 blew an engine on t/o one night

MIA TWR wanted to know if he wanted the fire trucks out

"Naaa, happens all the time" was the reply......them were the days

where you almost choked to death if a CV880/990 did an approach (remember Swissair CV-990's at the 'Row, and Iceair's famous 721 Smokey Joe??? [TF-FIA]

AH, happy memories

then came 9/11 and all good things changed...thank you UBL

think the most memorable day ever in MIA was sitting on the Wood platform outside of McDonalds (all gone now) where you were in the middle of all the action, outside, burning up in the heat/humidity

and having HI- Connies # 1 and # 2 on the nine left approach, and me with a motorized Canon A-1 w/ a 300 mm lens..........(ADSA/Aeromar)

best

pig hunter

[andygolfer]

what year did the heathrow runeways change from 28/10 to 27/09?

A post on Pprune says 2nd July 1987 ( but doesn't give the time!)


pig hunter - love the story re the DC.6
a HH- fruit freighter DC-6 blew an engine on t/o one night

MIA TWR wanted to know if he wanted the fire trucks out

"Naaa, happens all the time" was the reply......them were the days


yes we were spoilt in the 70s but terrorism did change all that, I remember the QB closing for a while in the mid 70s but it then re-opened for a while before another incident must have closed it for good. That (and LGW's walkways above the piers) must have introduced so many kids to aviation and spotting. I suppose that nobody wants to spend a lot of money on spotting facilities only to have to close them a few weeks/months or years later because of a terrorism threat but if they are designed well so that the threat is less than from the surrounding land then surely it is easier to have all the spotters in one place where they can be managed but then of course H&S comes into it nowadays and it suddenly becomes more difficult.

re the smokey Cv.990s and 727s - they were easily recognisable several miles off by the black cloud. I wonder what was actually the smokiest of all?

thanks for the comments guys.

[PorkScratching]

The QB was still open in 1986 when I made my first visit to LHR. I think by mid-1987 the QB was no longer accessible, but the T2 roof gardens still were. They finally closed in the late 1990s, or perhaps even the very early 2000s - I heard because access was not possible for wheelchair users, although that was probably an excuse to close them for good.

As for the smokiest airliner, well I think some likely candidates have already been mentioned, TF-FIA definitely being one, as are the CV-990s. Don't forget Il-18s either. Water-injected JT3Cs on take-off are also a good candidate - 707s with them were before my time, but I've seen plenty of KC-135s and B-52s with it and they produced huge quantities of smoke.

I think we need a smokey photo thread, perhaps in the themed section?

[mach one]

The QB was still open in 1986 when I made my first visit to LHR. I think by mid-1987 the QB was no longer accessible, but the T2 roof gardens still were. They finally closed in the late 1990s, or perhaps even the very early 2000s - I heard because access was not possible for wheelchair users, although that was probably an excuse to close them for good.

I also heard that they were under pressure to upgrade the roof gardens and make them fully accessible and the cost was prohibitive so they used the security threat as an excuse to close them permanently,

I think the main area on the queens building was closed at some time in the 70,s due to security threats then some areas reopened to the public but they were closed permanently and security threat was again used as the reason for the close

I still enjoy a trip to heathrow and there are some great photo locations around the airport which is my thing and the one area i don't like is the spotters grandstand by the heathrow academy as this just isn't any good for photos so not a place i would spend much time