PAN AMERICAN IS ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITE AIRLINES and historically one of the prime movers in moving the airline industry into the modern era (despite their aging fleet), so I thought I’d make a special post of my Clipper pics.
Please forgive my indulgence, peeps. 🙂
Pan Am was the first airline to fly into London Airport using the new Boeing 747 ‘Jumbo-Jet’ as it was called by the press in the UK. I think that was 1969. They had used a fleet of Boeing 707 and some DC8 jetliners in the 1960s and Boeing 377 Stratocruisers in the 1950s. But by 1970 the PanAm 747 was a common sight in the sky near Heathrow, with its P&W JT9s whining away unlike anything anyone had heard before. The 747 was also the introduction to the new Pan Am name whereas previous to this aircraft were marked Pan American.
The German routes (only flown by BEA, Air France and USA carriers like Pan American after the war until 1955) were continued to be flown with PanAm Boeing 727-20 jets (BEA used Super One-Elevens with the dark blue fin logo said to be so to avoid ‘flying the flag’ on these routes). These were replaced by 727-200ADV jets during the late 1970s and by 1983 Boeing 737-200 jets were on these routes. TWA used 727-200s on these routes in the 1980s when I believe.
During its time PanAm took over several US carriers including Air Florida and National and often the aircraft were simply added to Pan Am’s fleet making a crazy jumble of aircraft types. (Must have been hard to keep pilots and mechanics trained to deal with this interesting fleet.) I believe the DC10-10 photo is from the National Airlines’ fleet and with its big cabin it was used on sardine charters, I believe. The Florida 737 fleet joined the original Pan Am 737 fleet.
Pan Am had several special route Boeing 747-SP. The Special Performance ‘Jumbo’ had a smaller cabin area but a greater fuel capacity for long-haul, non-stop routes. After it had burnt off fuel on the climbout it could cruise higher than normal 747s, I believe but I might be wrong on that.
Pan American World Airways (as it was then known) was the launch customer for the ubiquitous 707 and also for the 747. When PanAm picked a plane they picked a classic!
By the mid 1980s Pan Am had an aging fleet of early model -100 Jumbos while competitors were re-equipping with 747-300 variants and this was not good for commercial viability. They introduced Tristar 500s and even started to purchase new aircraft; the Airbus A310 was used for those over-the-oggin destinations with low passenger loads where a 747 was uneconomical but sadly the days were numbered for this great carrier. I believe it went under around 1990 or 91?
Pan American competed with TWA on the London to USA routes. These were the only 2 US airlines that held the prestigious route slots at Heathrow. During the 1980s PanAm was forced to sell its Heathrow slots to keep its head above water and another US carrier took them over (American Airlines I think). TWA was forced to do the same not many years afterward (sold its routes to Continental I think) and that was the end of an era at Heathrow, which is why you see Continental and AA in abundance there now.
A new carrier sporting the Pan Am livery and name was ressurected using 727-200ADVs with winglets in the USA, but this is not the true Pan Am of the history books.
PanAm Boeing 727-21
PanAm Boeing 727-200ADV – these replaced the aging -21 model jets. I think this might be a former Braniff aircraft
PanAm Boeing 737-200 former Air Florida jet, I think
PanAm Boeing 737-200
PanAm Boeings on 28Right – Boeing 747 and 737 together at Heathrow
PanAm Boeing 747-100 rolling on 28Right
PanAm Boeing 747-100F Clipper Bald Eagle. ‘Clipper Bald Nose’ more like – this freighter has seen some Cunimb action!! I guess that is the beauty of flying non-complaining cargo, you don’t have to worry if you enjoy the flying.
PanAm Boeing 747-100 in final 1980s livery (there were many 747 variations at this time)
PanAm Boeing 747-100 in new livery but with cheat line of old ‘classic’ markings.
PanAm Boeing 747-100 in classic livery touching down in cross wind on 10 Left at Heathrow. Lost a lot of rubber on that one!
PanAm Boeing 747-100 landing in the snow with reflected lighting underneath. This is a favorite picture of mine.
PanAm Boeing 747-100 climbing out of Heathrow on a superb day
PanAm Boeing 747-100 in lighter blue livery – this blue colour never caught on thank goodness
PanAm Boeing 747-SP in the climb out of Heathrow – taken with a 600mm mirror lens.
PanAm Boeing 747-SP landing at Heathrow. The SP was an attractive long-legged variant of the jet.
PanAm A310 departing 10R at Heathrow
PanAm Douglas DC-10-10 landing at Gatwick – I believe this was one of the National Airways tens
PanAm L1011-500 Tristar outside Pan American maintenance at Heathrow.
Sorry for the quality – some of my slides were not cleaned before scanning. 🙁
By: J Boyle - 24th May 2011 at 20:10
Back in 1975 my university sponsored a 3 week trip to the UK for 10 of us to study UK history.
As a history major I knew the professor who lead the trip and he asked which airline we should fly, appearently the costs were about the same for all SEA-LHR flights.
I suggested Pan Am…so that’s who our group flew on.
A nice trip in a fairly new 747..sadly I didn’t get the N number but the plane might have been Clipper Ocean Rover.
On the way home we were over the northern wilds of Canada…miless of nothing. The captain came to make a tour of the cabin and I spoke with him for a moment.
He was about to retire..he started off as a crewmember (second officer?) on the Boeing flying boats.
Rarely do we get a chance to meet someone who spans that much aviation history.
Needless to say, I was very impressed.
My first jet flight was in the 707-320 Clipper Isabella from Johnson AB, Japan to SFO (via Honolulu) in May 1963. It was a very different trip in terms of length and weather from our DC-6 flight to Japan a few years before. That required a fuel stop on Wake Island.
By: TRIDENT MAN - 24th May 2011 at 19:56
Great thread,i was lucky enough to fly with Pan Am three times ,twice on the airlines 747 and once on a 727 from LHR anyway here are a few from me…
N657PA at MAN..
Stored 727 in the US..
My 747 ride back to LHR..
B707 N433PA at MAN..
My 747 ride to MIA..
By: longshot - 24th May 2011 at 18:51
Pan Am Classic Tin Stratocruiser
These used to be on sale at airport departure lounge shops…this West German GAMA toy was later available with the Pan Am Globe scheme which did get onto the Stratocruisers
Pan American Stratocruiser by A30yoyo, on Flickr
By: Peter de Zeeuw - 23rd May 2011 at 19:50
Good evening,
Here is another shot of a Panam Tristar 500. N504PA was taken at Paris-Orly (through glass) on July 22nd, 1982
Kind regards,
Peter
By: nibb100 - 21st May 2011 at 15:45
It wouldn’t surprise me if Iranair are still using their aging 747-SP jets.
Saudi and Syria are still using them, the Saudi ones come into Heathrow quite regularly
By: VeeOne - 21st May 2011 at 15:07
Nice one, I love the Old Pan Am livery, I read that the Pan Am globe emblem was the second most recognised iconic image, the Coca Cola emblem being the first.
Love the 747SP’s do any SP’s (from any other airline) still come into the UK any more?
Hi Runway06
It wouldn’t surprise me if Iranair are still using their aging 747-SP jets.
I think you are right about the PanAm globe. I have even seen it on t-shirts on eBay!
By: VeeOne - 21st May 2011 at 15:04
Why is it that old photographs of aircraft seem to convey the action better? Modern photography is astonishing, but I think it’s the nostalgia that make these photos seem more real. May have answered my own question.
Great post VeeOne, I like the intro. Brilliant.
Thankyou sir!
There does seem to be a difference between 35mm film and modern digital images. It seems to me this is a similar difference to that of old records and their digital CD versions.
I found taking airliner photos difficult to get the exposure correct. The tops were usually white and I underexposed by 1/2 a stop for this. But there were times the photos were still either slightly too bright or too dark. Slides had almost no latitude for error and you had to wait until the film was processed to find if you’d missed a great picture. I ended up developing my own slide film so i could see the results more quickly and have some control over them.
Modern digital cameras are great despite the ‘digital’ effect of freezing the aeroplane in mid-air. No cost or waiting and immediately we can see the result. The people who are using dSLRs are getting amazing results.
By: ThreeSpool - 21st May 2011 at 14:27
Why is it that old photographs of aircraft seem to convey the action better? Modern photography is astonishing, but I think it’s the nostalgia that make these photos seem more real. May have answered my own question.
Great post VeeOne, I like the intro. Brilliant.
By: spitfireman - 21st May 2011 at 11:58
Real photographs! In the days you had to be good at photography to get results. Like the 747 over snow.
Baz
By: Runway06 - 21st May 2011 at 11:53
Nice one, I love the Old Pan Am livery, I read that the Pan Am globe emblem was the second most recognised iconic image, the Coca Cola emblem being the first.
Love the 747SP’s do any SP’s (from any other airline) still come into the UK any more?
By: Joemicroman - 21st May 2011 at 11:22
Brilliant Photos (: Really like the 12th one down off the 747-100 climbing out of Heathrow (:
Joe
By: Banupa - 21st May 2011 at 11:00
When I was a lad, Pan Am operated DC-6B’s, DC-7C’s and the odd Stratocruiser into London Airport (Heathrow to you youngsters!).
By: Bmused55 - 21st May 2011 at 10:56
Awesome images.
It is a shame the two main pioneering airlines of America are no longer in the skies. TWA and Pan Am.
By: MSR777 - 21st May 2011 at 10:49
I don’t think that any other airline evokes such feelings of wonder and awe in anyone with an interest in civil aviation, as Pan Am. Its history alone, puts it right up there as an icon of the golden days of air travel. Well I think so:) Very nice images Sarah, especially that SP.
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May 21, 2011 at 2:21 am