North Central merged with Hughes Air West and Southern and changed their name to Republic, which was bought by North West Airlines, which was recently bought by Delta airlines.
Neat--Seemed like I saw a "Capitol Airlines" there--I do remember them. I think North Central merged with Ozark Airlines? Of course then there's Braniff. These names were easy to spot at O'Hare, as well, in the 1960s. All gone now since the deregs started in the late 1970s. The three tail planes are "Connies"--one was shown in the Godfather movies. I wonder when they last were used in commercial work.
Awesome. Those were the days when flying was worth while and an adventure. When we didn't have to worry about hijackers, bombs, and all the things that make flying so complex today. It's cool to see those early, Delta, Braniff, and American Airline planes. Last time I saw those models was at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.
Thank you for this marvelous trip down memory lane! All of these airlines except American are sadly no longer with us; even sadder is the demise of the great Lockheed Constellation and Douglas DC-3, although I understand some DC-3s are still flying!
Many DC-3's and even some Constellations are around and flying. The Dutch avaiation museum has a restored and flying KLM Constellation and there are many now grounded as displays. The DC-3's are a mainstay cargo and small group passenger aircraft over many places like Alaska, Canada and places like Mexico and Central America. I remember seeing Constellations regularly flying over our house in Chicago coming in and out of Midway airport in the 60's.
Great old apparently 8MM footage of Midway when it was the world's busiest airport. Did anyone notice the shot of the rare Trans Canada Airlines (now Air Canada) Northstar. That was basically a Canadian built four engine DC-4 powered by four Rolls Royce engines which were the same powerplants used by World War II Spitfires and P-51 Mustangs.
Of course many of us old farts around then remember when the Beatles came through and the crowd it attracted for them to hardly even be seen...theres a video of it somewhere on Youtube
Wow, the days of DC6's, DC3's and Constellations. All pre-jet. Like opening a time capsule. Very interesting to see. I was born in 1974 so, this is very cool.
I enjoyed seeing this as well. I just wondered where the passenger flew to after filming and on which airline and plane type, etc, etc. I think my fav aircraft was the Airspeed AS57 from Tripoli to Rome in 1957. My first caviar :)
kying used to be a romantic, special event; people even got "dressed up" when they flew. The old planes were fantastic; I spent many happy hours at Lexington, Kentucky's airport watching them land and depart. Many thanks for bringing back special memories!
Bigger. Midway was dead in the 70s but revived in the early 80s. They land too big of jets there now. Pilots, like my uncle hate(d) it. One over shot the runway a year or so ago and landed on the corner of 55th and Central killing a small child.
It was Pilot error and not the plane. The planes can easily land on short runways even in bad weather conditions as long as they follow the proper procedures which the pilot did not. I landed in a 757 there and we stopped in penty of time.
No, those early pure jetliners had landing speeds much too fast to be able to safely land on Midway's runways. It wasn't until aircraft like the Boeing 727 with their leading edge slats and trailing edge flaps that made it possible for jets to land at Miday.
I worked on the field at Midway from 1986 to 1988, I loved it. My dad was working on the field during this period when this footage was shot. I have a lot of home movies from Midway as well from the 50's and 60's from my Dad but I think my brother has them. Thanks for sharing, great footage.
Outstanding footage. I grew up at 62nd & Knox and attended St Mary Star of the Sea grammar school in the 50s. I remember the noise of the landing and takeoffs.
Nathan Hale Elementary on 62nd? Went there TOO, 1962 to 1971 then to Kennedy HS from 71 to 75. I lived at 64th Place and Meade. Our house was on the approach of the 63rd & Central runway, we got these overhead all the time. Bet you remember the blizzard of 67 too.
Oops - make that 75 - must be getting "old" (or I fat fingered the typing more likely) I left Chicago in 76 when I started active duty in the USAF. Anyway...
For anyone else, the above ID of RetiredAF Guy is now the ID I'm using - dropped the old ID and changed it to my name. Anyone else from the old fart's club around Midway out there, 62-71 for Nathan Hale Elementary, 71-75 Kennedy HS (lots of St Paul folks went to Kennedy when St Paul shut down). Man I miss the old neighborhood the way it was. Now you go through and it's like a perfectly kept cemetary and the houses are like markers.
Wow - in the midst of the jet age...it's nice to get a view of what flying was like back in the day.
salsajuan317 2 months ago
Excellent footage !
Love watching Lockheed "Constellation" ;)
ChampionFx 11 months ago
North Central merged with Hughes Air West and Southern and changed their name to Republic, which was bought by North West Airlines, which was recently bought by Delta airlines.
MoltiTifosi 11 months ago
Neat--Seemed like I saw a "Capitol Airlines" there--I do remember them. I think North Central merged with Ozark Airlines? Of course then there's Braniff. These names were easy to spot at O'Hare, as well, in the 1960s. All gone now since the deregs started in the late 1970s. The three tail planes are "Connies"--one was shown in the Godfather movies. I wonder when they last were used in commercial work.
DOLRED 1 year ago
INCREDIBLE FOOTAGE! Thanks for posting.
talentscoutjoe 1 year ago
north central DC-3 captain and stewardess are my parents. They are going to be celebrating their 50th anniversary this year.
jhsasha 1 year ago
Simply beautiful, thanks for sharing.
traveler08a 1 year ago
I work as a PSA at midway now, they treat workers like slaves.
VanB13 1 year ago
Wow! Even the baggage cart driver wore a tie!
alienhuman 2 years ago
Awesome. Those were the days when flying was worth while and an adventure. When we didn't have to worry about hijackers, bombs, and all the things that make flying so complex today. It's cool to see those early, Delta, Braniff, and American Airline planes. Last time I saw those models was at the Smithsonian in Washington, D.C.
Thanks for preserving the film and sharing.
Clint
cdlish03 2 years ago
This is just wonderful. and brings back many fond memories of when flying was a romantic adventure.
billyguns2 2 years ago 2
Thank you for this marvelous trip down memory lane! All of these airlines except American are sadly no longer with us; even sadder is the demise of the great Lockheed Constellation and Douglas DC-3, although I understand some DC-3s are still flying!
billyguns2 2 years ago
Many DC-3's and even some Constellations are around and flying. The Dutch avaiation museum has a restored and flying KLM Constellation and there are many now grounded as displays. The DC-3's are a mainstay cargo and small group passenger aircraft over many places like Alaska, Canada and places like Mexico and Central America. I remember seeing Constellations regularly flying over our house in Chicago coming in and out of Midway airport in the 60's.
rhblakeman 2 years ago
WOW.. beautiful:)
ymanganelli 2 years ago
great, thanks, so many memories
UncleDuke1001 2 years ago
Wonderful. Thank you. I loved the "Connie" of course.
Michaelxxx1936 2 years ago
OUTSTANDING!!! :-)
mcdonnell220 2 years ago
i grew up in the shadow of those TWA hangars, 54th and Latrobe :D
crowamonghens 2 years ago
this clips are priceless
santiago727 2 years ago
zayebiste
880331877 3 years ago
Way cool. You don't see good vintage coverage like this too often. Would be cool to see more.
falsebottom 3 years ago
damm midway airport is old
bartsphotos 3 years ago
Wonderful vintage footage!!! Might I suggest some music for the background? Thanks for this.
willyboi708 3 years ago
Did i get that right: 4500mh maintenance per 10k hours of service?
And where did the Woodrow Calls and Augustus McCreas all go?
21tremme 3 years ago
i work at midway for prospect =]
GOCUBS247264 3 years ago
cool. It would be cooler if you dubbed some 50s music or radial sounds, but still, very cool to see those old ramp ops.
maxsmodels 3 years ago
Great video - I love stuff like this!
screamandfly 3 years ago 2
Wow... every plane featured with the exception of Delta was with a defunct carrier.
alienhuman 3 years ago
There's an American Airlines DC-6B in the film. American is still very much with us.
redtag501 3 years ago
Anyone realise that it was a Christmas 1972 crash of a United 737 at MDW that blew open the Watergte scandal.
gaguy1967 3 years ago
Great old apparently 8MM footage of Midway when it was the world's busiest airport. Did anyone notice the shot of the rare Trans Canada Airlines (now Air Canada) Northstar. That was basically a Canadian built four engine DC-4 powered by four Rolls Royce engines which were the same powerplants used by World War II Spitfires and P-51 Mustangs.
Juscz 4 years ago
I saw the northstar...my mom use to fly on them from Montreal..she said they were awfully noisy
gaguy1967 3 years ago
I live next to Midway and grew up in Clearing. It's so exciting to see the 737's taking off and flying in. Thanks for the video.
leomemorial 4 years ago
Of course many of us old farts around then remember when the Beatles came through and the crowd it attracted for them to hardly even be seen...theres a video of it somewhere on Youtube
RetiredAFGuy 4 years ago
Wow, the days of DC6's, DC3's and Constellations. All pre-jet. Like opening a time capsule. Very interesting to see. I was born in 1974 so, this is very cool.
synthuser 4 years ago
I lived at 64th. and Lawler from the time I was born (1948) until 1991. Wonderful airplanes, but noisy!!!!
bnsfmec 4 years ago
wow..the year I was born, those were the romantic days of aviation, thank you so much for sharing this video..
abl78 4 years ago
Excelente video del trafico aereo de un aeropuerto de los años 50, pioneros de las rutas intercontinetales,
cuando volar era emocionante, felicito por conservar este material.-
chiche44 4 years ago
Old school
Alexandair 4 years ago
OLD Braniff Rocks!
BraniffPages 4 years ago
I enjoyed seeing this as well. I just wondered where the passenger flew to after filming and on which airline and plane type, etc, etc. I think my fav aircraft was the Airspeed AS57 from Tripoli to Rome in 1957. My first caviar :)
granskare 4 years ago
WONDEFUL WONDERFUL video...to see the North Central DC-3 in action is just pure joy!
convaircrazy 4 years ago
I live in chicago !!
Dennbis22 4 years ago
kying used to be a romantic, special event; people even got "dressed up" when they flew. The old planes were fantastic; I spent many happy hours at Lexington, Kentucky's airport watching them land and depart. Many thanks for bringing back special memories!
billyguns2 4 years ago
LOVED THIS VIDEO. Thanks for posting it.
dbking111 4 years ago
wow....
I wish I was born earlier.
Fantastic planes, music and all the rest!
Thanks for this stunning video!
Sonny767 4 years ago
did midway get the jets in? like, 707, DC-8 and CV-880's
virginbluedude 4 years ago
Bigger. Midway was dead in the 70s but revived in the early 80s. They land too big of jets there now. Pilots, like my uncle hate(d) it. One over shot the runway a year or so ago and landed on the corner of 55th and Central killing a small child.
hamwinkie 4 years ago
It was Pilot error and not the plane. The planes can easily land on short runways even in bad weather conditions as long as they follow the proper procedures which the pilot did not. I landed in a 757 there and we stopped in penty of time.
stevekach 4 years ago
pilot was told to divert and never did...it was nothin to do wit da runway it was only 1/16th of n inch on the runway...
mma8eu 4 years ago
No, those early pure jetliners had landing speeds much too fast to be able to safely land on Midway's runways. It wasn't until aircraft like the Boeing 727 with their leading edge slats and trailing edge flaps that made it possible for jets to land at Miday.
Juscz 4 years ago
This is terrific !
ooshney 4 years ago
I worked on the field at Midway from 1986 to 1988, I loved it. My dad was working on the field during this period when this footage was shot. I have a lot of home movies from Midway as well from the 50's and 60's from my Dad but I think my brother has them. Thanks for sharing, great footage.
WINSOXWIN 4 years ago
Where did you work? Monarch?
fussycoose 4 years ago
Outstanding footage. I grew up at 62nd & Knox and attended St Mary Star of the Sea grammar school in the 50s. I remember the noise of the landing and takeoffs.
soraparu1 4 years ago
Terrific, I lived at 63rd and Keating. Our house rattled from those planes. I loved it!
bukiri 5 years ago
the planes of the best part of my life. Thank you for sharing those memories.
OMF1955 5 years ago
5 of 5! Thanks for sharing.
Southerncowboyz 5 years ago
Pretty neat!
Vohton 5 years ago
beautiful footage. i grew up on 61st & mayfield and worked on the field from 74-80.
awesomedan157 5 years ago
I went to Hale from 1961 to 1970. I wonder if we know each other back then? Peace
hamwinkie 4 years ago
Nathan Hale Elementary on 62nd? Went there TOO, 1962 to 1971 then to Kennedy HS from 71 to 75. I lived at 64th Place and Meade. Our house was on the approach of the 63rd & Central runway, we got these overhead all the time. Bet you remember the blizzard of 67 too.
RetiredAFGuy 4 years ago
Small world. Did you know a girl named Lamantia by chance? I saved the first name for privacy of course.
peaceonearth777 3 years ago
I know the Lamantia's.
JohnnyStorm2007 3 years ago
YES I DO - I have her email as a matter of fact. First name starts with an M. She was in my grduating class 1976
RetiredAFGuy 3 years ago
Oops - make that 75 - must be getting "old" (or I fat fingered the typing more likely) I left Chicago in 76 when I started active duty in the USAF. Anyway...
RetiredAFGuy 3 years ago
For anyone else, the above ID of RetiredAF Guy is now the ID I'm using - dropped the old ID and changed it to my name. Anyone else from the old fart's club around Midway out there, 62-71 for Nathan Hale Elementary, 71-75 Kennedy HS (lots of St Paul folks went to Kennedy when St Paul shut down). Man I miss the old neighborhood the way it was. Now you go through and it's like a perfectly kept cemetary and the houses are like markers.
rhblakeman 2 years ago