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Aircraft At Gatwick (1970-1975)

British Pathé

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Aircraft at Gatwick.

L/S of two pilots (?) walking across tarmac at airport. Shots of activity around the airport. Shots of passenger aircraft taking off. Shots of truck towing aircraft. More shots of aeroplanes taxiing on runway and taking off. High angle shots of people alighting from British Caledonian aircraft. L/S of aircraft coming into land and touching down on runway. L/Ss of the airport complex. Several similar shots. L/S of control tower and radar dishes. More shots of the the airport.
FILM ID:3286.09

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20 Comments

@cheetajet320 3 years ago

This would've been even more stunning with original audio.

@AndreiTupolev 4 years ago

Awesome shot of the Caravelle on the takeoff roll - and then the camera cuts out!!

@RoadCone411 11 years ago

It was quiet at Gatwick back then

@kennethrodmell9006 4 years ago

Thanks for posting. Was at high school 1970 - 1975 and had my first flight (LGW - CDG) at Easter, 1974. It was in a B-Cal BAC 1-11 called Isle of Islay. Even the murky weather is spot on. Nostalgia isn't what it used to be!

@tonycritcher3419 2 years ago

I was living on a farm at Cowden, Kent and used to have them fly low over our house after leaving the Mayfield an Excaliber. I collected many registration numbers like that. Once a DanAir Comet had to circle for ages as only the nose wheel had lowered. It finally came over once the main gear had deployed . In this footage the Laker DC10 hadn't had the SkyTrain decal added. Western and Eastern Belle. In later years, I cycled there to watch the inaugural flight of the Sky Train to New York. The last time I was at Gatwick, I flew on an 'Excaliber' Airbus to Cairo, but landed at Luxor airport first. There we saw Princess Diana board her plane with the Royal Flight back to the UK. We were next to take off. Back to this video, when I saw the 707, my heart did a flip! I think that and the Tridents were my favourites of that era. We used to live at Egham, Surrey in the very early 70's just five miles from Heathrow and got really great views of them climbing out from there,

@TheUtuber999 1 year ago

1:45 We flew the Laker Airways Skytrain from LAX to Gatwick back in October 1979. Excellent experience, in my humble 14-year-old opinion at the time.

@AirbuzBoy 5 years ago

Interesting to see how the nose of the 787 Dreamliner has an uncanny resemblance to that of the old Caravelle.

@stamfordplace5 2 years ago

Brings back fine memories of a wonderful era. Took my very first flight in Autumn 1977 on a school trip aboard a BCAL BAC 1-11 from Manchester to Gatwick return. Fantastic! Loved aviation ever since. Great footage thanks for posting!

@chrisnizer5702 2 years ago

Doubt if anyone would believe that there was a time when going to the airport and taking a commercial flight was fun and exciting. Even the time spent waiting in the airport was fun back then. But it's true my friends, it used to actually be something we looked forward to.

@southcoaster4135 4 years ago

Living in Crawley in the 70s, on a still night you could hear these noisey old jets thundering down the runway, loved it because Gatwick was the lifeblood of Crawley 💕

@timlc 2 years ago

Reminds me of the days when it was possible to sneak airside to get the best vantage points 😂

@ayobami5774 2 years ago

Left the UK thru Gatwick for the first time in my life,aged ten, flying British Caledonian ,a 707 plane early January 1975

@chrisnizer5702 2 years ago

Kinda cool seeing so many straight turbojets still in service. Loved the sound of those classic turbojet engines, especially during startup. They were not at all bashful about bringing the noise!

@rory693 5 years ago

No sound but safe to say that every single one one those old birds were noisy that day.

@GeorgeMCMLIX 1 year ago (edited)

Great to see several shots of the Tradewinds CL-44 Swing Tail freighter.

@Venetian1960 11 years ago

nice, nice caravelle of sam ( society aerea mediterranea ) owned by AZ Alitalia

@ELPaso1990TX 12 years ago

No sound or commentary

@yetidodger6650 1 year ago (edited)

the 1-11's used to scream on take off.

@harvey364 3 years ago

Gotta love the big, straight, flaps on Caravelle!

@atomic32205489 4 years ago

I flew the BCAL BAC many times from LGW to Paris and return. Pity there is no sound on this video. I most often sat on the last row and had an engine right outside my window.