Air Ferry (1961)

[@moltderenou]

Around 1955, my parents used Silver City to fly our car, myself and my two sisters to Le Touquet to then continue to the S of France. Just as the plane was beginning to taxi to the runway, my youngest sister, who was 3 at the time, let out a massive shriek saying that she had left her doll in the airport lounge. The pilot stopped the plane, turned it around and went back to the bay. In the meantime a stewardess rushed out of the building waving the doll in her hand. The door was opened, doll handed over and the flight then proceeded as planned. Thanks Silver City !

[@LordSandwichII]

Your parents must have been loaded! :D

[@moltderenou]

@@LordSandwichII - He made a good living (inherited zilch) and enjoyed spending his money, which was good as he died ten years later at the age of 54. If my memory serves me correctly we did the same the following year. What stands out even more in my recollections is the flight he took me on around that time to Genoa, Italy, and back again in a Sunderland flying boat, to spend a week locally. My Mum couldn’t come as she was pregnant, so it was just him and me. I must have been 7 or 8 years old. Cheers.

[@garmar8329]

Love this story 😊

[@moltderenou]

@@garmar8329 🙂

[@davidfurness1]

@@moltderenou I've just heard about this service, from a family member who flew Lydd to Le Toquet around 1960. Had no idea these even existed. Amazing.

[@allgood6760]

Thanks fot this we operated Bristol Freighters with Safe Air.. thanks from NZ 👍🇳🇿

[@IamtheBirmingham6]

Used to watch these aircraft fly in and out of Coventry Airport as a child...awesome sight.

[@daddybob6096]

@allgood6760 Yes i'm from that era, i was the 1st permanent resident Ministry of Transport Traffic Officer appointed to Picton mid 60s where i served for several years. I met a Safe Air Pilot during my time there and we became firm friends together with the late Max Miller, a colleague from MoT Blenheim. That Pilot was Roy McKenzie, a real hard case guy. Bob. LH.

[@barrybarry6592]

We called them Bristol frighteners

[@matthewwalter276]

We did this trip from Lydd to Le Touquet twice 1963 and 64. As a 7 year old it was the greatest experience of my life. We then drove down to Spain. I left my jumper on the plane and I got it back when we returned to Lydd. The noise in the passenger cabin was huge. Needless to say i went on to be a cabin steward on Int’l flights. 12 pax maximum in the back.

[@richarddunk-i5v]

I flew with Silver City on holiday in 1959. My fathers Morris Minor safely loaded on. Terrific noise but barley sugar sweets were great. Thank you Airfix.

[@stephenfrankland1986]

I can remember taking this flight, as a small child, in the early 60s on a family motoring holiday to spain

[@fjbutchbragg8129]

love the music

[@Lily-Bravo]

Fantastic film. I never got to go on one, but it was thrilling to watch the planes loading. the car looks like a Hillman Husky? Our first and second cars were those, a green one first and a chocolate and cream one similar to that on the plane.

[@msparry1]

OMG. I remember it so well. Le Touquet one year and Hurt to Cherbourg the next. Happy childhood memories

[@alexhayden2303]

Hurn. Bournemouth.

[@Lily-Bravo]

My husband was a seasoned airflier from birth almost having come from an RAF background. His father was stationed at many international bases and the children went along too. My guilty secret when we were talking about marrying was that I had never flown!

[@Superbustr]

Smoking on planes, taking your car with you on the plane, no security checks. I wish air travel could be like it was in the 1950s/60s.

[@michaelbrant1668]

Yeah, like as expensive as hell.

[@LordSandwichII]

You can still do most of this if you have enough money.

[@Superbustr]

@@LordSandwichII Oh really I have never heard of a paid service where you can fly with your car on a short distance flight. Sure you could stick a car in the hold from Dubai to London on an a360 but that is long haul.

[@gordanmilne7034]

​@@SuperbustrA360?

[@pat36a]

There is 1 of these at the Pima Air Museum. Non running, static only.

[@martinross5521]

On a Lydd to Le Touquet Silver City flight I asked for permission to visit the pilots, who let me stay on the jump seat all the way to landing. I’ve a few photos taken on my Brownie 127 to remind me of a special day for a twelve year old

[@Tirana44]

When I was a 7 year child, we went on a family trip to Italy with our trusty Citroen DS19 along for the ride. I believe our Bristol was operated by Channel Air Bridge. Much later, in 1975 I flew on BAF Carvair from Southend to Ostend and return.

[@georgestella5962]

Flew from Renfrew to the Isle of Man on Bristol Freighters.DC3 and a Heron. Great days.

[@Kaitydid74]

I never knew that this was a thing, super cool

[@alexhayden2303]

So different from todays H...!

[@GWAYGWAY1]

I am almost certain that the car marshal meeting the car , was my Father who worked there for a long time loading the planes with the car.

[@sylviesilver5961]

So good to see this video - I flew in one of these as a very young child with my parents and two sisters from Bournemouth to Brittany ( was it Dinard? ) and I still remember the flight attendant taking me to see the car during the flight …. I used to tell people that we’d put the car on the plane and no one would ever believe me ! They thought I meant the ferry ….. Didn’t life look more simple then - “ turn up 30 mins before your flight “ imagine that now -

[@ovloh]

Awesome, we need this.

[@madcarew5168]

Built the airfix!!

[@alexhayden2303]

I flew from Hurn (Bournemouth.) to Cherbourg (Maupertuis.) £20 for me and £19 for the Fairthorpe. Max currency allowed was £50 sterling. One of the things my children will never enjoy!

[@beechlad3541]

Fabulous film :)

[@GWAYGWAY1]

My Father worked for Silver City at Lympne and later at Lydd when it was built. He was a steward to start then a Car Marshall Loading the cars. He later ran the Cafeteria. He went back to Lympne and joined Skyways to run the Catering.

[@brianperry]

Sounds like the Queen has a job as an announcer at the terminal...

[@blairedwards6025]

Flew on one of these in 1974 from Southend to Ostend for a family holiday. No car!

[@baileysnice1]

love it...get there half an hour before.....

[@annoyingbstard9407]

We used to go to the airport to watch these planes being loaded and taking off when we were on holiday in Kent. We could never afford to go ourselves - actually we couldn’t even afford a car.

[@erik_griswold]

The size of the Belgian Policeman’s hat!

[@wotnotvintage7762]

Awesome! ... the French Immigration Officer didn't seem to be too pleased to see Terry Thomas though!!

[@Ribeirasacra]

He is not French. Ostend is in Belgium. 🇧🇪 Even the producers with the stereotypical music could not work that out. 😠

[@christopherrichards3601]

@@Ribeirasacra 😴

[@bladder1010]

I say!

[@moltderenou]

Thought it was James Bond

[@stupididiot369]

Toot toot !

[@Ballinalower]

I remember taking the air ferry more than once when I was a kid. But I thought it was to France. And didn't they also fly to Jersey at some point? I have a vague memory of doing that. My dad's car, incidentally, was an early model Jensen Interceptor convertible. One time we took it all the way to Spain.

[@johnparnell8571]

Would that be the Jensen Interceptor of 1951-1957? I am looking at buying one of those. Depending on which source you consult, they only made 86 or 88 of them. The chassis was a modified Austin A70 and the 3993cc straight six engine was from the Austin Sheerline. Do you remember the registration number of your father's car?

[@Ballinalower]

@@johnparnell8571 it was one of those. Red with tan upholstery. A tan soft top and had a solid perspex sort of curved rear window. I remember it having a Jersey number plate, so J and some numbers. It cost just under £2000 in about 1953. My dad sold it about 1966 for £65. That's all I remember. Great car. I learned to drive on it.

[@Ballinalower]

@@johnparnell8571 I think my dad once said it was one of only 12 convertibles made. I remember seeing one or two other hard top versions but not another soft top.

[@ProjectFlashlight612]

The air ferries did as many flights per day as humanly possible, because though the service was very popular the planes just couldn't carry enough cars per flight to make the operation truly profitable.

[@darkknight1340]

This service needs to be resumed,I'm sure that there would be tremendous demand.

[@SaxonSuccess]

Where do we get the aircraft from?

[@darkknight1340]

@RequestPigeons There are plenty of ex military C-130s available,as well as the Airbus A 400M atlas which would make excellent car transporters.

[@iancarr8682]

Bristol Freighter (ex RNZAF) at Aerospace Bristol museum, presently dismantled...

[@DennisGentry]

Just be sure to drive on the other side of the road!

[@corvanha1]

Beautiful ramp! Pity they did not show how they attached it to the nose. I' ll ask Airfix. Are they in the kit anyhow?

[@totofromoz5412]

@1:35...I would like to know why Queen Elizabeth was announcing flight departures.

[@sarbaazchabahar]

I thought that was columbo's car😀😀😀

[@mistofoles]

@3:50 - What the hell was the guy in the background supposed to be ? - A nutcracker ?

[@bugler75]

😂😂😂

[@melrose9252]

Blimey!

[@HenauderTitzauf]

And there you are with a car that is built to drive on their right side of the highway!

[@carmanbazza]

Would be great if was popular now.. save going on a ship and driving hundreds of miles to the port..

[@guaporeturns9472]

Terry Thomas is being unusually normal in this video

[@holgerhn6244]

Is this how Ronnie Biggs got to the Côte? And left all worries (Scotland Yard & such) behind...

[@markiesmith4537]

Silly point - The size of that uniformed French customs officer's hat! :-)

[@lapisredux]

he has a gun so can wear a big hat.

[@Ribeirasacra]

Silly point .....Ostend, where the plane landed is in Belgium.

[@beagle7622]

They didn’t like flying on one engine from memory. Bristol freighters

[@sarbaazchabahar]

The daddy of 747😂

[@bfmcarparts]

1:37 What's up with the two tone car in the background with missing components (wheels, lights, glass?)? Is it one of those KDC (Knock down cars) built by car manufacturers and final assembly is done in the other countries to reduce export tax?

[@kurtmu-b7w]

They look like SIMCA cars imported from France, ready to be completed for UK specification (headlamps, etc.).

[@bfmcarparts]

Hello Kurt, I thought so. Similar idea that General Motors did with some of their 1960s products with assembly completion in Holland. Or the airport thieves are wanting more than just hubcaps.

[@tangerinedream7211]

Yes they are Simca Arondes, that model was replaced by the 1500 in about 1964. At least those imports aren't standing in about 18 inch deep water like the Lancias stored when imported in the mid seventies.

[@Snake-ms7sj]

The cabin wasn't lighted? People sitting in the dark ....

[@sapanavarani9747]

Was smoking allowed inside the aircraft back then??? 😲

[@NationalMotorMuseum]

Bans on in flight smoking didn't start until the 1980s.

[@sapanavarani9747]

@@NationalMotorMuseum i totally was unaware of this fact. Thanks a lot

[@Superbustr]

@@sapanavarani9747 I think there are a few airlines that still allow smoking like Iran air if you didn't know.

[@moltderenou]

Superbustr - Aren’t they the ones that allow explosive packages ?

[@nickwalter9630]

Im getting on a bit. I remember smoking on planes, tube trains and cinemas (left hand side of the auditorium)

[@mebeasensei]

I can’t figure out where they sit if the cars are in the hold! Are they two separate planes?

[@NationalMotorMuseum]

Passengers and cars were all on the same plane

[@awuma]

Cars up front, passenger cabin in the rear. It was the same in the Carvair, a DC-4-based combi I flew on from Southend to Ostende in 1972.

[@patricklloyd]

Passengers at the rear. Once the engines were at full throttle you couldn’t speak to anyone as the noise was horrendous . As a youngster it was an amazing experience and I still have great memories of our driving a through to Spain

[@rogeruk4291]

Terrifying 😲

[@Lily-Bravo]

Were those the badly designed square windows that proved troublesome?

[@rocketeerPM2500]

You're talking about a pressurised aircraft. The Bristol Freighter was decidedly UNpressurised, and even a brief glance should make this obvious. The design & shape of windscreens, side windows and clamshell-type cargo doors confirm it.

[@ChrisZoomER]

Why does that look like a very primitive 747?

[@AbelMcTalisker]

The 747 was originally designed to be a military transport with big doors in the nose. That didn`t entirely work out though but the subsequent passenger versions kept the high cockpit.

[@guaporeturns9472]

300 flights a day? Don’t think so

[@AbelMcTalisker]

Lydd to Ostend isn`t all that far-just a quick hop across the channel-so 300 flights a day in high summer with good weather are plausible. What killed this sort of thing was the big hovercraft and faster ferries.

[@guaporeturns9472]

@@AbelMcTaliskerno

[@51WCDodge]

Try flying horses in those things. But, when your ten years old , wild adventure. 54 years on No *&^^% Way! did we really do that ?

[@jackkircher1755]

Not that easy these days!. There is a lot of red tape and money involved in transporting a car overseas!

[@Powertampa]

The countries that these operated around are now part of Schengen so nothing has really changed there. Getting a car over the big pond is also not that complicated if all you plan to do is take it with you on holiday. When you consider enterprise things get complicated, but importing cars has been around since the car was around anyways so those processes are as efficient as they ever were.

[@beakytwitch7905]

Ugly old muthers... And the seats were canvas on steel. Had a nice hols that way though. :-)

[@fredfungalspore]

Wow 2000 feet my drone fly's higher than that Chunk...