SFO - San Francisco International Airport - 1973

[@margaretroselle8610]

The sound of those jet engines.....nothing else matches it. Wonderful!

[@bentleybrabec]

Yes it truly is

[@greggmadsen4622]

Agreed! The smell of jet fuel, the smoke and the loud distinct sounds of these birds is just awesome!! Today is just not the same!! I miss the B727's, DC-9, 8's, 10's, etc!!

[@yolsclassics6347]

I could watch this all day long

[@trains_thru_the_lens]

Same

[@mjpalafox1]

me too!

[@Iliketoboard]

I did… ;)

[@Boeing727223]

Wow dubbing is spot on! Thanks for bringing these precious gems to life. This is around the time I started falling in love with commercial aviation.

[@Ibirdball]

These jets are absolutely stunning.

[@AUA981real]

eh. 737 max is better

[@robm3074]

I could have watched this video if it was 10 times longer. This was my era. These were my Airlines and boy did it bring back a lot of memories

[@MrFlashjet]

Ohh my god! That AA Jumbo is so rare on film/video! Thank you for this post. REAL PLANES!

[@jamieburroughs427]

AA only had 12 747s in their fleet. Although the SPs were retired in the mid Nineties, the -100s and -200s left the fleet in 1985.

[@davidcole333]

In 1973 there used to be an observation deck located near the old ATC tower. Anyone could walk up there and enjoy the view. My dad used to take me out there about once a month for a couple of hours. I was mesmerized by all the jets coming and going to different corners of the world. The smell of the jet exhaust was intoxicating. I used to be gobsmacked anytime a Pan Am 747 would come in or take off. This video is literally like re-living my childhood. Thank you so much for posting.

[@danstinson7687]

Saw a couple DC-8, 707, and I think a CV 880? Its amazing to think how long we have been traveling the planet in these fantastic machines now. Aviation is such a great human achievement.

[@MarkT923]

What an amazing video. My dad used to take my brother and I to SFO to watch the planes take off when we were kids. I wish they didn't remove the viewing parking lot. From childhood until now SFO has always been this "magical" place to me. I always considered it the gateway to the Pacific Islands, because as kids we used to pick up or drop off family members that flew in from the Islands. We used to walk around SFO on the way to the gate to say goodbye to family who were flying out and I would see flights coming in and flying out to Islands all over the Pacific and other places all over the world. It's awesome to see the SuperBay Hangar back in 1973. It' still there today and it looks the same! It's an iconic structure of SFO! Thank you for sharing this video!

[@jjouney]

Your audio dubbing deserves an Oscar or something.. Superb work!

[@jamest2401]

This is one of my favorite ‘plane-spotting’ videos. A link I return to time and time again. No winglets, No ‘Airbus’! I love it! And it wouldn’t be, if not for the dubbing. I have to say man, that the dubbing on this is so unbelievably excellent, that we probably would never have known, had you not stated so. Where ever did you get the sounds? I miss the days when we went to the airport and saw these liveries, and this variety of aircraft; trijets, twinjets, quadjets. And hell!, even this variety of airlines. I was a kid in the late 70’s and through the 80’s in Southern California, so it was a little later than the era of this video, but much was still the same. Actually even better, cuz by then we had the ‘Boeing 757’, ‘Saul Bass’ liveries, and the Delta ‘Widget’ Livery; PSA’s planes were still smiling. I wish we could bring it back; roaringly loud jet engines that give you goosebumps and raise all the hair on your body! And I’ll repeat, No winglets, No ‘Airbus’. It was such a romantic time for air travel. A subscription to your channel is a must!👍🏻

[@mcdonnell220]

Funny you say that, and thanks! Most folks HATE HATE HATE the "Fake Noise', and they let me know it VERY OFTEN. In fact, I have given up audio dubbing on my silent vids...it takes 10 times as long to prepare a video, most people hate it, and skipping it means I can prepare about 10 videos for every one that has dubbed sound, in the same allotted time. However, I will NOT remove this video, so enjoy! As far as the sounds themselves, they ARE REAL jet engine sounds...I would look for a video that features the same aircraft type, "Rob" the audio, and paste it on, marry it up with the silent footage. Is the audio dubbed, yes, is it fake engines sounds, no. The other bad news, is, financing just ran out for this channel on January 29th...so if folks want more content, they will now have to make donations! Sorry!!! I was 12 in 1973, and living in Burlingame, so you can imagine what this film means to me.

[@jamest2401]

Burlingame, I see. Simi Valley for me. At least you didn’t have to deal with ‘LAX’, that airport was heinous! Naturally, we flew out of ‘Burbank’ whenever possible; while opting for ‘Ontario’ while living in Redlands, during our last few years in California. To be fair though, I’ve been in the Atlanta area (the land of ‘Delta’) for well over 20 years now, and haven’t flown out of ‘LAX’ since late 90’s (on a ‘Continental’ ‘DC-10’), so they may have made some improvements. Been to SFO several times, but never through air travel. I did a lot of driving on our quakin’ & our shakin’ freeways.😉 On another note, I wouldn’t put much stock on any of the complainers. Their are a lot of people out there that just seem to always be sitting on ready to find something they don’t like and letting everyone around them know about it. Some people like to fuss. It was bad enough in the days before internet and social media, but now that they have that certain level of anonymity which internet communications afford, there’s nothing to hold back back the floodgates of fuss, fuss, fussing.😆 I love that you put in the effort! It helps to bring history alive a little bit. Oh, and it is mind-boggling that people are so clueless as to tell you that the dubbings were fake sounds! I knew that you got them from elsewhere, but having heard them in person, albeit long ago, I had no doubt as to their authenticity. Love that unmistakable low growl of those ‘Boeing 747-100’s, and the spool-down of the ‘727’s as they come in to land. Great Stuff!

[@peterjonston5905]

what u got against airbus bro?

[@mauricioochoa4179]

You’re right. I’m about your age and there were a lot of similarities between this early 1970’s era and the early 1980’s. Still a lot of trijets and cheatlines!

[@Vektorer]

Getting access to an airport's movement area rather than poking a lens thru the fence makes for excellent footage. Grand film! Missed ya...

[@raihanfahim1953]

i. just. miss. those trijets.

[@speidi1]

If I had a nickel for every time I flew on a tri-jet, well, I'd be sitting on a lot of nickels.

[@TH3PLA1NP1L0T]

Ryan 738 I love DC-10's and MD11's

[@phily191]

I remember flying. Oversees on L1011 years ago. amazing.

[@trains_thru_the_lens]

beeney2 they use 727 as vip and cargo jets. And trident is mostly military aircraft.

[@joek5882]

You can catch glimpses of the United Air Lines maintenace building and the massive SuperBay Maintenace Hangar on the far side of the airport...both are still there and both look very much the same as in this video! WOW...an AA 747. Unreal!

[@kyoakland]

Wow

[@Petriku1]

What a WONDERFUL compilation!! Thank you!! PSA, Hughes Airwest, PanAm... not only am I also a child of the 70s, SFO was my "home airport" in those days. Seeing the PanAm 747 and the Western Airlines 720B was like stepping back into my childhood. THANK YOU FOR THIS WONDERFUL FLIGHT DOWN MEMORY LANE!!!

[@mcdonnell220]

I have HUNDREDS more, check out the channel! And Thanks!

[@h.a.c7732]

I was working at LAX during that time and many times we would take a quick "non-rev" hop to SFO for a day or so. Such wonderful times.

[@robertslydell6990]

Hughes Airwest F-27 makes it a must watch. United had a neat livery back then.

[@kingghidorahshowa8841]

Know what is even more sad Hughes Airwest Flight 706 crash dc 9 then the airline is gone

[@tedpittsinger9688]

Ya, I liked United's old livery also! It beat the livery of the mid 70's when they went orange. And even WORSE, was that battleship grey of the '90's! UGH!

[@courtlandberkley6363]

@@tedpittsinger9688BASED

[@chrisnizer1885]

That's some of best classic jetliner footage I have ever seen. It's the gold standard of classic jetliner video. Thanks again from a long-time subscriber!

[@longfade]

I could LISTEN to this all day long!! I've never heard a 737 sound as epic as that Western, and those 747s sound GOD-like.

[@fv1291]

Wow, that brought back so many memories of my childhood. I can remember the big PSA billboard advertising $25 flights from SAN to SFO. My dad took me on a one day trip from SAN to LAX on PSA which I'll never forget. Thanks for the memories!

[@sharoncassell9358]

I worked at JFK. The noise is ģreat. Texas USAF too. I love planes.

[@Ovukekat]

I kinda hope PSA still operates today

[@RobMiami787]

That's a spectacular video and a good job on the audio. What a gem it's got everything Western Airlines old and new PSA PA AA NW 747s I grew up in PHX so I saw a lot of these planes. Keep up the great work

[@jimandmandy]

How I miss Western and TWA. Great video.

[@frankdenardo8684]

Wow. All those old planes in the old livery. A lot of them have merged or gone defunct.

[@busologodelaire3514]

Espectacular registro de la era dorada de la aviación y de los jumbo jets,que hermosos se veían los 747 y DC10 de AA y ver en acción a PanAm no tiene precio. Podría durar 20hs el video y no me cansaría. Saludos desde Chile.

[@fritzd2116]

That was fantastic! My parents used to bring me to SFO to watch and occasionally fly when I was a little guy in the early seventies? Great memories!

[@bretfraz]

This is your best video yet. The audio dub is fantastic. The video quality for an amateur is excellent. And of course the stars of the video are all wonderful. Came for the PSA jets and Hughes AirWest. Was not disappointed.

[@ericneumann8509]

This is one of the good ones, nice and loud ( 727s )

[@robbalboni4179]

another great vintage compilation video of all the great airliners of the past. love the looks and sounds of these classic airplanes in their hay day! rob

[@macanshot]

Amazing to see these machines in the sky

[@krugmeister7301]

...Awesome Year 1973....The year I was Born....And have loved to respect in part with the Classic Jet-Airliners..!

[@Honest300Al]

Brings back great memories. I was a controller at SFO during this time. Amazed that they got to film that close to the runways.

[@vf84tcat1]

Al Cuevas back approximately 1972 before heightened security, I remember walking from the parking lot at Dulles airport in Washington right out to the apron and climbing on board a Pan Am 747 just to tour it. No one stopped me

[@Honest300Al]

During this time at SFO you could actually drive your car onto the tarmac. We had to send around an aircraft on final because an passenger who had just rented a car, got lost on the way to the freeway and ended up head on with an arrival on 28L.

[@brianholihan5497]

Jetliner porn, love it! I'm 60, but I feel all the excitement that I did at the age of 5 every time I see one take off.

[@paulrom446]

I've flown on a Western B-720 from ANC to HNL! Wow! Amazing classic footage!

[@vasily2022]

Wow! I thought I had died and gone to aviation heaven. I wasn't born then, but love flying and am an avid sim guy, and seeing those 727 and 737-200 was a beauty. And of course the heavies (747, 707 and MD11/DC10). Thanks for this awesome video.

[@YoungManGoneWest]

Your attention to detail with the dubbed audio is brilliant...thanks for all your hard work...very enjoyable. Even though I've never been to San Francisco...I feel as though I was there!

[@enriquevega4480]

49 years after we fly at the same speed,think you are in 1973,49 years before was 1924

[@BraddysReagent]

What are ur views we compared to those 49 yrs and our 49 yrs

[@philipduffer2669]

Fantastic collection. Thanks for sharing!

[@benstilp7354]

Those vintage liveries were so awesome

[@ChrisZoomER]

So many primitive jetliners, airlines, and airline liveries!

[@matthewmckenna3109]

1) United's best ever livery; wish they'd kept it longer. 2) How I miss those classy trijets - 727s, DC-10s - and regret their passing.

[@michaelcarlson1428]

This is awesome. I lived in a very small town where the only air service was with Pacific Airlines (later Hughes Air West) F-27's. Great nostalgia!

[@spartakspartaki6289]

My uncle in the 1970s had a bakery near ontario airport california and supplied all the airlines that flew in including Hughes Air West brings back memories of going on delivery

[@johntungyep]

There was more variety of shapes in aviation in those days... and the scream of the turbojets. So nostalgic!

[@user-cf1se1kk5x]

The roar of that Northwest Orient 747 (3:20) sent shivers down my spine.

[@eliasjlima]

Cinco minutos de muita nostalgia só clássicos.

[@greggmadsen4622]

I absolutely love this footage! The loud turbines, the smoke...incredible!! Today, it's just not the same

[@VibeXplorer]

Fantastic. It's like Just Planes airport footage, only...vintage.

[@redryder1146]

Awesome video I flew on the Hughes airwest dc9 back in the day from Las Vegas to Phoenix Thanks for the Memories

[@smaze1782]

727's in the original United livery. Very cool. Great video!! Oh and the PSA 727 & Western 737-200!!

[@boeingcat5077]

wow love old airline liveries !!!!!

[@chrisnizer1885]

I do too. Especially the old United Airlines Friend Ship livery. First time I flew on a jet was a DC-8 Super 60 series in Friend Ship livery. Loved it ever since!

[@boeingcat5077]

yeah that is a example

[@boeingcat5077]

ya :D

[@Fordman6546]

God save the save the queen of the skies. Goodbye 747 you will be missed

[@jamest2401]

I’m not sure what the 'Goodbye' is all about. The 747 is still gonna be around for a long time. After all, they are still coming off the assembly line, with 3 more years worth of production in current unfilled orders. The “PAX 747-400's” may be being put out to pasture, but the '400F's, the '8F's & the “PAX 747-8i’s” will be around for many years to come.

[@lambie4694]

Great Video The last time I flew through Denver there was a PSA 727 sitting there parked near the southwest hub

[@barefooboy17]

I grew up in San Bruno which is a city ajacent to the airport at SFO. My dad and I would park at an observation point in the car and watch these planes take off and land for hours. What wonderful memories

[@2Brento]

Great audio dub!! Thanks for sharing.

[@gasaholic47]

The venerable 727...Always a fave of mine.

[@justthefacts8916]

Awesome! My favorites, and oh how well I remember them: Hughes Airwest, PSA 727 and 737. The TWA 707, American 747 and the Delta DC-8. Great memories.

[@TheWaterbug101]

I remember the old 727s well. My first flight was on a United 727 from Pittsburgh to New Orleans in 1974. There were over fifteen hundred 727 tri jets built over the years.

[@mswsjsu]

Awesome video!! So sad to see many of those great airlines gone.

[@ahoog69]

Wow, all of the now-defunct airlines (an older cousin was a flight attendant for PSA), as well as all of the wide-body tri-jets! So neat!

[@markroberts4048]

Livery of all lot of airlines noblonger with us.

[@jagga10]

Damn...!!!! This is one hell of a footage brought loads of memories back

[@mevlijakaric3825]

RIP 727

[@one42chrisp]

That was wonderful!

[@Sandsculptor]

In 1969-70 I was in Army aviation working at Crissy Air Field at the old Presidio Army base. When my daughter was born in 1970, the in-laws fly in from Pennsylvania on a stretch DC8. They stayed with us for 3 weeks and fly home on a Boeing 707. We used to fly our Hueys around the Bay, and when we got close to SFO we had to get clearance to fly through their airspace.

[@davidkellymitchell4747]

That's a plane watcher's delight! Nice video of the good old days.

[@ijheller]

I wonder if the Pan Am 747-100 at 1:36-1:55 is Clipper Maid of the Seas (at that point it was called Clipper Morning Light), or Clipper Victor.

[@sanddabz5635]

Very 1st Airline flight; United DC-8, San Diego to Honolulu ~ Summer 1969!!

[@paulrom446]

Those good old Clamshell Reversers! The 3 Holer was/is an amazing Aircraft!!!!!

[@concorde2003]

Great job on the audio!

[@TXnine7nine]

Been awhile since your last upload. Glad to have more videos.

[@seeburg220]

Great aircraft, airlines and livery. All of that missing today.

[@KattyKoo-g5n]

Flying was SO fun back then. I was 3 when this was filmed.

[@Sovereign_Citizen_LEO]

My first flight: United Airlines from SFO to ORD on a DC-10, 1974.

That same dc 10 is probably still flying for fedex

[@stevehofmaster7489]

Loved all these cool airplanes,I miss them!

[@sanddabz5635]

Kinda sad, 727, 707, DC-8 & DC-10 all gone, and soon the 747. It was pretty cool seeing PSA, Hughs Airwest, Northwest Orient & Western, I flew on them all at some point.

[@sanddabz5635]

beeney2, Yes, I do remember Braniff~~ I know KLM had a few orange aircraft along with the standard blue and EasyJet fly's orange A318. A319, A320 & A321's Can't think of any other airlines though.

[@davidcole333]

I flew on PSA and Northwest Orient. I agree that its sad that these marvelous aircraft are all nearly gone.

[@DriverElectroLight]

You still have the 747-8, but thats nothing compared to these airplanes.

[@bboomer1948]

@beeney2 myself, back in '69, on an orange Braniff 720B . A GI packed flight heading to South Vietnam.

[@BeechSportBill]

My dad and I landed there one afternoon in 1977 in a Cardinal RG. BAD IDEA....

[@BeechSportBill]

1977

[@teenagerinsac]

No, they weren't rolling out a red carpet for GA at these airports even then :) GET OUTTA THE WAY, YOU DOPE! Go land that puddle jumper at Half moon Bay!

[@captaincrunch8523]

Revives great memories of a time when working at SFO for UAL

[@10dg31]

Those sights and sounds remind me of growing up in Millbrae next to SFO.

[@gregoryquint7653]

Wow. Seeing all these airlines and knowing what is coming to so many and their demise.

[@kyotokid4]

...nice dubbing as well.

[@renorailfanning5465]

Northwest Orient...My hometown airline as a kid.

[@stalag14]

I lived close to the airport in Sydney NS Canada as a kid. It was dc9's and 737's every hour on the hour. The old 737's were extremely noisy, especially if they were on approach during a storm. Whenever our house shook I always ran to the window facing the airport for a thrill.

[@natezemanek]

UTTER PERFECTION !!

[@benclose9616]

Amazing 👌

[@cherifbar]

magnificent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@timrobinson3562]

Thank you sir! May I have another, please!

[@haroldlipschitz9301]

What a vantage point! Must have been great to park out there by the 28L holding pen (where this seems to be from). Any idea of the original source? Airport employee or construction crew?

[@dtabarez04]

I remember as a kid running out my parents home to see and hear PSA 727 jets fly right over my house to land at Stockton, ca. Airport. They were loud

[@1968SMM]

I remember flying in the late 70’s and early 80’s as a young child . I was get so pissed because we always got stuck on a 727-200 or DC-9 Super 80. Lucked out a few times with Eastern Airline’s L1011 Whisperliner and the their new Airbus A300. First 747 was not until 2004 when we flew to Schipol Airport in Amsterdam. Had a MD-11 outbound and 747-400 return. MD-11 was way more comfortable. KLM Airlines. I also flew one of the first 777-200’s in 1996 when We flew from JFK to SFO.

[@memegod4433]

I bet you'd love to go back on a dc9 or a 727 now! I really wish I could've flown on the KLM md11

[@strafrag1]

Fabulous. Great memories of plane spotting although mine were at JFK.

[@B1970T]

Totally awesome!

[@nipafilms236]

those classic 747s have very nice engine roar

[@rhanemann9100]

I occasionally watch "Bullitt" and just fast forward to the SFO chase scene.

[@wotan10950]

I have some old footage from the early-70s that I transferred to digital (DC-8s, 747-100s). The quality isn’t good, though.

[@mcdonnell220]

Thanks for chiming in here...if there is anything salvagable from your footage, could I obtain permission to upload some it? I would provide full credit to you in the video stats, plus put a link of your choice in as well. There's a slim chance I would be able to improve the film quality slightly, anyway. If this is possible, please feel free to drop me a line at the following address, and we can discuss it further: [e-mail]. Thanks!

[@FrankMuenker]

Awesome!

[@gcrauwels941]

How I love the old 'iron' .

[@abe2571]

Man those early 747's sound monstrous.

[@lrg3834]

Beats the 2021 airport scene--anywhere--hands down!

[@wrightmf]

Interesting to see airlines I remember i.e. Hughes Airwest. I'm thinking this is film camera so the guy that took these "videos" has to wait a few days to see how well he got the shot.

[@70MarYa]

2:25 thats I think a very rare shot of a American Airlines B747-100, those things weren't in use long right?

[@jamieburroughs427]

Until 1985 (for the -100 and -200s, until 1992 (only 2 of them) for the SPs. American 747s weren’t filled to capacity (I believe was the reason) which resulted in their early retirement.

[@cchris874]

Another great dub job as usual. You know your sounds! (Just one curiosity; the 2 707 take offs didn't seem to have the classic 707 scream, no??)

[@Fadhiil5112]

So many 727s Love em