Prestwick Airport, 1960s Old Cine Film

[@RichardCrutchfield-fc1ub]

My dad was stationed at Prestwick in the late in late 50s early 60s. Loved my time there as a child

[@iain8837]

Cracking video, my Dad would have been 20 yo at the time, living in the Biggar area. He loved aviation and passed it on to me when I was a wee lad, he passed away 3 years ago at 81.

[@francoisruze9443]

I often land at Prestwick field when I was an Air France pilot flying B 747 cargo . The Fly plan was between Los Angeles And Charles De Gaulle via Guadalajara or Huston . At this time I’m retired and those pictures make me think of my wonderfull pilot life .

[@johnstewart5363]

Great to hear it was a wonderful life😀

[@yogeshsh2575]

Wonderful ! Thank you for this Time Machine

[@timsedmunds]

BOAC SUPER VC10 arrival at the beginning, I flew on this exact bird from Heathrow to Nairobi in c1966.

[@seansparks2803]

The "exact bird" as in the exact aircraft in the footage or the "exact bird" as in the same aircraft as in the footage? 😳 BOAC had 16 Vickers Super VC10s in their fleet by the time of the full merger with BEA in 1974. The chances of the VC10 in the footage being the "exact bird" that you flew on is rather misleading if you can't identify the registration so as to confirm. Or did you mean I have flown on a BOAC Vickers Super VC10, the exact same type of bird seen in the footage 🤔 I had to be pedantic I couldn't help myself.

[@RobertMiller-ye9hm]

My memories of Prestwick is up in the viewing lounge watching the planes with my Dad and young brothers . I remember the German Starfighters parked up . Oh please bring them days back to me

[@johnstewart5363]

I remember the starfighters f104s great days😀

[@RobertMiller-ye9hm]

@@johnstewart5363 absolutely yes .. love your channel you got new sub thanks

[@johnstewart5363]

@@RobertMiller-ye9hm when I’ve got the time I’ll post more😀

[@RobertMiller-ye9hm]

@@johnstewart5363 fantastic cheers again

[@scotiajinker8392]

I remember the UASAF desk being right at the end of the check in desks.

[@johnstewart5363]

I remember that too! Great days😀

[@scotiajinker8392]

@@johnstewart5363 do you remember the bank of black & white tvs that you had to pay to watch? They were at the bottom of the stairs just before international arrivals.

[@sbags4808]

Not pictured in this video, but I flew into Prestwick on a Wardair DC6 in summer 1964 from Edmonton, Canada via Sonde Strom, Greenland. I think it was some 15 hrs flying time or thereabouts. Exciting times for a 9 year old.

[@timsedmunds]

Also British Caledonian Boeing 707 which is another with whom I flew many times. There are several 707's and also at least one DC8 and some Tridents parked up too.

[@melvyncox3361]

Caledonian,Capitol,Pan American,Trans Carib,BEA,BOAC,to name but a few.Also DC-8 (my favourite aircraft),VC10 (another beauty),BAC 111,B707, Vanguard,C141,Sea King,Trident.Any more?Nice clip!

[@rudderboost4188]

0:40 BEA Vanguard with the self contained "airstairs", looks like Renfrew not PIK. 2:20 USAF MAC C-141 short wheel base, in background looks like a Laker 707? 3:27 Mk2 Seaking, before the ice deflector-- of 819NAS, probably the 70s with Mk1 Tridents and Vanguards awaiting disposal. BOAC used PIK for pilot training VC10 and 707, they crashed a 707 in late 70s I think? I flew out in Pan Am 707 to Kennedy in 69 and used PIK (because it was cheap) in 90s for pilot training on RAF AWACs. Flew Bulldogs, Jetstreams and Seakings from PIK, nice place great wx factor.

[@johnstewart5363]

Hello there, yes think your right about Renfrew! You’ve certainly gave a detailed account of the clip👍

[@se7enmax]

If your still around John, thanks for that. For those back in the day we used to have small books with descriptions of Soviet jets and bombers with silhouettes. My English teacher ran an aviation club in the late afternoon and we would walk round our desks, lift the lid and say what each silhouette was . Its hard to believe 58 years later that we have to face the same challenge in Europe again. My best day at Prestwick was seeing a Pan Am 707 beside a SeaWorld DC 8 on the apron. The guy's had there side cockpit windows open as it was summertime. For me as a kid these guys were rock stars and I thought I would never see America in my lifetime. Well I finally got there at Easter of 2011 and we went to the Towers and other places. Fate is an unknown factor in our lives.

[@johnstewart5363]

Yes I’m still around! Getting older by the day! Great days back then, loved the pan-am 707s never seen the dc 8, remember the cp air DC10s and 8s! Great days❤️

[@slimpilgrim1981]

It's so mad, as that 1-11 (G-ATPK), is the same aircraft that I flew on back in 89, from Manchester to Monastir. It was operated through Dan-air then...but still...amazing to see it in the 60s here.

[@colinblane8404]

Laker 707, Trans Caribbean DC-8, Overseas National DC-8, Capitol DC-8!

[@Shamrock100]

Pan Am 707 ans possibly a DC-8 earlier in the sequence, plus a Caledonian 707. The lineup of retired Vanguards and Tridents seen later in the clip dates from the mid-1970s.

[@ianfraser8347]

My first ever flight was in a BAC 1-11 . We had rearwards facing seats at the front of the aircraft and could see the expressions of all the other passengers. As they could see ours..

[@rogerglynan8806]

I worked there for BA in 1970 and we had a daily Super VC10 service to JFK with feeder services with either a Viscount or Herald from both EDI and BFS. Had several European diversions when weather there precluded landings of trans Atlantic flights. Including Pan Am, TWA and Northwest etc. Prestwick always remained open protected from storms by the Aisle of Arran.

[@robinchalmers4325]

I was working there between 1969 and 1973 so it’s interesting to see this footage. Of course in the period I was there the north American traffic significantly decreased although summer traffic was reasonable. But winter schedules were very small - a few scheduled Air Canada and BOAC flights plus of course ad hoc US Military Airlift Command flights carrying families going to the submarine base at the Holy Loch - they always arrived in the middle of the night. I recall that BOAC also had a Viscount service to ?Belfast for connecting passengers at one time. I also was fortunate to go on board Concorde when it was using Prestwick for trials (it was just a shell inside). I’ve travelled through Prestwick in more recent times and it’s a shame that it can’t attract more custom. R

[@johnstewart5363]

I loved prestwick back then, you were lucky to have worked there 😀

[@charlesscott1512]

They also had a Viscount connection to Aberdeen via Edinburgh

[@graemepark5046]

Suspect the shots of passengers getting on and off the BEA Vanguard and the (British Eagle) 1-11 are actually at Glasgow Abbotsinch (or maybe even Renfrew in the case of the Vanguard)!

[@scottbowman4774]

Great Airport even today. I used to work for Northwest Airlines, they used to fuel up parked overnight B 747 to stop the wind from causing damage to a/c .

[@williamlorimer060867]

My Mother was a air traffic controller there in the 60s

[@RichardCrutchfield-fc1ub]

@@williamlorimer060867 Was your mother in the military while at Prestwick?

[@jimmcintosh9045]

My dad was an electrician, my sister and husband worked in teleprinters and I worked in the Met Office 68-75. Interesting times for the airport but no railway station then.

[@johnstewart5363]

@@jimmcintosh9045 it was as a great place😀

[@williamkinkopf7125]

RN SEA KINGS , VICKERS VC10,DC8.707.720,TRIDENT1 VICKERS VANGUARD, BAC 111

[@EricIrl]

Interesting stuff - especially the USAF C-141A Starlifter. I would guess this dates from aorund 1968-70 as there seemed to be a mix of BEA aircraft in the old Red Square colours and the later Speed Jack colours. The Speed Jack scheme was introduced in 1968 but took a few years to appear on the whole BEA fleet.

[@JohnMoore-xf5wy]

British Airways, BEA.❤