Saturday, August 28, 2021

Airplanes

Everybody loves vintage airplanes! Well, everybody who is cool, anyway. Are you cool?

This first photo scan (undated) shows what appears to be a family standing on the tarmac of "Hillcrest Aircraft Co.", in Lewiston, Idaho. They are still in business! I could not even hazard a guess as to what kind of airplane. Maybe a Beechcraft of some sort? Please chime in, propeller heads! 


According to their websiteHillcrest Aircraft Company was formed by Jerry Wilson in 1956 and has been providing specialty aviation services to its customers for more than 60 years. At its beginning, Hillcrest owned and operated four Stearman bi-wing aircraft for crop dusting. In the late 50s, Hillcrest expanded its operations to include firefighting, using World War II aircraft that included six B-25s, five B-26s, six Grumman TBMs and one B-24.


The website continues: In 1960, Hillcrest became a Cessna dealer and an FAA Repair Station. Hillcrest sold Cessna airplanes and used them for charter and flight instruction. In   addition, Hillcrest also started an outside maintenance facility for light fixed-wing aircraft. In 1961, the company sold the most single engine Cessna aircraft in   the entire U.S.—“Top Gun in 61.” Hillcrest purchased its first Bell helicopter, which was used to spray farm fields and perform firefighting operations, that same year. By the end of the 1960s, the company owned 10 Bell model 47s.  NOW YOU KNOW.
 

This next photo features a Lockheed Constellation ("Connie"), beloved by many. Wikipedia says that the Constellation was a propeller-driven, four-engine airliner built by Lockheed Corporation starting in 1943. The Constellation series was the first pressurized-cabin civil airliner series to go into widespread use. Its pressurized cabin enabled commercial passengers to fly well above most bad weather for the first time, thus significantly improving the general safety and ease of air travel. Plus, it's just a cool-looking aircraft, with its triple tail. Notice that this is a "Super G" version, introduced in 1954.  

The 1049G "Super G" was the most successful version of the Super Constellations and one of the last great piston-engine airliners. For long range operations, the Super G could be fitted with extra wingtip tanks, increasing the fuel capacity by two-thirds more than the original Connie models.


21 comments:

Nanook said...

Major-
Chevron; Mobiloil; and Phillips 66 - Hillcrest certainly didn't play favorites. That final shot is a beauty.

Thanks, Major.

"Lou and Sue" said...

Major, I chuckled at your use of "propeller heads" - but now see (after googling) that it IS a legitimate term - a/k/a "prop heads." I learn something new here everyday! I'll try to use that phrase five times today, in context.

Side note (I know, Major, I owe you another $20):
For all of you Disneyland-dented-turret fans, you HAVE TO SEE TokyoMagic's post from yesterday, 8/27 - CLICK HERE!. Not only is it a FUN post, but Little TM! captured the dented turret, back in 1976, in a snapshot. And, Jr. Gorilla Andrew commented and attached a link to the BEST shot of the dented turret yet - a close-up!

Thanks, Major Prop Head! I'm looking forward to reading everyone's comments, later today.

Anonymous said...

Cool photos today, Major! Count me in the pro-propellerhead camp. :)

While not my all-time favorite aircraft (the B-17 takes the top of the totem-pole for me), the Connie has to be close. What a gorgeous shot of the TWA (R.I.P.) Connie in resplendent white with elegant red trim! The flawless blue sky and inviting stairway makes me want to hop aboard *wherever* this lovely lady might be heading off to!

The first photo gave be a bit of a chuckle. If the young man at the right were holding a phone and not looking into the viewer of a likely medium format camera (Hasselblad??), you *might* mistake him for a modern dis-interested teen busy checking their social network posts (#airport, #waiting, #canwejustgoplease).

Joking aside, I'm curious what *he* might have been taking a picture of. My Dad used a Hasselblad on occasion for his work and I remember getting to play around with his company issued camera (with supervision) in my early teens. I never got into nor good enough as an enthusiastic amateur to justify even considering a Hasselblad, but I was able to respect it and medium-format photography enough to know *what* it was and could do in the hands of a skilled photographer.

Thanks, as always, for the photos. Today's are great, as always.

-AlbinoDragon

TokyoMagic! said...

Aren't the people in that first pic, standing a little too close to the propeller? Couldn't someone inside the airplane accidentally touch or lean against the "Propellers On" button?

That second pic reminded me of the TWA jingle, "You're going to like us....TWA!" I'm not sure why, since that jingle didn't come along for another couple decades and the airplanes looked different by then.

Sue, thank you for the shout-out!

Chuck said...

I think that’s a Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar in the first photo, although it might be a Model 14 Super Electra; hard to tell from this angle. The 18 was essentially a stretched 14, allowing it to carry 4 more passengers (the model number refers to the number of passengers it can carry).

Thanks, Major!

Anonymous said...

Fun fact! TWA flew Connies and the nose gear was the inspiration for a certain TWA sponsored Moonliner...

JG said...

I do love old planes, but have never been accused of being cool.

Great research today, Major. Any idea of the occasion for the first photo? Everyone is all dolled up for their photo.

I knew Chuck would be in with the ID.

Sue, thanks for the dent tips, heading there next.

Tokyo, the young man in the suit has the ignition key in his pocket, engines won’t start without the key, just like a car.

JG

Chuck said...

Stu, that Moonliner in Kansas City is inspiringly beautiful, a testament to the aesthetic of all that’s wonderful about mid-century design. Just think what impact it might have had on the national imagination if they’d only thought to build another one somewhere else.

Anonymous said...

I’m now fascinated by this dent! Thanks Sue and TM for pointing out another view. Pretty planes too. I love the black and white shot! That typeface! *Heart eyes*

Celeste

"Lou and Sue" said...

Me too, Celeste! Before this week, I never noticed it...and it’s been there all these years.

Bu said...

I don't know anything about planes....but that TWA one is super cool! I remember the day with Stewardesses changing into lounging pajamas to serve cocktails...a carving cart with prime rib...lovely white gloves, high heels...and passengers not behaving like animals. No wonder they have to strap them to their seats with duct tape! Sometimes when flying you do get very old school flight attendants from a different era...which is awesome...they try to make flying just a little bit more glamourous that it actually is. I want to go back to the time of Pan Am sleeper flights, leaving off the Pan Am building in a helicopter to JFK...how civilized would that be?

Irene said...

My first flight was also my first legit (because I was now working and I could pay for it and it was my vacation time off) vacation. My mom and I took a trip through AAA to Hawaii and it was on Pam Am. What an experience - when flying was part of your vacation experience. Also the first time I ate (remember eating good, prepared meals on planes?) Teriyaki Steak! Steak on an airplane!!! And I have never had a Teriyaki Steak since then that was as good as that one. This would have been October of 1967 or 1968.

JG said...

Irene, my first flight was about that time, to Washington DC on Pan Am, and I definitely remember good food on flights.

Hawaiian Air food isn’t bad, but they are an exception now.

JG

Anonymous said...

True...maybe even make it a little bigger!

Chuck said...

Yes, Stu - that’s it! Bigger - and maybe put it in some sort of plaza at the end of a street, a visual “weenie” to draw people to it. Man, that would have been something to see. Why didn’t people think of cool stuff like this back in the day?

MIKE COZART said...

A fun thing some friends and I do now and then in Los Angeles is the PAN AM EXPERIENCE: it’s a themed dinner served aboard a rare vintage 747 jumbo jet lounge interior . The complex is comprised of a few period place interiors used for hollywood filming. You book your diner “flights” in advanced as seating is limited . The “flights” are themed like a 1971 flight to Hawaii ..... 1969 LA to New York etc. so all your menus and Food service is recreated from that period flight. The music selection is also correct for that flight service. Cocktails are served by correctly dressed stewardesses and the captain and the crew parade up the aisle before the flight. Magazines and snacks are all themed to the period of the “flight” you have booked. The food is replicated from the first class Pan Am menus and served authentically. There is also a airline stewardess fashion show. It really is so much fun. Many guests ( passengers) also dress in period clothing for the experience but it isn’t necessary. The cost Varys for each flight depending of your seating ..... first close lounge is the most popular but also the most expensive. Your seating will be in a a real restored vintage 747 interior. Even the boarding Concourse Muzak is correct for the period.

Booking is done in limited offering throughout the year ... much like a small play. Also the offerings are done around filming and shooting schedules so there isn’t a traditional set schedule. Sign up for emails on “flight” offerings. PAN AM EXPERIENCE.


JG said...

Some of my favorite playlists are music from 1960’s airline soundtracks, the music from your seat headphones. I have several.

That event sounds amazing, Mike.

JG

Major Pepperidge said...

Nanook, the airplane fuel business is almost as nasty as the beauty pageant circuit!

Lou and Sue, I only wish I’d made up “propeller heads” myself, I’d be rich and famous and friends with Scarlet Johannson. I will look at TokyoMagic’s post in a bit… so much to do today.

AlbinoDragon, what is it about the B-17 that you like so much? My brother was a fan o WWII aircraft, I think he liked the P-38 Lightning, and definitely the Corsair. I guess I shouldn’t speak for him though. I do love the way those Connies look, the description that I read is “porpoise shaped” and that is accurate. Seeing a teen avidly taking a photo shows how excited he is, which is always nice to observe. Not just looking at Instagram or Twitter. Or TikTok! I would assume he was taking a photo of another plane, but we can only guess.

TokyoMagic!, it’s good luck to stand close to a propeller, especially when it is spinning at thousands of rpms. Gosh, I don’t remember that TWA jingle, was that in our lifetimes??

Chuck, thank you for the ID (or educated guess?) of the Lockheed Model 18 Lodestar. I’ll do some Googlin’ when I’m done commenting on the comments.

Stu29573, I knew that TWA was the sponsor for the Moonliner, but did not know that there was any design connection between Connies and the rocket!

JG, I only wish I had more great photos of old aircraft and old airports. I mean, I do have some more, but not many more. Can’t you start a propeller plane by spinning the prop? Like in the movies?

Chuck, I loved that there is that other Moonliner in Kansas, it makes me wish I had my own scale (or full-size?) version. I’d have the steam coming out of it like when it had the Douglas livery

Major Pepperidge said...

Celeste, it’s the most popular dent ever! Who knew? I like that you appreciate the lettering on that old hangar.

Lou and Sue, until a few days ago, I guess I never really knew about the dent. Granted, it IS subtle.

Bu, jeez, I sure don’t remember stewardesses (flight attendants?) changing into lounging pajamas. I recently saw a vintage photo of passengers on a new 747, and there is SO MUCH room for the passengers. Those were the days. I have a friend who is a flight attendant on Jet Blue, she said that it is a surprisingly grueling job. She caters to the “mint” passengers, meaning the wealthy and sometimes famous.

Irene, I wish I could remember my first flight, but I was too little. It was probably to fly from wherever my Navy family lived back to California to visit my Encino grandparents. I loved getting a window seat and looking out at the landscape and the clouds. Even today it amazes me that people are so bored that they don’t even glance outside. Especially during takeoffs and landings! I don’t remember ever having a truly good meal on an airplane, but I do believe you when you said your teriyaki steak was good!

JG, is it dumb that I always looked forward to ordering a ginger ale? For some reason I only had that drink on airplanes.

Stu29573, I want to see a full-size, 300 foot-tall Moonliner. Now THAT would be amazing.

Chuck, people thought of that stuff, but got the giggles when they said the word “weenie”.

Mike Cozart, wow, I’ve never heard of the Pan Am Experience. It sounds pretty neat! I’d love it if they could put big LED screens alongside the plane to simulate the view from 35,000 feet up. Or they could put the plane on a gimbal so that they could simulate light turbulence and make the participants air sick. SO REAL! I’m going to have to look that Pan Am Experience up to look for photos and maybe some “trip reports” from “passengers”. I love the attention to detail that you mentioned. Fun!

JG, ah, those old, not great headphones that they’d give you (or that you had to pay a few bucks for)! But music helps pass that time I guess.

JG said...

Major, ginger ale is my go-to in-flight drink. Which is odd because I rarely drink it any other time. Hawaiian has a very nice bottled Mai-tai that helps me doze.

I put on a eye mask & listen to iPod music, and poof, you’re there.

Hawaiian is the closest modern experience to the 60’s-70’s travel that I remember. Virgin is pretty good too, or used to be. We had a great trip on Norwegian in 2019, highly recommended.

The rest are cattle transport.

JG

Chuck said...

I vividly recall the old headphones you could rent on an airplane. Now that I think about it, they were largely based on stethoscopes. There were rubber cups that went into your ears, and two rubber tubes that went down into an open-ended plastic connector that plugged into a receptacle in the armrest. Inside the armrest, behind the receptive, was a small speaker, and sound traveled up the tubes to your ears, just like a stethoscope. Maybe there were two small speakers for stereo sound, although I doubt it based on the size of the armrest. You had a volume adjustment and a clicking channel selector to select which program you wanted to listen to. The headsets were collected after each flight and supposedly cleaned and repackaged.

I can remember being a little kid, kneeling on the deck in front of my seat and playing with a toy or coloring or something on my seat and hearing faint music. I did a little investigating and that’s when I discovered that the music was coming from two small holes in the armrest. And then it all made sense. Weird the things you remember.