Images from the JFK Pan Am Terminal

[CX777]

Heres couple more...

Jumbo time!.... Simultaneous pushbacks of JL & KE while PanAm 742 seems to be lucky enough to get 22 RIGHT as the afternoon European rush has not begun yet!
PS:LH400 has already deplaned and parked at hard stand.



Any movement by Concorde was show stopping on the field.... the machine had that a "cut above others" aura. Must be amazing to be that guy on pushback to hear the RR Olympus start.



Raj

[727C47]

LOVE IT !!! LOVE JFK !!! still the best spotting extant, LAX a close second, MIA 3rd in CONUS.

[benji]

wow I really like your old skool Pan Am photographs. Does anyone watch Mad Men? Pan Am is featured as a client on the 60s advertising services.

[megatop412]

Wow, I thought I was going way back in time when I started the "JFK Time Machine" thread last year- this goes even further back, I love it.

I remember so many of these aircraft approaching 31R and L while I was in school at PS#1 in Lawrence(which has since been torn down)

[viapanam]

I do have to disagree about the comments inside the Pan Am Terminal. I spent quite a few good times in there. I fondly remember the night I was there for the 747 inaugural. It was a long night. The Worldport was a first class terminal for its time, and before the days of security, driving up to your gate for check-in was a novelty, as was dedicated customs clearance. Pan Am was never flashy - it always tended towards drab colors, and the Worldport used quite a bit of beige and tan - but it was a fine terminal in its time. It simply hasn't aged well. And yes, the rooftop was spectacular. I used to spot for registration numbers, and took a few pictures, but I just loved to watch the parade of international aircraft. As someone else said - JFK was - and remains - amazing. Flying into there tomorrow from RDU.

[JHNA57]

Awesome stuff gentlemen .... when in HS, I use to visit the Pan Am roof top as well right after my last class, and would do homework in the food court. It was nice seeing those Pan Am 747 up close at the gates.

I used to sit up there for hours with a scanner watching the comings and goings. Never wanted to leave because you just wanted to see what the next arrival was going to be.
Being eye-level with the 747's and watching them flip switches and prepare for departures was an awesome and always got my imagination going. Even today, it boggles the mind of of how in a matter of hours, they and that beautiful aircraft would be in another continent.

[AJ]

Everytime I get hit in the face with jet engine exhaust, the smell brings me back to those hot, hummid summer JFK days.

AJ

[Derf]

Here is a video my dad took from the roof (LINKY)

There are LOTS MORE HERE....(LINKY)

[AJ]

Wow, great videos. Almost every aircraft rotated and stayed on the runway for several seconds, when do we see that now?

Very cool!

Thanks,

AJ

[727C47]

watch us take off ,K4, Classics rule

[MORS-AB-ALTO]

Oh those Whisperliners and DC-10's!

[Speedbird1]

The Rooftop was the best place to spot back in the day. Nobody questioned spotters and you could stay all day. There were amenities just a few steps away. We got views of the entire airport so runway changes didn't matter. No worry about getting attacked by bugs or no nearby restrooms. The deck with the turnstile was at the old IAB and it cost a dime to enter but had a very limited view of aircraft, mostly Lufthansa. The only problem at the Rooftop was the sun was on the other side of the departing aircraft from 31L so we never got vibrant colors but otherwise we had a "blast". Too bad the old terminal could not be modernized rather than demolished. The new terminals have no personality and look too similar. Sadly, after the Lockerbie terrorist attack on PanAm 103, the Rooftop got barbed-wire fences so it was nearly impossible to take photos unless sticking the lens between the fences!

[disco stu]

I remember a viewing platform I had to go through a turnstile to get to, this must be the one...wish I would have had a camera

great shots guys, that is a sick amount of old metal

The viewing area you're thinking of was located in the old international arrivals terminal which was torn down years ago to make way for T4. As a child, I used to go up there when I was with my family picking up/dropping off family. It was cool, but you weren't able to get as good of a panaramic view of the field as you could get from the rooftop parking at the Worldport.

[megatop412]

thanks Speedbird and Disco Stu, yep that was the spot. I do remember the view was somewhat limited, I think you had a clear view of a single apron but I would love to have it again in a heartbeat. Port Authority are you listening

[Ari707]

Still remember spending many days up there,in the late 80's with my Nikon F-3 and a fully manual 450mm to reach the landings on 31R I still have many pics of Pan Am 747's, 727's and airbuses. TWA, Viasa and Mexican were always favorites too