Pan Am Worldport (Image Heavy)

[torch]

With the rapid dismantling of the iconic Pan Am Worldport at JFK, I thought it was an appropriate time to share a few images from the rooftop of the building in it's heyday. A great vantage point for all of the action:

Air Afrique DC8 used to arrive very early morning and sit here until after sunset before departing back to Abidjan in the Ivory Coast - check out the tails at the IAB
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TWA 707 taxiing back to the company's terminal following a 31L arrival
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Had to love all of the Pan Am action at the Worldport
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Hope you enjoy - I sure miss this vantage point

[megatop412]

OMG i just ruined my pants

BAM! Perfect thread for here! Thank you Mr. Torch!

[cancidas]

awesome set! keep 'em coming! love that SP...

[MSN007]

If this was mine everything will be framed and hanged on my wall of aviation. Great stuff.

[lijk604]

Damn! Excellent post. Thanks for the reminiscence. Love the UAL DC-8.

[backlash]

Wow! Montana Austria! Never heard about this Airline! Great Stuf!!

[AA757]

Fantastic set of history right there, thanks for sharing..


Rich B

[Landing Lights]

Simply stunning. Great work!

[Zee71]

Wow....what a collection! During my college days while working at JFK for Allied Aviation, I probably handled some of those aircraft in those photos. Thanks for sharing.

[cowens727]

Thank you for these! Brings back a lot of good memories watching these birds on final for the 31's when I was a youngin' in Long Beach.

[Ychocky]

Great googly moogly.

Amazing.

What was the kit to take these?

[DHG750R]

great set of pictures, brings back memories of my days at Piedmont and USAir at JFK during the mid 80's/early 90's

[CX777]

These are gems.... Even better fun is checking out the background awesomeness :biggrin:!!!!
PK DC10, RG743, and my fav SR 742 classic :biggrin:

[Smoketrails]

Girlfriend out, check! Smart tv and connected, check! Cold glass of top class Dutch beer, check! And last but not least, a large roll of toilet paper, CHECK!

[Aviation.High.Guy]

Awesome stuff Trevor. I remember those birds clear as day. Although, that Braniff is unfamiliar. I know the livery, but not the Black/Green variant. Thanks for sharing!

[Idlewild]

Brings a tear to my to see that beautiful TransAmerica 742 parked way back there. One pic I always wanted to get, but never got around to, was to get an open shutter night shot on Kodachrome 25 ASA/ISO Color Film for Slide, night-shot of an Air Afrique DC-10-30 or a Trans America DC-10-30, parked and lit up during the night.

[Speedbird1]

I agree. A perfect time to reminisce about the great times we "old timers" had up on that roof. It was the best spotting location because you could get to see everything. After PAA 103 Lockerbie attack, it got closed then wired-off. All great memories. Love that Braniff, the Jellybean Airline, each aircraft in a different color. What memories and thanks for taking the time to share them!

[727C47]

the Golden age

[gonzalu]

Not only is the content rare and lovely, the quality is superb!!

[Bricktop]

Stunning, and it brings a tear to my eye seeing some of those old birds. Thank you so much for sharing!

[JHNA57]

I agree. A perfect time to reminisce about the great times we "old timers" had up on that roof. It was the best spotting location because you could get to see everything. After PAA 103 Lockerbie attack, it got closed then wired-off. All great memories.

-Clear, unlimited views of arrivals and departures on all runways (except 13L)
-Anything heavy and unusual taxiing to or from the IAB had to pass right in front of you on the inner or outer taxiway.
-Pan Am 747's parked nose in so close you could almost reach out and touch them.
-Bathrooms and snacks were a mere elevator ride down into the terminal.
-Real aircraft liveries (no Euro-white billboard schemes), on four engined jets spewing black smoke. ("I love the smell of aircraft exhaust early in the morning"
-No CRJ's or ERJ's, the smallest jets were probably the Empire Fokkers.
-Twin-Otters and Dash-7's sneaking in to land on Rwy 32
-Hours of hassle free spotting, broken up with a walk from the rooftop all the way through the Pan Am Terminal to the IAB and on to the TWA terminal, visiting gates and collecting printed schedules along the way.
-Not wanting to leave, even at sunset because you just wanted to see what was next in that long line of landing-lights heading into 31L.
-Don't even get me started on the Concorde 31L or 13R departures!

All this for maybe a 4 or 6 dollar parking fee.

Truly a spotters "little corner of heaven"

[Delta777LR]

Stunning shots Trevor!! I really love the Pan Am SP shot as well as the DL Tristar, TWA Boeing 707 and the UA DC-8! Im glad when I was a kid I had a chance to see some of those in person. I wish it was like that still today. The planes I can never get tired of seeing if there were many left is the 707, DC-8s, 727s and L-1011s

[airaos]

Got stuck in JFK for 3 days and this was my passage home leaving without me again. At the time if my memory serves me correctly this photo was taken (un hindered by the Police) from top of a car park!
Biggest regret was those days I was more into number crunching than photos http://www.flickr.com/photos/plane_spotting_freak/4532270594/in/set-72157623883659430