1st Pan American 747 into YSSY

[Cliff Cook]

As I am not sure, that today is the 40th Anniversary of the 1st operated 747-200 aircraft in YSSY (Sydney Airport) by Pan American. Would anyone that is it correct or not?

From Barry Cook

[Peter Agatsiotis]

You are correct Cliff; I did read about it but can't remember the actual a/c.

[Sarah C]

N741PA is the aircraft, from the photo below:

http://www.airliners.net/photo/Pan-A...5c9256b53f3a60

[Peter Agatsiotis]

The first a/c was N734PA which was delayed and arrived at night so no photos that I am aware of.
N741PA (as per the photo) was the first 'daylight' arrival which must have been the next day or later (not sure of the original schedule as I was still in the UK).

[Steve Crook]

Thanks for those posts guys. Just a bit of trivia (if my memory serves me correctly), the hill on which the people are standing was called 'Pope's Hill'. I remember standing on it when the first Concorde prototype to fly to Sydney flew in. They then opened the tarmac adjacent to the terminal to be able to walk around the aircraft - exciting stuff.

[Kim F]

I was interested to read on the linked page - Sydney's new International Airport ! Was that when the current terminal was built ?

[Noel White]

The first PanAm B747 arrived at Sydney on Sunday 4 Oct (long weekend) and was due to arrive mid morning. The a/c was delayed, I think, in HNL for a number of hours and the ETA keep slipping back hour by hour.

Eventually arriving after dark and landed on R/W 34 (no left or right those days) and taxied out of the darkness of the airport onto the flood lit northern apron of the ITB to gate 6. Was well worth the all day wait. To help with a quick turnaround, the northern apron was cleared of all a/c.

Have to disagree with the comments on that photo. While it shows a PanAm B747 arriving on R/W16, the crowd were there for a Papal visit in December 1970. The Dept. of Civil Aviation set up the area (access points, fences and PA system) and Steve is correct, that's how the mound was nicknamed Pope's Hill.

Interesting to note the small number of people at the fence on the far side of the hill actually watching the B747 landing.

While Sydney (Kingsford Smith) Airport has been there since the 1920's, the new ITB was brand new and was opened in May 1970 replacing the old tin shed where Qantas' domestic terminal now stands.

[Jack B]

I believe the 747s then replaced the 707s on the LAX-HNL-NAN-SYD flight, but the 707s retained an impressive network out of SYD, such as HNL-NAN-SYD-DPS-HKG, SYD-BKK, SYD-NOU etc.




Just a note on the runways at SYD at the time - prior to the original extension of 16/34 into the bay in the late 1960s, could that runway be used by 707s/DC-8s, or were the early jets confined to the then-longer 07/25?

[James Smith]

I was there as well, all day, standing on the southern balcony of the international terminal constantly hand tuning my Sony VHF radio to try and pick up the 747. When it finally arrived in the dark it went to the northern apron and boy was it big compared to the standard 707/DC8 size aircraft. A memorable (and long) day but a chance to not have to do any HSC study!

My dad got the hint that he should look for a VHF radio for me when I was on our balcony in South Turramurra trying to pick up the aircraft on FM! He sourced a beauty from Japan and I was hooked. I wore out many a hand tuner before scanners hit the market.

[Fred C]

Originally Posted by cliff cook

As I am not sure, that today is the 40th Anniversary of the 1st operated 747-200 aircraft in YSSY (Sydney Airport) by Pan American. Would anyone that is it correct or not?

From Barry Cook

Barry,

It was a 747-100 series. Or more correctly a 747-121.