Posts Tagged ‘Pensacola Regional Airport’
Ronald Reagan Aboard Leadership 80 at the Pensacola Regional Airport …
Even though I posted these here on my father’s site, I made these photographs back in September 1980 when then citizen Reagan swung through Pensacola on a campaign tour for President. With Citizen Regan, you could walk-up to the plane without being hassled ( too badly, but that is another story ) and take photos and wave at the future President of The United States. Since I made these, I am posting them over on my photography site. Here is a link to my site. Read what I posted and you will see that there is much more to come. Thanks for looking and please click on the link to take you over to my site. Thanks for lookinga nd please check back …
Pensacola Regional Airport Runway Construction …
Back before the Pensacola International Airport became ” International “, it was called the Pensacola Regional Airport. Sometime in the 1950’s, the airport runways were resurfaced and extended. This series of images shows the construction resurfacing process … I wish I new more about them, but I do not. I know that there is a lot more to it than just mixing up a batch of concrete and making sure that it is level. The strength of the concrete is determined by the ratio of sand to rocks and water, the amount of cement mix is a big factor and I am sure there are many other things that I have not mentioned, since I am not an engineer or claim to be. I always enjoyed this type of photographic work, since it was something that I knew nothing about but was interested in how things work. Hey, that could be the title of a tv show explaining how things are built and constructed … I might be on to something! Most all of the images are pretty self-explanatory, so I am going to dispense with the running commentary and stupid comments. Here we go:
The last two images maybe should have been shown earlier in the process, but it is what it is. The images of them unloading the equipment off of the barges was no where near where the airport runway is located, so my only guess that either they were taken at the Port of Pensacola or somewhere else in Pensacola Bay. But as usual, I do not know. If you look close in some of the photos you see the airport tower and the airport itself way in the background. I wish that I had some other photos of the airport itself, but I have pretty much posted everything that I have found taken at the airport. If any of you have anything of the Pensacola Airport from back in the 1950’s and 60’s, I would be interested in seeing what you have. Thanks for looking and please check back and don’t forget that I have my personal blog that you can get to by clicking on a link on the right side of the screen. Wishing everyone a happy New Year … Frank
Guest Blogger at ” Airports Made Simple ” …
I want to thank Deborah over at the blog Airports Made Simple for allowing me to be a guest blogger. She had seen this blog and was interested in the airport / airplane images from the 1950’s that I have shared with everyone. I apologize for the title of this post, I could not think of a title that had a better ring to it than the lame one that I wrote in the headline bar. I am sure that I will change it when I give it some thought. Her blog has a lot of information for people that fly on a regular basis … various airline pluses and minuses, airport tips … too much for me to write here. I included a link to her post on my Liberace photos, so once you get to her site, you can navigate around and see what she has and is interesting to you.
The photo above is one of several that my father made of an Eastern Airline plane on the tarmac at the Pensacola Airport back in the 1950’s. I have posted a few other images from this ” set ” before, but I never got around to working this image until recently.. So this is a new image and for those of you who used to fly into Pensacola back in the 1950’s, I hope that it brings back some fond memories. If anyone that reads this has some photos of the interior of the Pensacola Airport from back in the 1950’s and 1960’s, I would be interested in seeing them. Especially the restaurant and the check in counter for Eastern and later National Airlines. I ran across some photos that I had made from back in the 1970’s when then had remodeled the airport and I will post them later. The thing that sticks out the most to me are all of the cigarette ash tray holders through out the airport … pretty considerate! Thanks again for Deborah for asking me to be a guest blogger and please check out the link that I included in the first paragraph … she has a large readership with experienced travelers, so if you have any questions, this would be the place to ask them. Thanks again for looking and please check back … Frank
Pensacola Regional Airport …
Back in the 1950’s, Pensacola’s airport was known as a regional airport and you only had two airlines servicing the airport – Eastern and National Airlines. Now, both airlines are out of business and Pensacola is known as an ” International ” airport, even though there are no international flights out of the airport. I can remember sites like this very well at the airport and I can remember the airport looking like this. If anyone has any memories that they wish to share about their experiences at the Pensacola ” Regional ” Airport, please be my guest. Thanks again for looking …
Pensacola Regional Airport Guests …
No clue who most of these people are … I believe that the man closest to the plane was our Mayor at the time – Barney Burks, but I could be wrong about that. Whoever these people are, they must have been some VIP’s. These photos are not really about these people, but about our airport at the time. Next is a photo of the plane out on the tarmac …
The only markings that identify the plane is the ” Pensacola, Florida ” on the side, so maybe this was a private plane owned by a company or business. I doubt that the City of Pensacola ever owned a private plan, but you never can tell with Pensacola or for that matter Escambia County. The next photo is my favorite …
I can remember these covered walk-ways that led you into the terminal … there were only two or three of these walk-ways. I have some other photos of the airport that I will post in the future. If anyone recognizes any of these people, please let us know who you think they are. Thanks for looking …
John Wayne Arriving in Pensacola …
Here is John Wayne arriving in Pensacola, where he is scheduled the make the movie ” Wings of Eagles “. I believe he made the part of the movie that was filmed out at the Pensacola Naval Air Station in 1955, since the movie came out in 1957. The movie itself was rather depressing to me and the part with him in Pensacola only took up the first ten minutes or so of the movie. It shows an exciting little piece where he flies a plane through a hanger and it has some nice views of Pensacola Bay, but it goes downhill to me from there. If you are a hard-core John Wayne fan, I am sure you will love it. I wish I could identify the fellows in the background, however no such luck. If anyone knows, please let me hear from you. I have several more photos that my father made of ” Duke ” and even have an autographed photo to Frank that I will post later. As usual, all comments are welcomed …
Pensacola Regional Airport …
This photo is from the old site … an Eastern Airline Silver Falcon Turbo Prop Jet unloading at the Pensacola Regional Airport sometime in the 1950’s. I can remember flying in this type of plane when I was younger. My father and I used to fly to Chicago to visit his brother back in the 1960’s in this type of aircraft. We also flew several times to the National Convention of the Professional Photographers of America. The one thing that I always remembered was how the cabin would fill with a low level smoke when the air conditioners would cut on … it must have been condensation on the cooling elements being blown out into the cabin. Now, if something like that was to happen, everyone would think that the plane had caught on fire! One more thing, look how the men are dressed coming off the plane, no casual wear among any of these men. Anyone wishing to share their past flying experiences from the Pensacola Airport are welcome to post them here. Thanks for looking …
Frank Hardy Made My Photographs Two 
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