Pan Am TV series

[Tomliner]

So from the comments posted so far, would I be correct in perceiving some slight disappointment with this production? EricT

[speedbird591]

So from the comments posted so far, would I be correct in perceiving some slight disappointment with this production? EricT

Only if you were expecting a documentary about the second best airline of the golden age, Eric!

But if you want to see a light-hearted entertainment programme with lots of pretty girls leading a jet set life-style then pull up a beer and join me on the sofa, mate

Ian

[airboatr]

Here ya go Ian, something to play while you're making popcorn for the show that might take ya back a bit.

I saw it a while ago looking for something of Astruds'

[speedbird591]

Oh yes, that's got me in the mood, Joe! Spot on.

On one of my last trips before retirement, some of us were sat in a first floor restaurant overlooking Copacabana beach. At that stage I felt that bus driving was probably the only job available to me outside BA. I remember suggesting hopefully to the others that bus station mess rooms might have a similar ambience so that I wouldn't feel the loss.

Well, I never did discover if that was the case, but I can assure you that railway station mess rooms definitely don't compare with a view over Copacabana and Sugar Loaf

Ian

[Chris Trott]

One of the "positives" about this show is that apparently they heard some of the complaints about their jet and have actually gone and gotten John Travolta to loan them his 707 which they used vinyl wraps on to turn into a 707-120B, which, in 1963 is a more likely candidate for the crew to be flying than a 707-320 (or -320B) since the "premier" routes were flown by the old grizzled guys, not the new kids. They did use a bum registration (all that work and still they don't use a good reg? Come on...), but beyond that, the scheme is pretty close to correct for the white-top PanAm for TV work. I stopped watching after episode 2 because it's not my kind of show, but I still give them props for at least going the distance and getting a real, flying 707 to use for some stock footage instead of CGI.

[Garry Russell]

The obvious would have been N707PA

[Chris Trott]

Yeah, but they instead used the registration of a 1951 Cessna 170A that's had that registration since it rolled off the line in Wichita - N1703D.

Here's a link to the FenceCheck discussion on the plane - http://www.fencecheck.com/forums/index. ... #msg282827

And a pic (with permission)



The tail will be "CGI'd" to the proper PanAm tail because as the rudder is a balanced surface, you'd have to remove it, wrap it, balance it, then re-install it to change it, even for a little while - not a small task.

[Garry Russell]

Anything three number followed by PA would have been better

The rudder would be an issue, the reason they come off the lines with no paint but rudders in full livery, Airbus does the whole fin

Being a 138 it would have been better masquerading as a PAN AM 720 as the length is closer, the other differences would go unnoticed

All said and done, they have at least done something for those who will enjoy it and if it was a totally accurate historic account it would possible bore the masses.

Nice to see Pan Am on a 707 of any sort even partial, one of the iconic type/livery combinations that 45-50 years ago seemed like it would be around for ever.

[Chris Trott]

Garry, PanAm flew 707-121B's of the exact same length as the 707-138B. Remember the "38" is the customer number, not a different model from the -120 "base" model. However, they only had 9 720's and all were delivered in the late 1960's and only survived a short time until the first 727's were delivered.

[Garry Russell]

No Chris

I know how the number system works


The 138 was a special version built only for QANTAS and was shorter than the standard 707-120 to give extra range

It is almost the same length as the 720