This footage was shot on a LaGuardia runway. Yes, two kids just hopped a fence and started filming right on runway 31 back in 1968. Airport security has changed a bit little since then.
According to YouTube poster distar97, he and his 15-year-old friend just hopped a fence and recorded this unbelievable footage of what takeoffs were like back in the late '60s.
As a 15 year old kid in 1968, I liked visiting LaGuardia airport. One day a friend and I went out to runway 31 to film takeoffs and landings... After sunset we hopped over the seawall to the actual runway which put us within a few dozen feet of departing airplanes. The pilots never spotted us.
He and his friend weren't even risking getting into too much trouble for getting this film. They were 15, and it was 1968 after all.
Security was lax back then. If caught, we would have been scolded and released. That's what JFK cops did to us.
And it's not just amazing because of the (lack of) security — the film itself is a timepiece of a dirtier, less regulated part of passenger flight history. The exhaust was much, much worse for starters.
Note how heavy the exhaust is. The left engine smoke on the 737 is less dense than the right side. By 1968 the airlines had started replacing the real smokers. This film provides a graphic view of the difference. I didn't mind the smoke since it was warm and it was below freezing weather.
The noise was just as bad.
The noise was many times louder than today's airliners. Only today's military aircraft are as loud and hard edged sounding as airliners back then. The worst thing is I had no ear protection and needed two hands for the camera.
Here is distar97's description in full. It all comes from the description on this YouTube post he uploaded over a year ago.
As a 15 year old kid in 1968, I liked visiting LaGuardia airport. One day a friend and I went out to runway 31 to film takeoffs and landings. We made our way out on the concealed side of the old seawall, filming a few planes along the way. After sunset we hopped over the seawall to the actual runway which put us within a few dozen feet of departing airplanes. The pilots never spotted us. I believe this is the only airport footage actually filmed on a runway. Security was lax back then. If caught, we would have been scolded and released. That's what JFK cops did to us. Please excuse the dim view. This was after dusk, so the ISO 40 speed film appears dim.
Note how heavy the exhaust is. The left engine smoke on the 737 is less dense than the right side. By 1968 the airlines had started replacing the real smokers. This film provides a graphic view of the difference. I didn't mind the smoke since it was warm and it was below freezing weather. The noise was many times louder than today's airliners. Only today's military aircraft are as loud and hard edged sounding as airliners back then. The worst thing is I had no ear protection and needed two hands for the camera.
A year later I started primary flight training in a Piper PA-28 140 at LGA and eventually got my license there. It was fun learning how to safely take off behind the jets. Their smoke made wake turbulence easy to see and avoid.
Absolutely amazing.