* * Fly Eastern's Prop-Jet Electra * *
We boarded a Northwest Airlines DC-7C in Portland quite early one morning and I recall that it was the first time we got to travel first class as we sat in the compartment aft of the galley and main entry door. Unlike other DC-7s on which I had flown, there was no circular lounge in the aft cabin, but Northwest's "Seven Seas" carried bunks stowed in the ceiling that eliminated the overhead luggage rack in that part of the plane. As always, I eagerly watched the engine start which routine consisted of rotating the prop at least two full rotations followed by a belch of blue-white smoke as the fuel ignited in the cylinders and the motor came to life.
With all four motors running, we were ready to taxi out when suddenly, the numbers one and two engines were cut and the ramp agent wheeled the boarding steps back up to the side of the plane. A late-boarding passenger of some importance, apparently, emerged from the terminal and bounded up the stairs to the aircraft. With the door resecured and the steps pulled back, the pilot restarted the port side engines and we were away. Some six hours later, we landed at Chicago's Midway Airport where we had perhaps a two-hour layover with a connection to Eastern Air Lines.
Even at that young age, I was familiar with Eastern's Constellations having flown on them before and could tell the difference between their triple-tailed Connies and Delta's DC-7s. But on this trip, we were in for a surprise. Traveling first class all the way, we boarded a brand new Lockheed Electra Prop-Jet. Picked out in navy and white with red spinners and prop facia on its four massive Allison turboprops, I was amazed at the size of its propellers. Emblazoned across the fuselage in bold red letters, the title read: "Fly Eastern's Prop-Jet Electra."
The plane was beautifully appointed and I was excited at the thought of experiencing jet-powered flight for the first time and I remember my brother, who was not much older than myself, suggested the pilot might even turn off the propellers so that we'd be flying on jet power alone.
The engine start was something of a disappointment since there was no belch of blue smoke from the stacks. There was only the low moan from the turbine as it increased in pitch.
The takeoff, however, came as quite a surprise as the enormous power reserve in this wonder of an airliner, pressed us far back into our seats as the aircraft gathered speed for the takeoff. As it did so, I suddenly remembered that the pilot had forgotten to run up the engines before departure as was customary.
The flight to Atlanta ended all too soon, it seemed and our approach in the early evening twilight was made dodging towering cumulonimbus clouds from which sheets of lighting provided a spectacular lightshow in pink and purple.
Electra became one of my favorite aircraft on which to fly and I never missed an opportunity even after all the bad press that followed a series of mishaps that befell the plane not long after my first flight.
My family relocated to the Chicago area in June of 1960, settling in the northwest suburb of Mt. Prospect which was in line with one of the approach patterns to O'Hare Airport. I well recall one early Sunday morning when the air was split by the wail of the town siren that signalled both the immenent danger of tornadoes and also called all volunteer firemen to duty. This particular call was for volunteer firemen and continued beyond the normal time. Only later would we learn that Northwest had lost one of its Electras on takeoff enroute to Florida with no survivors and that our town's volunteer firefighters were among the first called out to the scene.
I flew on a National Airlines Electra back in December, 1967 from Orlando to Miami and managed to come away with the seat back emergency procedures brochure. Enroute with my family for a Christmas time vacation in the Florida Keys, we caught the news on the radio of our rented car that Dr. Christian Barnard of South Africa had just performed the world's first human heart transplant on dentist Louis Washkansky. My last trip on Electra was in July, 1968 from Chicago to Greensboro-High Point, North Carolina to look over the college I had hoped at the time to attend the following year. This was perhaps at the time, Eastern's last major trunk route for Electras and the segment was more than two hour's flying time. Of the several daily non-stops between the two cities, this was the first of the day and the only propeller-driven service which was why I selected it. A month later, the service was replaced with a DC-9 jet.
Eastern's Electras continued in service with that company until 1972, finishing up their duties as back-up to the popular shuttle service between Washington and New York and on occasional charters.
And while I had seen Electras in service since that time with various other carriers including Air Florida, I never got to fly on another. Still, the distinctive low hum of Allison turboprops will bring me out of the house in the hopes of seeing the blunt nose and stubby wing profile of one of the last of these fabulous planes overhead. Usually, though, it turns out to be a C-130 Hercules or the occasional P3 Orion, but every once in a rare while, I'll catch the unmistakable profile of the plane they called Electra.
Marshall Massengale
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