Gee!
I remember them Self propelled Stairs! The Manually propelled ones too! The Snow starting or the Rain pouring down and invariably, if you were a tall Lady or gent, Knocking off your Hat or PillBox or even worse, hitting your head on the top of the door opening in those smaller planes.
You know there were some amazing things going on back then. I mean even with the door open, when you'd get to your seat, and look out the window (Whether you had the window seat or not!) It was so much quieter there.
The sound of pure power when the engines started in a Blow of smoke and mechanical thunder, that you could feel in the Bottom of your seats. Yes, Folks, you could feel the engines sheer power in your seat!
Funny though, At cruising altitude, you would have to look out to see the prop fuzz because the plane seemed to be suspended in the air with nothing making it go!
Meals, Yeah, real ones! In the price of your ticket! Seats far enough apart that you could eat it in comfort too! Crying Babies attended to quickly and perenting calmly done.Women nursing? Not too much back then, but who cares? the Flight Attendant would take the Nursing Mother Back to their seats, to let her take of what nature built a mother to do.
Smoking, yeah, Like I really needed this Heavy set or unbelieavabley Skinny guy lighting up a Cigar! Yeah, I smoked then and do now. If you cannot hold it til the flight is over there was or is, definitely some self control issues in your life! I have done the deed since I was twelve! So What? I do not need to do it around someone with an allergy or in a confined space with folks who might not appreciate my second hand smoke!
Same goes for drinking. I drink water a lot. I will not board an airplane anymore since my aircrash many years ago, but you can bet your bottom dollar I would not be stupidly sloshed, so as to make myself a pain for others. Now, Stupidly Sloshed, implies Alcohol! You bet! I can't stand drinkers almost ready to drop around me on the train, bus or other conveyance. I drink hard Stuff and I make sure, if I am at a party or a friend's house I either walk home or ask for a ride, BEFORE I make a fool of myself!
Sorry, Got off topic there! The Vickers Viscount,Whatta Bird! And the Connie, Sensous to a fault, let's not forget the real workhorses here that flew everywhere seeming all the time in a era of flight, of growing America, constantly in the air. An occassional over flight of a B-29 or 24 flying from Modification facilities close to where we lived. A regular parade of shrieking engines passing over our house, D.C.6 and 7s (We were in the Flight path,Oh well)
A veritable history of Civil Aviation. Yup, go to the airport and watch planes, Anyone could, And there's the airstairs lined up to get the unsuspecting weary traveler to their cab Or family car after Knocking off their hats, or getting wet on the way up or down. I remember one time, A set at both ends. One end loading the other offloading(Faster turnaround maybe?) It was still fun!