First Ever flight?

[bambbbam2]

I was thinking that although we discuss this occasionally, I'd love to hear memories from your first flight.

Or perhaps the first flight you can remember?

Mine was in about 1987.. a TAA flight on a 727 from PER-SYD.. I can even remember it cost about $470 return, and that was a student 50% off fare..

 

[tuapekastar]

I know I flew LHR-NYC when ~3 months old. I suspect the catering was home-supplied! And I think PER-MEL when ~3 years old!

First I can remember taking was as a solo 13yo, MEL (Essendon) - SYD, likely on TAA, but possibly Ansett. No real memories of the actual flight (probably excited, window seat etc.). Connected to SYD-SIN on QF in F on a 707. Gallons of free coca-cola , and for dinner the FA asked whether I wanted my roast beef rare or not, and carved it in front of me. I think this is the only time I've written to QF (it was a letter of praise...can't recall if I got a response). Then getting off and down the stairs at SIN (no airbridges then), and it was like entering a different world. The heat, humidity (the plane interior was getting warm and stuffy toward the end of the flight, but this was like the frying pan into the fire), mass of humanity with all the associated noise, and heavy smell of aviation fuel was just a bombardment of the senses for a young bloke. Oh, and seeing the lights of SIN appear late in the flight.

Great memories...thx for starting the thread.

 

[munitalP]

I have vague recollections of a NZ flight - maybe WEL to AKL, not sure - I think I was about 5 or 6. The first real recollection is in the back seat of a small plane on a sight seeing trip in NZ with my dad - about 8, the first solo int was to Fiji to a scout jamboree when I was 14

It's been downhill since then...

Mr!

 

[ColinP]

My first flight was as a 9 year old 10 pound tourist in 1964. London, Zurich, Beirut, Karachi, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Darwin, Sydney on a BOAC Boeing 707.

 

[bambbbam2]

My goodness.. how long did that take all up?

 

[ColinP]

I don't recall exactly how long it took but as a nine year old it seemed to take forever.
Probably about two and a half days.

 

[coco50]

My first flight was in 1970 when I was aged 23. It was from ABX - SYD on East West Airlines - an F27. They had a Club 25 (under 25 y.o.) discount which meant that you could fly ABX - SYD return for $30 dollars. This flight was on a fully loaded F27 on a very hot February afternoon and the captain only just got wheels up as we crosses the threshold of the runway.

 

[DJ737]

My first flight was as a 9 year old 10 pound tourist in 1964. London, Zurich, Beirut, Karachi, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Darwin, Sydney on a BOAC Boeing 707.

Hi there

Mine is similar, BOAC flight 722 London-Zurich-Rome-Karachi-Calcutta-Singapore-Darwin-Sydney in July 1970.

First op-up was on an AF 707 flight from Tehran to Bangkok from Y to F in 1972, family was on an ID 100 , got on SU (IL76 BKK-SIN) then AZ (DC8 SIN-MEL)

Cheers
DJ737

 

[PaulC83]

First ever flight was about 6 years old, ADL->KGC with my dad for his work on a very very small and very very noisy aircraft (can't remember exactly what it was but was prob a Piper or similar), I remember just how noisy it was and trying to clamber up to see as much as I could out the small windows. Flying over water too is always nice when your a little bit lower.

First "jet" flight was at 13 on an ancient 737 from ADL->MEL, I remember developing a crush on the FA, and getting very excited when she invited me and my brother up to the coughpit to say g'day to the captain. This flight was closely followed by a 767 flight from MEL->OOL and I spent most of that one marvelling at the screen that showed our position and speed etc.

 

[beardoc]

I think the first time for me was when I was age 4, and my father and mother took the youngest four children with them to the UK to spend 3 months with my father's parents and relatives. I assume it was QANTAS, and I also assume that we drove from GLT to BNE to fly to LHR. No idea of the stops (and I know there were several) other than MCT - where we were not allowed off the plane and I couldn't stand the stifling heat in the cabin. Other than that I don't remember anything, sadly.

I wonder how many hops it would have been from BNE-LHR?

 

[straitman]

My first flight was from RAAF East Sale in a DC-3 as an Air Training Corps Cadet.

My last military flight was in a PC-9 again from RAAF East Sale and the a/c Captain was someone I had taught many years earlier.

 

[oz_mark]

My first flight was on a Cathay Pacific 707, flying from Perth to Jakarta.

 

[Ikara]

1961. Adelaide to Brisbane and then Brisbane to Port Moresby. Forget what the ADL - BNE leg was but I'm pretty sure that the BNE - POM leg was a Qantas Lockheed Electra L188. I do remember that there was a horseshoe shaped lounge at the rear of the aircraft.

JB

 

[bambbbam2]

There used to be a QF screensaver you could download. I think the Electra might have been one of the planes displayed.

It was a slideshow type screensaver, I remember the Super Connie was one of them..

 

[2muchplastic]

My first ever flight was in less than happy circumstances, but for a wide-eyed four and a half year old was an experience anyway.

It was with my mother being medevaced (and who unfortunately died from her illness a short time later) back from Germany to the UK, on some sort of military executive jet from USAF Ramstein to an airbase in southern England in 1975.
Can't remember much of the details at all, though probably not surprising given my age.

I had to wait 5 years for my next flight!

 

[notzac]

Interesting thread!

My first flight was BNE-HKG on a CX something or other (747, I guess) when i was 6 months old ... unsurprisingly, I don't remember it. It's also the only time I've flown CX and the only time I've been to Hong Kong, which I'm looking to do something about later this year

I have vague memories of doing a couple flights on TAA and Ansett as a youngster - and sometimes my granddad would take me out to BNE to watch planes taking off - it obviously left an impression!

 

[Batesy]

Mine was MEL-BNE with Ansett in October 1995. I think it was a 767, I really didnt take any notice back then.

 

[Warks]

Sometime in the early 80s when I was nearly 19 - pretty old to make your first flight I know! Flew BNE-SYD with Ansett. Was pretty nervous and I even had an old lady next to me to discuss it with. Reminiscent of that scene in Flying High where Ted Striker (ex-pilot) is sitting next to an old lady on the plane and looks agitated.
Old Lady: Nervous?
Striker: A little, yes.
Old Lady: First time?
Striker: No I've been nervous lots of times.

 

[Matt P]

Mine was about 4-5 years ago to the gold coast with a few mates when Jetstar first hit the air. I think the flight cost me $58 return inc taxes haha!

Went up at 8am, came back at 7pm, just for the sake of the flight and a day on the coast.

I've just missed out on PS by a few SC's the last few years running since (self funded - 99.99% domestic) so i've flown a bit more since

 

[Maca44]

My first flight would have been about 1962 (school trip) and was from Newcastle to Canberra on a DC-3. Perhaps our Politicians should consider one of these for government use as it would definitely shake the cough out of them. I remember sitting on the runway, the engines at full throttle in readiness for the brakes to be released and getting bounced about like a cork in water.