New York Airways
Encyclopedia
Airline
An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...
in the New York City area. Founded in 1949 as a mail and cargo carrier, on July 9, 1953 it became the first scheduled helicopter airline to carry passengers in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Its headquarters were at LaGuardia Airport
LaGuardia Airport
LaGuardia Airport is an airport located in the northern part of Queens County on Long Island in the City of New York. The airport is located on the waterfront of Flushing Bay and Bowery Bay, and borders the neighborhoods of Astoria, Jackson Heights and East Elmhurst. The airport was originally...
.
History
Passenger flights started with Sikorsky S-55H-19 Chickasaw
For other uses of "H19" see H19 .The Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw, was a multi-purpose helicopter used by the United States Army and United States Air Force. It was also license-built by Westland Aircraft as the Westland Whirlwind in the United Kingdom...
military helicopters, but Sikorsky
Sikorsky Aircraft
The Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation is an American aircraft manufacturer based in Stratford, Connecticut. Its parent company is United Technologies Corporation.-History:...
and the Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
Company soon began designing civil helicopters. New York Airways added three S-58s to its five S-55s in 1956; in 1958 the Boeing Vertol V-44, a civil version of the Piasecki H-21 took over. In 1962 they changed to the Boeing Vertol 107-II Turbocopter, and later the Sikorsky S-61
Sikorsky S-61
The Sikorsky S-61L and S-61N are civil variants of the successful SH-3 Sea King helicopter. They are two of the most widely used airliner and oil rig support helicopters built.-Design and development:...
.
In February 1955 the one way fare from LaGuardia to Idlewild was $4.50. The ship was a Sikorsky H-19, N418A. The trip took ten minutes and their phone number was DEfender 5-6600.
The first scheduled passenger flights to Manhattan arrived in December 1956 at the new heliport west of the West Side Highway at 30th St. The downtown heliport on East River Pier 6 opened in 1960 and New York Airways moved all its Manhattan flights down there around December 1960.
Scheduled flights to the top of the Pan Am Building
MetLife Building
The MetLife Building, originally called the Pan Am Building, is a skyscraper located at 200 Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.-History:...
began in December 1965; they ended in 1968, then resumed for a few months in 1977. In April 1966 23 flights a day flew nonstop to Pan Am's terminal at JFK, scheduled 10 minutes; passengers could check in at the Pan Am Building 40 minutes before their scheduled departure out of JFK. The downtown heliport had 13 flights a day to Newark, 5 nonstops to TWA's terminal at JFK and 12 to LGA, all of which continued to JFK. (Downtown had no weekend flights.)
Soon after Pan Am Building flights resumed the March 1977 OAG showed 48 weekday S-61 departures from there: 12 to EWR, 14 to LGA then JFK, and 22 nonstops to JFK.
New York Airways employed the first African American as an airline pilot. Perry H. Young made his historic first flight on February 5, 1957. Young had previously made history as the first African American flight instructor for the United States Army Air Corps.
At its peak the airline partnered with 24 international and domestic airlines. At various times it served:
- John F. Kennedy International AirportJohn F. Kennedy International AirportJohn F. Kennedy International Airport is an international airport located in the borough of Queens in New York City, about southeast of Lower Manhattan. It is the busiest international air passenger gateway to the United States, handling more international traffic than any other airport in North...
- LaGuardia AirportLaGuardia AirportLaGuardia Airport is an airport located in the northern part of Queens County on Long Island in the City of New York. The airport is located on the waterfront of Flushing Bay and Bowery Bay, and borders the neighborhoods of Astoria, Jackson Heights and East Elmhurst. The airport was originally...
- Newark AirportNewark Liberty International AirportNewark Liberty International Airport , first named Newark Metropolitan Airport and later Newark International Airport, is an international airport within the city limits of both Newark and Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States...
- West 30th St, Manhattan
- "Wall Street" HeliportDowntown Manhattan HeliportThe Downtown Manhattan Heliport , also known as the Downtown Manhattan/Wall St. Heliport, is a helicopter landing platform at Pier 6 in the East River in Manhattan, New York.- History :...
40.7015°N 74.0092°W - Stamford, ConnecticutStamford, ConnecticutStamford is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 census, the population of the city is 122,643, making it the fourth largest city in the state and the eighth largest city in New England...
Heliport - Teterboro AirportTeterboro AirportTeterboro Airport is a general aviation relief airport located in the Boroughs of Teterboro, Moonachie, and Hasbrouck Heights in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. It is owned and operated by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey...
- Westchester County AirportWestchester County AirportWestchester County Airport is a county-owned public-use airport in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is located three nautical miles northeast of the central business district of White Plains, in the towns of Harrison, North Castle and Rye Brook.It serves the areas of...
- downtown Trenton
- New Brunswick 40.467°N 74.481°W
- Hadley Airport 40.555°N 74.433°W
- Morristown Municipal AirportMorristown Municipal AirportMorristown Municipal Airport is a public airport located in Whippany, three miles east of the central business district of Morristown, in Morris County, New Jersey, USA...
For some months in 1969 the OAG showed some inter-airport flights to be Twin Otter
De Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter
The DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian 19-passenger STOL utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada and currently produced by Viking Air. The aircraft's fixed tricycle undercarriage, STOL abilities and high rate of climb have made it a successful cargo, regional passenger airliner and MEDEVAC...
s while others continued to be Vertols. Fuel prices soared after the 1973 energy crisis damaging profitability. The airline could not recover after the 1977 Pan Am Building accident and the 1979 energy crisis
1979 energy crisis
The 1979 oil crisis in the United States occurred in the wake of the Iranian Revolution. Amid massive protests, the Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, fled his country in early 1979 and the Ayatollah Khomeini soon became the new leader of Iran. Protests severely disrupted the Iranian oil...
, and New York Airways filed for bankruptcy on May 18, 1979.
Passengers boarded, in thousands, scheduled flights only: 68 in 1957, 144 in 1960, 537 in 1967, 268 in 1970.
Currently all surviving New York Airways Boeing Vertol 107s are operated by Columbia Helicopters
Columbia Helicopters
Columbia Helicopters, Incorporated, or CHI, is an aircraft manufacturing and operator company based in Aurora, Oregon, United States. They are known for operating tandem rotor helicopters; in present times, exclusively the Boeing Vertol 107 and Boeing 234. These helicopters are used in...
:
- N6672D
- N6674D
- N6675D
- N6676D
- N6682D
- N107PA (Operated under contract to Pan Am)
- N108PA (Operated under contract to Pan Am)
N6674D is the highest flying time helicopter in the world, having surpassed 70,000 flight hours since its construction in 1962.
N6682D is featured in the 1968 film Coogan's Bluff
Coogan's Bluff (film)
Coogan's Bluff is a 1968 American Universal film directed by Don Siegel and starring Clint Eastwood, Lee J. Cobb, Don Stroud, and Susan Clark...
starring Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
taking off from the roof of the Pan Am Building.
N108PA is the helicopter arriving with Eastwood.
N6676D is shown taking off from the Downtown Manhattan/Wall St. Heliport in the last of the Secret Agent 077
Secret Agent 077
Secret Agent 077 was officially a trilogy of Eurospy films with Ken Clark as Dick Malloy . However "077" was used on posters or advertising of several other Eurospy films with little or no relationship to each other perhaps to exploit the audience's knowledge of 007 .-Official entries:The first...
trilogy of films, 1966's Special Mission Lady Chaplin.
Accidents
On October 14, 1963 New York Airways Flight 600 (a Boeing-Vertol 107 registered N6673D) crashed shortly after takeoff from Idlewild AirportJohn F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport is an international airport located in the borough of Queens in New York City, about southeast of Lower Manhattan. It is the busiest international air passenger gateway to the United States, handling more international traffic than any other airport in North...
(now JFK) en route to Newark
Newark Liberty International Airport
Newark Liberty International Airport , first named Newark Metropolitan Airport and later Newark International Airport, is an international airport within the city limits of both Newark and Elizabeth, New Jersey, United States...
via Wall Street. All three passengers and all three crew members died. The accident was blamed on a mechanical failure due to contaminated lubricants.
On May 16, 1977, the landing gear failed on a Sikorsky S-61 while it was taking on passengers on the roof of the Pan Am Building. The aircraft rolled onto its side. Its spinning rotor blades killed four passengers waiting to board (including movie director Michael Findlay
Michael Findlay
Michael Findlay, along with his wife Roberta Findlay, directed and produced numerous sexploitation movies. They have been described as "the most notorious filmmakers in the annals of sexploitation"....
) and injured a fifth. Parts of a broken blade fell into the streets below, killing one pedestrian and injuring another. The accident precipitated the closure of the heliport for good.
See also
- US HelicopterUS HelicopterUS Helicopter was an independent air shuttle service that operated regularly scheduled helicopter flights from Manhattan to Newark and JFK airports. Flights left from Downtown and Midtown Manhattan Heliports to Delta Air Lines Terminal 3 at John F. Kennedy International Airport...
- CH-46 Sea KnightCH-46 Sea KnightThe Boeing Vertol CH-46 Sea Knight is a medium-lift tandem rotor transport helicopter, used by the United States Marine Corps to provide all-weather, day-or-night assault transport of combat troops, supplies and equipment. Assault Support is its primary function, and the movement of supplies and...