Production of Douglas jets moved to Long Beach because of limited real estate and the short runway at Santa Monica, but SMO remained HQ for a while so I wonder if an (empty, minimum fuel) DC-8 (or for that matter DC-9) ever visited for a naming ceremony or similar? Can’t find any evidence of it happening but I’d be surprised if it didn’t.

(For additional discussion, a Pan Am 707 visited DCA in 1958 to have a bottle of champagne to be smashed on her nose by Eisenhower’s missus, and a MATS 707 flew RFK’s body into LGA to lie in state at St Patrick’s Cathedral. Just a couple of examples of unusual short field ops.)

have not seen anything bigger than a 27 make it out of SMO and that was something to see back in the 90s

The City of Santa Monica maintains a list of banned aircraft types (based upon maximum noise level of 95.0 dBA SENEL). The largest air transport category aircraft listed is the DC-9. It is likely this list has not seen an update since at least the year the city shortened the runway at SMO

No DC-8 in my recollection ever touched down on the (former) 5,000 feet at SMO. Douglas aircraft built their factory in Long Beach for the DC-8 prototype, which rolled out on April 9, 1958.

cedarjet wrote:

(For additional discussion, a Pan Am 707 visited DCA in 1958 to have a bottle of champagne to be smashed on her nose by Eisenhower’s missus, and a MATS 707 flew RFK’s body into LGA to lie in state at St Patrick’s Cathedral. Just a couple of examples of unusual short field ops.)

A 707 at DCA is nothing special, considering DCA has seen many widebody movements in the past decade or so, including Delta 767s and Boeing 787s. DCA's runway isn't even short, it is the taxiway clearances that are an issue there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jmo5x3_eDEk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loud0P1mZdw

As a historical tidbit, as Douglas began the development of the DC-8 it proposed to lengthen the SMO runway to accommodate the larger aircraft and to also acquire additional acreage in the surrounding area to build new corporate offices.
The city rejected the request, so, Douglas shifted the manufacturing of jet aircraft to Long Beach Airport, however much of its research and development, missile production, and sub-assembly work continued at the Santa Monica Airport plant until the early 1970s when operations were consolidated at LGB.

The largest commercial aircraft built at SMO was the DC-7C. The airport also for long period had a 166,000 lb runway weight limit.


https://www.smgov.net/uploadedImages/De ... O%201952(1).jpg


https://www.smgov.net/uploadedImages/De ... OTRAIT.jpg

Great photos, thanks for sharing!

UA flew a 727-200 LAX-SMO-LAX for about a 4 hour layover in the late 60's as part of
a SMO mini airshow. It was setup as a promo for an employee-based sales program
called ESP. FA's, pilots and other LAX employees handed out literature and had a
walkthru utilizing the airstairs and a front stand.

SMO was ill suited for the kind of expansion required to accommodate DAC. Unlikely land would be available for the asking to the immediate south & east due to Los Angeles / Santa Monica city limit (runs roughly NE / SW along Dewey St & College Dr., & N / S roughy along Bundy Dr.). Likely even more vexing is the fact that the airport is built on a plateau. Expansion to the west would not only have required condemnation of numerous homes, but a massive amount of structural fill to elevate the annexed land to field elevation, as evidenced in the second photo posted above.

cs03 wrote:

To compare, TWA (briefly) flew from PIT to ALB in the 1980s using a 707. 1-19 at ALB was 7200 feet at the time.

In another forum, there recently was a late 60s/early 70s photo of a Braniff B720 (operating DAL-IAH) taking off from the old runway 18 at Dallas Love (6200' in length).

cs03 wrote:

To compare, TWA (briefly) flew from PIT to ALB in the 1980s using a 707. 1-19 at ALB was 7200 feet at the time.

That TW flight was a tag to SFO-PIT service, so likely light on pax and fuel. I took that flight once, ALB-PIT-SFO then QF to SYD via HNL.

aaway wrote:

cs03 wrote:

To compare, TWA (briefly) flew from PIT to ALB in the 1980s using a 707. 1-19 at ALB was 7200 feet at the time.

In another forum, there recently was a late 60s/early 70s photo of a Braniff B720 (operating DAL-IAH) taking off from the old runway 18 at Dallas Love (6200' in length).

The 720 was the hot rod of its day... specifically ordered by BN for performance-critical airports in South America.

Playboy flew the Big Bunny into SMO a few times but noise complaints from the NIMBYS had them relocate back to BUR.

Flyguy

LAXintl wrote:

As a historical tidbit, as Douglas began the development of the DC-8 it proposed to lengthen the SMO runway to accommodate the larger aircraft and to also acquire additional acreage in the surrounding area to build new corporate offices.
The city rejected the request, so, Douglas shifted the manufacturing of jet aircraft to Long Beach Airport, however much of its research and development, missile production, and sub-assembly work continued at the Santa Monica Airport plant until the early 1970s when operations were consolidated at LGB.

The largest commercial aircraft built at SMO was the DC-7C. The airport also for long period had a 166,000 lb runway weight limit.


https://www.smgov.net/uploadedImages/De ... O%201952(1).jpg


https://www.smgov.net/uploadedImages/De ... OTRAIT.jpg

I was quite intrigued by the second photo, appears the airport is on an elevated bank above the homes in the background.

airsmiles wrote:

Weren’t all B707’s built at Renton which has a very small 5,400ft runway? Okay, they were empty aircraft but the first flights of the early turbojet B707’s must have been interesting to watch.

I imagine they were fun to watch take off out of there! All 707, 720, & C-135 variants. Not to mention all the other pure-Boeing narrow bodies except the first 271 737s. Those 271 were built at Boeing Field before final assembly transferred to REN in 1970.

KFTG wrote:

cedarjet wrote:

(For additional discussion, a Pan Am 707 visited DCA in 1958 to have a bottle of champagne to be smashed on her nose by Eisenhower’s missus, and a MATS 707 flew RFK’s body into LGA to lie in state at St Patrick’s Cathedral. Just a couple of examples of unusual short field ops.)

A 707 at DCA is nothing special, considering DCA has seen many widebody movements in the past decade or so, including Delta 767s and Boeing 787s. DCA's runway isn't even short, it is the taxiway clearances that are an issue there.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jmo5x3_eDEk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loud0P1mZdw

I wouldnt exactly call the 4 767s for the Obama 2009 inaugural and the one 787 for the 2012 Collier ceremony “many” movements. Even adding the UA DC-10 divert from BWI in the late 90s that’s what, 6 in 25 years?

wnflyguy wrote:

Playboy flew the Big Bunny into SMO a few times but noise complaints from the NIMBYS had them relocate back to BUR.

Flyguy

I remember that. Hugh Hefner, who stayed at home 99% of the time, flew-in to SMO from Chicago with girlfriend Barbie Benton. When the DC-9-30 took-off, everyone living in the immediate area of Santa Monica airport could hear those spooled-up JT8s thunder. The Big Bunny went back to being parked at Air Research at LAX.