Tribute to the World Trade Towers
Hi All,
I thought I would share my experiences with the World Trade Towers in Manhattan. During the early 1970’s when the Towers were being built, I was flying a helicopter for the Timex Corporation out of Waterbury, Ct. When weather was flyable, I made three round trips to Manhattan from Waterbury, every day of the week.
Construction started in August of 1968 and both towers were completed in the late summer of 1971.
At that time, there were numerous helicopters flying in and around Manhattan and we pilots were a tight bunch. There were about 30 of us who frequented the Manhattan heliports daily and our main topic was the Towers. I watched as each floor was completed, being able to fly within 500 feet of the towers nice and slow to view the progress. They were very close to the flyway along the Hudson River.
I once saw a human spider climb the South Tower and acrobats doing their high wires between the towers.
When the Towers were completed, I had a request to make one of the first landings on the South Tower (the one without the antenna). One fine day in March, I picked up the head of the NY Port Authority from the Wall Street Heliport and we proceeded to climb over the harbor to gain altitude and we then made a very cautious approach to the building’s heliport. Needless to say, it was the most exciting flight I had ever taken. It was very windy and very scary, and when I look back at the flight, I still shudder.
The following photos were taken from the helicopter in the mid to late 1970’s. All were taken with a wide angle fish eye camera. Negatives were converted to digital.
The entire view of Manhattan was taken from 2000 feet over the New York Harbor. You can see the Hudson River to the left and the East River to the right.
I have attached a link to a power point presentation that I made many years ago with photos from some of my friends in the media. Some of these photos have never been seen. I must warn you , the images are disturbing, view at your own risk. Click on the link and click on open.
Charlie, if you want to place this post elsewhere, please do.
Louis
Power Point Presentation ----
http://www.imagesct.com/web/9%20_11/nine_eleven.pps
