LOCKHEED CONSTELLATION - Story of America's Iconic Triple-Tail Propliner
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 ต.ค. 2024
- Want to continue receiving new aviation videos, weekly updates, and have Q&As with Mike? Learn more at : www.celebratin...
NOTE: With our sincere apologies, Specialty Press suspended operations in September 2023.
There's an airworthy super Connie in Wollongong Australia
Yep, only one left, since the one based in Basel was grounded, likely permanently, due to corrosion.
My father-in-law was a flight engieer on a USN airborne early warning Connie in the early 60s.
It came to Hobart in more relaxed times and apart from people being allowed on the apron, we were all allowed to tour the plane which was a real thrill.
It has a triple "tail" for a very good reason.
The very first customer for it, even before it went into production was TWA.
TWA did not have hangers tall enough for a tall single vertical stabilizer /rudder. So, three shorter ones were designed.
My dad was a captain with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines based out of Amsterdam. I clearly remember flying to New York (Idlewild) at night mesmerized by the KLM logo lit up by the strobe light on the wing tiptanks. First class was in the back of the plane in those prop days. My dad flew the full range of Douglas aircraft (3, 4, 6, 7 and 8), all of the KLM owned connie's to finish his career on the 747. Those were the days in aviation.
I was 11 in 1961 when my family immigrated to USA. It was August 18, 1961, we boarded a VARIG RG Super Constellation G/01 in Sao Paulo destination Idlewild. We took off and stopped in Rio, Belem, Port of Spain ( Trinidad ) then on to Idlewild. As we were going to Chicago, we transferred to LGA and boarded a TWA Connie to the Windy city. It was night already, I remember stopping at Pittsburgh, then Cleveland, then Finally MDW, we arrived about 2AM. I remember TWA used to call the service " AMBASSADOR" or " CHIEFTAIN" but I sure did not feel like an ambassador. But, I am now 73 and will not forget that voyage until my last day on this earth, love the Super Constellation, and the DC-10!
Wonderful story and comment, thanks!
Props to you Mike, you have created a really good channel here. The way you delve deeply into the details of different aircraft is impressive. Keep up the good work.
Appreciate the comment, thanks!
The "CONNIE" is one of the most beautiful aircraft ever produced.
I was born and raised in Kansas City. Many of my aviation mentors were TWA pilots and mechanics. A few of them were Connie Captains. I can still remember watching Connie's load and start engines from the observation deck at MKC airport. (early '60's) What a great time in aviation. It influenced me to pursue an airline career myself. Thanks for the video.
Wonderful comment, thanks!
My first ever flight was on Eastern from St. Louis to Miami in 1957, with two stops on the way. Sister and I were unaccompanied minors, 10 and 8.
Thank you Mike for this wonderful story on my favorite prop-driven airliner. The Connie looked great in all of its many iterations and color schemes both civilian and military. I have kits and built-ups of all the models shown, and a Heller 1/72 scale EC-121 Warning Star kit. Glad you included the models in your presentation and very nice job on the builds. It just keeps getting better and better.
Thanks Glenn, and this was a fun episode to put together. Looking forward to seeing you Thursday!
I can remember as a kid on holiday in northern France in 1971 having a walk around the inside of a Super Con.
As a TWA stewardess my mother's first plane was the Connie from NY to England and Italy. Visions of a dream world of yesteryear 🙂
One thing that has always impressed me about this plane is that, even today, it looks futuristic. It's an impressive achievement to put forward a design in the 1930's that looks futuristic still in the 2020's.
I had the pleasure of having my first commercial fight in an Eastern Airlines Connie in 1955 , from Chicago's Midway airport to Jacksonville, Florida. Now 83 years old and it is still a clear memory.
The only piston airliner I ever flew on was a DC-6, then many times on the turboprop Electras. Loved that airplane! We had a Constellation on the roof of a restaurant right down the road from me, they used it as the cocktail lounge. It was a local landmark for many years. It was finally taken down and moved to the Military Air Transport Museum at Dover AFB in Delaware, reassembled and repainted as a C-121 as a static display.
I always loved the Lockheed Constellation and in 1959, I was a little toddler of 4 years old, my Italian father took my mother and sister from New York to Rome at Ciampino airport. I think I had fell in love with this airplane and remember very well listening to the powerful engine and the blue flames. I never forgot this flight and the wonderful airplane. I would love to fly again on this airplane again...
Wonderful story, thanks!
You didn't mention Qantas Airways which, being an Australian airline always had need of aircraft with longer range.
My parents, my brother and I migrated to Australia on a Qantas Super Connie from London to Australia in October '62.
I still have a picture of us standing next to the Connie just below the tail on the tarmac in Melbourne.
I was 3 years old and still have snippets of memory of the flight. I remember the plane was full and there seemed to be
a lot of stop overs. I also remember seeing a stratofortress parked at one of the airports we stopped.
Unfortunately the Connie's registration isn't visible in the photo, I wish it was.
Have you seen "Connie" in HARS Aviation Museum NSW, mate? Shes a beautiful craft!
@@stuart8663 No I haven't, I didn't even know about it. Once the "coof" has passed I'll go check it out. I'm in Melbourne and I don't want to leave the state in case I get locked out. Thanks mate.
The Super Connie has flown at the International Air Show held in Melbourne every two years. The show has been cancelled these past few years due to Covid but I'm sure the Connie will be back once the show recomnences. It is a treat to see her in QANTAS livery from the 50s and the distinct sound of her engines brings a smile to the face.
I always entertained ideas of engineers swapping props for jets and relaunching the model. Its such a beautiful shape. Oh well...
Maybe when we transition to electric power, the prop makes its triumphant return!
I would be proud to own one even today! 🤠👍
I really enjoyed your presentation since my father came off the Iowa farm and spent his lifelong career with Lockheed Burbank (ending in the Skunk Works). Too bad he couldn't talk about most of his work when I was old enough to understand. He always said he did sheetmetal bench work! Thanks
Wonderful comment and thanks for watching!
I was a child in the fifties living next to LAX. I would watch airplanes, including occasional military craft, take off and land. There was one airplane that really, really really got my attention. Guess which.
Yup. Living next to Cleveland Hopkins in the 50’s, the Constellations that flew over my house were always attention getters.
There was one of these Beauties in an empty field across Cairo Lane , Opa Locka Fl. It sat there till 1973 & as a Kid i knew it was there to get scrapped in nearby junkyards.
Another fabulous video-so well done and comprehensive. As a kid in the 50’s my father, who loved to watch planes, took me to Philadelphia Intl. Airport where the most exciting part of the afternoon were Connies coming and going, mostly TWA. I built a Connie model, which was about average quality for a 9-year-old. Unfortunately, as with the other numerous models from my childhood and teen years, it’s long gone. Nevertheless, I never lost my admiration for the Connie. Truly one of, if not THE, classic airliner of all time.
My mom was a stewardess for Eastern. Connie and Electra was her favorites. Lol. Mine too and L1011
I was 8yrs. young and my family of 4 crossed the Atlantic arrived in NYC on October 30, 1956 . Flew with the Constellation over the USA to LAX and arrived at night at thee then old airport . It was amazing ALL THE CITY LIGHTS . I'm 72 yrs. now .
Wonderful comment and memories, thanks!
I like the square windows, maybe not suggested today, but rather beautiful.
They were rectangular windows.
Those large passenger windows were not a problem with those piston-powered airplanes flying at 25,000 feet. When jets came in and cruised near 40,000 ft., window size became smaller to deal with the increased pressurization.
@@celebratingaviationwithmik9782 Thank you for a great history bonus on the windows. The old unpressurised DC-3s had square windows. I think it would have been beautiful to fly with such large windows.
Thanks for the history! My dad use to tell me stories about working on Connies for Eastern Airlines..it was his favorite and it was nice to see them as he remembered them! Thanks
My Dad loved flying New York-Miami on those airplanes as well!
Thanks again Mike.... the Connie is a fascinating subject to aviation geeks like myself.... I noticed while watching your video, and please note this isn't a criticism, that you didn't mention the 4 total only L-1249 turboprop versions built for the US Navy initially as R7V-2 (2 only), and later for the USAF, the YC-121F (also 2 only).... to me, they were even more beautiful and sleeker appearing with the closely cowled engines and the shortened wings they had.... I think the engines used at that time (1955-56) were troublesome but ultimately used successfully on the Lockheed C-133 and that's why only those 4 were built.... if the L-1679 Starliner had incorporated those engines, it may have been a more successful aircraft.... in my eyes, all the Constellation series were beautiful aircraft....
Excellent point on the turboprop R7V-2 Jim! That will be one of the airplanes featured in the new video posting this weekend about turboprop conversions, auxiliary jet pods, and other early Jet Age configurations.
when I was growing up my best friends dad was a mechanic on a Navy Constellation- gorgeous airplane
Undeniably the most beautiful passenger liner ever built. 👀
Agreed!
Thanks, my dad used to fly those. Electras, too.
The first aircraft I associate with my father as an A/P mechanic for Douglass, Mc Donald, Northrup, and FAA the last in OKC Okla at FAA Headquarters. An incredible aircraft for the day.
I was around in the time of the Constellations,
but we were ground people back then.
When I saw it in the movies, I knew it was
a beautiful plane. Thanks for the fine review.
Great, now I want to build a Connie. Wonderful presentation Mike.
I built a model of that Eastern paint scheme for mom one christmas. Best gift I ever gave her. I wish she was still her so I could show this video. She would have liked it
Great video. Love the Connie
Neat! I’ve always wondered how much better the aerodynamics were with this airplane and it’s special iconic shape. Would love to hear more about the engines on these too.
I never flew the Connie but I did fly the DC-7, same engines.
The design began in 1935 or 36, the first one ran in 1937. There were no computers or even calculators back then, if close was good enough you used a slide rule. If it had to be exact, you did the math on paper.
They had 18 cylinders, 2 rows of 9. Bore and stroke were around 6 5/16”. 3350 cu. in displacement.
The ones I flew were 3400 HP @ 2900 RPM for takeoff and 2800 HP continuous.
They hat power recovery turbines, these were powered by exhaust and connected to the crankshaft via an oil clutch. They provided about 500 more HP.
They burned quite a bit of oil, usually 1-4 gallons/ hour. An old joke was ‘fill it up with oil and check the gas’.
They were supercharged, a typical takeoff manifold pressure on a hot day was in the upper 50s.
The prop was gear- driven, 16 revolutions of the crank to 7 of the prop.
They weighed about 3000 lbs with no prop.
Wonderful Videos!! I am wondering if you ever spoke at IPMS at TRW Space Park in Redondo Beach. I remember a beautiful painting of a Constellation on display at the presentation.
Sorry I missed this comment, and yes, I've attended and spoken at IPMS Space Park meetings. Many thanks!
Excellent video and story, Mike! Well put together and very informative. Please keep up the good work and keep'em coming!
Many thanks!
Thanks very much for this retrospective. I have always loved this handsome plane and it was the first plane I ever flew in @ 3 years old - TWA Flight #962 - Idlewild to Frankfurt - L749 March 6 1952. My mother was a war bride and my dad scraped up enough money ( $591.20 RT for my mom, half that for me, a LOT of cash in 1952!) to send us back to visit her parents (my grandparents). Even at such a young age, I vaguely have some snippets of memory regarding the flight, mostly interior images and noise! NY to Gander to Shannon to London to Germany - 24 hours. While I have photos of us arriving at Rhein-Main Field, unfortunately there are no recognizable registration numbers, so I can't identify the actual plane. However, for our return flight on June 28 1952 (TWA Flight #963), I am able to name the plane: Another L749 - N6016C - The Star of Minnesota. Apparently all TWA 749's back then were named "Star of . . . " What a plane.
Started a lifelong interest in 4 engine prop airliners (and bombers like the -24). Thanks again.
Great Story, thanks!
Beautiful bird
September 1969 I found myself stationed at Otis AFB as a crew chief on Connies. ADC had them flying up and down the coast as part of the Early Warning System. By December 1069 I spent six weeks TDY at McCoy working on "R" models while flight crews trained how to use the sensitive microphones to fly over the trail. By August 69 I spent a year at Saigon working on a 123 called the White Whale. After my year there I ended up working on Connies in California. One night one came back from it's turn flying up and down the west coast as again part of the "Early Warning system". The pilot overshot the nose wheel mark by about 3 ft. I motioned him to BACK up the aircraft using his two inboards with his props reversed. A process we did on the 123 all the time to park it on the tarmac. Well he complied and it ended up on the mark and not on its tail either. After that activity I did another TDY in Iceland for just under two months again covering the Early Warning system. Nothing exciting during the tour other than when I got back I had less than six months left of my tour in the Air Force. Thanks for the video. As you can tell it brought back a couple of memories of being an aircraft mechanic on Connies.
Great comment and story, thanks!
My dad was stationed at Otis in 60s-70s and as a young boy he would let me go to the flight line to watch the 106s and when the Connies would fly, boy it was something to see and hear! Beautiful aircraft!
I know the Constellation had an earlier design history than 40s and 50s, but this a quintessential 1950s design. It's up there with the Chevy Bel Air, Western Electric Bell System rotary desk phone or Richard Neutra architecture. Outside of the Comets and French SE 210 Caravelle, the passenger jets all had a generic look to them with the exception of the 747. This is one beautiful plane. PS Thank you for making these videos.
Appreciate the comment, thanks!
...and my mom worked for Hughes aircraft for a couple of years. I had no idea that there was a connection to the Connie right in my own family. My dad took off in '55, typical B-29 bombardier behavior.
Fun presentation Mike. I was a kid on Otis AFB in the late ‘60’s- my step dad flew EC-121’s with the 962nd AEW&C off of Otis flying radar pickets over the North Atlantic in the days of the “DEW Line”...
Apologies for the late reply, and thanks for your comment. I remember seeing an Otis-based EC-121 at an air show on Long Island. The airplane was really pristine for a military bird!
Great segment..
One of the most beautiful aircraft to take to the sky. Wish there were a 1/ 48 scale model available to build of this great plane. Great video Mike...🍻
Thanks John, and agreed on that 1/48-scale Connie model. Now which airline should it be?...
@@celebratingaviationwithmik9782 Mike...would love to build it in TWA livery. On of my favorites..
John....
Great thanks
I've often wondered why the Constellation at 1:31 didn't have the six foot extension to the wing root like the DC-7C did. It would've increased the range by added fuel tanks and, like the -7C, decreased noise and vibration in the passenger cabin.
Good observation, and Lockheed actually did just that with the later model 1649 "Starliner" Constellation. That aircraft explanation begins at 12:07, and thanks for watching!
@@celebratingaviationwithmik9782 I'm still holding out for a video about the nonstop LAX - LHR Starliner TWA flight. That would be interesting.
I grew up near and in the flight line of McCellan AFB where the early warning connie was kept and some friends of mine maintained. The California Aero Space museum is at McCellan field and they have a connie radar plane that on weekends you can walk thru
When dad got stationed to Japan in ‘57, it was a Connie that flew us from San Francisco. My only recollection is of me playing with my Lincoln Logs on the floor somewhere over the pacific. Dad loved the plane and at one time was assigned to fly it during his time in the Air Force.
I came across yours just today and what a happy person I am today!
Appreciate the comment, thank you!
the "Dolphin" I will always remember her as :)
To me, the most distnctive characteristic of the Constellation isn't the triple stabilizers, but the beautiful, graceful, double-curved fuselage curving up from the tapered nose, arching over the wings and back down to the tiny up-curve to the tail. It seems other air frames consist of straight-sided cylinders tapered at the ends. Cheaper to build I'm sure, but not as graceful.
When I was a kid in the mid-1950's I watched my older sister get on a Connie at Hartford's Bradley Field for a flight to California.
Great comment and story, thanks!
Thank you for this interesting insight! Just one remark from Germany regarding the units used: while i can easily convert imperial units into the metric system, I am not sure whether you're using statute or nautical miles for aircraft range and speed (mph / kn).
Though I missed the Golden Age of piston engine airliners the Connie has long been my favorite airliner
After my comment of yesterday I remember someone telling me many years ago the reason the Connie was designed with 3 tails. At the time hangars did not have high enough door openings to bring in a Connie because if it had one tail it would be too tall to clear the opening. The thought was that it would be much more cost effective for all concerned not to modify all hangar doors but to give the Connie 3 lower tails, is this true, anyone know, very interesting concept if true!
Eastern Airlines flight 633 from Newark to Miami.
Super C
December 1959.
Never flew as a passenger on one because dad preferred United and sometimes Western. But, our next door neighbor was a TWA flight engineer. He told me stories how difficult it was to keep those R-3350's running.
I remember from a former Pan Am Flight Engineer looking back on his logbooks. He flew the Connie for two years and noted 20 inflight shutdowns. His logbook noted 12 years on the 707 and recorded only one inflight shutdown and that was courtesy of a bird. But he still enjoyed the Connie.
One of the Wright Bro.s was on the Hughes coast to coast flight. and Book web-site is a "PAIN"
Thanks for your comment Stiles, and Orville Wright actually flew aboard the record flight Connie when it stopped at Dayton on the return leg to California. Please tell me what went wrong with the Specialty Press website so I can tell them about it and fix the problem.
I was privileged to walk inside one of the last airworthy Constellations in the world at the HARS air museum near Wollongong south of Sydney, magnificent and it kind of smelled like motor oil, quite spacious inside
Propeller airliners often got gremlins on the wings. In the original Twilight Zone tv show, a gremlin landed on the wing in a storm, and tried to peel back the engine cover! William Shatner spotted it, and when he opened his window curtain, the Gremlin WAS RIGHT THERE with his NOSE PRESSED AGAINST the WINDOW!! Very Scary! Jets went faster and would blow the gremlins off.
Your presentations have the feel of those IPMS presentations which I so much loved. I am very interested in aviation history and aviation art and have done some oil paintings of aviation subjects myself. Unfortunately, other than your channel, I have found very few books or videos that detail the process and concepts involved in the creation of aviation artwork and illustration. Your videos are very fascinating. A video showing the available resources that exist on the subject of creating aviation art would be very good as well. It would also be interesting to see a video detailing the backgrounds and methods of some of the various famous aviation artists. Keep up the great work you do.
Thanks Steve, and you might enjoy this episode featuring one of my earliest heroes - the great Douglas Aircraft artist, R.G. Smith: th-cam.com/video/2S4R4B3GxD4/w-d-xo.html
Great, Mike! The Connie is such a beautiful design and still is by today's standard. I don't think we'll ever see the kind of development/change in commercial aviation that transpired between 1955 and 1959. It's a pretty staggering amount of technology shift in those short few years!
Thanks Adam, and I agree 100%!
IMO, the Connie is the most beautiful passenger airplane ever built.
Agreed!
My father flew them for USAF in 1946-47, then for ElAl 1950-1956, Lockheed Air Service flight test at Idlewild from 56-62 for the EC121. Finally for Lufthansa 64-68?. I recall being on an El Al flight from London to NY taking 26 hours via Azores, Iceland, Gander then NY.
Greetings Sir, outstanding video thank you for posting, at time hack 3:55 the upper cowling air intake appears to be closed, I thought R-3350 engine was fuel injected as installed on the Connie so am wondering if this was a modification of some sort or was the R-3350 carbureted on the Connie. Thanks again for posting. Jeffery Richards big fan
Appreciate the comment, thanks, and those engines were actually Vern Rayburn's C-121 MATS Connie, and original configuration.
Still have to have air. Normal for door to be open. When closed it is called alternate air. Drawn from inside the cowling. With fuel injection there is still a master control. Looks like a carburetor. Meters the fuel air mixture.
Mourning Becomes the Electra
I did the Eastern Shuttle in 67. 5 bucks. Maybe it was 25.....it was still cheap.
Flew in DC 6s when I was a kid. Don't know if they also flew the DC 7 in Greenland.
Scandinavian Airlines Systems used them in Greenland until the Dash 7 arrived in 1978-9-ish.
I would love to fly on a “Connie”! Imagine getting out of a DC 3, to the beautiful Constalation!!
There are 3 or four planes that were/are flying art; 1) Constellation, 2) P51 Mustang, 3) P38, and 4) F16 .......
The Constellation is the most beautiful flying machine that exemplifies the concept of airfoils and aerodynamics.
Or 5? With the SR-71? (Which really looks like quality science fiction art)
Concorde. But I agree, the Super Constellation is stunningly elegant.
@@bosoerjadi2838 I visited the visited the Boeing Museum of Flight and toured (walked through) the Concorde …. It’s not on my list - I’m too tall to walk up/down the aisle in the Concorde.😉
Not that I wouldn’t have the same problem in the Constellation, but I would certainly find a way to fit in the others.
So, all the Soviets should have done for a sneak attack in the 1950's was to paint their Bears white, and add some TWA logo's on them, in stead of the red stars ?
23hrs16min London San Francisco which is,I think, about the same as the direct London Perth flight run by Quantas using a 787 or it could be an A380 can't remember which.
It is the 787 or was until Qantas services stopped. It’s about 17 hours to Perth with about an hour for refuel before continuing to Melbourne another 3.5 hours approximately. Overall not a massive time saving if going via Dubai or Singapore but the service has proved very popular. The next step is direct London to Melbourne or Sydney non stop.
The Lockheed Constellation probably was one of the most beautifully built airplanes of it's time. To this day, the ones that are restored, are real sights to see. It was an ultra-luxurious airplane back in it's hey-day and it was impressive then as it would definitely be now.
Purchased the book and used the coupon code. Looks Like a great book.
Fabulous, thanks! I'm sure you'll enjoy the read.
Yep, flew on a Connie back when.
Not 1 upping, but my Dad and Brothers all flew the Connies commercially. Did you know the last of the series, the L-1649A had a wingspan just 5 ft under that of the Lockheed L-1011Tri-Star, 150 ft!
R-3350's and R-2800's nothing like the sound of four of them .
What was interesting the Connie and the DC7 were pretty close in performance. Slight difference between the two until the new model was brought out.
Agreed on the fabuolous sound of those big radials, and the DC-7 was actually faster than any of the Constellation models with a cruise speed of 350 mph.
@@celebratingaviationwithmik9782
Yes, I was around a couple of 7Cs didn't fly them but they were an effective Airtanker. 115 and 32 they were owned by T&G out of Chandler AZ. Butler's 7/7Bs are finally retired this year as Erickson's gone all jet with the MD 87's .
There’s an iconic photo of James Dean catching some Zs aboard a TWA Lockheed Constellation en route to Hollywood from New York City and his short but storied acting career
Very cool!
new to your channel Mike, all most enjoyable stuff, thank you for your efforts. You mention near the end of the program a bit about the Electra, did you see the military's Connie in the background?
Appreciate the comment, thanks, and yes, those Navy WV-2s at Burbank make a perfect backdrop for the new Electra! (That ramp is an Airport parking lot today!)
The connies fuselage reminds me of the Dehavelind Albatross…. I’m guessing the triple tail kept the fins out of the prop wash and resulting torque…. The pilots probably liked the P -38 yoke , did they leave the gun button on the stick ?
Great question, and just like at Douglas and Convair, control yokes were constantly being modified and improved in newer models of each respective airliner. The outboard thumb-buttons on the Connie's yokes were either "Push to talk" or "Auto-pilot disconnect." Thanks for watching!
@@celebratingaviationwithmik9782 I really appreciate your channel and your Artists and Aviators perspective on
these fascinating and unique topics ….
@@stephenrickstrew7237 Many thanks!
WONDERFUL
In the early 1960s I got a closeup view of the trail of a Constellation that was at a 500 foot elevation above my house. It was on the San Francisco Peninsula on a weekday afternoon where my older brother and I were watching TV and we heard the loud rumble of an aircraft overhead, it made the house shake. We ran outside to see the Constellation flying away doing a climb away from the house. How that aircraft ended up so low in a residential area was a mystery to me. As kids we didn't know what to do except tell our parents when they got home; they paid little mind to that.
My first commercial flight was on a TWA Super Connie from Wichita to Denver in '63. We flew 1st class, and I thought we were treated like royalty. I was 9 at the time, I'll never forget what an elegant plane that was.
Glad you got to experience that!
9:43 Those tanks look just like the drop tanks on the P-38 and P-61, are they Sargent Fletcher tanks?
Although similar to P-38/P-61, the Connie's 600-gallon wingtanks were specifically designed to attach to the wingtips. Created to augment the range of military WV-2 (Navy) and C-121 (USAF) Constellations, they were then adapted for TWA, VARIG, and other airlines to allow true intercontinental range.
Mike, fantastic video and appreciate the crossover to the modeling hobby. I have a Heller Connie in my build queue and now can’t wait to start the project.
'Forgot to mention the Heller kit - I built the TWA Super-G version and it was a terrific model!
Thank you for this wonderful history of my favorite prop plane ever built. When I was young I bought and attempted to build the Monogram model you mentioned. My build failed miserably but as an adult I had an opportunity to visit Lockheed on business and I bought the wood Super G model from the Lockheed employee store. I cherish that model.
Love model stories like that!
I expect the complex fuselage shapes of these airliners cost more to build than the simpler shaped fuselages of the Douglas series aircraft?
Yes, that would be correct, and harder to manufacture as well. Thanks for watching!
Congratulations, Mike! You sold me (yet another) book! Of course, this was easy--I'm a sucker for this topic, and a sweet discount code is spouse approved!
I've always wanted to experience flying on any of these four-engined propliners, but I was born too late. Only a few years ago I realized that my parents had taken some airline flights back around 1953, which would mean that it was probably on a four-engined propliner. I never thought to ask them what the experience was like, and sadly now I can no longer ask them. However, I think it would be a great video topic for you to cover what flying on a four-engined propliner was like. I know it was expensive, so anyone on board either had plenty of money or was traveling for business. The promotional pictures make it look so elegant and high class. The movies aren't in real airplanes, so we can't trust them. I imagine that there was a lot of vibration and a high noise level that took away from the experience, and no one was wearing noise-cancelling headphones. While you're at it you could extend that to how the experience changed as jets came along. Even from my own experience, back in the 80s or 90s I tended to wear earplugs on airliners. Flying just a year ago on a 737-800 was so quiet I felt no need for earplugs.
Thanks for buying the book, Russ, and what a great topic about flying on propliners back in the day. A totally different experience for sure, but biggest memories of my first DC-7 flight at age 12 was that the noise and vibration was much less than expected. We sat in the First-Class lounge ahead of the props (club seating for 8) while the First Class cabin was at the back of the airplane away from the engines. (The Lavs were right at the prop line - you can see the small windows in the photos.) Inflight entertainment was looking out the window, playing cards, writing letters or postcards, and reading. Oh yes, all the adults started smoking as soon as the "NO SMOKING" signs went out. It looked glamourous in all the ads, but I'll bet that was a long 12 or 14 hours to Europe or the Far East!
Very nice history of the Connie. As a young lad, I lived under the take off path of BUR and I SAW ALL of Lockheed's finest fly over my house, including the P-38. I very well remember witnessing a BRAND NEW TWA Super G fly right over my house heading for its new home.. I was an FE on the C-124 in the Air Force Reserves back in 1967 and continued on to the Lockheed C-141 as FE. As fate would have it, I ran into the "Camarillo Connie" at a airshow at VNY in 1997. I became active in the group and was eventually checked out as a back up FE on the Connie! 30 years later I am back in the sky! Flew the Connie until sold to Switzerland in 2004. Helped them fly it in Europe until they got their own FE. Those were the days...
Wonderful comment, thanks!
Have you heard about the time the navigator got sucked out of a broken astrodome and died over the atlantic?
Yes, and that was not an uncommon problem before safety cross-braces were added to the plexiglas.
Thanks, Mike...really enjoyed this with my morning coffee...Keep these coming!
When I was in a Navy squadron, I saw one of the last EC-121 Warning Stars take off once. That's the early warning model in the video. The climb rate was so slow it was scary. It looked like it was not going to clear the trees and power lines that were actually a ways from the end of the runway. I asked someone if they might be in trouble. Someone with more experience told me they always take off like that. I thought, "What a dog of an airplane."
In May of 1966 I was sent to basic training at Ft. Polk LA and they flew me from Indianapolis, In to Jackson, MS on a Connie and from there we flew into Ft. Polk on a DC-3, that was my one and only ride in a Connie.
At that time, I was in the 60th Army Band at Ft. Polk. We might have been at your Basic Training orientation or graduation parade, or both. We alternated with the 56th AB also at Ft. Polk. From there I went to the First Infantry Division in Vietnam. Rode in a Branniff Airlines Boeing 707-227 over and Saturn Airways (don't remember the plane, but it could have been a DC-8) back a year later. Military was using commercial airliners for transport at that time, although I knew guys who flew in C-141's to Nam.
@@cesarebeccaria7641 Interesting, after basic I had to hire a cab to get me to Shreveport, LA and got to to fly in a 727, my first ever jet, got to go home for 2 weeks then to Redstone
Arsenal for AIT then to Anniston Army Depot, never had to go to Vietnam.
I remember going on a field trip to Moffet Field when I was in the sixth grade around 1961 and seeing one of these planes up close. Another plane on display there was a Crusader jet, which at the time was the latest thing.
Another wonderful presentation. Thank you Mike! I love the model kit tie in also! Yup, gonna get me a book and a connie kit...lol
It's been a long time, but I still remember the sound of its engines. I was a child in 1956.
And I immediately purchased the book.
Many thanks!
I flew on a Constellation from the USA to Africa (via Heathrow, UK) back in 1962.
Mike--Wonderful episode. I am a total airplane nerd but I always learn something new from you. I did not know about the white paint requirement during the cold war. I was fortunate to fly on many of these aircraft as a child. I think the cowlings on the big radials are some of the most beautiful shapes created by man.
Appreciate the comment, thanks!
thank you
Mjke, are you sure that Eastern flew the last scheduled flight of a Connie? My dad flew L749As for Pacific Northern Airlines, a great little regional operation that was the largest carrier to and within Alaska during the golden age of commercial aviation from the mid-Forties thru the mid-Sixties. In 1967, owner Art Woodley, who had started as a bush pilot, sold PNA to Western Airlines (to the everlasting disappointment of his employees). Western was a good company, but never seemed to know what to do with its new acquisition, abandoning many of the small town routes and quickly losing market share in the 49th state. During this short period, Western did put their paint scheme on PNA's half-dozen Connies (and a couple of Boeing 720s). I don't recall how long past the late summer of 1967 that Western kept flying the Connies, but i'm guessing that it would have been very near whatever date you have for Eastern. Maybe fourteen years ago I visited an "airlines collectables show" at Boeing Field here in Seattle. Wandering around the room, I noticed an old fellow sitting in a folding chair watching the proceedings, and was delighted to see from his name tag that he was veteran aviation novelist Robert Serling. I sat down with him and told him a few stories that I thought he would get a kick out of. Here are a couple you guys might like: Art Woodley, who founded Pacific Northern right after WW2, was a fine employer and a genial host at company get-togethers, but he he was also a big, sturdy, two-fisted tough guy when that was called for. His son George told me that in their bush-flying days there was not much love lost between young Art Woodley and his contemporary and competitor, the equally hard-bitten Bob Reeve (later the founder of Reeve Aleutian) as they fought for contracts and loads that would pay the bills. Anyway, after the war and having some profits and good credit, Art Woodley bought some DC-3s to start his new airline, and not military surplus, mind you, but shiny new airplanes straight from Douglas . . . with leather-upholstered seats, no less!! Well, as the story goes, one day now-president Woodley. as was his occasional habit in those years, decided to put on his PNA captain's uniform, get out of his Anchorage office, and take a flight himself. Having landed in Kodiak and picked up a load of mostly commercial fishermen, upon climbing out and leveling off for the trip home, Captain Woodley turned the controls over to the co-pilot, put on his uniform jacket and hat, and headed back to the cabin to ""show the colors" and exchange pleasantries with the passengers. At this point, let me interject that Hollywood's practice of showing airline cockpit crews flying with their hats on is (or was) 100% phony; in flight, real aircrews were always down to the white shirt and tie. So here's big Art Woodley in full uniform working his way down the cabin, introducing himself and thanking passengers for their business, when he comes upon a fisherman comfortably slouched deep in conversation with his seat-mate, and who has forgotten himself to the extent that he has propped his booted feet an top of the row of seats in front of him. Yes. Art Woodley's new leather seats. In one swift lunge the fisherman's feet and legs have been hurled off the seatbacks and into the aisle, and the startled and increasingly terrified man has been yanked up by the collar into the enraged face of the captain, who in a voice of power and menace states, "IF I EVER SEE YOU PUT YOUR FEET ON UP ON THE SEATS AGAIN, I'LL THROW YOU OFF MY AIRPLANE . . . AND I WON'T CARE IF WE'RE ON THE GROUND OR NOT!!!" That's enough for now. I'll come back another day with more Connie stuff.
Great comment and stories, thanks, and yes you are correct - Northern Pacific operated their 749A Constellations through December 1968.
OWW, Mike, NOT "Northern Pacific," but Pacific Northern Airlines ("The Alaska Flag Line," which operated its "Flagliners" from Seattle to Anchorage nonstop or with stops at Ketchikan and Juneau, and from Anchorage flew regular service to a number of smaller towns in southern and southeastern Alaska. Northern Pacific was the RAILROAD. Well, I guess there WAS an attempted airline startup recently, calling itself "Northern Pacific," which as I heard quickly folded amid charges of defrauding investors or some-such. PNA oldtimers are a bit bemused today to observe how Alaska Airlines has become such a big, well-run and successful company, because throughout PNA's thirty-year heyday, Alaska was a ragtag, marginally profitable operation, something of an industry joke, with their employees leaving work with their paychecks and racing to the bank in hopes the checks wouldn't bounce. Today, Western Airlines, with all of history, has long since disappeared, absorbed into Delta, while Alaska Airlines is an industry blue chip. And Pacific Northern, recognized in its day by the FAA for the excellence of its maintenance work on the Connies, now fades away with the last elderly generation who knew it first-hand. Mike, I deeply appreciate your giving us this means of recording a few stories that would otherwise be lost.
American Airlines in the 1950's weren't painted anywhere white.
That is correct and yours is about the 20th comment about American Airlines' bare-metal color scheme. However, to compensate for the visibility IFF issue, all control surfaces and engine cowlings were painted bright red-orange. Thanks for watching!