Hell yeah that man was a badass when the Russians surprised everybody and took out that u2 he designed instead of shiting him self he started to Archangel program and they 12 which then became the SR-71 Blackbird
All except the U2 exceeded both specifications & expectations. The U2 was not because of it’s own failings but because of Soviet radar & missile technologies being better than expected.
Our Country was full of men just like him back then. America had a can-do attitude that was constantly pushing the boundaries of what was thought to be impossible.
A story about Kelly Johnson told by an older man back in 1978. When the C-130 was being developed the wing was being done in GA. Johnson was there for the first stress test and the wing failed at 92% design load; some months later he was back and in failed at 97% of design load. Johnson informed them he would be back in 3 months and if the wing failed again they all fired. He came back and at 123% of design load the test rig failed😂. Gotta love Kelly Johnson’s management style. Note that there was never a main spar failure on a C-130 until one failed fighting fires. That bird had spent many years with the CIA doing who knows what with uncertain maintenance and no records so I don’t think it should count as a design flaw.
I have fond memories of watching Connies on approach to SFO as a child. My world was beautiful and free. I'll always remember the introduction of the 727, because it appeared so much slower. To me, the end of the Connie was the end of life as I knew it. Everything started moving faster, and fields began to be filled in with houses. I yearn to go back to the Connie days.
You are fortunate to have seen it's glory and must be saddened to see it's decline. I was born in the 1980's but share your sentiments. A trusting, loving, self sufficient and proud community must have been marvelous to experience first hand.
It was kind of neat that you mentioned that the 727 seemed so much slower. It dawned on me how much longer the take off run probably was for early Jets in comparison with the comparatively short take off distance of the prop liners.
I have to add. I worked and maintained the EC-121 as a propeller technician at McClellan AFB California in 1971- 1973. Did many TDY'S to Thailand and beyond. I have many fond memories of flying and making island hoping, Wake island and such. Changing out engines or jugs. carried my tool chest. Saluting the acft commanders. The whole experience of me, an airman first class. being part of Americans finest.
As a 10 year old kid, emigrating with my family to Canada from Paraguay, we changed planes in Buenos Aires and boarded a Constellation, and took it to Miami,Fla. I will never forget seeing that big,silver airplane, I was totally in awe of it and I can still recall that moment, great childhood memory.
That flight was on a Super G operated by VARIG, the flight originated in B.Aires, with stops in S. Paulo, Rio, Belem, and maybe Trinidad as well then Miami as final destination. I flew the same route in 1961, except after Trinidad it went to Santo Domingo, then New York, I'm about 90% sure that was the case. Back then VARIG was the only S.American airline flying the type.
I saw Connies at Toronto but I never had the chance fly in one. I did, however, fly a hop in a remote part of Canada in a DC-3. That was pretty surreal.
I built many Constellation models as a boy. Destroyed playing with them. Had the dream of piloting them. As with these planes my dream faded away. The Connie still is one of the most stylish, sexiest aircraft ever built. Thanks Lockheed.
All these youngsters sadly never had the opportunity to fly in them. I did ... for hours and hours up and down the Ho Chi Minh trail ... at night ... in FOUL weather. They were still a delight to ride in. I even managed a few hours of stick time. She had very few, if any, bad habits and was certainly quieter and more comfortable than a C-130 !!! All in all, the editors hit the nail on the head. It truly was a GREAT PLANE.
I flew on the last scheduled flight of a TWA Connie in '62 or '63 from Ontario, California to Albuquerque. Sat just behind the engines over the wing. Watching those big radials crank up was magic! Flames out of the stacks, smoke everywhere, the "chug, chug, chug" of the individual cylinders firing - MAGIC. I went on to have a great aviation career spanning 40 years and 24,000 hours. The Connie will always be my favorite airplane followed by the Boeing 757 followed by the 747. Beautiful airplanes all.
@@garybain2339 Airliners of the past especially the super connie were just so special, now the modern stuff is fairly boring unless you're flying one of the smaller reginal planes. There are at least still some nice variation in those.
I sat in exactly the same seat when I flew in a Connie from Hartford, CT to London, England in 1965. It was a charter flight of the Experiment in International Living with which I was associated at the time. There were two stopovers, one at Gander, Newfoundland, and the other at Shannon, Ireland. The flight pretty much followed the route Lindbergh' took in 1927. I too remember the very loud noise of the engines, as well as the strong vibration they produced inside the cabin which, taken together, got to be rather annoying after a while But then that was the way it was in the days of aircraft driven by piston-engines. It was a whole lot more quiet and comfortable on board when I crossed the Atlantic in a jet-powered Boeing 707 two years later. And of course the trip took much less time.
A Lockheed 4-engined Propeller driven Super G Constellation plane brought me to U.S.A in Jan. 1958 from India. As I recall, it took us 8 stops and approximately 24 hours from Bombay to New York. I was 21 years of age. Jay Nadkarni.
1974 and still in service , wow, I remember my Dad pointing one out very very high up , he could always tell where the planes were in the sky, I never could, He flew in a B 50 back in 1948 or so , thanks for everything Dad.
I flew from JFK Airport (at that time, Idlewild Airport) to Miami on my honeymoon -1960 - during the day on The Lockheed Constellation. Spectacular experience but the engines were super loud. The flight was great, but not the marriage. The flight was about 4 hours. The marriage about 4 months. I should have stayed on the plane.
I flew from JFK Airport (at that time, Idlewild Airport) to Miami on my honeymoon -1960 - during the day on The Lockheed Constellation. Spectacular experience but the engines were super loud. The flight was great, but not the marriage. The flight was about 4 hours. The marriage about 4 months. I should have stayed on the plane.
I grew up in Burbank, California where the Connie's were built. As luck would have it the flight path of the day would take the Connie right over my elementary school. During recess, many a time I would miss a pop fly as one of those magnificent birds would fly overhead as a 10 year old kid would keep one eye on a ballgame and the other on a legend flying off to its destination. Such a beautiful sight to behold.
I was a happy kid, back in the Fifties, watching Connie's fly, in to and out of, Lockheed Air Terminal in Burbank , Ca. Lucky to live near by. The most beautiful airliner to grace the skies.
I too grew up in Burbank during that same time. The Connie's flight path took it right over my home (Keystone St. Between Alameda Ave. and Olive Ave.) What great memories!
My dad took me, at the age of 6, to watch KLM's Constellations on Schiphol airport in the sixties....and I fall in love with the grace of the Lockheed Constellation! It is still, after 55 years, in my favorite time line list of aircraft; Supermarine Spitfire > Fokker G1 > Messerschmitt ME-262 >Lockheed Constellation > DC-10 > Boeing 747 > MD-11......!
A friend of mine also flew on an EC121. He spent two years in training learning Korean, Morse code and other training. He is now 80 years old, and a HAM radio operator which is how I met him. Thank you for your service !
The Eastern Airlines Shuttle Newark (EWR) to Washington (DCA). I enjoyed sitting at a window on the leading edge of the wing looking down the throat of the exhaust on the Constilation. Always at night, I commuted for a year every weekend in the early 60's. Thanks to the Team at Lockheed.
The Connie remains one of the most beautiful planes! In 1961 my family flew with a connie from Fort Dix to Frankfurt, Germany. I sat next to the starboard wing and saw flames shoot out of an engine. The engine was shut down and we landed in Gander, Newfoundland. Waited many hours until a replacement airplane arrived. Though only seven at the time, I recall the events.
From an article in the Clipper Pioneers newsletter, newsletter for former Pan Am pilots, a former Flight Engineer wrote how he looked back at his logbooks and recalled that the two years he was on the Connie he had 20 inflight engine shutdowns. He then wrote that he was FE on the 707 for 12 years and only had one inflight shutdown, being courtesy of a bird. Airframe great; engines not so much.
Glad to have flown in one at young age when all the stewardesses were looking really good. loved to see the fire come out of the exhaust and the sound perfect.
In 1957 my grandparents flew to Europe on a Constellation. They were completely WOWed! Their carry-on luggage was B.O.A.C. So that airline must have had Constellations at that time. Gramps bought a TR-3 sports car while in England. He picked it up at the factory then proceeded to go out onto the road in the wrong lane. He immediately had a head-on collision. He reports that the TR people pulled his car in and repaired it right away. They were quite gracious. He was SO grateful! For my part, I could never figure out how such a stern, practical man could DO that. But they got through it, had a lovely trip and came home safe and happy.
I remember living in Valley Stream, Long Island in the 50's as a young boy. Our house was under the flight path to Idlewild airport (now JFK). I used to watch these beauties fly overhead every day. We even would make a trip out to the airport and watch the planes from the observation deck. Boy, aviation has come a long way since then, but you still can't beat the look of the Connie.
I watched this video because I remembered my Dad raving about the Connies that he worked and flew on in his long USAF career, and low and behold at 34:58, there he his working on one. I’m guessing, but I’d say that film was shot at Donaldson AFB up to 1963, or Hunter Army Airfield, up to 1965. It could be footage from Danang 1967,68, or 69 too. He looks young so I’m leaning towards Greenville or Savannah. It was a joy to discover and I wish I could call him and tell him about it. Thanks for making and posting the vid. :)
In 1961/62 I was the Air Terminal Officer at Naval Station Keflavik, Iceland. A Connie assigned to Admiral Moore was on the tarmac near my office. I just had to see what the Admiral's plane looked like on the inside so I walked up the steps, told the armed guard at the door that my crew had cleaned the plane for the Admiral and that I wanted to check their work. He allowed to access to the aircraft.That was the only time I deliberately lied (that I remember) to get what I wanted while in the service. Was it worth it? Hell Yes!
Bruce Aka BRUISER6969 Canady, I can imagine! Those big old radial engines are a show in of themselves when starting! Smoke and fire belching everywhere and that deep growling rumble! Gotta love it! Gives me goosebumps just thinking about it!
I remember this show, Great Planes. It was on The Discovery Channel in the late 80s. It’s name was eventually changed to Wings, then later it became the first new Discovery spinoff channel, Discovery Wings!
In 1956 and 1957 my mom and I flew from LAX to KCMO and back to visit relatives. I was 6 and 7 respectively. We flew on TWA Constellation. In 1956 while flying to and from Kansas City, our pilots circled the Grand Canyon so we could view the beauty. I loved it and most others did too but my mom was airsick as the plane did encounter turbulence on this flight. I can remember going to the cockpit and shaking hands with the pilots and engineer. The seats were so comfortable and the engine hum eventually lulled me to sleep. Shortly after this flight, there was the horrific collision between the Constellation and United DC-7 where everyone died. I often think of how that could have happened to us. In 1957 TWA did not allow circling over the canyon and the pilot mentioned how they could not do it any longer. The Constellation was a beautiful plane. I flew with my Dad on DC-6 MAINLINERS on United to Honolulu and once on the Boeing 377. For a little kid who loved airplanes, the 377 was huge with the lounge/bar down stairs. We would go to the lounge where I would have a soda and my Dad a beverage. I would love to fly in a Constellation and DC-6 again for the memories. That was when the airlines gave great service and you felt safe flying because the major airlines kept up maintenance thanks to regulations and a safety mindset. Safety went by the wayside due to deregulation and airlines cutting corners. Remember Alaska Airlines in 2000 going down off the coast of California because their maintenance people were too lazy to service and inspect the jack screw on the MD 80?
Flew in a Connie in 1955 from Cairo to London over the Alps, invited to the cockpit to view the Matterhorn, It even had a bar at the rear where one could stand up and have a drink!
A lifetime of beautiful memories brought back. It is some 75 years since I last saw the Super Connie which was being operated between South Africa and Perth, Western Australia when I was working at Perth Airport. Their terminal was right next door to our hangar and I loved seeing them in all their beauty. Thank you for this great story. If memory serves me, the Engineer in Perth was Kyril Bolonkin, (I hope I got his name close to correct spelling) a big man who lived for the Connies.
I was fortunate enough to get to fly the military version, C-121, from November 1958 until sometime in late 1962 or early 1963 to best of my recollection. I’m 85 years old and that was about 60 years ago, so my memory is a little fuzzy. But I do remember what a great lady she was and how beautiful she was. She was a great plane, but she also had some unfriendly quirks too. Those Wright Turbo Compound engines were famous oil burners. The flight controls were hydraulic boosted but man-o-man, if you lost that system and you had only the manual controls with no boost, she was a real handful. When everything was working as designed, she was a pleasure to fly. Still the most beautiful piston powered transport ever built.
Seems very agile & bouyant despite slow lift off speed and landing speed , and stunningly short distance needed , in either case ! I thought propellors were lesser efficiency than what appears to be evident their and the case , for them . Will propellers ( blades ) ever be fitted to Jet engines , AND the new , lnternal Centrifuge engines , at least to enhance speed of heavy lift offs ? ( Achtung . Coded message )
My grandparents lived just about 1/2 mile from the Lockheed Airport in Burbank, CA. When I was 4 or 5 Lockheed was building the Constellation and flying them off several times each day and through the night. Those radial engines absolutely shook the house...caused the TEEVEE set to go wacky...and scared the living daylights outta 4 or 5 year olds. I can still remember those Connies flying over in the dark of night...flames blazing out of the exhaust...
Hello all. In 1961, me mom and brother boarded "our Connie" flying to the remote USAF base that my dad had been stationed as a missile maintainer. I am currently writing a book to document our experience that began when a surprise North Atlantic storm rose up. Our Captain made five passes to land there was no way. We flew to get out of the storm but it was every where and very tall. It flew us out of American Air Space and yes we were met and surrounded by Russian fighters. It is an amazing story, all truth that I am certain will thrill and also touch your heart. I expect a year from now to be in print and will advise back here at that time. I love this aircraft and our Captain who flew her and made use of every design feature to keep us aloft in the worst possible weather and political conditions. Connie is a hero!!!!!!
@@agentorange153 He was talking about beauty, not the initial fatigue problems. When the prototype Comet appeared in 1949, it was generally accepted as being a thing of beauty from out of the future, especially compared with the piston-engined designs of the time. I would also put in a vote for the 1937 DH Albatross, which I believe influenced Lockheed a few years later. (Not so much the early version with the inset fins though!)
As a Naval Aviator, my dad navigated Radar Pickett Constellations out of Hickam Field in 1957, When we were transfered back to Conus, we flew back in a Super G. Depending upon wind conditiions you could see the wings actually flap. My first trip in a plane at 10 was that MATS flight.
When I was a young man I would watch the big connies landing at toronto airport. Quite often a connie would fly by with one prop feathered running on three. What a beautiful ship they were
The Super Connie (has?) served for decades as Hurricane Hunters, delivering life saving recon data, as well as scientific observation that could not be gotten any other way. They even delivered radio sondes into the eye wall, the most dangerous place in the flyable atmosphere besides a tornado.
What an excellent programme. I had always percieved the Connie with awe and great fondness, but never realized the extent and value of the planes' performance. It was truly a @'reat Plane'
Beautiful planes!!! The curvy lines and the Triple Fins made these planes so unique... And when taking off, The sound of those mighty 3,350's just roaring was seriously awesome.... Graceful and quite fast, with the Amazing lines of a shapely woman, it is little wonder why so many people felt safe and at-home when boarding these amazing planes... It's a shame that so many of them were scrapped because of being quickly replaced by the Jet planes... But they will never be forgotten.... Thank You for posting this!!!
I got to hop a Navy C-121 headed home from Guam to Dallas. We lost port outboard on approach to Kwajelan so I had to catch a C-141 for the rest of my trip back stateside, but I got to ride in a Constellation, and that was 1977. Lucky me!
+Martin Burch I took a flight from Charleston, SC to the Canal Zone in 1961 on a C121. Shortly after takeoff one of the engines developed problems and we turned back. I can't remember which engine it was. However, it was "repaired" and we set out again. I do remember having on dress blues and stepping out into that Panama heat and humidity.
+Rusty White I flew them out of KCHS 58-62, when we transferred them to the ANG and transitioned to C-130E. Many trips to Albrook. Then took over the MAC detachment at Howard '66-69 and flew C-118s on the side for USAFSO.
A beatiful design that has earned my respect when I flew in 1957 in a Comnie to Australia . Our family was 12 people . It felt as being at home. When the whole family finally arrived in Scheyville Migrant Holding Centre near the towmship of Windsor me and a brother hitchhked all the way back to Kingston Smith Airport Sydney some 65 miles just to see her again. On the way back we slept in a policestation .The officers could hardly believe our story.. That's how much we loved "our " Connie.
In 1978 I bought a ticket to fly from Isla Mujeres to Cozumel. As soon as the plane appeared in the distance, I got an ear to ear grin. It was a Connie. So I got to fly to Cozumel on a Connie for $10. It was a short but fun experience with only 5 passengers. Woohoo.
There was only one commercial airline left in the world flying passenger Constellations in 1978 and that was Quisqueyana Airways out of the Dominican Republic. You were very lucky to have flown on a "Connie" at that late of a date in actual passenger service!
I flew on one of these in Dec 1964. I was in the Navy, on leave, and managed to hitch a ride from Memphis to Omaha Nebraska, SAC. The weather was terrible but the Connie was more than up to the job. I was only 6 months in the Navy and had the entire plane to myself until a young AF officer boarded and sat right across from me. He was a pilot and at first he just stared at me. He then began to tell me about VietNam and the unknown war being waged. (Advisory action at that time and mostly not known by the public) He told me about the men he saw killed and was very upset. He appeared to have PTSD. I guess I really didn't understand what he was saying. I have never forgotten that encounter with that young pilot and my ride on the AF Constellation. A few months later the VietNam war began in earnest.
There are two super connies being restored in Auburn Maine. Beautiful planes sitting side-by-side. I have no idea of their service history but am now motivated to look into that. Great story well presented!!!
First job as a Lockheed engineer was refurbishing WV-2 fleet for the Navy with new electronics. Later flew on Lockheed's private airline to area 51 on Connies. Loved them.
I was in a constellation at an air show once. I was amazed at how big and roomy it was. Much nicer than today's cramped airplanes. The ceiling was so high and there was so much room.
If airlines had their way, we would be flying standing up... lol ...I remmember the first time I flew in a Lockheed 1011,.. so much space and also those fancy dinners....good old days..
I remember watching as my mom boarded a Connie at Boston’s Logan Airport for a trip to San Francisco in 1960. I was four years old, had never been on an airplane, but my dad was a private pilot with great admiration for well-designed aircraft. It rubbed off.
In 1951, our family immigrated from The Netherlands to Canada by Constellation. I was a month shy of my 7th birthday; it was an unforgettable experience and ignited my love of aviation and a strong desire to learn to fly, a dream realized many years later.
I didn't hear them mention that before his death in 1948, Orville Wright was given the honor of taking the controls of a Connie! Must have been quite an experience for him.
Excellent video. One of my earliest memories is of standing on the tarmac at what is now SFO at age five in 1959. My family had deplaned via the air stairs, and while my sisters negotiated the stairs I happened to look up at that triple stabilizer. Five years later I walked through an EC-121 during Armed Forces day at Hamilton AFB. I still remember all of the radar screens, one after the other on both sides of the cabin.
A friend of mine was working on one in Switzerland for a few weeks last year. They were fabricating replacement motor mounting cradles (amazingly they are quite light). One issue they had was hanger space to store it, which is a major cost factor.
not with my true name ? jan60 charleston, sc to daharan navy crew military for state dept? 12 months later back. 8 weeks later out of Sacramento near afb to Manila. june 62 no connie military guys squeezed me in from manila back on a 707 .
I flew over 1,000 hours as a crewman on Navy EC-121M's with VQ2. Great aircraft! Beautiful lines, especially without the radar domes we had on our aircraft. When viewed from the side the fuselage kinda' resembles a dolphin. Those 3350's were very strong engines, though somewhat prone to breakage. We often came home on three engines, which really wasn't a problem!
Back in 1960, I had the good fortune to fly on 2 DC3s and a Connie. The first DC3 was on Air Corse from Marseilles to Paris. Then, a week later, the Connie was on Air France from Paris to NYC and the second DC3 was on TWA from NYC (Idlewild) to Chicago (Midway). You always felt safe on DC3s and Connies.
Well, "Cam", from taking anxiety-inducing exams, in Connies, once you were a fully graduated stewardess, did you serve aboard Connies, and, did you then enjoy pleasurable work aboard Connies?
@@swithinbarclay4797 It is a long time ago. We worked hard, had to have every hair in place, every crystal glass positioned, real china, service was cooking in ovens, it was a different time in life. The more wealthy flew and so were all dressed in their finery. The plane was great - a little noisy, but then the 727 entered the scene. Never understood why we had to know the aircrafts flown and everything about them? Maybe if passengers asked - have no idea, but it was law.
Born in 1965 I lived in a house on the approach path to Adelaide Airport and I was always excited when the planes with three tails went overhead. Connies always had a special sound. The last time I saw one was before about '75 because we moved then. It was such an avant-garde design that I was surprised when he said that a) it was a design that reached back to before the war and b) form was simply following function. Jet airliners aren't quite the featureless triangles of jet fighters but they are brutalist by comparison to these elegant ladies.
In it’s time it was a great aircraft back in the 50’s! And as a kid, I had the opportunity to fly it a couple of times between the states and South America.
I never realize how long the "Connie's" were kept in service within the military. It was a changing time in aviation where every other month something new was built and tried , many planes had a very short history but the Constellation and all her variants keep flying and that tell much about a airframe and performance . When I was a kid I remember civilian air carriers flying across the skys where I grew up and lots of times they flu at FL 8000, wasn't uncommon to see and hear these big birds and us kids loved it,,, Once the 707 came along that plane spotting soon faded away. One time as a kid while in the house that was in a city of about 22000 we all heard this enormous roar and all ran outdoors to see what the hell that noise was. It took about 2 seconds before getting our answer,,, The biggest aircraft I ever saw to this day come right over our home,, a big two story on a hill in the west of town. It was a B-29 at treetop level,, I swear If someone was standing on top of the chimney on out house as if fly over they could have almost touched the underbelly of this monster. I found out years later that it was a simulated attack on an military installation in a big city south and west of our town at about 70 miles.
As a teenager I had the opportunity to fly this plane a number of times before the jetliner came into being and it was a great aircraft to say the least
Flew on the many Connie's in my teens. Going from NY to MIA. What great ride. At that time you could meet your party on the tarmac as they deplaned . Loved the sound of those engines
1960 Headed to my first assignment (Itazuke) I flew in a military version, C-121. We made stops at Hawaii, Midway, Wake, and Guam. At 18 years old it was quite an experience!!
The plane was most likely from VR-7 or VR-8 Navy transport squadrons stationed at NAS Moffett Field Mountian View California.They few passengers out of Travis AFB Fairfield California .I was stationed there for 2 years
I was hired by Eastern Airlines in 1966 with 168 hours flying time. I went from a Cessna 172 to the right seat of the Constellation and logged 265 hours flying the shuttle between LGA and DCA. Great airplane!!!
In 1958, I had my first airplane ride, from Pittsburgh to San Antonio for Airforce basic training. What an experience for an 18 year old still wet behind the ears.
Very well done commentary. My earliest memory is being on a Connie as a child, in the Fifties. I remember when the Navy retired low time Connies , during my own flying career.
Dale Comer. I agree with you. Grew up in Burbank. My dad taught school in Burbank near Lockheed, so he would get a lot of "Gifts" from the parents who worked at Lockheed of the kids he taught. Geez, how I wished I had kept all those "Gifts" (had some awesome Lockheed model planes from the 40's/50's). It truly was a great time for a kid to grow up in such a wonderful town during a wonderful era.
Both times my family and I (as a small child) traveled in this aircraft was a cool experience. Because we were flying as a family with two kids and mom being with child, less dad we were given the whole of the froward compartment which was nice given that it was a night flight and thus gave all of us the freedom of a good night sleep. It was a really nice trip as a result.
My first trip on a plane, was on an Eastern Super G Constellation. It was a beautiful plane! I remember that you could identify them flying over, just by the sound of their engines. They sounded different from other four engine planes, deeper and more mellow.
I can easily blame the Connie for me having an airline career. In the early '60's my dad would take me to Kansas City Municipal Airport to watch airplanes. The TWA Connies were what caught my eye the most. I went on to fly several models of Boeings, Douglas and the Lockheed L-1011 over a 38 year career. Such a beautiful airplane.
I have a questions for you; was the L1011 as potentially dangerous as some so called aviation experts claim? What was it like to fly the L1011? I flew on an L1011 from Seattle to Atlanta and loved the shear size and comfort of the interior on a less than half full flight with Delta Airlines. The scariest time was on a United Airlines DC-10 in 1977 being 11 years old, flying alone from S.F. to Denver to Milwaukee WI. and after departing S.F. and went into a 30 minute holding pattern outside of Denver due to a landing gear problem that ended well and with everyone applauding after touchdown. Cheers Kevin 747.
@@arkansaswookie The L-1011 is a fine flying airplane. My time on them was short compared to the other airplanes I flew . It had unique control system when configured for landing and was also the first airplane certified to autoland. It was an "electric" airplane with many electrical issues at times. Sometimes maintenance would completely unpower the airplane and power it back up to clear a problem. It was way ahead technologically for its time. I flew the cargo versions.
I fondly remember working the super G’s at Washington National when Eastern Air lines used them as shuttle a/c. Many a white shirt got spotted with oil from them. Most graceful looking a/c on the planet.❤
I was a radar tech on the connies from 1959 to 1970 at Otis and McCoy. My last duty with the connies at Korat in 72. I have many memories of my time with the greatest of all prop birds.
Anything Kelly Johnson touched turned out to be solid gold. The man was an aviation genius bar none. RIP Mr Johnson. You set the bar sky high.
Hell yeah that man was a badass when the Russians surprised everybody and took out that u2 he designed instead of shiting him self he started to Archangel program and they 12 which then became the SR-71 Blackbird
All except the U2 exceeded both specifications & expectations. The U2 was not because of it’s own failings but because of Soviet radar & missile technologies being better than expected.
P PA and the whole family
Our Country was full of men just like him back then. America had a can-do attitude that was constantly pushing the boundaries of what was thought to be impossible.
A story about Kelly Johnson told by an older man back in 1978. When the C-130 was being developed the wing was being done in GA. Johnson was there for the first stress test and the wing failed at 92% design load; some months later he was back and in failed at 97% of design load. Johnson informed them he would be back in 3 months and if the wing failed again they all fired. He came back and at 123% of design load the test rig failed😂. Gotta love Kelly Johnson’s management style. Note that there was never a main spar failure on a C-130 until one failed fighting fires. That bird had spent many years with the CIA doing who knows what with uncertain maintenance and no records so I don’t think it should count as a design flaw.
"If it looks good, it flies good".....the Connie is one of the most beautiful aircraft ever built....👍😊
I agree! Along with the L-1011 !
I have fond memories of watching Connies on approach to SFO as a child. My world was beautiful and free. I'll always remember the introduction of the 727, because it appeared so much slower. To me, the end of the Connie was the end of life as I knew it. Everything started moving faster, and fields began to be filled in with houses. I yearn to go back to the Connie days.
They call that 'progress', right? A very relative term if you ask me.
@@EdEditz The day the human race unite, our Creator will be so proud of his design.
Start packing?🤔🤔
You are fortunate to have seen it's glory and must be saddened to see it's decline. I was born in the 1980's but share your sentiments. A trusting, loving, self sufficient and proud community must have been marvelous to experience first hand.
It was kind of neat that you mentioned that the 727 seemed so much slower. It dawned on me how much longer the take off run probably was for early Jets in comparison with the comparatively short take off distance of the prop liners.
I have to add. I worked and maintained the EC-121 as a propeller technician at McClellan AFB California in 1971- 1973. Did many TDY'S to Thailand and beyond. I have many fond memories of flying and making island hoping, Wake island and such. Changing out engines or jugs. carried my tool chest. Saluting the acft commanders. The whole experience of me, an airman first class. being part of Americans finest.
That must have been an amazing experience. You are fortunate.
Thank you for your service.
Great memories.. thanks for your set it.
As a 10 year old kid, emigrating with my family to Canada from Paraguay, we changed planes in Buenos Aires and boarded a Constellation, and took it to Miami,Fla. I will never forget seeing that big,silver airplane, I was totally in awe of it and I can still recall that moment, great childhood memory.
That flight was on a Super G operated by VARIG, the flight originated in B.Aires, with stops in S. Paulo, Rio, Belem, and maybe Trinidad as well then Miami as final destination. I flew the same route in 1961, except after Trinidad it went to Santo Domingo, then New York, I'm about 90% sure that was the case. Back then VARIG was the only S.American airline flying the type.
I saw Connies at Toronto but I never had the chance fly in one.
I did, however, fly a hop in a remote part of Canada in a DC-3.
That was pretty surreal.
@@dc10fomin65 🎯😎
Nice. Yes, as a kid, a memory you will never forget.
I built many Constellation models as a boy. Destroyed playing with them. Had the dream of piloting them. As with these planes my dream faded away. The Connie still is one of the most stylish, sexiest aircraft ever built. Thanks Lockheed.
All these youngsters sadly never had the opportunity to fly in them. I did ... for hours and hours up and down the Ho Chi Minh trail ... at night ... in FOUL weather. They were still a delight to ride in. I even managed a few hours of stick time. She had very few, if any, bad habits and was certainly quieter and more comfortable than a C-130 !!! All in all, the editors hit the nail on the head. It truly was a GREAT PLANE.
I flew on the last scheduled flight of a TWA Connie in '62 or '63 from Ontario, California to Albuquerque. Sat just behind the engines over the wing. Watching those big radials crank up was magic! Flames out of the stacks, smoke everywhere, the "chug, chug, chug" of the individual cylinders firing - MAGIC. I went on to have a great aviation career spanning 40 years and 24,000 hours. The Connie will always be my favorite airplane followed by the Boeing 757 followed by the 747. Beautiful airplanes all.
I bet that was magic.
@@JessHull It was. Loved seeing the smoke and flame coming out of the stacks on engine start. Just wish I could have flown one.
@@garybain2339 Airliners of the past especially the super connie were just so special, now the modern stuff is fairly boring unless you're flying one of the smaller reginal planes. There are at least still some nice variation in those.
I sat in exactly the same seat when I flew in a Connie from Hartford, CT to London, England in 1965. It was a charter flight of the Experiment in International Living with which I was associated at the time. There were two stopovers, one at Gander, Newfoundland, and the other at Shannon, Ireland. The flight pretty much followed the route Lindbergh' took in 1927. I too remember the very loud noise of the engines, as well as the strong vibration they produced inside the cabin which, taken together, got to be rather annoying after a while But then that was the way it was in the days of aircraft driven by piston-engines. It was a whole lot more quiet and comfortable on board when I crossed the Atlantic in a jet-powered Boeing 707 two years later. And of course the trip took much less time.
i was born and raised in ontario, lots of mexicans there now
We had 30 Super Connies based at Korat air base in Thailand 68/69, never got tired of watching and hearing them take off.
Don't forget the tragic Grand Canyon collision...Awesome Ship, Juan's Bavy ✈️🫠
A Lockheed 4-engined Propeller driven Super G Constellation plane brought me to U.S.A in Jan. 1958 from India. As I recall, it took us 8 stops and approximately 24 hours from Bombay to New York. I was 21 years of age. Jay Nadkarni.
1974 and still in service , wow, I remember my Dad pointing one out very very high up , he could always tell where the planes were in the sky, I never could, He flew in a B 50 back in 1948 or so , thanks for everything Dad.
I have 1500 hours in the Connie. Every flight was like a Morzard concert😇😎
I flew from JFK Airport (at that time, Idlewild Airport) to Miami on my honeymoon -1960 - during the day on The Lockheed Constellation. Spectacular experience but the engines were super loud. The flight was great, but not the marriage. The flight was about 4 hours. The marriage about 4 months. I should have stayed on the plane.
Damn...sorry to hear that friend. Easy come as easy go I guess right?
The flight was probable cheaper as well ;) ... sorry couldn't resist :(
@@hds66nl29
Not at all "cheaper". There were no commercial jets to Florida in those days. You should have "resisted".
I flew from JFK Airport (at that time, Idlewild Airport) to Miami on my honeymoon -1960 - during the day on The Lockheed Constellation. Spectacular experience but the engines were super loud. The flight was great, but not the marriage. The flight was about 4 hours. The marriage about 4 months. I should have stayed on the plane.
@@edilbertotemplo160 Be cheaper to buy the plane than to get married/divorce
I grew up in Burbank, California where the Connie's were built.
As luck would have it the flight path of the day would take the Connie right over my elementary school.
During recess, many a time I would miss a pop fly as one of those magnificent birds would fly overhead as a 10 year old kid would keep one eye on a ballgame and the other on a legend flying off to its destination.
Such a beautiful sight to behold.
I was a happy kid, back in the Fifties, watching Connie's fly, in to and out of, Lockheed Air Terminal in Burbank , Ca. Lucky to live near by. The most beautiful airliner to grace the skies.
I too grew up in Burbank during that same time. The Connie's flight path took it right over my home (Keystone St. Between Alameda Ave. and Olive Ave.)
What great memories!
My dad took me, at the age of 6, to watch KLM's Constellations on Schiphol airport in the sixties....and I fall in love with the grace of the Lockheed Constellation! It is still, after 55 years, in my favorite time line list of aircraft; Supermarine Spitfire > Fokker G1 > Messerschmitt ME-262 >Lockheed Constellation > DC-10 > Boeing 747 > MD-11......!
I was a crew member in EC121's with VW1 out of Guam from 1965 - 1967 loved those planes they were very tough birds.
A friend of mine also flew on an EC121. He spent two years in training learning Korean, Morse code and other training. He is now 80 years old, and a HAM radio operator which is how I met him. Thank you for your service !
So was I. !!! I flew with crew 8. 1966-67. Wonder if you'll see this four years after you made your comment? Scott Saxon
The "Connie" was one of the greatest planes of all time. Beautiful flying machine !!
The Eastern Airlines Shuttle Newark (EWR) to Washington (DCA). I enjoyed sitting at a window on the leading edge of the wing looking down the throat of the exhaust on the Constilation. Always at night, I commuted for a year every weekend in the early 60's. Thanks to the Team at Lockheed.
The Constellation series represent the most beautiful airliner EVER designed.
Concorde disliked this comment 🤭
@@NovejSpeed3 - Phooey! By comparison, Concorde resembled not much more than a 'paper airplane' fashioned by every school-aged boy in history.
The Connie remains one of the most beautiful planes!
In 1961 my family flew with a connie from Fort Dix to Frankfurt, Germany. I sat next to the starboard wing and saw flames shoot out of an engine. The engine was shut down and we landed in Gander, Newfoundland. Waited many hours until a replacement airplane arrived. Though only seven at the time, I recall the events.
From an article in the Clipper Pioneers newsletter, newsletter for former Pan Am pilots, a former Flight Engineer wrote how he looked back at his logbooks and recalled that the two years he was on the Connie he had 20 inflight engine shutdowns. He then wrote that he was FE on the 707 for 12 years and only had one inflight shutdown, being courtesy of a bird. Airframe great; engines not so much.
@@bullwinklejmoos best 3 engine airliner
@@blackcarloans7340 That it was.
Such a beautiful plane. The lines and body shape are unique to her. The unmistakable Connie.
One of the most beautiful planes to ever fly
Glad to have flown in one at young age when all the stewardesses were looking really good. loved to see the fire come out of the exhaust and the sound perfect.
Glued to the passenger window mesmerized by those short blue flames for hours on my childhood red-eye transcontinental trips to visit grandparents.
In 1957 my grandparents flew to Europe on a Constellation. They were completely WOWed! Their carry-on luggage was B.O.A.C. So that airline must have had Constellations at that time.
Gramps bought a TR-3 sports car while in England. He picked it up at the factory then proceeded to go out onto the road in the wrong lane. He immediately had a head-on collision. He reports that the TR people pulled his car in and repaired it right away. They were quite gracious. He was SO grateful! For my part, I could never figure out how such a stern, practical man could DO that.
But they got through it, had a lovely trip and came home safe and happy.
I remember living in Valley Stream, Long Island in the 50's as a young boy. Our house was under the flight path to Idlewild airport (now JFK). I used to watch these beauties fly overhead every day. We even would make a trip out to the airport and watch the planes from the observation deck. Boy, aviation has come a long way since then, but you still can't beat the look of the Connie.
As a child, I flew from Morocco to NYC in 1958, an experience I shall never forget.
My father worked Flying Tiger Air Freight out of Portland Oregon with the Super Constellations. He loved their lines and ease of loading.
I watched this video because I remembered my Dad raving about the Connies that he worked and flew on in his long USAF career, and low and behold at 34:58, there he his working on one. I’m guessing, but I’d say that film was shot at Donaldson AFB up to 1963, or Hunter Army Airfield, up to 1965. It could be footage from Danang 1967,68, or 69 too. He looks young so I’m leaning towards Greenville or Savannah. It was a joy to discover and I wish I could call him and tell him about it. Thanks for making and posting the vid. :)
Such a beautiful design and execution of fine manufacturing by Lockheed Aviation. Still love these planes.
Designed by Kelly Johnson who was also responsible for the SR-71.
OMG! that opening scene with that shiningly beautiful Super Connie about to touch down is beyond ... exciting and thrilling.
Don't mess in your pants over a Prop Job.
In 1961/62 I was the Air Terminal Officer at Naval Station Keflavik, Iceland. A Connie assigned to Admiral Moore was on the tarmac near my office. I just had to see what the Admiral's plane looked like on the inside so I walked up the steps, told the armed guard at the door that my crew had cleaned the plane for the Admiral and that I wanted to check their work. He allowed to access to the aircraft.That was the only time I deliberately lied (that I remember) to get what I wanted while in the service.
Was it worth it? Hell Yes!
My first plane ride in 65
The start up and taxi are still etched in memory.
A huge event for a 7 year old kid.
Bruce Aka BRUISER6969 Canady, I can imagine! Those big old radial engines are a show in of themselves when starting! Smoke and fire belching everywhere and that deep growling rumble! Gotta love it! Gives me goosebumps just thinking about it!
I remember this show, Great Planes. It was on The Discovery Channel in the late 80s. It’s name was eventually changed to Wings, then later it became the first new Discovery spinoff channel, Discovery Wings!
I remember that! I used to have all these episodes recorded on VHS at one time.
Yep, when Discovery was a legit channel, now is junk, great show...loved the sr71 episode.... speechless....
I had them on VHS too!
In 1956 and 1957 my mom and I flew from LAX to KCMO and back to visit relatives. I was 6 and 7 respectively. We flew on TWA Constellation. In 1956 while flying to and from Kansas City, our pilots circled the Grand Canyon so we could view the beauty. I loved it and most others did too but my mom was airsick as the plane did encounter turbulence on this flight. I can remember going to the cockpit and shaking hands with the pilots and engineer. The seats were so comfortable and the engine hum eventually lulled me to sleep. Shortly after this flight, there was the horrific collision between the Constellation and United DC-7 where everyone died. I often think of how that could have happened to us. In 1957 TWA did not allow circling over the canyon and the pilot mentioned how they could not do it any longer. The Constellation was a beautiful plane. I flew with my Dad on DC-6 MAINLINERS on United to Honolulu and once on the Boeing 377. For a little kid who loved airplanes, the 377 was huge with the lounge/bar down stairs. We would go to the lounge where I would have a soda and my Dad a beverage. I would love to fly in a Constellation and DC-6 again for the memories. That was when the airlines gave great service and you felt safe flying because the major airlines kept up maintenance thanks to regulations and a safety mindset. Safety went by the wayside due to deregulation and airlines cutting corners. Remember Alaska Airlines in 2000 going down off the coast of California because their maintenance people were too lazy to service and inspect the jack screw on the MD 80?
Flew in a Connie in 1955 from Cairo to London over the Alps, invited to the cockpit to view the Matterhorn, It even had a bar at the rear where one could stand up and have a drink!
A lifetime of beautiful memories brought back. It is some 75 years since I last saw the Super Connie which was being operated between South Africa and Perth, Western Australia when I was working at
Perth Airport. Their terminal was right next door to our hangar and I loved seeing them in all their beauty. Thank you for this great story. If memory serves me, the Engineer in Perth was Kyril Bolonkin, (I hope I got his name close to correct spelling) a big man who lived for the Connies.
A true legend, masterpiece of engineering..LOCKHEED enough said..
I was fortunate enough to get to fly the military version, C-121, from November 1958 until sometime in late 1962 or early 1963 to best of my recollection. I’m 85 years old and that was about 60 years ago, so my memory is a little fuzzy. But I do remember what a great lady she was and how beautiful she was. She was a great plane, but she also had some unfriendly quirks too. Those Wright Turbo Compound engines were famous oil burners. The flight controls were hydraulic boosted but man-o-man, if you lost that system and you had only the manual controls with no boost, she was a real handful. When everything was working as designed, she was a pleasure to fly. Still the most beautiful piston powered transport ever built.
Seems very agile & bouyant despite slow lift off speed and landing speed , and stunningly short distance needed , in either case !
I thought propellors were lesser efficiency
than what appears to be evident their and the case , for them .
Will propellers ( blades ) ever be fitted to
Jet engines , AND the new , lnternal
Centrifuge engines ,
at least to enhance speed of heavy lift offs ?
( Achtung .
Coded message )
My grandparents lived just about 1/2 mile from the Lockheed Airport in Burbank, CA. When I was 4 or 5 Lockheed was building the Constellation and flying them off several times each day and through the night. Those radial engines absolutely shook the house...caused the TEEVEE set to go wacky...and scared the living daylights outta 4 or 5 year olds. I can still remember those Connies flying over in the dark of night...flames blazing out of the exhaust...
Hello all. In 1961, me mom and brother boarded "our Connie" flying to the remote USAF base that my dad had been stationed as a missile maintainer. I am currently writing a book to document our experience that began when a surprise North Atlantic storm rose up. Our Captain made five passes to land there was no way. We flew to get out of the storm but it was every where and very tall. It flew us out of American Air Space and yes we were met and surrounded by Russian fighters. It is an amazing story, all truth that I am certain will thrill and also touch your heart. I expect a year from now to be in print and will advise back here at that time. I love this aircraft and our Captain who flew her and made use of every design feature to keep us aloft in the worst possible weather and political conditions. Connie is a hero!!!!!!
First AWACS type of aircraft. Very cool
The Constellation series represent the most beautiful airliner EVER designed.
@ Really??? What's to like about it -- the way it would pop like a balloon at 30,000+ feet???
@@agentorange153 He was talking about beauty, not the initial fatigue problems. When the prototype Comet appeared in 1949, it was generally accepted as being a thing of beauty from out of the future, especially compared with the piston-engined designs of the time. I would also put in a vote for the 1937 DH Albatross, which I believe influenced Lockheed a few years later. (Not so much the early version with the inset fins though!)
@@1bobhodgson Yes, that one was also a beauty!
Concorde is up there too.
@@LovesickAussieBoy I'd say a close second!
As a Naval Aviator, my dad navigated Radar Pickett Constellations out of Hickam Field in 1957, When we were transfered back to Conus, we flew back in a Super G. Depending upon wind conditiions you could see the wings actually flap. My first trip in a plane at 10 was that MATS flight.
When I was a young man I would watch the big connies landing at toronto airport. Quite often a connie would fly by with one prop feathered running on three. What a beautiful ship they were
The Super Connie (has?) served for decades as Hurricane Hunters, delivering life saving recon data, as well as scientific observation that could not be gotten any other way. They even delivered radio sondes into the eye wall, the most dangerous place in the flyable atmosphere besides a tornado.
Connie, the most beautiful aircraft ever made.
+MissCelticGirl Ty for your opinion. Believe it or not, not everybody shares the same opinion as you :)
+Get Up Politeness! Negative jab! Smiley! Kind of an odd response to someone smitten by a design.
+MissCelticGirl Most people (including me) agree with you -- although the Concorde jet is a close second!
@ Kinda hard to like a plane that would pop like a balloon without the slightest provocation -- just sayin'!
Such a beautiful aircraft that it should be in the museum of modern art - if it would fit..
There is one at the Udvar-Hazy Smithsonian Air Museum near Dulles Airport in Vinginia.
What an excellent programme. I had always percieved the Connie with awe and great fondness, but never realized the extent and value of the planes' performance.
It was truly a @'reat Plane'
Beautiful planes!!! The curvy lines and the Triple Fins made these planes so unique... And when taking off, The sound of those mighty 3,350's just roaring was seriously awesome.... Graceful and quite fast, with the Amazing lines of a shapely woman, it is little wonder why so many people felt safe and at-home when boarding these amazing planes...
It's a shame that so many of them were scrapped because of being quickly replaced by the Jet planes... But they will never be forgotten....
Thank You for posting this!!!
I got to hop a Navy C-121 headed home from Guam to Dallas. We lost port outboard on approach to Kwajelan so I had to catch a C-141 for the rest of my trip back stateside, but I got to ride in a Constellation, and that was 1977. Lucky me!
+Martin Burch I took a flight from Charleston, SC to the Canal Zone in 1961 on a C121. Shortly after takeoff one of the engines developed problems and we turned back. I can't remember which engine it was. However, it was "repaired" and we set out again. I do remember having on dress blues and stepping out into that Panama heat and humidity.
+Rusty White I flew them out of KCHS 58-62, when we transferred them to the ANG and transitioned to C-130E. Many trips to Albrook. Then took over the MAC detachment at Howard '66-69 and flew C-118s on the side for USAFSO.
I got to hop a C-121 from Hickam to Travis in 1967. slept on a pile of parachutes in my dress blues. Pilot let me sit in the jump seat for a spell.
The Connie and the Comet: two most beautiful passenger aircraft ever built, and the most revolutionary in their day.
I must respectfully disagree.
No airliner can approach the drop-dead gorgeous looks of Concorde.
I loved flying on the Constellation. It was the biggest, fastest and smoothest flying passenger aircraft ever made.
Absolutely the most beautiful aircraft ever designed and produced!
I lived in South Gate CA, in the flight path to LAX. I loved watching this beautiful plane fly over when I was a kid.
I have being flying 1957 the SUPER CONSTELATION TO Rio de Janeiro 1957.beautiful aircraft.never forget.Nice Video.
A beatiful design that has earned my respect when I flew in 1957 in a Comnie to Australia . Our family was 12 people . It felt as being at home. When the whole family finally arrived in Scheyville Migrant Holding Centre near the towmship of Windsor me and a brother hitchhked all the way back to Kingston Smith Airport Sydney some 65 miles just to see her again. On the way back we slept in a policestation .The officers could hardly believe our story.. That's how much we loved "our " Connie.
In my humble opinion, the most beautiful piston engine Air-Liner ever to grace the skies! Thanks for sharing!:)
AirGunWarriors The most beautiful AIRCRAFT to ever grace the skies, period -- although the Concorde is a close second!
I have flown in several of them when I was a kid. You get this uneasy feeling when they start up those very load engines.
Your opinion is shared by many a aviation nerds
TheAndy1268 Yes. This is a radial piston engine.
Well, maybe a close 2nd to the Beechcraft Model 18. upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Beech_18_-_Little_Gransden_2019.jpg
In 1978 I bought a ticket to fly from Isla Mujeres to Cozumel. As soon as the plane appeared in the distance, I got an ear to ear grin. It was a Connie. So I got to fly to Cozumel on a Connie for $10. It was a short but fun experience with only 5 passengers. Woohoo.
Lucky dog!!
wow she was an old gal by then.. I wonder how much longer she stayed in service.
There was only one commercial airline left in the world flying passenger Constellations in 1978 and that was Quisqueyana Airways out of the Dominican Republic. You were very lucky to have flown on a "Connie" at that late of a date in actual passenger service!
Talk about an adventure. The golden age of aviation was during that time.
Fabulous looking aircraft!
I flew on one of these in Dec 1964. I was in the Navy, on leave, and managed to hitch a ride from Memphis to Omaha Nebraska, SAC. The weather was terrible but the Connie was more than up to the job. I was only 6 months in the Navy and had the entire plane to myself until a young AF officer boarded and sat right across from me. He was a pilot and at first he just stared at me. He then began to tell me about VietNam and the unknown war being waged. (Advisory action at that time and mostly not known by the public) He told me about the men he saw killed and was very upset. He appeared to have PTSD. I guess I really didn't understand what he was saying. I have never forgotten that encounter with that young pilot and my ride on the AF Constellation. A few months later the VietNam war began in earnest.
There are two super connies being restored in Auburn Maine. Beautiful planes sitting side-by-side. I have no idea of their service history but am now motivated to look into that. Great story well presented!!!
I flew the P-3 Orion during my 21 year Navy career....Late 1990;s I had a chance to fly on a Connie during a airshow....best day of my life....:)
First job as a Lockheed engineer was refurbishing WV-2 fleet for the Navy with new electronics. Later flew on Lockheed's private airline to area 51 on Connies. Loved them.
Kelly Johnson holding a signboard at 5:06 is priceless.
I was thinking the exact same thing! 👍
One of my favorite "Great Planes"
I was in a constellation at an air show once. I was amazed at how big and roomy it was. Much nicer than today's cramped airplanes. The ceiling was so high and there was so much room.
What a classic plane !! One of my favorites along with the DC-6, B-707, DC-8 and Convair 990. Today's wide bodies have nothing to offer.
@David Vance That's coach class for you -- back in the good ole days it was all first class, there was no such thing as coach class!
If airlines had their way, we would be flying standing up... lol ...I remmember the first time I flew in a Lockheed 1011,.. so much space and also those fancy dinners....good old days..
@@iridium58 A European airline floated the idea of standing passengers a few years ago! Hilarious!!😅😅
I remember watching as my mom boarded a Connie at Boston’s Logan Airport for a trip to San Francisco in 1960. I was four years old, had never been on an airplane, but my dad was a private pilot with great admiration for well-designed aircraft. It rubbed off.
In 1951, our family immigrated from The Netherlands to Canada by Constellation. I was a month shy of my 7th birthday; it was an unforgettable experience and ignited my love of aviation and a strong desire to learn to fly, a dream realized many years later.
Kelly Johnson is a real pioneer, from his work here to the skunkworks department...
My father was an inspector at Lockheed at the time and inspected many Connies.
My Mother was pregnant with me, and flew to Okinawa and back tell her Dad about her "condition ".... my first multi-engine flight time in 1961!
I was lucky enough in 1990 to take a ride (and skydive out) on one of the last few flying Connies at a skydive convention. Worth every penny it cost.
I didn't hear them mention that before his death in 1948, Orville Wright was given the honor of taking the controls of a Connie! Must have been quite an experience for him.
See recent note,
April 8, 2023,
Salute Orville and Wilbur Wright. 🇺🇸
Excellent video. One of my earliest memories is of standing on the tarmac at what is now SFO at age five in 1959. My family had deplaned via the air stairs, and while my sisters negotiated the stairs I happened to look up at that triple stabilizer. Five years later I walked through an EC-121 during Armed Forces day at Hamilton AFB. I still remember all of the radar screens, one after the other on both sides of the cabin.
A friend of mine was working on one in Switzerland for a few weeks last year. They were fabricating replacement motor mounting cradles (amazingly they are quite light). One issue they had was hanger space to store it, which is a major cost factor.
not with my true name ?
jan60 charleston, sc to daharan navy crew military for state dept? 12 months later back. 8 weeks later out of Sacramento near afb to Manila. june 62 no connie military guys squeezed me in from manila back on a 707 .
I flew over 1,000 hours as a crewman on Navy EC-121M's with VQ2. Great aircraft! Beautiful lines, especially without the radar domes we had on our aircraft. When viewed from the side the fuselage kinda' resembles a dolphin. Those 3350's were very strong engines, though somewhat prone to breakage. We often came home on three engines, which really wasn't a problem!
imagine if they updated them to R-4360s
Flew on Connies on the eastern shuttle in the early 1960s from D.C. to New York. Memorable for a little kid. I loved the three tails. Beautiful.
Back in 1960, I had the good fortune to fly on 2 DC3s and a Connie. The first DC3 was on Air Corse from Marseilles to Paris. Then, a week later, the Connie was on Air France from Paris to NYC and the second DC3 was on TWA from NYC (Idlewild) to Chicago (Midway).
You always felt safe on DC3s and Connies.
+Risa201000 Like they said, the Connie could fly even if 2 engines quit -- the only thing that would happen was that you'd arrive late!
Thanks, brings tears to my eyes. My father owned two Super Connies in the 60s for transport. I remember flying with him.
I was a stewardess of the "Golden Age of Flying" and the "Connie" was among others we had to take a FAA exam on.
Well, "Cam", from taking anxiety-inducing exams, in Connies, once you were a fully graduated stewardess, did you serve aboard Connies, and, did you then enjoy pleasurable work aboard Connies?
@@swithinbarclay4797 It is a long time ago. We worked hard, had to have every hair in place, every crystal glass positioned, real china, service was cooking in ovens, it was a different time in life. The more wealthy flew and so were all dressed in their finery. The plane was great - a little noisy, but then the 727 entered the scene. Never understood why we had to know the aircrafts flown and everything about them? Maybe if passengers asked - have no idea, but it was law.
Spent many days onboard one of these while in the Navy as part of the Early warning System. Great aircraft!
Dick Hackett
My buddy did too Loved the Super Connie as in Power.
A great series and a great episode.
Born in 1965 I lived in a house on the approach path to Adelaide Airport and I was always excited when the planes with three tails went overhead. Connies always had a special sound. The last time I saw one was before about '75 because we moved then.
It was such an avant-garde design that I was surprised when he said that a) it was a design that reached back to before the war and b) form was simply following function. Jet airliners aren't quite the featureless triangles of jet fighters but they are brutalist by comparison to these elegant ladies.
In it’s time it was a great aircraft back in the 50’s! And as a kid, I had the opportunity to fly it a couple of times between the states and South America.
I never realize how long the "Connie's" were kept in service within the military. It was a changing time in aviation where every other month something new was built and tried , many planes had a very short history but the Constellation and all her variants keep flying and that tell much about a airframe and performance .
When I was a kid I remember civilian air carriers flying across the skys where I grew up and lots of times they flu at FL 8000, wasn't uncommon to see and hear these big birds and us kids loved it,,, Once the 707 came along that plane spotting soon faded away.
One time as a kid while in the house that was in a city of about 22000 we all heard this enormous roar and all ran outdoors to see what the hell that noise was. It took about 2 seconds before getting our answer,,, The biggest aircraft I ever saw to this day come right over our home,, a big two story on a hill in the west of town.
It was a B-29 at treetop level,, I swear If someone was standing on top of the chimney on out house as if fly over they could have almost touched the underbelly of this monster. I found out years later that it was a simulated attack on an military installation in a big city south and west of our town at about 70 miles.
As a teenager I had the opportunity to fly this plane a number of times before the jetliner came into being and it was a great aircraft to say the least
Flew on the many Connie's in my teens. Going from NY to MIA. What great ride. At that time you could meet your party on the tarmac as they deplaned . Loved the sound of those engines
1960 Headed to my first assignment (Itazuke) I flew in a military version, C-121. We made stops at Hawaii, Midway, Wake, and Guam. At 18 years old it was quite an experience!!
The plane was most likely from VR-7 or VR-8 Navy transport squadrons stationed at NAS Moffett Field Mountian View California.They few passengers out of Travis AFB Fairfield California .I was stationed there for 2 years
I was hired by Eastern Airlines in 1966 with 168 hours flying time. I went from a Cessna 172 to the right seat of the Constellation and logged 265 hours flying the shuttle between LGA and DCA. Great airplane!!!
In 1958, I had my first airplane ride, from Pittsburgh to San Antonio for Airforce basic training. What an experience for an 18 year old still wet behind the ears.
Very well done commentary. My earliest memory is being on a Connie as a child, in the Fifties. I remember when the Navy retired low time Connies , during my own flying career.
I flew from Anchorage to Adak Naval air station in a Constellation...the year was 1964..worked in the control center at Navcommsta for one year...
Very well made film. Love all those shots of Burbank and the Lockheed plants back on the other planet Earth.
Dale Comer. I agree with you. Grew up in Burbank. My dad taught school in Burbank near Lockheed, so he would get a lot of "Gifts" from the parents who worked at Lockheed of the kids he taught.
Geez, how I wished I had kept all those "Gifts" (had some awesome Lockheed model planes from the 40's/50's).
It truly was a great time for a kid to grow up in such a wonderful town during a wonderful era.
Both times my family and I (as a small child) traveled in this aircraft was a cool experience. Because we were flying as a family with two kids and mom being with child, less dad we were given the whole of the froward compartment which was nice given that it was a night flight and thus gave all of us the freedom of a good night sleep. It was a really nice trip as a result.
My first trip on a plane, was on an Eastern Super G Constellation. It was a beautiful plane! I remember that you could identify them flying over, just by the sound of their engines. They sounded different from other four engine planes, deeper and more mellow.
+Kenneth Sturmer Low engine RPM = greater efficiency + the deeper sound you heard.
I can easily blame the Connie for me having an airline career. In the early '60's my dad would take me to Kansas City Municipal Airport to watch airplanes. The TWA Connies were what caught my eye the most. I went on to fly several models of Boeings, Douglas and the Lockheed L-1011 over a 38 year career. Such a beautiful airplane.
I have a questions for you; was the L1011 as potentially dangerous as some so called aviation experts claim? What was it like to fly the L1011? I flew on an L1011 from Seattle to Atlanta and loved the shear size and comfort of the interior on a less than half full flight with Delta Airlines. The scariest time was on a United Airlines DC-10 in 1977 being 11 years old, flying alone from S.F. to Denver to Milwaukee WI. and after
departing S.F. and went into a 30 minute holding pattern outside of Denver due to a landing gear problem that ended well and with everyone applauding after touchdown. Cheers Kevin 747.
@@arkansaswookie The L-1011 is a fine flying airplane. My time on them was short compared to the other airplanes I flew . It had unique control system when configured for landing and was also the first airplane certified to autoland. It was an "electric" airplane with many electrical issues at times. Sometimes maintenance would completely unpower the airplane and power it back up to clear a problem. It was way ahead technologically for its time. I flew the cargo versions.
I flew into several hurricanes with VW-4 in the sixties and 70's. It kept me alive.
I fondly remember working the super G’s at Washington National when Eastern Air lines used them as shuttle a/c.
Many a white shirt got spotted with oil from them.
Most graceful looking a/c on the planet.❤
I was a radar tech on the connies from 1959 to 1970 at Otis and McCoy. My last duty with the connies at Korat in 72. I have many memories of my time with the greatest of all prop birds.