Lockheed Constellation Story - Flash From The Past!

you you in the late 1930s air travel was at an all-time high however passenger aircraft of the period were limited in the number of passengers they could carry and how far they could take them during that time Howard Hughes controlled a small struggling airline TWA Hughes had always been a man who thought big had some ideas about designing a large fast and reliable passenger carrying airliner with an aircraft like this Hughes felt that he could make TWA the leader in air travel in 1935 Howard Hughes had piloted his way around the world in record time three days 19 hours his aircraft was a Lockheed 14 super Electra with his confidence in the Lockheed company Hughes went to them and worked with their designers to develop a four engine pressurized aircraft capable of carrying 40 to 60 passengers between Los Angeles and New York in eight to nine hours non-stop this meant that the plane will have to travel at least 300 miles per hour mr. than some fighter aircraft of the period when the plans and ideas were put together the Lockheed Constellation was born later affectionately known as the Connie it became one of the classic looking aircraft of all time the Connie featured four huge 2,200 horsepower right cyclone engines with large slow turning Hamilton propellers the large propellers meant that higher ground clearance was needed resulting in a very tall landing gear without a doubt the most recognizable trait of the constellation was its triple tail configuration while the designers agreed that a single tall tail would be more efficient the airplane would not be able to fit into any of the standard hangars of the time the triple tail was used and the constellation would be forever instantly recognized unfortunately for mr. Hughes World War two started and the first constellation completed went to the military the Air Force was so impressed with the airplane that had ordered 261 would later become the first Air Force one to be used by President Eisenhower the war ended and TWA finally got their long-awaited constellation on February 15th 1946 the first passenger service of the constellation star of California took place it was a nonstop flight from LA to New York and Hughes turned it into the ultimate publicity coup Hughes put together an entourage of the top Hollywood movie stars for the inaugural flight names like Edward G Robinson Linda Darnell Paulette Goddard William Powell and a host of others boarded the flight as an added surprise Howard Hughes climbed into the left seat and did the flying as captain the flight was to publicise TWA scheduled LA to New York flights which would start the following month TWA was now the leader in airline passenger service the constellations rule the skies through the 1950s until the jet-powered aircraft began to overshadow them out of the 856 constellations manufactured only a few are left flying today no longer commercially feasible a few private owners and groups have restored aircraft and take them to selected air shows around the country one group called save Akane tour is this super-g model people can see her fly and tour her luxurious cabin after world war two many colonies were used during the Berlin Airlift this privately owned Connie still flies in the colours of the military air transport service one man who has dedicated his life to saving Connie's his Maurice roundin who owns three super Connie's this one resided in Sanford Florida this model was the last model built called the Starliner it was once flown by the German airline Lufthansa it ended up in Sanford when it developed problems while being flown to Maine where Maurice keeps the other two pilots and Burt there was no opportunity for anyone to view this magnificent aircraft time began to take its toll and the tie-down fees began to add up Maurice contacted Kermit week's creator of Fantasy of Flight him to see how they could work together for each other's benefit by bringing the Conny to Fantasy of Flight visitors would be able to view the historic aircraft the Connie could park for free although the trip from Sanford to Fantasy of Flight was only 55 miles weeks of preparation were necessary aircraft had not flown for many years and all the systems necessary for safe flight had to be checked after the engines had been inspected and minor maintenance performed it was time for startup as with any radial engine that sits for a long time oiled collects in the cylinders and in the exhaust upon startup smoke will billow out of the exhaust as the stacks get hot and all the oil burns out once the engines had settled in everything looked good permit taxi the constellation checking steering engines and braking systems maurice called upon captain frank lang from tucson arizona to fly the airplane over a long time Connie pilot captain Lang has flown virtually all models of constellations built weeks in ground he met with captain Langdon coordinated plan leaf river since the aircraft had sat for a number of years and a full inspection to certified status was not feasible it would be flown under a ferry permit issued by the FAA for the short one time flight with all in place the fuel truck arrived to put the minimum amount of fuel necessary to safely make the flight the Connie can hold almost 10,000 gallons of fuel but she won't need that much today as a safety precaution Kermit would lead the constellation over to fantasy of flight in his Beechcraft Baron with the engine checks complete the Connie was ready for takeoff throttles were slowly pushed forward lightly loaded and with almost 9,000 horsepower she soon lifted off the runway was heading for her new home as the Connie radios were marginal Kermit coordinated with air traffic control this allowed the Connie crew to concentrate on flying the airplane and safely monitoring the systems the chase plane could also visually inspect the aircraft for any problems should any arise Kermit would do the navigation since the flight would be fairly short captain Lang had made the decision to fly the Connie over with the landing gear down this would be one less thing to worry about and possibly go wrong in case of an emergency in the loss of one or more engines captain Lang had the option and capability to retract the gear and decreased drag as the airplanes approached fantasy of flight captain Lang decided to make a practice approach understand that this all happened in November of 2001 only two months after the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Centers several citizens noticing the large low-flying aircraft had called the Sheraton fear of what might be going on upon hearing that it was near fantasy of flight and pokécity the sheriff put their fears to rest knowing that Kermit was bringing in another aircraft content with the environment captain Lang lined up the Connie with the fantasy of flight runway drop the flaps and slowly throttled back to the amazement of onlookers on Interstate for the huge aircraft descended over the powerlines and traffic as the Connie touchdown captain lying applied reverse thrust to the engines had the airplane stopped in just over half of the 5000 foot runway taching into her new home at fantasy of flight one could sense that this grand lady of the air would be much happier than these new surroundings living out her days in an environment that reflected the period and times when she was queen of the skies and knowing that visitors would now be able to marvel at and admire her sleek and elegant lines you

Channel: Kermit Weeks

Views: 982,699

Rating: 4.8788161 out of 5

Keywords: Kermit Weeks, Fantasy of Flight, Lockheed Constellation, Connie, Flying, Planes, Lockheed Corporation (Aircraft Manufacturer), Aviation (Industry)

Id: xRwSKmFoFa8

Length: 10min 40sec (640 seconds)

Published: Tue Jul 08 2014