My Dad flew the radar-equipped Super Constellations out of McClellan AFB (Sacramento Ca)--up and down the Pacific Coast--that was back in the late 50's, early 60's.

While stationed in Quonset Point, RI in an anti-submarine squadron I used to be amazed when, at the end of winter, the snow was pilled so high between the runway and the taxi way that only the radome of a Super Connie showed above the snow accumulation!!!  That baby really stuck up there so the snow was amazingly high.

 

The Connie has been reassembled and placed in Boeing's Plant II.

Details below:

Connie Re-Assembly:   http://www.rbogash.com/Connie/connie-reassy-BFI.html

and

Entry into Plant II hangar:   http://www.rbogash.com/Connie/connie-plant%202.html

Website hits on the Trip and Arrival pages have passed 1.8 Million since Sept 1.

Bob Bogash

Tom Wilk 

My Dad flew Connies for TWA. L-649, L-749 and Super G's, the L-1049G's. He flew them at the very end of their careers, 1965 to 1966. He said it took 6 hours from Chicago to San Francisco. Pretty fast for a propeller driven, piston powered airplane but nothing compared to nowadays!

Dad flew piston executive airplanes in the 50's and early 60's and their large, twin row radial engines were short on time between overhauls. He told me how he quickly found out how the airlines got 1000 hours TBO when a good engine on the Super Ventura or Howard 500 went about 200 hours. The executive airplanes were using about 1200hp for cruise from their Pratt&Whitney Double Wasp R-2800CB-17's rated power of 2500 hp. TWA's 3750 hp Wright Duplex Cyclones were cruised at 900hp, less than 30% power!

I never rode in a Connie, but I did ask to once. In 1971 a Connie was entered in the 1000 mile US Cup pylon race at San Diego by the famous racing and Lockheed test pilot Fish Salmon. He game me a tour of the airplane and I asked if I could ride on his qualifying flight as I really thought the whole idea was really neat (12 year olds are prone to overlook obvious danger, I guess). Fish was very nice and asked if my Dad was around to ask permission. Darn it! He knew Dad was a on a trip because we had spoken about it earlier in the day and I was taken to the race by one of Dad's business partners!
I still have magazines that show that Connie being guided by Fish around the pylons where the tip tanks were mere feet from the ground and pylon!

Amazingly there are several Connies flying as museum pieces and tour the country periodically. The Airline Museum in Kansas City operates the Save-A-Connie Super G at Downtown Airport, though it hasn't flown in a few years for maintenance issues (ran out of "can" motors surplus from the military and now they must pay for overhauls at 50 to 75K each). Lufthansa is restoring a Lockheed L-1649 Starliner Connie to new condition in Maine and has constructed a maintenance facility there just for this purpose! There is it's sistership right next door for reference when reassembling the Starliner as well as a third sistership at Kermit Weeks' Fantasy of Flight Museum in Polk City, FL which will remain there.
Chris...