Lockheed Constellation survivors

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Lockheed designed the Model L-049 Constellation as an airliner for Transcontinental and Western Air and Pan American Airlines. The L-049 featured a pressurized fuselage and four Wright R-3350 eighteen-cylinder radial engines. The initial production run was requisitioned by the Army Air Corps in 1942 and designated C-69. After World War II, Lockheed produced the L-649, and L-749 Constellations for the airlines and the C-121A for the Air Force.

There are ten seven surviving Lockheed Constellations in the United States. Two of them can be found in the Pima Air and Space Museum.

Link to the The Lockheed Super Constellation page.

Model L-049

C-69, 42-94549, c/n 1970

C-69 42-94549 last operated by Lake Havasu Airlines, at the Pima County Air Museum on March 31, 1974. Its Lockheed construction number is 1970. It was transferred from the Air Force to TWA in October 1948. TWA named it "Star of Switzerland" and registered it as N90831. TWA sold it to the Hacienda Hotel in April 1961. Hacienda Hotel operated it as the "Desert Queen" and leased it to World Wide Airlines, Consolidated Airlines, and Standard Airways, before selling it to Trans World Insurance Brokers in December 1964. McCulloch Properties acquired it in December 1965 and used it to ferry potential home buyers to Lake Havasu City. After passing through the hands of a couple of holding companies in 1970, it was sold to the Pima County Air Museum in 1971.

C-69, N90831 restored in the colors of TWA at the Pima Air Museum on December 18, 1979.

C-69 N90831 at the Pima Air Museum on December 30, 1981.

C-69 N90831 at the Pima Air Museum on November 27, 1991.

C-69, N90831 at the Pima Air Museum on November 23, 2001.

C-69, N90831 at the Pima Air Museum on September 26, 2005.

C-69, N90831 at the Pima Air Museum on September 26, 2005.

Link to the Pima Air & Space Museum's page about C-69, N90831.

Model L-749

L-749, F-ZVMV, c/n 2503

L-749, F-ZVMV is preserved at Paris-le Bourget Airport. Photo Courtesy Cristophe Taubourin.

L-749, c/n 2503 was the first production L-749. It was ordered by Transcontinental and Western Air as N86520, but it was not taken up. Instead it was leased to Pan American World Airways on June 6, 1947. It flew for a short while as Clipper America and is reported to have made the first round the world flight (New York to New York) by a commercial airplane before being returned to Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. It was delivered to Guest Aerovia Mexico and registered as XA-GOQ on January 6, 1948. It returned to Lockheed Aircraft Corporation as N86520 in November 1948. Air France bought it on January 15, 1949 and registered it as F-BAZR. It was retired and stored at Paris-Orly Airport in October 1960. Centre d'Essals en Vol bought it in February 1963, registered it as F-ZVMV and used it for testing aircraft engines. It had flown 32,471 hours when it was donated to the Musee de L'Air Paris-le Bourget Airport on July 16, 1975.

L-749, F-ZVMV is preserved at Paris-le Bourget Airport. Photo Courtesy Cristophe Taubourin.

VC-121B, 48-0608, c/n 2600

VC-121B 48-0608 and VC-121A 48-0611 in storage near Davis-Monthan AFB on February 11, 1972. 48-0608 was delivered to the Air Force in November 1948 as the sole VC-121B. Its Lockheed construction number is 2600. It was equipped with additional fuel tanks for extended range compared to the VC-121As. If Dewey had won the 1948 presidental election it would have been his personal transport with the name "Dewdrop", but the name was never actualy applied to the plane. It was retired in March 1968. Kolar Incorporated bought these two Constellations in June 1971 and sold them to Aero-Tech Incorporated three months later. Aero-Specialties bought them in September 1972 and registered 48-0608 as N608AS.

VC-121B, 48-0608 at Falcon Field, Mesa, Arizona on August 23, 1979. Photo courtesy Jay Goetz.

VC-121B, 48-0608 at Falcon Field, Mesa, Arizona on August 23, 1979. Photo courtesy Jay Goetz.

VC-121B, N608AS and L-1049H, N6937C in the Globe Air Inc. yard at Falcon Field, Mesa, Arizona on December 31, 1981, shortly after the VC-121B had been transferred to Globe Air Incorporated. It was sold to Silver Skies Incorporated in October 1985 and flown to Ryan Field, near Tucson, Arizona.

VC-121B, N608AS at Ryan Field on November 23, 2001.

VC-121B, N608AS at Ryan Field on November 23, 2001.

VC-121B, N608AS was scrapped at Ryan Field in early 2002. Local airport authorities had been after its owner to get rid of the "derelict".

C-121A, 48-0609, c/n 2601

C-121A 48-0609 in the colors of Conifair Aviation at the Santa Barbara Airport in August 1984. Its Lockheed construction number is 2601. It was delivered to the Air Force in December 1948 and was retired in March 1968. Christier Flying Service Inc. bought it in May 1970 and registered it as N9464. Beaver Air Spray Inc. bought it in April 1979, registered it as C-GXKO and sold it to Conifair in 1980.

C-121A, 48-0609 at the Santa Barbara Airport in January 1985. It had been purchased by John Travolta, named "Star of Santa Barbara", and registered N494TW.

C-121A N494TW at Tucson International Airport on November 27, 1991

C-121A, N494TW takes off at the Nellis AFB Golden Air Tattoo on April 26, 1997.

Lockheed C-121A Constellation N494TW at Nellis Golden Air Tattoo on April 26, 1997. It was registered to Vern Raburn.

C-121A N494TW at the Nellis AFB Golden Air Tattoo on April 26, 1997.

VC-121A 48-0609 at Avra Valley, Arizona on November 23, 2001.

VC-121A 48-0609 at Avra Valley, Arizona on November 23, 2001.

VC-121A 48-0609 at the Edwards Air Force Base open house on October 26, 2002.

In April 2005, this Constellation was flown to South Korea to be put on static display.

Link to the MATS Connie web site.

C-121A, 48-0610, c/n 2602

C-121A, 48-0610 in a storage yard adjacent to Davis-Monthan AFB on December 19, 1984. Its Lockheed construction number is 2602. It was delivered to the Air Force in November 1948. It was named Columbine II when it served as President Eisenhower's personal transport. The Air Force leased it to Pan Am in May 1955. Pan Am first registered it as N9907F and then N9907E. It was transferred for a very short period of time to the government of Thailand, and Pan Am returned it to the Air Force in June 1955. It was retired by the Air Force in April 1968. It was bought by Christier Flying Service Inc. in May 1970 and registered N9463. It has since been restored to airworthy condition. It is currently registered to Columine II Inc. and is based at the Santa Fe, New Mexico Airport. The airplane was parked at Santa Fe for several years after it returned from the Vintage Aircraft and Warbird Auction held in Scottsdale in 1998. The reserve price was not met.

C-121A 48-0610, N9463 has been ferried to the Marana Regional Airport in Arizona. Dynamic Aviation announced in April 2015 that they plan to purchase the aircraft, restore it and fly it on the airshow circuit.

C-121A, 48-0611, c/n 2603

The tail of VC-121A, 48-0611 is seen behind VC-121B, 48-0608 in storage near Davis-Monthan AFB on February 11, 1972. Its Lockheed construction number is 2603. It was delivered to the Air Force in December 1948 and retired in April 1968. Kolar Incorporated bought these two Constellations in June 1971 and sold them to Aero-Tech Incorporated three months later. Aero-Specialties bought them in September 1972 and registered 48-0611 as N611AS.

VC-121A, N611AS at Falcon Field, Mesa, Arizona on May 4, 1974. It was owned by Aviation Specialties which equipped it with spray bars for aerial application of pesticides. Globe Air Inc. bought it in February 1981 and sold it to Rafael Belliard in November 1981. Subsequently it was sold to Aerochago of the Dominican Republic and registered HI-393. It is reported to have been retired in 1983, and reported as derelict at Santa Domingo as of 1997 where it may still exist.

VC-121A, 48-0611 at Falcon Field, Mesa, Arizona on August 23, 1979. Photo courtesy Jay Goetz.

VC-121A, 48-0611 at Falcon Field, Mesa, Arizona on August 23, 1979. Photo courtesy Jay Goetz.

C-121A, 48-0612, c/n 2604

VC-121A 48-0612 at Avra Valley, Arizona on November 23, 2001. Its Lockheed construction number is 2604. It was delivered to the Air Force in January 1949 and retired in October 1967. Christier Flying Service Inc. bought it in May 1970 and registered it as N9465. Beaver Air Spray Inc. bought it in April 1979, registered it as C-GXKR and sold it to Conifair in 1979. It was registered N749VR, but recently its registration was changed to N749NL.

VC-121A N749NL at Avra Valley, Arizona on November 23, 2001. It is being restored for display as "The Blue Feeling" at the Aviodome Museum in the Netherlands.

Link to the Connies Place website.

Link to the Aviodome Museum website at WWW.AVIODOME.NL.

VC-121A N749NL and C-121G N105CF at Avra Valley, Arizona on November 23, 2001.

VC-121A N749NL and C-121A N494TW at Avra Valley, Arizona on November 23, 2001

N749NL was flown to the Netherlands in September 2002.

Sean O'Brien spotted N749NL at Goose Bay, Labrador just before its transatlantic flight in the summer of 2002.

Since then, it has been repainted in vintage KLM livery.

C-121A, 48-0613, c/n 2605

VC-121A 48-0613 at the Planes of Fame Grand Canyon Museum on August 16, 2001. Its Lockheed construction number is 2603. It was delivered to the Air Force in January 1949. It was General MacArthur's personal transport. He named it "Bataan". It was retired from the Air Force in January 1966 and acquired by NASA. NASA registered it as N422NA. It was transferred to the Fort Rucker Army Museum in February 1970. In April 2015 it was sold to Lewis Air Legends of San Antonio, Texas. Lewis plans on making aircraft airworthy and putting it on the US airshow circuit. It is powered by four Wright R3350-32WA eighteen-cylinder Duplex Cyclone radial engines.

VC-121A N422NA at the Planes of Fame Grand Canyon Museum on August 16, 2001.

Stereo pair of VC-121A N422NA at the Planes of Fame Grand Canyon Museum on August 16, 2001. Cross your eyes to see the 3-D effect.

Lockheed VC-121A Constellation N422NA at the Planes of Fame Grand Canyon Museum on June 23, 2012.

C-121A, 48-0614, c/n 2606

VC-121A, 48-0614 "Columbine" at Davis-Monthan AFB on January 16, 1971. Its Lockheed construction number is 2606. It was delivered to the Air Force in February 1949. It it served as the personal transport of General Eisenhower and was named Columbine. It was retired in January 1967 and was included in a collection of Air Force aircraft displayed along Golf Links Road at the edge of the Military Aircraft Storage and Disposition Center (MASDC).

VC-121A, 46-614 "Columbine" at the Pima County Air Museum on March 31, 1974. The airplanes displayed along Golf Links Road had been towed to the future site of the new museum.

VC-121A, 48-0614 at the Pima Air Museum on November 27, 1991. It has been restored to the appearance of "Columbine" when it served as the personal transport of General Eisenhower.

VC-121A, 48-0614 at the Pima Air Museum on November 23, 2001.

VC-121A, 48-0614 at the Pima Air Museum on September 26, 2005.

VC-121A, 48-0614 at the Pima Air Museum on September 26, 2005.

Link to the Pima Air & Space Museum's page about VC-121A, 48-0614.

Links

Link to The Constellation Survivor Web Site.

Link to Oldprops page of Constellation photographs.

Link to Exotic Aircraft Company's page listing Constellations for sale and Constellation parts wanted.

Lockheed Constellation survivors in the United States:

The Lockheed Super Constellation page.

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