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Super Constellation

Lockheed introduced the Model 1049 Super Constellation in 1951. The fuselage was stretched 21 feet over the length of the original Constellation. More powerful R-3350-34 and -91 turbo-compound engines were installed.

There are twenty nineteen surviving Lockheed Super Constellations in the United States. I have photographed nine eight of them. Three One of them is currently airworthy.

Link to the The Lockheed Constellation page.

C-121G, 131636, c/n 4137

C-121G N105CF at Avra Valley, Arizona on November 23, 2001. Its Lockheed construction number is 4137. It was being restored for display by the Super Constellation Flyers group in Switzerland until they realized the true cost of its restoration. They abandoned their restoration effort and acquired the Camarillo Connie N73544.

It was delivered to the Navy as R7V-1, 131636. It was transferred to the Air Force as 54-4062, "City of Saratoga" in June 1958. It was later re-designated C-121G. The Air Force renamed it "City of Jackson Hole" in 1966 and retired it in May 1978. DMI Aviation bought it in November 1989 and registered it as N2114Z before selling it to Aero Chago in the Dominican Republic where it was registered HI-583CT in June 1990.

VC-121A, N749VR, C-121G, N105CF, and C-121A, N494TW at Avra Valley, Arizona on November 23, 2001.

September 26, 2005

The future of C-121G, N105CF looks bleak. It has been towed to the long-term storage area of the Marana Regional Airport (formerly Avra Valley) and is being stripped of parts. It was eventually scrapped.

Can this be the end of C-121G, N105CF?

VC-121E, 53-7885, c/n 4151

VC-121E 53-7885 Columbine III at the Air Force Museum on August 19, 1972. Its Lockheed construction number is 4151. It was ordered by the US Navy as R7V-1 BuN 131650, but it was completed for the Air Force as VC-121E 53-7885. It was delivered to the Air Force in September 1954 as Columbine III. It was replaced as the presidential transport by a VC-137A in January 1961.It was retired from Air Force service in April 1966 and was transferred to the Air Force Museum on April 20, 1966.

VC-121E, 53-7885 "Columbine III" at the Air Force Museum on August 16, 1998. It has been restored to its appearance from when it served as Eisenhower's presidential transport.

VC-121E, 53-7885 "Columbine III" at the Air Force Museum on August 16, 1998.

Link to the Air Force Museum's page about VC-121E, 53-7885 "Columbine III".

Lockheed C-121C, N73544 at the Gila River Indian Reservation Memorial Airport on December 30, 1981. Its Lockheed construction number is 4175. It was delivered to the Air Force as 54-0156 on November 1, 1955. The Smithsonian Institute acquired it from storage at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona in June 1972 in order to trade it to Aviation Specialties for the Boeing 307 Stratoliner, N19903 Clipper Flying Cloud. Aviation Specialties registered it as N73544 in March 1973 and retired it in 1976.

C-121C, N73544 at the Point Mugu Airshow on October 2, 1994. Globe Air Inc. bought it in February 1981 and sold it to Mehrdad Khoramian in December 1982. It was registered to Daryoush Younesi at Tarzana in 1992. It spent several years based at Camarillo,California.

C-121C, N73544 at Camarillo on June 17, 1995.

C-121C, N73544 at Edwards AFB on Ocober 21, 1995.

This is a stereo pair of C-121C, N73544 at Camarillo on June 16, 1996. Cross your eyes to see the 3-D effect.

C-121C, N73544 at Pt Mugu NAWC on April 24, 1998.

C-121C, N73544 at Camarillo on August 25, 2001.

C-121C, N73544 at Camarillo on August 25, 2001.

Cross your eyes to see the tail of the Constellation in 3-D.

Link to the web site of the Constellation Historical Society which operates N73544 at the Camarillo Airport.

Wright R-3350 turbo-compound engine on C-121C, N73544 at the Camarillo airshow on August 11, 2002.

The Wright division of the Curtiss-Wright company (which was formed by the merger of companies founded by Glenn Curtiss and the Wright brothers) developed the TC-18 turbo-compound engine from the eighteen-cylinder R-3350 Cyclone in 1949.  Wright's engine works were located in Woodridge, New Jersey.  Wright turbo-compound engines powered the Douglas DC-7, Lockheed C-121 Constellation, Lockheed P-2 Neptune, Martin P5M Marlin, and Farchild C-119 Packet.  

The turbo-compound engine incorporates a unique power recovery tubine system that recovers power from the engine exhaust and feeds it into the propeller crankshaft.  Three turbines are mounted around the engine.  Each turbine is fed the exhaust from six cylinders, extracting some of the energy of the hot, expanding gases and feeding it into a gearbox connected to the crankshaft.   

The power recovery turbine system improves the fuel consumption of the R-3350 engine by about 20%.  The improved fuel consumption made it possible for the Douglas DC-7 and Lockheed Constellation to cross the Atlantic Ocean non-stop, but the complexity of the engine lead to fairly frequent engine problems.  It was not unusual for a trans-Atlantic airliner to reach its destination with an engine shut down and its propeller feathered.

Lockheed C-121C Super Constellation, N73544 Camarillo Connie made a dirty pass over the Hawthorne Airport before entering the pattern for landing on August 15, 2003.

Camarillo Connie landing at the Hawthorne Airport on August 15, 2003.

Camarillo Connie landing at the Hawthorne Airport on August 15, 2003.

Camarillo Connie taxiing at the Hawthorne Airport on August 15, 2003.

Camarillo Connie was the centerpiece of the Hawthorne Air and Auto Power Show on August 16, 2003.

Camarillo Connie at the Camarillo Airshow on August 23, 2003.

On April 22 and 23, 2004 Camarillo Connie was being test flown by the Swiss group that will take her to Switzerland.

Camarillo Connie on approach to Runway 07 at the Santa Barbara Airport on April 22, 2004.

Camarillo Connie makes a high pass over Runway 07 at the Santa Barbara Airport on April 23, 2004.

N73544 took off from the Camarillo Airport for what may have been the last time at 10:00 A.M. on April 26, 2004.

Say good-bye to Camarillo Connie

and say hello to the Breitling Super Constellation.

Now N73544 wears the Breitling "B" on its tail where it used to have an American Flag.

N73544 took off from the Camarillo Airport for what may have been the last time at 10:00 A.M. on April 26, 2004.

The Breitling Super Constellation made one low pass over Runway 26 at the Camarillo Airport and headed away to the north.

EC-121H, 53-0535, c/n 4350

EC-121H, 53-0535 at the Pima County Air Museum on March 31, 1974. It was built as an RC-121D, and its Lockheed construction number is 4350. It was redesignated EC-121H to reflect the addition of electronic equipment for relaying information to NORAD ground stations. It served with the 551st Airborne Early Warning and Control Wing. After a short while on display in the Pima Air Museum, it was transferred to the Minden Air Corporation storage yard south of Davis-Monthan Air Force Base and received the civil registration N51006. The Pima Air Museum acquired EC-121T, 53-0548 in its place. EC-121H, N51006 may now belong to Vern Raburn, the owner of C-121A, N494TW.

It has been reported that N548GF will be flown to the Yanks Air Museum at Chino in the near future. I would welcome any information about when that flight is expected to take place.

EC-121T, 53-0548 at the Pima Air Museum on December 30, 1981. It was built as an RC-121D, and its Lockheed construction number is 4363. The EC-121T designation reflected its conversion from airborne early warning to electronic reconnaissance.

EC-121T, 53-0548 at the Pima Air Museum on November 23, 1994. It would soon be restored to airworthy condition and ferried to Camarillo, California.

EC-121T, 53-0548 at Camarillo on June 17, 1995. It has been registered N548GF by the Global Aeronautical Foundation. Unfortunately, corrosion of the main wing spar has resulted in the grounding of N548GF.

Stereo Pair of EC121T, N548GF at Camarillo on June 18, 1996. Cross your eyes to see the 3-D effect.

EC121T, N548GF at the Camarillo airshow on August 11, 2002. The corrosion in the wing has been repaired and it is airworthy again.

EC-121T Warning Star, N548GF at the Camarillo Airshow on August 23, 2003.

EC-121T Warning Star, N548GF at the Camarillo Airshow on August 27, 2005. It is expected to make a single ferry flight to an air museum elsewhere in California.

Link to the EC-121 web site of Dean Boys, a retired radar tech who flew on this airplane.

EC-121T, 53-0554, c/n 4369

EC-121T, 53-0554 at the Pima Air Museum on November 27, 1991. It was built as an RC-121D, and its Lockheed construction number is 4369.

EC-121T, 53-0554 at the Pima Air Museum on November 23, 2001.

EC-121T, 53-0554 at the Pima Air Museum on September 26, 2005.

Link to the Pima Air & Space Museum's page about EC-121T, 53-0554.

EC-121D, 53-0555, c/n 4370

EC-121D, 53-0555 at the Air Force Museum on August 16, 1998. Its Lockheed construction number is 4370.

Link to the Air Force Museum's page about EC-121D, 53-0555.

EC-121K, 141309, c/n 4433

EC-121K, 141309 at the McClellan AFB Museum on April 3, 1993. It was built as a Navy WV-2, but it is displayed as Air Force EC-121D, 53-0552. Its Lockheed construction number is 4433.

Link to the Willy Victor web site, dedicated to the effort and sacrifice of the Navy crewmen of the WV-2s 

L-1049G, F-BRAD, c/n 4519

Air France L-1049G, F-BRAD displayed in Air France colors at Nantes-Chateu Bougon airfield. Its Lockheed construction number is 4519. It was delivered to Air France in April 1953 as F-BGNJ. Air France retired it in August 1967. Air Fret bought it in September 1968 and registered it as F-BRAD. Air Fret sold it to Catair in December 1969 and bought it back in June 1973. L-749, F-ZVMV and L-1049G, F-BHBG are also preserved in France. This photo was provided by Gert Jan Mentink of the Netherlands.

L-1049G, F-BHML, c/n 4671

Former Air France L-1049G displayed as D-ALAP in Lufthansa colors at the Frankfurt Airport on June 29, 1989. Its Lockheed construction number is 4671. It was delivered to Air France as F-BHML in February 1957. It was leased to Tunis air in June 1961 and returned to Air France the following September. It was bought by Le Gouvello de la Porte in March 1968 and immediately sold to Air Fret. Air Classic bought it in November 1977 for preservation at Frankfurt.

Former Air France L-1049G displayed as D-ALAP in Lufthansa colors at the Frankfurt Airport.

L-1049H, N6937C, c/n 4830

L-1049H, N6937C is equipped with spray bars for aerial application of pesticides at Falcon Field, Mesa, Arizona on May 4, 1974.

The Lockheed construction number of the Star of America is 4830. It was initally registered as N540V by Lockheed Aircraft Corporation. It was delivered to Slick Airways in September 1957 and given its current registration of N6937C. Bal Trade Inc. bought it in November 1968 and sold it to Aircraft Airframe Inc. in June 1971. Aviation Specialties acquired it in February 1973 and sold it to Globe Air Inc. in June 1981. Paul Pristo bought it in October 1985 and donated it to Save A Connie Inc. in December 1986. The Save A Connie Foundation is now known as the Airline History Museum at Kansas City. It is the last airworthy Super Constellation in the United States.

L-1049H N6937C at Falcon Field, Mesa, Arizona on August 23, 1979. Photo courtesy Jay Goetz.

L-1049H, N6937C and VC-121B, 48-0608 in the Globe Air Inc. yard at Falcon Field, Mesa, Arizona on December 31, 1981.

L-1049H, N6937C at El Toro MCAS on April 28, 1991.

L-1049H, N6937C at El Toro MCAS on April 28, 1991.

Lockheed L-1049G Super Constellation N6937C was displayed at the Rockin' Airfest 2005 at the Van Nuys Airport on Sunday May 15, 2005. It arrived on Friday, May 13 at a quarter to one in the afternoon.

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 Super Constellation and Starliner survivors in the United States:

The Lockheed Constellation page.

You can buy a 2020 calendar featuring my photographs of Vintage and Veteran TWA Airliners.

Six photos of veteran airliners restored in TWA livery and six vintage photos of TWA jetliners from the 1970s:

Boeing 707-131 N749TW, Los Angeles, July 11, 1972
Lockheed L-1011-1 N31014, Phoenix, November 10, 1973
Lockheed L-1011-1 N31008, San Francisco, August 6, 1974
Boeing 747-131 N93113, Los Angeles, December 29, 1974
Boeing 727-131 N852TW, Phoenix, February 8, 1975
Boeing 707-131B N86741, Los Angeles, March 28, 1975
Douglas DC-2 NC1934D, MCAS el Toro, April 29, 1989
Lockheed L-1049G Super Constellation N6937C, Van Nuys May 13, 2005
Douglas DC-2 NC1934D, Santa Maria, October 6, 2006
Lockheed 12A Junior Electra NC18137, Santa Maria, October 21, 2006

Put a copy of the Vintage and Veteran TWA Airliners: 2020 calendar in your Lulu.com shopping cart for $14.95.

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