Big beautiful airplane vid

Was anyone bold enough to see if the Connie pops up if you use the acronym of this the title. I don't really want that search in my browser history on the work computer
 
Racerx said:
Was anyone bold enough to see if the Connie pops up if you use the acronym of this the title. I don't really want that search in my browser history on the work computer
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I changed the thread title. Thanks, I didn't think of that.
 
The Constellation has always been an iconic favorite of mine.

On the stairwell of our TN hangar/home, we have a collection of aviation-related photos. Of course the Constellation is represented:

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Love it! They're not as large in person as they appear in photos, was surprised the first time I had a chance to see one up close near a DC-6.

I don't care what anyone says, nothing in aviation can beat the prop giants

 
In the early 60s my great grandmother regularly flew from Las Vegas to Albuquerque to help my Mom out with her four kids. Mom was having health issues.

Grandma always flew on TWA Constellations into the old Sunport terminal. We kids would run out on the ramp to greet her. She kept a meticulous diary for most of her life, and I have a four volume copy of it.

The notations regarding the flights were something like this:

Flew to Albuquerque to help Annette. Fare was $26, insurance $3.37.

When TWA replaced the Connies with Boeing 727s, her entries remained the same, except for the added remark "Jet."
 
I had the privilege of riding in one in 1956 as a present for winning the Arizona State Little League championship. Positive lifelong memory!
 
I did my flight training at SFB, Sanford Florida. There was a Connie parked at the west end of 9-27 on the taxiway, just barely clear of the runway. It had two props on one side feathered, so it wasn't a scheduled landing. It sat there for at least 6 months before the airport towed it to buzzards row.

One day I saw a ladder leading to an open door on the plane and no one was around. Yeah I did. I took a quick tour. One thing I remember was the cockpit was a lot larger than the single engine Cessnas I was flying. Nothing like a handful of throttles.

One of my ground instructors flew Connies early in his career. He told us the starting procedures were a bit picky. Too much fuel and it all burns off out the exhaust like a dragon, scaring the heck outta the passengers. Or too little fuel and it back fires like a howitzer scaring the heck outta the passengers... :lol:
 
Here's a favorite video of mine. Arthur Godfrey, a mid 20th century entertainer and pilot, provides a 1953 narrated PIC flight in an Eastern L-1049.

Bonus footage of Captain Eddie Rickenbacker appears at the beginning of the video. It's good stuff.

Arthur also lights up a Chesterfield in the cockpit. The good old days!

:D

 
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Zeldman said:
One of my ground instructors flew Connies early in his career. He told us the starting procedures were a bit picky. Too much fuel and it all burns off out the exhaust like a dragon, scaring the heck outta the passengers. Or too little fuel and it back fires like a howitzer scaring the heck outta the passengers... :lol:
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This reminded me of standing on the ramp in Bridgeport, CT near a private DC-3 that was about to depart sometime in the 80s. It had a modified executive interior. There was a large passenger window just ahead of the wing, and I could clearly see a guy in a rear facing seat. He looked out in interest as #1 began turning blades.

The engine caught, immediately disgorged a blasting backfire, and stopped. This was repeated one more time before the R-1820 settled into a normal idle. The look on the prisoner's, err, passenger's face was priceless. He looked like he desperately wanted to be somewhere else.

:rofl:
 
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I saw an EC-121 in flight, but never a true airline Connie. It's almost sculpture. . .our C-130E models couls "torch" if fuel was puddled in the tail pipe of number 3, the first engine started. It was impressive, especially at night.
 
3393RP said:
Here's a favorite video of mine. Arthur Godfrey, a mid 20th century entertainer and pilot, provides a 1953 narrated PIC flight in an Eastern L-1049.

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Interesting video, real like the demo they did of shutting down 3 engines and showing the airplane can still cruise with only one engine.
It seems like, in these early days of aviation, there’s alot of campaigning here to assure the public that this will become a safe and reliable method of transportation.
 
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