I’m too young to have had the pleasure of flying the Lockheed Super Constellation, but I was elated to see that one is still airworthy and was recently fired up.
An Airworthy Lockheed Super Constellation Lives In Australia
By 2019, there were only two “Connies” that were still airworthy, one owned by Breitling and based in Switzerland and another with the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) in Australia. But in 2019 Breitling retired and dismantled its Super Constellation, leaving only a single operator left.
While the Lockheed Constellation there doesn’t takeoff very often, it is allegedly still airworthy. Aviation vlogger Paul Stewart recently visited Shellharbour Regional Airport (YSHL), about an hour south of Sydney, and captured the following video:
If you’re any sort of aviation enthusiast, does this video not just make you light up? I found myself smiling ear-to-ear watching this video and seeing the majestic bird fire up her engines.
This particular Super Constellation has a fascinating history. It was originally a military aircraft and discarded for scrap metal at Davis Monthan Air Base in Tucson, Arizona in 1977. But in 1990 a group of Australian visitors noticed it, obtained permission to acquire it, then spent tw0 years rebuilding it to make it airworthy once again.
In 1994 it took off once again and in 1996 it made the journey to Australia, stopping in Oakland, Honolulu, Pago Pago (American Samoa), and Nadi (Fiji).
Qantas helped the restoration project by sending teams to Arizona for its restoration. Over the two-year period:
- 16,000 hours were expended on the project (all volunteer)
- AUD800,000 raised
- 47 team trips, each averaging two weeks
The aircraft now has a semi-Qantas livery that says “Connie” on the fuselage.
And if you’re ever in Australia, this museum also has a:
- Douglas DC3
- Lockheed Neptune
- General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark
- de Havilland Canada Caribus
- Boeing 747-400
Later this year, the museum plans to welcome John Travolta’s Boeing 707.
Daily tours are available, though it does not appear joy rides are available.
CONCLUSION
This is a beautiful aircraft! If sightseeing flights were ever available on this Super Constellation, I’d fly all the way from LA just for a 10 minute flight.
Have you flown on the Connie? How far would you go to fly it again or for the first time?
Really old planes are dangerous. There are occasionally fatal plane crashes in the UK when World War II era planes fly. I suggest that Matthew not fly on the Connie. Otherwise, this may become Live and Let Die. Oh, that’s 007’s line.
There is a beautiful one at the Museum of Flight in Seattle. And, of course, the TWA hotel has one being used as a lounge/bar now and sitting on the roof. I’m waiting to experience the TWA one but has been closed since Covid.
I’ve been to HARS twice. Easy train ride from Sydney and the museum people are very friendly. Best to go when they have one of their open house/apron days. They also offer private tours of the 747-400 as well as time in the 747 cockpit with a 747 pilot, by reservation.
Wow, would absolutely love to fly in a Connie. That, and flying in the back of a WWI biplane or triplane.
@Derek — There’s probably an elevated risk of an accident when flying antiquated aircraft, but all aircraft must meet airworthiness requirements in order to fly, regardless of aircraft age. Rather than the age of aircraft, per se, the biggest risks probably come from pilots who don’t get to fly these classic planes enough to be truly proficient in handling the aircraft if an adverse situation should materialize .
@Jon — Didn’t know the museum HARS was train ride away from Sydney, hope to catch it someday.
I’m sure your review would come with a Meal Of The Week / Year / Decade / Lifetime!
Took my Mom (retired Ozark/TWA) to the TWA Hotel/Connie at JFK for her birthday in 20019. We nibbled on a nice charcuterie tray with some mocktails. Well worth an overnight day-and-a-half trip for any av-geek.
While the “CONNIE” was in Oakland at the United Airlines maintenance facility, it developed a leak in a high pressure fuel injection line on one of the engines on the morning of their departure for Honolulu. There was no replacement available so the crew asked if there was anybody willing to attempt a repair, a fellow mechanic and certified welder said he’d give it a try, he welded the crack and I put together a system to test it to 3,000 psi. The repair worked and the Aussie’s were satisfied with it. The plane made it to Australia with that repair in place, glad to hear that “CONNIE” is still flyable
The cocktail lounge Constellation at JFK airport was part of a effort by Lufthansa to restore another Constellation to flying status. In 2018 after 10 years of 24/7 work and over $160m spent, Lufthansa cancelled the project for unknown reasons. The parts plane became the TWA Lounge and the main restoration was disassembled and shipped to Germany. There is much doubt the plane will ever see flying status now
“And if you’re ever in Australia”
That’ll be a while.
As a kid we went to Germany on one,back in the day Iam 72
I flew on one, or several, in 1956 and ‘57, during a period of family visits/relocation, but , while I remember the journeys, I don’t remember the specifics of the plane (too young); I have more vivid recall of the 707 and DC8, introduced on Australian routes from about 1960.
All these beautiful old models. Will we recall fondly, 50 years from now, flying an Airbus 300 or a 777? Maybe the 747 and 380 will be the only ones to ‘make the cut’
Being in Australia, you have a better chance than most to fly this! But then again, you’ve already flown it so there is less of an urgency!
What is the tail number? Th pa air national guard at Harrisburg intl aprt had 10 c-121’s that were retired in that time frame
S/N 54-0157
Flew on a TWA Super Connie from Frankfort Germany to New York in 1957. What a wonderful plane & experience, even in coach. Puts today’s “cattle car’s” ( cabin crews and attitudes) to SHAME!
I flew in a TWA Connie back in the mid ’60s, but was too young to remember it. Wish I could have! My mom took a photo though. I’d be tempted to fly in this one if the weather is nice.
Stayed at the TWA Hotel last week, got some good pics of the Connie, and remember the Mickey Mouse Club segment in 1958-59 that had two boys going to the TWA training center to learn to fly,,,,got me hooked on planes, and ultimately 26 years at UAL…fly in the Connie,,,,heck yes!
I’ve been on Connie at the HARS museum and it has old Qantas recliner seats and at least a dozen 20gallon pails of oil that they travel with when they fly!
Last time I was there a RAAF PC 3 orion flew in its way back to Adelaide and we got a tour. My kids will never forget the feeling of standing on the tarmac as the PC3 taxied out and the blast of heat and grit from the engine wash.
In 1965 I flew home to LAX from IAD (Dulles) on a TWA Connie. Loved the sound of those big beautiful engines!
I flew on TWA and Eastern Connies as a child, but have no real memories of them. My first recollection is of flying on a United DC-7, and a stewardess letting me pass-out chewing gum to the passengers. I think I was about 6 years old.
What I do remember are the stories I heard from older fellow flight attendants at Flying Tigers, who had worked aboard the airline’s Constellations a decade before I was hired as the company’s first male flight attendant in 1974. The Connies were famous (infamous?) for having engines conk-out. And they often conked-out rather spectacularly, with smoke and flames. Three-engine landings were very common. Two-engine landings not uncommon. A lot of ‘stewardessing’ in those days was reassuring frightened passengers.
Flying Tigers had a difficult history with the Lockheed Constellation. There were a number of fatal crashes. Two of the worst in 1962. In March of that year a Connie with 107 people aboard vanished over the Pacific. No trace was ever found, and it remains the worst-ever crash for that aircraft type. One of my friends was supposed to work that flight, but she traded the trip with another stewardess to attend her sister’s wedding.
Six months after the Pacific crash, another of the company’s Connies – en route from Gander to Frankfurt – ditched in the Atlantic off Ireland, after THREE of the four engines failed. 28 of the 76 onboard died in the crash, or from hours spent in the ocean. A new book about the crash is due to be published this year. (This particular crash is the reason all flight attendants are required by the FAA to carry a flashlight. When the Connie went into the Atlantic at night all the power was lost and the cabin was pitch black. The flight attendants couldn’t see to get the rafts out of the ceiling compartments.)
Reminded me of standing on the observation deck at Newark Airport, NJ as a young boy. Most times in the late 50s early 60s there was a Connie near by. Loved watching them start the engines one by one then taxi out and takeoff. beautiful aircraft.
I am lucky enough to live next to Albion Park Airport. We often see the Connie fly overhead on some mission. Unfortunately they cannot take people on joy rides due to a shortage of parts and Aviation Regulations in Australia. But it certainly is a joy to see it flying. You can visit the Museum and go on board the Connie. They also have a large array of ww2 aircraft as well as many old commercial planes.
So get there if you can!!
My dad spoke often of flying to Australia as a 20 year old in 1960 on one, island hopping to get there. His highlights were flying so slowly he could see larger fish in the ocean and stopping on Christmas Island for fuel
I have about 1500 hours of pilot time in one with a similar configuration.
What airline did you fly for?
In November 1956 my wife Millie and our 10 month old son Craig flew home in a MATS C-121 Connie from Haneda Airport in Japan to Wake Island To Honolulu. We had to stay overnight in Honolulu because one of the engines had to be changed out. It was a great experience and the male Flight Attendants had a good time making our son laugh and keeping us all comfortable . While in Honolulu for 24 hours we stayed up and another Air Force Officer and his wife joined us in a whirlwind tour of Honolulu with a great a Taxi driver who cared for our son when we were out of the taxi. The next day we journeyed on to San Fran or Seattle ( I am not sure which now )
The C121 had beautiful lines and delivered my family back to US soil safely Wow, that was a long time ago as I look back at age 92 remembering how we came home. And the final leg was to fly all the way across the USA to my family home in Portland Maine where my parents and sister were introduced to our son Scott for the first time in person .
A great journey half way around the World and a wonderful memory for our young family !
In November 1956 my wife Millie and our 10 month old son Craig flew home in a MATS C-121 Connie from Haneda Airport in Japan to Wake Island To Honolulu. We had to stay overnight in Honolulu because one of the engines had to be changed out. It was a great experience and the male Flight Attendants had a good time making our son laugh and keeping us all comfortable . While in Honolulu for 24 hours we stayed up and another Air Force Officer and his wife joined us in a whirlwind tour of Honolulu with a great a Taxi driver who cared for our son when we were out of the taxi. The next day we journeyed on to San Fran or Seattle ( I am not sure which now )
The C121 had beautiful lines and delivered my family back to US soil safely Wow, that was a long time ago as I look back at age 92 remembering how we came home. And the final leg was to fly all the way across the USA to my family home in Portland Maine where my parents and sister were introduced to our son Scott for the first time in person .
I have always loved this handsome plane and it was the first plane I ever flew in – although not a super, but an L749. 3 years old – TWA Flight #962 – Idlewild to Frankfurt March 6 1952. My mother was a war bride and my dad scraped up enough money ( $591.20 RT for my mom, half that for me, a LOT of cash in 1952!) to send us back to visit her parents (my grandparents). Even at such a young age, I vaguely have some snippets of memory regarding the flight, mostly interior images and noise! NY to Gander to Shannon to London to Germany – 24 hours. While I have photos of us arriving at Rhein-Main Field, unfortunately there are no recognizable registration numbers, so I can’t identify the actual plane. However, for our return flight on June 28 1952 (TWA Flight #963), I am able to name the plane: Another L749 – N6016C – The Star of Minnesota. Apparently all TWA 749’s back then were named “Star of . . . ” What a plane.
Started a lifelong interest in 4 engine prop airliners (and bombers like the -24). Thanks for the article, guess I have to get to Oz to experience this again!.
I saw this Connie fly at the Avalon air show a few years back. Absolutely beautiful aircraft.
Regarding the Southern Wave constellation owned by Qantas.I was on the original plane on the 24/08/1960 with my mother and three sisters on route to Australia from Nigeria. We were about to takeoff from Mauritius Airport at 6.00pm. Sitting next to my mother I looked out the window and saw number 3 propeller was not turning around and flames at the rear of the engine. I told my mum She wasn’t concerned at this point in time.I was only 5 years old. We taxed down the runway about to takeoff then take was aborted. Brakes applied skidding down the runway and then ditched down embankment just short of the ocean. Panic stations. Baggage went flying through the cabin seats ripped of their mounting plane on fire. No chutes we were pushed through the small windows. Much more to tell. 55 years later I receive a call from a Mauritian newspaper editor he said that he was sent to a story on the plane s crash as a 19 year old reporter. My wife and I went to Mauritius 6 years ago and meet him in person. Very interesting man, he now owns The Mauritian newspaper.
My 92 old mother is still alive also my 3 sisters. The youngest sister was born 3 years after the crash.
1800 hours on USAF Radar Connies plus some time in the back of the “C” models, although not this particular aircraft – great plane, and the sound of 4 3350’s @ takeoff power.. watching the engines for a night takeoff – bright blue flames from the turbo exhaust.
When working for an Airline as a Dispatcher in New Orleans, I had the opportunity to see an old Connie landing at the now New Orleans Airport. It appeared that the plane was coming down on two engines. Finally it came to the end of the runway and stooped. Later, I fund out that the Connie had belonged to The University of Houston and the new owners wanted to convert it into a Bar. They worked on it for a long time and when it was finished, the owners named it, The Crash Landing, closer to the Causeway Bridge over the Pontchartrain Lake. I went to the place a couple of times, before I moved back to Denver and a new job as a Sportscaster.
Due to AUS aviation regulations and licensing, the public cannot get a flight on Connie. HARS members MAY “get lucky” when they periodically take her up for a test/training flight. The bulk of HARS membership are ex QANTAS/RAAF/RAN pilots, ground and cabin crew … or a mixture of both service/civil aviation with some still “active” with the airlines.
Flew from eniwetok to honolulu with a loaded sidearm guarding highly classified info then to LA and on to alamgardo NM. that was in 1956 after operation redwing. testing nukes.droped the pouch and weapon off at fort shafter in Hono and enjoyed the rest of the trip.
I flew in a Connie many times as a kid. What I remember is 1) the vertical “flapping” of the wings (with two enormous engines attached), 2) the uniforms, service, meals, drinks, tablecloths, etc. that made the experience memorable and elegant, and 3) the loss of an engine once that was treated as a perfectly normal event by the cabin and flight crews.
I got drafted during the Viet Nam war, went to Navy flight school trying to make the best of it and wound up pilot in command flying Super Connies out of Guam. Got about 2000 hours in them and it was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I’d pay good money if I could fly one again.
I came across this article when I was wondering if the Breitling constellation is still in flight. In one of the last lines it is stated “By 2019, there were only two “Connies” that were still airworthy, one owned by Breitling and based in Switzerland and another with the Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS) in Australia.” However at Aviodrome in Lelystad (Netherlands) a airworthy constellation is part of the flying collection. I am aware that it is a regular constellation however she can hit the sky’s and she is well preserved. You will find more information at their website: https://www.aviodrome.nl/collectie/lockheed-constellation/
My dad was a pilot who flew Constellations for Capital Airlines before it merged with United Airlines. He named me “Connie” (birth year 1953) after that beautiful aircraft! Oh, and my brothers are Douglas, Billy Mitchell—and the family dog was Piper Cub! Thanks for the sweet memories. Connie