https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Constellation
The Lockheed Constellation ("Connie") is a propeller-driven, four-engined
airliner built by Lockheed Corporation between 1943 and 1958 at Burbank,
design and dolphin-shaped fuselage. Most were powered by four 18-cylinder Wright
R-3350 Duplex-Cyclones. The Constellation was used as a civil airliner and as a
military and civilian air transport, seeing service in the Berlin and the
Biafran airlifts. Three of them served as the presidential aircraft for Dwight
D. Eisenhower.
Lockheed had been working on the L-044 Excalibur, a four-engine, pressurized
airliner, since 1937. In 1939, Trans World Airlines, at the instigation of major
stockholder Howard Hughes, requested a 40-passenger transcontinental airliner
Excalibur design. TWA's requirements led to the L-049 Constellation, designed by
Lockheed engineers including Kelly Johnson and Hall Hibbard. Willis Hawkins,
another Lockheed engineer, maintains that the Excalibur program was purely a
cover for the Constellation.
The Constellation's wing design was close to that of the P-38 Lightning,
differing mostly in size. The triple tail kept the aircraft's height low enough
to fit in existing hangars, while features included hydraulically boosted
controls and a de-icing system used on wing and tail leading edges. The aircraft
had a maximum speed of over 375 mph (600 km/h), faster than that of a Japanese
Zero fighter, a cruise speed of 340 mph (550 km/h), and a service ceiling of
24,000 ft (7,300 m).
According to Anthony Sampson in Empires of the Sky, Lockheed may have undertaken
the intricate design, but Hughes' intercession in the design process drove the
concept, shape, capabilities, appearance, and ethos. These rumors were
discredited by Johnson. Howard Hughes and Jack Frye confirmed that the rumors
were not true in a letter in November 1941.
Role
Airliner and transport
Manufacturer
Lockheed
First flight
January 9, 1943
Introduction
1943 with USAAF
1945 with TWA
Retired
1990s, airline service
1978, military
Status
In very limited service
Primary users
Trans World Airlines
Eastern Air Lines
Pan American World Airways
Air France
Produced
Number built
856
Developed from
L-044 Excalibur
Variants
L-049 Constellation
C-69 Constellation
L-649 Constellation
L-749 Constellation
L-1049 Super Constellation
C-121/R7V Constellation
R7V-2/YC-121F Constellation
EC-121 Warning Star
L-1649A Starliner
Developed into
Lockheed XB-30 (Unbuilt)
With the onset of World War II, the TWA aircraft entering production were
converted to an order for C-69 Constellation military transport aircraft, with
202 aircraft intended for the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). The first
prototype (civil registration NX25600) flew on January 9, 1943, a short ferry
hop from Burbank to Muroc Field for testing. Edmund T. "Eddie" Allen, on loan
from Boeing, flew left seat, with Lockheed's own Milo Burcham as copilot. Rudy
Thoren and Kelly Johnson were also on board.
Lockheed proposed the model L-249 as a long-range bomber. It received the
military designation XB-30, but the aircraft was not developed. A plan for a
very long-range troop transport, the C-69B (L-349, ordered by Pan Am in 1940 as
the L-149), was canceled. A single C-69C (L-549), a 43-seat VIP transport, was
built in 1945 at the Lockheed-Burbank plant.
The C-69 was mostly used as a high-speed, long-distance troop transport during
the war. A total of 22 C-69s were completed before the end of hostilities, but
not all of these entered military service. The USAAF cancelled the remainder of
the order in 1945. However, some aircraft remained in USAF service into the
1960s, serving as passenger ferries for the airline that relocated military
personnel, and carrying the livery of the Military Air Transport Service. At
least one of these airplanes had passenger seats installed backward, with
occupants facing toward the rear of the direction of travel during flight.
The advent of jet airliners such as the de Havilland Comet, Boeing 707, Douglas
DC-8, Convair 880, and Sud Aviation Caravelle rendered the piston-engined
Constellation obsolete. The first routes lost to jets were the long overseas
routes, but Constellations continued to fly domestic routes. The last scheduled
passenger flight in the lower 48 states was made by a TWA L749 on May 11, 1967,
from Philadelphia to Kansas City, Missouri. Constellations carried freight in
later years, and were used on backup sections of Eastern Airlines' shuttle
service between New York, Washington, and Boston until 1968. Many old propeller
airliners were used on overnight freight runs, even into the 1990s, as their low
speed was not an impediment. An Eastern Constellation to date still holds the
record for a New York to Washington flight from liftoff to touchdown in just
over 30 minutes. The record was set prior to speed restrictions by the FAA below
10,000 ft.
One of the reasons for the elegant appearance of the aircraft was the fuselage
Unfortunately, this construction was very expensive and was replaced by mostly
tube-shaped modern airliners. The tube is more resistant to pressurization
changes and cheaper to build.
With the shutdown of Constellation production, Lockheed elected not to develop a
first-generation jetliner, instead sticking to its lucrative military business
and production of the modest turboprop-powered Lockheed L-188 Electra airliner.
Lockheed did not build a large civilian passenger aircraft again until its
L-1011 Tristar debuted in 1972. While a technological marvel, the L-1011 was a
commercial failure, and Lockheed left the commercial airliner business
permanently in 1983.
Specifications (L-1049G Super Constellation)
General characteristics
Crew: five flight crew, varying cabin crew
Length: 116 ft 2 in (35.42 m)
Wingspan: 126 ft 2 in (38.47 m)
Height: 24 ft 9 in (7.54 m)
Wing area: 1,654 ft2 (153.7 m2)
Empty weight: 79,700 lb (36,150 kg)
Useful load: 65,300 lb (29,620 kg)
Max. takeoff weight: 137,500 lb (62,370 kg)
engines, 3,250 hp (2,424 kW) each
Performance
Maximum speed: 377 mph (327 kn, 607 km/h)
Cruise speed: 340 mph (295 kn, 547 km/h) at 22,600 ft (6,890 m)
Stall speed: 100 mph (87 kn, 160 km/h)
Range: 5,400 mi (4,700 nmi, 8,700 km)
Service ceiling: 24,000 ft (7,620 m)
Rate of climb: 1,620 ft/min (8.23 m/s)
Wing loading: 87.7 lb/ft2 (428 kg/m2)
Power/mass: 0.094 hp/lb (0,155 W/kg)
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