Flying the World’s Last Lockheed Constellation - HARS Australia
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- Опубликовано: 14 апр 2023
- I visited HARS Aviation Museum in Australia and tell my story of flying on the World’s last airworthy Lockheed “Connie” Constellation. It was really something different from yesteryear’s aviation - Smokey start of engines, flames on takeoff, navigator and bunk beds onboard.
President of HARS, Bob De La Hunty gave me a detailed tour and explanation of operating the last Constellation.
Next, I visited Qantas first B747-400 VH-OJA City of Canberra. It flew into HARS in March 2015 to preserve as part of Australian aviation history. Join me for a tour onboard the 747.
HARS Aviation Museum: hars.org.au/
Love the Aussie sense of humour "when you pull the Stick back the Houses get Smaller; when you push the Stick forward the Houses get bigger" 😅 Great Aviation Museum. Thanks for enlightening us.
That’s not Aussie humor, that’s an aviation joke I heard and told all over the world.
It’s pilot humor.
@@zacherius137 thank you for illuminating: I'm now better informed. Just sounds good with an Aussie twang
@@zacherius137 That's not pilot humor, that's a dad joke I heard and told all over the universe.
It's a baby boomer humor.
Keep pulling the stick houses will get bigger
🤣 Yeah
Sam, I live in the Illawarra, only 10 minutes away from HARS. It feels really special that you are introducing it to the world.
Thank you.
I was born in 1947 in Hornsby north of Sydney and remember watching the Connies flying north over head to London. They truly are a work of art. Live not far from Hars Museum now and a great place to visit. 👍
Live in Normanhursti
@@NostalgicValleyI also live in Normanhurst. It’s one of the busiest spots, because of planes going north. I was born in 1979 so I haven’t seen many.
I flew on several Connies in the late 50s and early 60s. Usually out of NYC to the west coast on TWA. On one such flight, the stewardess asked my brother and I if we’d like to meet Mr. Disney. We were led to the TWA lounge, a unique feature of these aircraft and as 6-7 year old I actually sat on Walt’s lap. Of course, these days people frown about that, but back then it was pretty normal. Mr. Disney was a wonderful man and it was a great privilege to meet him. He asked me if I was going to Disneyland. “Yes sir!” was my immediate answer. Then he asked me a tougher question. “How much money are you going to spend there?” Being so young and wanting to impress him, I replied, “A hundred dollars!”
Then he surprisingly said, “Well don’t spend all your money there!”
We learned that Mr. Disney had connected in NY with a flight from Switzerland where he conceived the idea of building the Matterhorn at Disneyland.
Was it a nonstop flight?
Yes. A nonstop.
Bit before my time but ive got to say im envious😊
Thus used to take kids into the cockpit if the child was interested and if the pilots wanted to mess with it. I was taken into the cockpit of a DC-3 in Idaho Falls in 1953, first leg of a trip to Anchorage. Quieter times.
@@mikestirewalt5193 Wow! Idaho Falls is off the beaten track to Alaska. Do you know what airline that was? I have flown on at least two DC3 flights, but essentially one was really a C-47. It was a Marine Corps aircraft from Cherry Point to Norfolk around 1978. I was told at the time it was the oldest aircraft in military service. The other was on Caribair between St. Thomas and San Juan. Probably on some more DC3 flights out of the Albany, NY airport but too young to remember.
I was also in the cockpit of two Continental Airlines aircraft. In Bozeman,on a lengthy delay when a de-icer component had to be replaced and flown in from Denver. I was I first class and the pilots invited me to see the cockpit. The biggest surprise here was this aircraft had a hidden stash of Playboy magazines on board that they showed us. One of the pilots said they only pulled these out during boring and lengthy delays…like this one.
The other cockpit visit was on Guam during a Honolulu to Manila flight. Normally it was supposed to be a 747 which was in for maintenance so the DC-10-10 used had to refuel in Guam. My young 8 year old daughter got to sit in the right hand seat! The co-pilot set off some alarms just to shake her up a bit! Both good times.
I used to live near Albion Park, the sound of Connie flying over was always goosebump inducing.
I am glad they want to even maintain the 747 in a flyable condition. To me this is true preservation! Great job I can't wait to visit someday!
I visited a few months ago. Fabulous and well worth it.
The airstrip is really too short for takeoff, it would be a heck of a job to get it airborne, apparently doable.
What an amazing plane and what an amazing museum. I flew London to Sydney as a child in a Qantas 707. It stopped in Vienna, where we had to get off the plane and wait in the terminal, then Tehran (stayed on the plane). Then New Delhi (can't remember if I got off the plane or not), Bangkok and off the plane and finally Sydney. It took thirty something hours I believe, but as a 6 year old I loved it.
I flew Paris to Sydney in 1971 as a 12 year old, on 707s. It was Paris -> Tehran -> Calcutta -> Singapore -> Sydney. I loved it too, especially as we had to get out at each step and wait in the terminal, after walking across the runway, so I got to feel the "heat" of Tehran and Calcutta, and at Singapore we stayed three days, and it was charming, *cheap*, rickety place at the time. Your mention of Vienna is making think I may have forgotten the first stop.
@@stephenhosking7384 as a resident of Calcutta I've been feeling the 'heat' of Calcutta for the past week as well :(
The creation of the Lockheed Constellation was a watershed moment in aviation, pressurized with the ability to fly above the weather. Howard Hughes deserves much more credit than he gets for the advancements in civil aviation.
Absolutely!
Hughes was a genius!
The Spruce Goose is berthed in Long Beach, CA.
It is one of the most amazing aircraft ever built.
The story behind it is equally amazing.
@@JohnMoore-xf5wy The Goose WAS berthed in Long Beach for a time but that was many years ago, bro! It currently resides in a relatively new spot at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum in McMinnville, Oregon. Cheers!
@@kenster865
Excellent!
I had an Uncle who died just two years ago that met Howard Hughes for business. My uncle worked for Bill Harrah who sent him to meet Howard Hughes to negotiate the possible sale of Harrah’s casino & hotel property. He met him in a darkened hotel room in Las Vegas. He called him the strangest man he ever had to deal with. But brilliant, absolutely! The Constellation, the Spruce Goose and the Glomar Explorer are all amazing stories. Red Star Rogue by Kenneth Sewell is a fantastic book, a portion of which describes the two vessels built for our Navy by Hughes to recover a sunken Russian submarine. Highly recommend!
@@alanmiller9681
I would love to read that!
The Spruce Goose was pure genius!
In the RAF, we used to make the Shackletons glow at night on groundruns. What we did was start the engines with propellors in fine pitch, warm them up ,then select 1500-1600 rpm. Then, we would slowly apply course pitch to the prop. This made the Griffon's work harder producing a night time glow and flames from the exhaust pipes..great fun!
Great video Sam..
Should be mentioned that HARS is about 1hr South of Sydney, and fairly easily accessible for tourists using the train to Albion Park Railway Station
*about two hours by train from Central Station, Sydney.
I've seen a lot of vintage aircraft, but the Constellation was *really* the pioneer of long-haul travel, and (for me) probably the main reason why the first-gen jets like the Comet, Caravelle, B707, DC-8, & CV-880 exists...
In my personal opinion this aircraft takes the cake over ANY jet airliner. The engineering and the intracite details of the piston engines along with every part of the planes fuselage and that iconic 3 fin tail is just perfection in every way. You are SO SO lucky to have been able to fly in one it would be a dream come true for me.
Would there be a jet airliner if the Constellation had never been produced, Nick?
Stunning piece of engineering, anyway you look at it.
@@davidbrayshaw3529 absolutely not. This engineering masterpiece has to be what eventually became the jet airliners of today. But I would argue that the constellation and the blueprints Howard Hugh’s and company came up with for this plane could never be matched today in terms of innovation. Ik that may sound crazy but not when you think about the time period this aircraft was invented when they had nothing else really to use for inspiration in creating a commercial airliner. This and the dc 3s and 4s were basically it and the tech was way beyond its time imo atleast. Gorgeous aircraft I agree!
I spent nearly 10 years as a Co-pilot on DC-6/7s as an aerial firefighter. I loved those aircraft. We managed to get fueled with 115/145 at Stead (Reno air races) we got that blue flame back behind the trailing edge on the DC-7. Loved that.
Brilliant that they are looking after history and keeping the iconic planes flying ..
My Knellson??
The one of most popluar sky ladies and with a Queen of the sky, they are very awesome, and they are one of the hitting parts of history in Aviation. LOVE!
Huge respect for this museum and all the people who keep these planes looking good, and even flying. I am hugely impressed that Qantas donated that that 747. The 747 would be worth millions even as scrap and spares.
Hello Sam! I hope you are having a lovely day today.
Hi
@@bakmanplays Hi
Most beautiful plane ever made to my eye. I had the pleasure of flying on a Constellation in 1959 while they were still in service with Eastern Airlines in the USA.
I remember seeing the Connie flying at the Toowoomba air show several years back, hearing those 4 supercharged piston radial engines roaring over head was incredible, i got the chance last year at the Illawarra air show to go on board and look around, the vintage smell is real in that cabin, sadly she wasn’t flying that day as she had engine trouble but hopefully she’ll continue to fly into the future
Ahhh! If they were radial, that explains all the smoke on start-up. I guess it's been sitting idle for weeks and oil drains from the rings and, in the case of the bottom cylinders, some gets passed the compression-rings through to the combustion chambers. (I had a flat-four car and it was smokey if I parked it on a slope.)
This sound is truly unique. You can hear it dozens of kilometers away!
HARS is always a great visit! A truely unique and important museum of aviation and Australia’s war past! Welcoming staff, a great setup. 1000% worth the visit!
I love going to HARS. Not a long drive for me from Sydney.
It's a very good feeling to know that these fabulous aircraft are being preserved in operating condition.
What a wonderful idea to gift the 747-400 to HARS from Alan Joyce who didn't want to see the plane scrapped and by the sounds of things was as delighted as we all were that HARS were able to take it. I'm very impressed that Mr Joyce had made such a good and generous eleventh hour idea to save VH-OJA
Long live the Queen.
Same. Always considered him a bean counter - especially after the fights with the unions but I have softened after hearing this.
@@josephphillips9243 The man at Qantas who was in charge of these 'fleet disposals' had very strong connections with HARS and he had sounded Joyce out regarding this particular "bird" and he'd "greenlighted it" if he could find a suitable home. Qantas DOES have some strong (if unofficial) links with HARS as many of the HARS membership are ex Qantas/TAA air/ground/cabin crew along with those from RAAF/RAN & Ansett (other former AUS domestic airline); and they were also very helpful during the restoration of Connie.
@@commonwombat9171 Thanks for that. Did not know. It's nice to know some of its history gets preserved, e.g., Connie but also nice to see the things like 767 in old style livery still doing the rounds
Great presentation. I'm a volunteer at HARS, thanks for showcasing our operations.
HARS looks incredible Sam, Bob seems like a real gentleman too. When I was a kid I lived in Liverpool UK. A Connie used to come into the airport every Sunday night from Valencia. It used to take off over our house and I will never forget the sight of those flaming engines, The Aer Lingus Carvair's used to do the same but never as bright as the Connie.
Thanks for creating this Sam. The staff and crew of HARS are amazing people. The crew of their Black Cat Catalina were really nice to me when I made a video about it a few years ago, at the Edinburgh Air Show.
Just got my CPL License the other day. Definitely gotta fly there and do a kids video about their amazing planes. ❤👍🛩
Nicely done. My earliest memory was of my dad showing me the TCA super Connie he was working on prior to it being mothballed (he was an AME at TCA/Air Canada). That memory and other memories of being around other airplanes doomed me at an early age to becoming a pilot. Thanks for showcasing such an interactive museum.
My first aircraft as a Naval Air Crewman was the EC-121M ... the Electronic Warfare version of the Connie. It was always my first love of Airplanes and Im glad your keeping it alive.
My favorite time was night time and watching the blue flame going over the wing.
Many thx for these impressions.
My mom (80) flew many times in the '1960ties with the connie from frankfurt to berlin and she said with a smile in her eyes:" Oh dear, it always was a very loud flight, After two hours came the ability back to hear something".
And she confirm that the fire came out of the engine, too.
Thx Sam for these memories for the silver generation.
My Dad flew this plane (C-121C 54-157, 55-96 (U.S. Air Force ID)) beginning in June 1962 while pilot with the 183rd Aeromedical Airlift Squadron, Mississippi Air National Guard, Hawkins Field, Jackson, Mississippi. The
183rd was the first ANG squadron to operate the C-121C. He flew alot of planes over 25+ years and the Constellation was my Dad's all time favorite.
HARS is an amazing place. If you’re in Australia you have to go. Great collection of unusual planes and very knowledgeable staff
Always a pleasure to see the team at HARS taking Connie up. Bob De La Hunty, His son, Matt De La Hunty and the whole volunteer team are a great crew full of passion. The whole family here at IVAO Oceanic Region was priviledged to have exhibited at HARs as part of the Oz Flight Sim Expo 2 years in a row, and we maintan fond memories of the event. Cant wait for the next Wings Over Illawarra Airshow where we will be back and get to see “Southern Preservation” take to the skies again. Regards, Mke - XO - Drector, IVAO Oceanic Region MCD.
Thank you Sam for bringing such a beautiful history 🙏🏻
The yearly "Wings over Illawara" airshow at Albion Park is where you can see this beauty flies, alongside great displays from vintage warbirds, aerobatics and the F35 now that the F18 has been retired - it's a great show!
Sam your love of airplanes and aviation is amazing! You make it possible for younger enthusiasts to see aircraft they may never get a chance to touch!
I've never had the opportunity to fly in a 747 but I did fly in a Constellation back in the 50's, my first commercial flight. It was exciting to watch the engines and I still have the seat occupied card. That was the good old days when kids got invited to visit the cockpit! My dad had his own little Cessna in the 50's so I was already hooked on aviation at the age of 5!
For aircraft's this place is amazing loved being able to see Connie inside and out plus the 747-400 doing the wing walk totally worth it
From the one displayed at the TWA hotel to actually flying one this is awesome Sam!
I remember flames from engines as a kid. TY for sharing this.
Such a unique aircraft ! As always Sam’s enthusiasm for aviation is so appreciated.
The HARS Museum has a huge amount of interesting aircrafts.
It is on my To Do list ^^
Book ahead! I did the 747 experience a few years ago. Only 4 of us, as I recall. Ex-QANTAS crew: engineers showed the outside, cabin crew the cabin, galleys, crew rest area including the black boxes, pilot showed off the (mostly working) cockpit and whoever-else (sorry, don't recall) took us up the ladder from the nose gear into the electronics bay and then into the cargo area. You can also book a wing-walk, to step out one of the over-wing exits onto the wing. Not cheap but a fantastic experience for any aviation geek.
Hi Sam, thanks for taking the flight all the way down to Australia. From the passenger seat to the cockpit, and now the even the museum, you keep showing us the best in aviation. Keep on flying...
Hey Sam, love your enthusiasm and appreciation of the culture of passenger aircraft and the whole experience!
The control column: "Pull the stick back the houses get smaller, push it down they get larger." Love it!
Good video Sam. Always nice to see your enthusiasm. Thank you.
Constellation, the most beautiful aircraft ever built. Ever! Wish I had had a chance to fly in one. What a great video, thank you!
I was a little boy in the mid 60s and Dad would take me to Indianapolis Weir Cook airport where TWA flew Connie's. There was an observation deck above the TWA terminal and we could watch the Connie's taxi in, pax would use airstairs and walk across the ramp. Dad was an engine mechanic with Allison gas turbine. He recognized a TWA mechanic he'd worked with and in the evening after the flights were done, his friend took us into the Connie and into the cockpit. I marveled at all the dials, levers, controls and switches and wondered how anyone could know what they all did and how to use them. I wanted to be a pilot when I grew up and now I've been at it for 40+ years.😊
Those flames coming out of the engines would freak me out!😱😱Great vid Sam!😊
I got to fly Tokyo to Sydney in a Qantas 747, just before the pandemic shut everything down about a week later. Yes, I picked an upper deck seat. When we landed, I asked to go up to the cockpit, had a chat with the crew, took some photos. Not long after Qantas retired its 747's early. A memorable trip that will stay with me.
Great video. Fantastic to see HARS, local Council, QANTAS and airline staff all working together to preserve the 747. Awesome to see the Constellation in flight with its flaming exhausts! I now have the HARS museum on my list of places to visit!
Sam, great overview of a really cool and significant historical airplane ... also outstanding insights from the president of HARS . Thank you!
What a great museum, there is so much nostalgia. I first flew in 1951 one of the last flying boats to arrive in Singapore! 🤔👍
Sam you always put love on your Aviation videos and fans 😊we thank you Sam for the videos
Love the humour about the houses, when you push and pull the flight stick.😅
I remember watching that Connie in action at the Avalon Airsshow and seeing the flames spitting out of the engines was awesome! Thanks for the video Sam.
Sam thank you for the tour of the Connie. Was amazing. Love the 747 as well. Will be looking for your other videos later.
The iconic Connie. So beautiful that my daughter bares the same name, Connie.
Without any doubt, the most beautiful aircraft ever built! Well done Mr. Hughes.
This restored "Super" Connie is an eye opener. She is a beautiful airplane, and it's great to see her flying again. Kudos to all who helped restore her,. You guys rock!!!!
She is such a beautiful bird. I love radial engines.
I had the chance years ago to fly on Breitling Super Constellation in Geneva Switzerland. Sucker had a BEAUTIFUL roar for take off and flew so smoothly ❤️
This is a unsung hero of flight. It's been one of my favorites for as long as I can remember. It's hard to find any videos on it. Thank you very much.
The Connie is the most beautiful aircraft ever built. She’s beautiful in the air and on the ground. I was fortunate enough to spend many hours in an EC121S.
What an fantastic museum that still kepth the plane collection flying. Keep up the good work
I saw that Connie flying a few years back at Avalon airport. A lovely bird.
Been on it. My dad used to be part of HARS and worked for QANTAS for 34 years. RIP dad.
Great to see you visiting HARS Sam. My favourite view was standing under the 747’s main wheel well. It’s massive!!
I was there for the 2009 flight… I lived about 3 kilometres away from the HARS hanger… it was definitely a buzz watching this lady leave the airport…
Fantastic Museum and Fantastic passionate Peoples. Many Thanks for this memorable tour 👍👍👍
Excellent vlog, Sam. Really amazing of HARS aviation on preserving a part of history!
Excellent video. New bucket list destination. Love the museum. I'm lucky enough to have the Chino Air Museum close enough to visit. The HARS museum is just great. One day. Thanks, Sam. You are an absolute treasure.
Seeing the exhaust from this thing in the twilight at our local airshows is something to see thats for sure!
Wonderful video. HARS is on now my bucket list! Thanks!
The 747 is indeed an icon! I remember when I last flew it... oh wait... that was yesterday.
Greatest plane ever. I used to work on the engines professionally for ‘fiery’ testing and maintenance at the Lufthansa ‘Super Connie’ fleet. I can still ‘smell’ it.
Thanks for sharing a really interesting video Sam... I have to say that the Constellation is as beautiful as the 747 is iconic... really amazing museum. 👍🙂❤
What a beautiful airplane and museum Sam. Thank you so much!!
Omg I cant imagine that kind of navigation, its a dying art !!!
This is some really unique content.
Great work as always.
Keep it up.
The Constellation is the most beautiful Aircraft ever built, I believe. I was fortunate as a kid to fly to Port Moresby once on DC4 and the to and from Sydney a number of times on the Constellation. The Flight was a fabulous experience, and flying with Qantas was so much fun. We even got to use the first class circular lounge in the aft once. The food was always excellent, and the landings as the “buildings got bigger” were a delight. My next favorite plane after that was the DC10. But all time favorite plane which I have only ever flown in a simulator is the Waterman Aerobile, which I feel was a masterpiece albeit for a very different purpose.
Lucky i had the chance to go on one
Me too but too young to remember..,.. it was a TWA SF to LA then a 707 to I think Kansas City ? Wish I remembered more.
Then TWA from SF to Kansas City later, older & remember lots of that.
Wow, those flames are spectacular! 😮
One of most beautiful aircraft ever produced in my opinion!😎😎
To see the DouglasDC-4 brings tears of joy to my eyes! Beautiful bird.
Really good episode. I’m a big fan of mid century mod design, and the Connie is arguably the most iconic symbol of that era.
Such a unique design, and all those old steam gauges! Great to see it fly, i've only seen it in pictures.
Also amazing that the museum tries to keep them in flying condition. Thanks for sharing.
Fantastic video showing great dedication to the history of aviation. Thank you.
That HARS Connie is almost in QANTAS Colours. When I was 13 I flew in a Connie from Sydney to Penang Butterworth Malaya. Our parents were RAAF personel at the Australian Air Base there and we were dependants going there for two years. Loved the plane.
Thank you sir for preserving in pristine condition all those planes even in flight conditions. Greetings from Spain.
When I was 16 my Uncle a pilot for Eastern flew my family in a DC8- from Atlanta to Philadelphia, then on a Connie from Philadelphia to Washington DC. It was 1965. Six day's later we flew from Washington DC back to Atlanta in a DC8. The whole family were dressed in our Sundays finest. I spent less than an hour in the Connie but I remember how fond my Uncle was of that plane he flew in Europe while serving in the Army Air Corps.
Fascinating! Thanks for the upload.
Capt. De La Hunty, thank you! Some of us were listening - and appreciated the sextant.❤❤❤
Another great video Sam! Thanks for sharing your adventures 👍🏻
Sam, we enjoy your breath taking footages. Best regards from us all the way from Curaçao in the Caribean.
I visited HARS back in 2016, it was an absolutely amazing experience, and I would definitely love to go back one day
I spent all day there a couple of years back, well worth a visit. As Bob said, you can sit in the seats and see everything. Fascinating place, if I lived nearer to it I'd volunteer to be part of it all.
Great show Sam, i remember seeing a QANTAS Constellation at Essendon airport back in the 1950s they were a great looking aircraft.
Excellent video! Coming from a family of pilots this hits home. My first flight was on a TWA Connie when I was 2 years old (1958) :)
Such a cool plan! The 🔥 out of the engines really make for a unique experience. I'd love to see this.
I was fortunate to fly into Albion Park on Connie back in around 2001 for the media announcement that HARS was relocating there from their temporary location at Bankstown Airport. We flew in convoy from Bankstown along with a DC-3, L-39 Albatros, plus others, on a flight that only took 16 minutes. I worked at the time for a manufacturer of industrial batteries, and we had donated some to HARS for their aircraft. My boss was invited on the PR trip but admitted to being scared of flying so sent me instead! I was among a group of supposed VIPs that were mingling in the background while TV cameras rolled and ABC radio live broadcast the announcement, with speeches from the mayors of two of the local municipalities who contributed resources towards the new permanent home.
As Sam mentioned in the video, the smoke and flames from the engines on start-up were a real reminder that this was going to be a different kind of flight. The most memorable part was when the pilot turned on the air conditioning mid-flight, and we were all showered in dust, straw and cigarette butts - all remnants of Connie’s long time sitting in the desert, where I’m told she was home to some 100,000 pigeons. Apparently this was the first the a/c had been switched on since her refurbishment and we all copped the remains of their nests!
I opted for the DC-3 for the return trip to Bankstown Airport and was back in the office by lunchtime. The whole thing was a surreal experience. It remains to this day the most enjoyable half-day I’ve ever spent ‘at work’.