Building the Super Constellation, Lockheed film - 1955
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- Опубликовано: 26 янв 2013
- This is a delightful promotional movie made by Lockheed Aircraft (now Lockheed Martin) about the making of the Super Constellation at Lockheed's Burbank, California production facility (Star Trek TV fans should enjoy the opening line by the narrator!).
The Super Constellation seen in most of the flying scenes of this approximately 70-year-old movie was actually the first Constellation built back in 1942 as a C-69 for the Army Air Force. Lockheed bought this C-69 back from another owner, Howard Hughes (yes, that Howard Hughes) and stretched this standard Connie into the prototype Super Connie by adding fuselage sections fore and aft of the main wing. It first flew in 1950. Eastern Airlines would be the first to enter Super Constellations into regular airline service starting on December 7, 1951.
Super Constellations were built between 1950 and 1958. Major operators, in addition to Eastern, include, Trans World Airlines (the largest operator of civilian Super Connies), Air France, KLM, Lufthansa, Qantas, Trans Canada, the U.S. Air Force, and the U.S. Navy (the largest operator of the Super Connie). 
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The Lockheed Constellation remains the most beautiful airliner ever built.
100% correct
The Super Constellation the most beautiful airliner that has ever been built or ever will be.
I have almost 2500 hours on the EC-121, the USAF version of the Connie... memories and friendships that I cherish to this day. She was the finest 3 engine airplane ever built.
That's quite remarkable having accumulated nearly 2500 hours on an EC-121. Did you by chance get one of those "Radar Constellation" pins to reflect your time aboard a "Connie?"
3 engine? Not sure if this is a typo or a joke 😂
@@873Mike A common joke about the four engine piston airliners back in the day.
@@WAL_DC-6B Yeah, it's a common joke but is it true? The father of one of my best friends after h.s. was the maintenance manager for KLM at LA. when they were operating Super Constellations from Amsterdam to L.A. with a stop in N.Y. and the DC-7C non-stop from Amsterdam to L.A. via the "polar route." He said that the 7C rarely arrived without one PRT out and often more than one. Less often on the Super Connies. They had 24 hrs built into the schedule for turnaround in case they had to change an engine but that didn't happen all that often. He later went to work for United as maintenance manager in L.A. The guy was a hard headed no bullshit Dutchman. Other airlines used to consult with him on R-3350 maintence issues. My friend claimed that his dad was considered one of the top experts in the world for R-3350 maintenance. At the time I knew him United was no longer operating the DC-7. It would be interesting to read about the personal experience of the OP and not more repeated internet B.S.
@@dalecomer5951 I was fortunate enough to get three flights aboard the "Save-A-Connie" Super "H" Constellation back in the 1990s. One of the pilots of the aircraft told me that back in the day when he worked for TWA you had to really "watch the numbers" when it came to using the 3350s on the various Constellations TWA used to use. Conversely, he told me that you could "work the hell" out of the P&W R-2800s on the Martin 202As and 404s with no worries.
My father worked on the L-1049 Super Constellation final assembly lines (2) from May 1952 to April 1954. Going by aircraft registrations he helped assemble more than 150 Super Connies from the earliest ones for Eastern and TWA without _Turbo Cyclone_ engines up to the first _Super-G_ .The scenes which show the stamping of large parts from aluminum sheet were shot at the sprawling B-1 Plant about a mile east of the Burbank airport at a location known to locals as Turkey Crossing. It's a shopping center now. Turkey Crossing itself was obliterated a few years ago when some new ramps for the I-5 were added. The A-1 Plant where the "Hall of Giants" stood on the east side of the airport is now airport parking. My dad went back and forth from Lockheed to Douglas El Segundo because Douglas treated their employees much better but the drive there and back from the Valley was tedious before the San Diego Freeway (I-5) was built. My dad started at Lockheed making $1.75 per hour with no benefits except some vacation time which he never took in order to get some extra bucks since he had to bribe my mom to come to L.A. in 1951.
Thanks for your comments regarding your father's employment at Lockheed when they were building the Super Constellation in the 1950s.
i Flew on them in the late 50'S ,I will never forget how Everyone Had Class. No Dirt bags on board,And the Food was Superb. Oh and You could Smoke. Such Freedom and Luxury at a Small Price Of which you will never see again.
Small price? If you were to take the average ticket price paid back in the day for a flight on a Connie and put it into an inflation calculator, you would see that it is equivalent or more to first class fares of today. That was why they were so luxurious
A pleasant reminder of the days when flying was a fun and exciting adventure, rather than an exercise in patience and TSA shakedowns.
Thanks and cheers.
Yeah, back in the days when you simply bought an airline ticket and boarded the plane. About the only major airport issue was ascending or descending the outdoor "air-stairs" during inclement weather.
If you were to take the average ticket price paid back in the day for a flight on a Connie and put it into an inflation calculator, you would see that it is equivalent or more to first class fares of today. That was why they were so luxurious
AND, Criminal Passengers that should serve time in prison and pay a large fine, as well as be put on "the NO FLY LIST" Permanently! I too miss those old days of flying. I was born in 1952 and my dad worked for American Airlines
and later with BOAC and British Airways till he retired.
No excuse for bad or dangerous behavior at the airport or on an airplane. Best Regards and Clear Sky's
Had the pleasure of flying on a charter flight back in the mid 60's on a Super G. Early morning takeoff brought out the flaming exhausts in all their glory. The rest of the flight was as comfortable as you could get with all the amenities you could ask for back then. Far cry from today's cattle car flights.
snoebay88 WoW....
Around 10 years ago I gave up airline flying altogether. Never miss it.
I remember first class on Continental airlines back in the 1970's, the prime rib carved at your seat, served on linen. Suits, ties and civilization. God I miss those days.
If you were to take the average ticket price paid back in the day for a flight on a Connie and put it into an inflation calculator, you would see that it is equivalent or more to first class fares of today. That was why they were so luxurious
Flew on TWA when I was a kid..I fell in love with flying..boy have times changed!!
Yeah today, TWA is gone, and airliners beat you off their flights due to incompetent ticket booking!
Go back and research how much those fares were that your parents paid for your when you were a kid, and then plug them into an inflation calculator. You'll see why the times have changed.
OMG I am so glad I found this video! My father worked at Lockheed as a machinist at this time and told stories of how he did the machining of the first prototype of the wing unit that’s shown in the skin mill segment of the video. It wasn’t clear that the technique was going to work and he described how all the engineers and executives were hovering around. He folded his arms and told them all to get lost while he figured out how to make it work! If he said what the plane was, I could never remember and now I know! Thank you so much!
Wow, interesting story regarding your father's contribution to the building of the Lockheed Constellation. So he was amongst the people working at the Burbank, CA "Hall of Giants" when this film was produced. I believe you're the first person to comment on someone who actually worked here when the Super Connies were on the assembly line. Thanks for your comment!
Thank you wally bird 6B . I thought I have seen all the Connie videos , but you found one.
I remember walking through the hall of giants every morning on the way to the paint shop. Back then we were building L1011's the other amazing Lockheed plane.
❤️
Witch is, if the connie is the most beautiful Propliner, the most beautiful Jetliner. Lockheed has a long and astonishing history in building the most fascinating airplanes. ❤️ I wish so much they would build another airliner kicking the others butts with another revolutionary design and ideas, ahead of its time.
I love those old goodies! 🥰 😍 😊🎉❤
Lockeed Constellation, any variant, was one of my favourite airplanes. I was a little toddler of 4 years old when I first flew on this airplane flying to Rome at Ciampino Airport with my Italian father and my family in 1959 with Alitalia airline. It was truly love at first sight and I still remember the wonderful and powerful sound so reassuring to hear also the harmonious sound. I also remember seeing the blue flame at night, cool indeed. From that moment I always loved flying to this day. Thanks for sharing this lovely and interesting documentary but I still miss those airplanes...
0:40 This was over a decade before William Shatner's intro to Star Trek.
The most gorgeous plane ever
Yes! It is!
@@WAL_DC-6B I'm in the middle of building a vintage Monogram Connie plastic model from 1957. This film was a real gem to see at this time. Thank you 🛩😊
@@tonyspada2744 Oh, that's cool that you're building the old Monogram Super Constellation plastic kit. I have that too (the TWA version) still in the box. It's fairly accurate for its time although of an unusual scale (1/131st). Many "Happy Landings" with it and thanks for your comments!
@@WAL_DC-6B awesome!
Mine is the TWA version as well. Those decals are pretty crispy lol.
Wow...mind-blowing graphics at the beginning and end...
The turbo Compounds could rattle the window panes in my boyhood home from five miles up. A vivid memory.
Thank you so much for posting this incredibly cool film.
In 1965 I flew from Europe to Africa , via Lisbon and Luanda, to Johannesburg in this beautiful aircraft; which was designed by Howard Hughes !
Actually, Howard Hughes didn't really design the aircraft in terms of looks, engines, aircraft systems, etc.,. Hughes, as the major stockholder of TWA, approached Lockheed and told them what performance, cockpit layout and capacity he wanted in a totally new airliner. Lockheed then came up with the Constellation design which was derived from an earlier design on paper, the Model 44 Excalibur (looking like a four-engine Model 10 Electra). Source book of information: Lockheed Constellation by Curtis K. Stringfellow and Peter M. Bowers. Thanks for your comment about your own Constellation experience!
@@WAL_DC-6B - Thank you for the surprise info - surprise because Howard Hughes was known as a genius inventor. In any case without him there would most probably never been a Super Constellation. -
Eines der schönsten Flugzeuge der Welt neben der Concorde*****
These were works of art as much - and probably more - as those of technology.
The Super Connie was built in shops where my wife worked in the '80s....the "Hall of the Giants" at Plant A-1, Bldg. 304 in Plant B-6, and Plant B-1, where my uncle assembled the first P-38s and the subcontracted B-17Ds in 1939. All are shown here, and all are now gone. Lockheed was a great company that would go to far greater heights, literally, in the '50s and onward, especially with the world-changing F-117A, also assembled in Bldg. 304. The merger with Martin wasn't a great thing at all. Gone were the company values championed by Kelly Johnson and Ben Rich.
Thanks for your comments regarding your family working at Lockheed, Burbank! I remember seeing the Lockheed Burbank facilities back in 1988. When I returned for a visit to the airport at Burbank in about 1997, they were in the process of tearing down the "Hall of Giants. Sorry to see the whole Lockheed Burbank complex go! A lot of history, as you point out, came out of those plants. As a kid, I grew up near Chicago's O'Hare Field and I recall the old Douglas plant at Park Ridge that built more than half (over a thousand) the C-54 Skymasters during WWII. But, that big, but completely empty wooden facility, was torn down about 1966.
@@WAL_DC-6B
I grew up in NW Indiana, just 45 miles from O'Hara.
1st started going there in the 70's when you could still go right to the gates anytime and watch planes take off and land.
Plus they had the really cool observation deck.
I did that alot, till the 90's.
Too bad that's no more....
Most beautiful aircraft ever built!
I wholeheartedly agree!
no computers folks; sliderules, wizz wheels and brains....and smart people...it is truly amazing how quickly man went from a 100 foot length flight to this In such record time...look what man can do....when he isn't blowing things up that is
Before integration of course.
Remember the scene at the Airport in the movie, Casablanca: that was Burbank airport. Bought your ticket with cash, no credit cards then one guy at a high selling tickets same guy who pushed the stairs up to the plane no one else there.
The 1947 movie, "The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer" has an airport scene at the end of the movie that I believe was filmed at the Burbank Airport complete with a relatively new TWA Lockheed Constellation.
Thank you for this upload, VERY nostalgic. The Connie is the most beautiful prop airliner ever built.
I used to see the triple tailed Constellations from my backyard taking off from the Philadelphia airport when I was a kid (early 60's). They were maybe at a couple thousand feet and a little distance south from us, but the sound was distinctive. My father who was a mechanic on B-17's during WW2 really enjoyed seeing (and hearing) them. I think it was a little bitter sweet for him, as they were the last of the great prop airlines. I can recall noticing less of them and more jets (Boing 707s?) as the decade progressed.
Before the 707 would take commercial aviation into the jet age, Lockheed would introduce the L-1649A Starliner, the ultimate development of the Constellation, followed by the L-188 Electra II, the first American designed and built turboprop airliner.
Amazing that they still exist today.
Great plane. I flew in one as a passenger in about 1960.
Great, quaint video of an airline classic. Never did get to fly in a constelleation; but my brother always spoke very highly of them. Thanks form posting!
The pilots that flew Constellations and DC-7's called them "The best three engined airplanes ever built".
Yep, the best trimotors!
Such a beautiful aircraft. this is the perfect compliment to my diorama. Thanks for sharing!
Fascinating.
A gem! Thanks for putting it up.
Great flying, back in the day.. No pre ticket purchase,, no TSA, no cops, no cafeteria, no shelter, bought your ticket, when the plane taxied up you got on, carried your own luggage.
"no cafeteria, no shelter, carried your own luggage" ...... I once flew out of the airport at Siuna, Nicaragua in a DC-3 and it was pretty much like that!
Ontario, California and also Burbank California. But pretty common before WW2
Connie still rocks.
Very nice! Super! Thanks for sharing!
WOW! Interesting, informative and gratifying. I appreciate this vid beyond expression!
The absence of any women shown in this film in the manufacturing or design of this plane speaks volumes about how times have changed.
The Navy actually retired some super Connies way early because of the cost of fuel, which wasn't being made much.
It's interesting to note that the last U.S. military Constellation, an NC-121K, was operated by the Navy and performed its last mission on June 11, 1982. The aircraft was officially retired a few weeks later on June 25.
@@WAL_DC-6B I flew on the last USAF Connie mission, which was a flight from NAS Keflavik to Homestead AFB, FL, after we were retired and replaced by the E-3A (AWACS) in 1978.
@@maxsdad538 Hey, that's quite an historic flight you were on. Thanks for sharing! By the way, I was in downtown Reykjavik, Iceland in July 1975 and I witnessed two USAF Connies pass down the runway of the main airport there. They flew over somewhat slowly and I seem to recall with their gear and flaps down. That was probably the last time I saw any military Constellations flying.
a great airliner!
Thankfully, one Super Connie still flies, down under at the HARS Museum on Shellharbour Airport.
That is indeed true about the last Super Connie still flying being located "down under." I was fortunate to get three flights on the Save-A-Connie organization's Super Constellation back in the 1990s (between Kansas City and Chicago).
In the past 15/20 days a 749 Connie (Batman) has been restored to flying condition. So great that for a while two legends live on.
Eastern would later add the Douglas DC-7 to its four-engine fleet. They would market both aircraft as "Golden Falcons."
Comforting to see Superman with his X-Ray vision at 6:20, ensuring all is well. He put the "super" in SuperConstellation.
Stu Art. Haha, too funny, George Reeves lives! He’s a dead ringer.
The guy does look like the original Supes
Somehow, someway, I believe Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry must have seen this video . Notice the beginning where the narrator refers to "man's final frontier ". Roddenberry flew this airplane for Pan Am.
Good point about the potential influence this film could have had on Mr. Roddenberry!
Good stuff!!
Esse é o avião mais bonito que construíram até hoje!
Now I know where the opening of the first season of the Star Trek series came from. On the beginning of the movie we see a similar music, the image of the space and phrase similar to "Space the final frontier". It was only missing to appear the spacecraft Enterprise.
Good observation!
Yes! Gene Roddenberry must have seen this.
When America used to build things and had a solid industrial base. When we used to turn out first rate engineers from our universities instead of importing them from overseas.
I shudder to think at the U.S talent pool today...the youngsters today can't be bothered to took up from their phones, let alone deal with the rigors of a STEM degree and training...
I have walked through the restored "Connie" in Australia -pure joy, a work of art.
By the way , I think that's Superman (George Reeves) working on the SuperConstellation at 6:19.
Probably providing the necessary compression to join wing sections…
"The final frontiers", we've heard something like that somewhere before.
Except that was from Star Trek in the mid-60's. This film was made in the 50's. So Gene Roddenberry ripped off a Lockheed promotional film? Or maybe he was also a fan of the Connie and was making an homage.
@@andyharman3022 he was a pilot so he might actualy have seen this film.
The introduction sounded like early star trek.
RUclips member "sidnewsound" made a similar comment about Star Trek introduction music.
Definitely, and some Twilight Zone too (the oscilloscope display overlay)
I love the Connie
It sure was in a Beautiful Car Plane ❤.
Strange we were still building these with the jet age at ou
r back door .been In a
Humongous video 👍🏽
I wish I could fly to the Orient on a Super Connie.
Especially a Northwest 'Orient' Airlines Super Connie! Northwest operated four Super "G" Constellations.
In the air force, I flew on a C121 to the Azores and then to Wheelus in Libya.
Love both the Azores and the C121 Starlifter. Thanks for your service!
Awesome! I got to make ready for flight the last flyable EC-121. It was based at Camarillo, CA and Yank's Air Museum had bought it and i was on the team that got it ready to ferry over to Chino in January 2012. Totally awesome airplane. Even with the huge radome on the bottom, it was still able to fly at 300 mph.
Why did we stop making beautiful machines? What went wrong.
Bean counters and corporate greed.
This promo film would have been more appropriate in 1946.
When Lockheed was way ahead of the other commercial airplane builders.
A great plane though.
The narrator sounds like Peter Graves. This must have been in between filming episodes of "Fury."
I believe that it is.
Either that or James Arness.
People are so modern in 1955..with their suits, tools and factories, hydraulic machines..not much difference than today
Except no one talking or text messaging on a cell phone device back then.
@@WAL_DC-6B yup...😀
The Connie is still air worthy and still can fly it will be ready before November of this year to next year but the engines will have to be reconstructed and reproduced because all them old radial engines are almost dead HARS is trying hard to keep the last super Constellation alive the Connie.
Sorry if I'm asking a dumb question: what does it mean HARS?
@@paoloviti6156 Historical Aircraft Restoration Society, based at Albion Park NSW Australia.
@@raymolyneux5729 thanks for replying because it a while that I am seeing HARS around but I couldn't figure it out!
When flying was classy
And pricey!
Super Constellation zero bala, Top!!
Actually, the ultimate "advance" in luxury flying was the flying Clippers.of the 1930s.
I understand the German Graf Zeppelin was quite luxurious as well.
I went back and looked up what the average ticket price was on one of Pan Am's flying clippers and then plugged it into an inflation calculator. The fare came out to around $30K in today's dollars. That was why they were so luxurious 😉
@hudson501, what differentiated the "Super H" from the "Super G"?
The "Super H" Constellation was a passenger/freighter convertible version of the "Super G" (all passenger). It had a strengthened fuselage floor and a side opening cargo door at the left rear of the fuselage.
Peter Graves narrates.
Some serious Mad Men production going on here. Although Lockheed is a heckuva lot closer to Hollywood than Madison Avenue.
How fast did it go . What year did they stop making them ?
The Super Connies had a maximum speed of around 360 mile per hour, though they cruised at around 310 mph. The last Super Constellation, a 1049H, was built by Lockheed in November, 1958 for Flying Tigers. Slick Airways would purchase the last undelivered Super Constellation from Lockheed in September, 1959.
The reason for the second part of your question was that turbine power was on the horizon for commercial aviation. Lockheed was busy developing the L-188 Electra II turboprop.
bellissimo l aereo e un super constellation
For the younger viewers, those mysterious implements seen early in the film were a slide rule and a drafting board. They were used exclusively by white men in white shirts.
^^^The racial point-of-view is important to this bonehead.
eeper oila
How many people this aircraft hold ?
Back then most configurations for the L-1049 had room for 99 passengers. Now R*nair wouldn't take off with less than 140 pax aboard...
Was everything fabricated in house?
Good question. I suspect that items like landing gear castings and other hydraulics were produced by subcontractors. Of course, things like the engines and instruments were all made by someone else.
Do they take American Express? I'll have one.
Yeah, if only you could. Unfortunately, Lockheed built their last "Connie" in late 1958 and then concentrated on building its next airliner, the turbo-prop L-188 Electra.
Oh well, I'll settle for an intimate dinner with Marilyn Monroe instead.
Hmmm. Marilyn or Connie? Tough choice!
S'xty years ago a tough choice indeed. Nowadays Connie would win, hands down. Preferably a 1049G..
Sounds like Star Trek
Or the beginning of Star Trek sounds like this promotional film.
13:35 - Something wrong there. Too spacious. Wonder if they used a mock-up in a studio.
I wouldn't say "something wrong there" as starting at 13:35 is practical use of a studio mockup to help better illustrate the luxurious interior of the Super Constellation.
Did Star Trek rip off this intro?
Could have!
Best 3 engine airliner ever made.
That applied to the Douglas DC-7 too as it used the same Wright 3350 radial engines.
Seems like they never worried about “air turbulence”?🤔
The piston engine airliners, like the Super Connie, of the 1940s and 50s flew at lower altitudes around 20,000 ft. versus today's jetliners flying much higher around 35,000 ft. Consequently, "air turbulence" for the propliners was more of an issue for the passengers and crew. I'm sure air sickness bags saw greater use back then than today.
Dan Uscian ok 👍 thanks 🙏 for the info.
Mathmetishans and Aloominum. What's that?
A mathematician is a person skilled in mathematics (the study of numbers, measurements and space science dealing with the measurement, properties and relationship of quantities as expressed in numbers or symbols. Mathematics includes arithmetic, algebra, geometry and calculus.
"Aloominum", spelled aluminum in the U.S. and other countries, is a metallic chemical element, found abundantly in nature, but occurring only in combination with other elements (its compounds make up more than 15 percent of the crust of the earth). There you have it!
LUFTHANSA TWA MILITARI
REF
e l aereo piu bello del mondo apparte il dc 6 e7 il dc 8 e il dc 9 e anche il dc 10 md 11 il 62 m il 747 e l airbus a 300 310 318 319 320 321 330 340 350 360 370 e infine l airbus a 380
A Super Constipation
shut up
Suits, ties, lighting up the cigarettes!! Cuisine food! Different today eh?
Also, back in the days when you either had the expensive passenger seats or the REALLY expensive seats (1st Class) which explains all those suits and ties.
First flight Mauritius to Coco - Keeling than to Perth, because indian Ocean on flat Earth
How 'bout that!
@@WAL_DC-6B ....lol......