![]() ![]() Operational history World War II The first Lockheed Constellation on January 9, 1943 Howard Hughes and Jack Frye confirmed that the rumors were false in a letter dated November 1941. These rumors were discredited by Johnson. The aircraft had a maximum speed 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).Īccording 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. The triple tail allowed the aircraft to fit into existing hangars, while features included hydraulically boosted controls and a deicing system used on wing and tail leading edges. The Constellation's wing design was close to that of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning, differing mostly in size. A preserved C-121C Super Constellation, registration N73544, in flight in 2004 Development of the Constellation Willis Hawkins, another Lockheed engineer, maintains that the Excalibur program was purely a cover for the Constellation. TWA's requirements led to the L-049 Constellation, designed by Lockheed engineers, including Kelly Johnson and Hall Hibbard. In 1939, Transcontinental and Western Airlines (TWA), at the instigation of major stockholder Howard Hughes, requested a 40-passenger transcontinental airliner with a range of 3,500 mi (5,600 km) -well beyond the capabilities of the Excalibur design. Lockheed had been working on the L-044 Excalibur, a four-engined, pressurized airliner, since 1937. Eisenhower, one of which is featured at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.ĭesign and development Initial studies Three served as the presidential aircraft for Dwight D. Among their famous uses was during the Berlin and the Biafran airlifts. In total, 856 were produced between 19 at Lockheed's plant in Burbank, California, and used as both a civil airliner and as a military and civilian cargo transport. Most were powered by four 18-cylinder Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclones. Several different models of the Constellation series were produced, although they all featured the distinctive triple-tail and dolphin-shaped fuselage. Its pressurized cabin enabled commercial passengers to fly well above most bad weather for the first time, thus significantly improving the general safety and ease of air travel. The Constellation series was the first pressurized-cabin civil airliner series to go into widespread use. The Lockheed Constellation (" Connie") is a propeller-driven, four-engined airliner built by Lockheed Corporation starting in 1943.
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