Lockheed Constellation 'Bataan' returns to Flight

As a kid, my family flew on the military version of the Constellation from Japan to California when my dad was reassigned back to the States. Somewhere over the Pacific at night, a kindly stewardess took me up to the flight deck. All I remember was this huge green radar screen.

Lockheed VC-121A Constellation at Chino completed a test flight in preparation for its journey to Oshkosh and it's new home with Lewis Air Legends. What a beautiful airplane.

super cool! thanks for sharing that :thumb:

I used to go to Oshkosh every year around 2012-2014.

The Warbirds were always my favorite area.

I need to find the time to get back soon.

Wichita is home to Doc the B-29. It has it's own glass front hangar at Eisenhower. We went there and got to crawl around in it. I would have hated to be the tail gunner back in the day as you crawl through a really long tube in the middle of the plane to get back there and I'm highly claustrophobic! They are giving rides in it and a Mitchell there over 4th of July weekend.

Those were some of the prettiest airplanes of all time. Right before the 707 and the jet age took over.

My favorite is the TWA livery but that paint job with the little lightning bolt looks cool too.

You can thank Howard Hughes for that, he was the driving force behind the concept and design.

Agreed, beautiful airplane - very graceful design.

There has been one sitting right outside the north entrance to the Grand Canyon for decades, wonder if it is still there?

Looks to be the same plane that was restored. Tail number 8613.

Is it a coincidence that the fuselage appears to be in the shape of a wing?

I guess so, I didn't notice that until you posted!

Beautiful - great job of restoring it!! And if you are an airplane nut like I am, get this book - it's so damn interesting. I've probably read it 6x.

left there January 14, 2016 to Chino, CA for the restoration.

While on vacation back around in 1976, driving thru the Everglades in Florida, we gassed up at a gas station that had a Connie mounted overhead.
Here's a picture from the internet of the gas station Connie as I didn't have a camera back then.
It was full of birds as I recall.

I was able to once again step inside a Connie back in 2004 when the Star of America Connie flew in to our local airport airshow.
Based out of Kansas City and painted in TWA livery, she was beautiful. Here's a picture I took as she took off.
I believe she was grounded shortly after that. I don't know if it has returned to the skies or not.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lockheed_Constellation

and this one for Jim, wonder if that's why there was one at the Grand Canyon?? sad

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1956_Grand_Canyon_mid-air_collision

Do any one know where that airport is and were they were flying that plane to?

Beautiful design and looks.

Zero-lift drag coefficient: CD,0 = 0.0211

This post is kind of “thought virus”.

After learning that the Constellation wing is very similar to the P-38 wing, I now have this “itch” wondering if Kelly Johnson could have designed a flap that would have allowed a P-38 to turn a tighter circle than a Japanese Zero.

I'm wondering if those planes used the same 28 cylinder radial aircraft engines that had four rows of seven cylinders per row that the Spruce Goose maybe the B29 Bombers used them also and Convair B36 bombers used
I took a tour of the Spruce Goose display when it was in SO CA years ago, I'm trying to remember the exact C.I. but I can't now I think it was 4300 and some more C.I. for each motor with compound supercharging and turbo charging I can't remember the correct amount of HP for those engines now, I'm thinking 2800+ H.P.

Doc was in Tulsa a few weeks ago. We happened to be in the right place at the right time and got to see it take off and return with some passengers right before we got our ground tour of it. Super cool plane and well worth the $20 ground tour cost.

I am 6'3 240 and I am not sure the tunnel was be something I could pull off lol.

It flew over our house last year and the sound of 4 radial engines in amazing! The museum where it is housed is well worth the cost of admission. Lots of neat displays and a 2nd story overlook where you can view the plane from above.

Totally unrelated (other than aircraft) but the KC-135's and KC-46's were flying low over Wichita today with the boom extended to celebrate McConnell Air Force Base's 100 year refueling anniversary. I happened to be in the right place at the right time over lunch and got to see it.

Here is a Connie at the Fantasy of Flight Museum on I-4 near Lakeland Florida, reported to be the largest private aircraft collection in the US, and a very laudable visit IMO.
Most of the exhibits are air worthy. If you have the bucks and time, get the private tour for 4? by appointment which allows access to all the aircraft and access inside if possible.

Thinking about the new C-130H Collins NP2000 propellor “8 Klingon sword blades” design
and speculating by how much modern propellors would improve old aircraft range.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNXDgpzzGls

Pretty sure Kelly Johnson had a hand in that one. Pretty smart guy he was....

No, they used the R-3350.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wright_R-3350_Duplex-Cyclone

Began my aviation maintenance career wrenching on the C-121.

The Lewis Air Legends Lockheed Constellation is set to visit EAA AirVenture Oshkosh, a major aviation event with over 600,000 visitors and aerobatic displays.

Starts July 24, 2023

That is tomorrow .
I hate crowds so I would never go to Oshkosh unless I could fly in and out the same day, say land around 6:00 AM and depart after dark

The grounds at Oshkosh are large enough to move around and not be too close to people. I hate crowds, too, and it felt like it wasn't crowded at all the years I went.

Getting ready a few days ago and on its way to........ what a beautiful airplane

Kerrmit is quite the Dreamer, and nothing wrong with that.

I remember every four engine piston driven airplane I heard on takeoff with them flying directly over head of us standing at the end on the runways in Ontario, CA and every other large airport that they flew out of in the earlty to mid 1950 and early 1960 were super loud
When I was in the Army in 1967 station at Fort Ord, CA I use to fly home from either the Monterrey, CA. airport on a DC7 or a 727 depending on what part of the day I could get to the airport. The return trip from Palm Springs was always on a 727 that was late on landing a lot of the times: rant: It was supposed to land at 9:15 PM but usually landed after 9:30 PM, there was a late flight from San Fransisco leaving at 10:00 PM to Monterrey that was always in a DC6, loud and slow. Sometimes I would be able to buy a ticket and get on it in time fly on it, when I didn't make it I had to rent a car from one of the car rental companies and would look for other G.I. at the greyhound bus stop and ask them if they wanted to split the rental fees with me for $3.00 each, sometimes I could get 3 or 4 which really help me share that expense, sometimes there was none waiting
Those were the old days, not the good old days being in the U.S. Army in late 1966 to late 1968
I learn a lot while I was in it about people, I was appointed to be the basic training platoon leader in basic training and again to be the class leader in advanced training, I didn't ask or wanted to be appointed to those positions But I did what I was ordered to do. No extra pay or privileges other than taking heat when someone in my platoon or class screwed up I would put that on the squad leaders as a shared duty

In 1964 flew An Eastern DC6 Ft Laud to St Louis, all I remember is how nice I had to dress and how loud it was.
In 1980 I flew a charted DC6 (CIA?) from Miami to Gabon Africa wearing blue jeans. No Thanks, flew commercial back.

The Weather Channel is showing reruns of “The Earth Unlocked”

The “Canyons” episode of The Earth Unlocked has a clip about airliner mid-air collision in the Grand Canyon.