The airplane stayed with the military and was later repurchased by
Lockheed for use as a test aircraft . It never went back to TWA .
SPECIAL EDITION
The airplane stayed with the military and was later repurchased by
Lockheed for use as a test aircraft . It never went back to TWA .
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3 TWA crewmembers and government officials pose in front of the Connie at Washington National Airport . Seventh from the left is Senator Harry S Truman , who would be elected vice president later in the year and ascend to the presidency with the death of Franklin Roosevelt in 1945 . To his left stands Howard Hughes .
4 Howard Hughes climbs down from the aircraft at Las Vegas on April 16 , 1944 . TWA President Jack Frye appears in the entry door with his signature cigar , hopefully unlit . Note the Constellation logo behind the aft window , which did not appear on subsequent TWA deliveries .
5 Spartan accommodations were installed for military use . Seat backs on the left could be folded down for litter patients . A small galley is located forward , on the right .
The airplane stayed with the military and was later repurchased by Lockheed for use as a test aircraft . It never went back to TWA .
TWA INAUGURATES CONSTELLATION SERVICE
Regular TWA Constellation service began on February 5 , 1946 , with the inaugural flight operating from Washington and New York to Paris via Gander and Shannon . Pilots were restricted by government regulation to eight hours of flying time during a single duty period ; so , to cross the Atlantic in compliance with this rule , double crews were assigned . However , the added cost of extra crewmembers on domestic flights was considered too high . The original Connie models would have required load restrictions in order to make an eastbound nonstop transcontinental flight in eight hours , while there was little or no chance to do so westbound against prevailing winds . So , despite the airplane ’ s basic ability to span the country in a single hop ( at least eastbound ), 25-minute ‘ fuel stops ’ were listed , which were utilized for the required crew changes as well .
There were a few exceptions . On February 3 , 1946 , Model 049 Constellation ( the civilian designation of the C-69 ) Star of California carried 44 news correspondents non-stop from Burbank to New York La Guardia Airport in 7 hours , 27 minutes with TWA President Jack Frye in the left seat .
Scheduled domestic Connie service began 12 days later , on February 15 . Star of California , commanded by Howard Hughes , flew the same segment non-stop in 8 hours , 38 minutes , which was 1 hour , 7 minutes under the 9 hours , 45 minutes ‘ scheduled ’ time , which allowed for a stop en route . Among the Hollywood celebrities aboard Hughes ’ inaugural non-stop were Cary Grant , Walter Pidgeon , Veronica Lake , Linda Darnell , Edward G Robinson , Myrna Loy , and Tyrone Power .
Another non-stop was completed on February 3 , 1948 , under unusual circumstances . Flight 12 normally operated from Los Angeles to New York via Kansas City and Chicago . But when both Midwest cities were socked in by a snowstorm , dispatchers were able to clear a non-stop trip across the country , thanks to a forecast of strong easterly winds that produced a flight plan of less than eight hours . The Connie lifted off from California at 1800 and landed at La Guardia Airport 6 hours , 39 minutes later , setting yet another record and generating significant publicity for the airline .
It would be another five years before regularly scheduled transcontinental non-stops began —
34 AIRWAYS MAGAZINE APRIL 2024 www . airwaysmag . com