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59-541: Several different models of the Constellation series were produced, although they all featured the distinctive triple-tail and dolphin-shaped fuselage. Most were powered by four 18-cylinder Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclones . In total, 856 were produced between 1943 and 1958 at Lockheed's plant in Burbank, California , and used as both a civil airliner and as a military and civilian cargo transport. Among their famous uses

118-430: A Pan Am DC-4 , departed Gander for Shannon in western Ireland. On 24 October 1945, the first scheduled commercial flight, an American Overseas Airlines DC-4, passed through Gander. Following Newfoundland's entry into Confederation , the government renamed the airport "Gander International Airport", and it came under the administration of Canada's federal Department of Transport . Numerous improvements were made to

177-559: A $ 10 million comprehensive rehabilitation project, completed in September 2012. The airport's runway 03/21 was designated as an emergency landing runway for NASA's Space Shuttle orbiter . The airport is also an important emergency landing runway for large aircraft in transatlantic operation in the ETOPS system, which requires aircraft to always have less than a certain distance from a suitable landing site. For many two-engine aircraft this

236-621: A 3,350 in (54.9 L) displacement were run in May of the same year. Development was slow, due to the complexity, and the R-2600 receiving development priority. The R-3350 did not fly until 1941, after the Douglas XB-19 had been redesigned to use R-3350s instead of Allison V-3420 inlines. Things changed dramatically in 1940 with the introduction of a new contract by the USAAC to develop

295-557: A 40-passenger transcontinental airliner with a range of 3,500 mi (5,600 km)—well beyond the capabilities of the Excalibur design. TWA's requirements led to the L-049 Constellation , designed by Lockheed engineers, including Kelly Johnson and Hall Hibbard . Willis Hawkins , another Lockheed engineer, maintains that the Excalibur program was purely a cover for the Constellation. The Constellation's wing design

354-636: A Constellation in the contiguous United States was made by a TWA L749 on May 11, 1967, from Philadelphia to Kansas City, Missouri ; the last scheduled passenger flight in North America was by Western Airlines' N86525 in Alaska, Anchorage to Yakutat to Juneau on 26 November 1968. Constellations carried freight in later years, and were used on backup sections of Eastern Airlines ' shuttle service between New York, Washington, and Boston until 1968. Propeller airliners were used on overnight freight runs into

413-719: A New York-Paris flight in a Constellation. On June 17, 1947, Pan American World Airways (Pan Am) opened the first-ever scheduled round-the-world service with its L-749 Clipper America . The famous flight "Pan Am 1" operated until 1982. As the first pressurized airliner in widespread use, the Constellation helped establish affordable and comfortable air travel. Operators of Constellations included TWA, Eastern Air Lines , Pan Am, Air France , BOAC , KLM , Qantas , Lufthansa , Iberia Airlines , Panair do Brasil , TAP Portugal , Trans-Canada Air Lines (later renamed Air Canada ), Aer Lingus , VARIG , Cubana de Aviación , Línea Aeropostal Venezolana , Northwest Airlines , and Avianca ,

472-500: A catastrophic failure. Early R-3350s used carburetors , though the poorly designed elbow entrance to the supercharger led to serious problems with fuel/air mixtures. Near the end of WWII, the system was changed to use gasoline direct injection which improved reliability. After the war the engine was redesigned and became popular for large aircraft, notably the Lockheed Constellation and Douglas DC-7 . Following

531-402: A continuously variable profile with no two bulkheads the same shape and a skin formed into compound curves , which was expensive to build. Manufacturers have since favored tube-shaped fuselages in airliner designs, as the cylindrical cross-section design is more resistant to pressurization changes and less expensive to build. After ending Constellation production, Lockheed chose not to develop

590-454: A first-generation jetliner, sticking to its military business and production of the turboprop Lockheed L-188 Electra . Lockheed did not build a large passenger aircraft again until its L-1011 Tristar debuted in 1972. While a technological marvel, the L-1011 was a commercial failure, and Lockheed left the commercial airliner business permanently in 1983. The initial military versions carried

649-657: A long-range bomber capable of flying from the US to Germany with 20,000 lb (9,100 kg) of bombs. Although smaller than the Bomber D designs that led to the Douglas XB-19, the new designs required just as much power. When four preliminary designs were presented in mid-1940, three of them used the R-3350. Suddenly development was a priority, and serious efforts to get it into production began. In 1942 Chrysler started building

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708-594: A naked girl fleeing a napalmed village, Phan Thi Kim Phuc ). It was one of the few refueling points where the smaller airplanes used by airlines that served the Eastern Bloc could stop en route from Eastern Europe or the Soviet Union to Cuba. On 12 December 1985, Gander was the site of the Arrow Air Flight 1285 disaster, in which a McDonnell Douglas DC-8 with 256 on board, mostly soldiers from

767-538: A refuelling stop; most notably, some American legacy carriers ( United Airlines and Delta Air Lines in particular) who use the Boeing 757 to connect smaller European cities with their major US hubs. The 757 is particularly affected in this respect, as it was not an aircraft intended or designed for transatlantic flights. This practice has been controversial, since strong headwinds over the Atlantic Ocean during

826-521: A service ceiling of 24,000 ft (7,300 m). According to Anthony Sampson in Empires of the Sky , Lockheed may have undertaken the intricate design, but Hughes's intercession in the design process drove the concept, shape, capabilities, appearance, and ethos. These rumors were discredited by Johnson. Howard Hughes and Jack Frye confirmed that the rumors were false in a letter dated November 1941. With

885-547: A similar 1,800 in (30 L) displacement that would easily compete with the single-row Cyclone. In 1935 Wright followed P&W's lead, and developed larger engines based on the Cyclone. The result was two designs, a 14-cylinder short stroke design of nearly 2,600 in (43 L) displacement that would evolve into the Wright R-2600 Twin Cyclone , and a much larger 18-cylinder design that became

944-513: Is an American twin-row, supercharged , air-cooled, radial aircraft engine with 18 cylinders displacing nearly 3,350 cubic inches (54.9 L). Power ranged from 2,200 to 3,700 hp (1,640 to 2,760 kW), depending on model. Developed before World War II , the R-3350's design required a long time to mature, and was still experiencing problems with reliability when used to power the Boeing B-29 Superfortress . After

1003-506: Is commonly used on Hawker Sea Fury and Grumman F8F Bearcat Unlimited Class Racers at the Reno Air Races . In 1927, Wright Aeronautical introduced its "Cyclone" engine, which powered a number of designs in the 1930s. After merging with Curtiss to become Curtiss-Wright in 1929, an effort was started to design an engine in the 1,000 hp (750 kW) class. The new Wright R-1820 Cyclone 9 first ran in 1935, and became one of

1062-609: Is located in Gander, Newfoundland and Labrador , Canada, and is operated by the Gander International Airport Authority. Canadian Forces Base Gander shares the airfield but is a separate entity from the airport. The airport is sometimes referred to as the "Crossroads of the World", and is classified as an international airport by Transport Canada . Construction of the airport began in 1936 and it

1121-576: Is visible in background, parked on tarmac along with 1950s era mobile passenger stairs. Footage begins at film time stamp 32:40. Additionally, a TWA-liveried Connie appears in the 1953 film “How to Marry a Millionaire” featuring Lauren Bacall, Marilyn Monroe and Betty Grable. Data from Great Aircraft of the World and Quest for Performance General characteristics Performance Related development Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era Related lists Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone The Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone

1180-557: The Dodge Chicago Plant , which was ready by early 1944. By 1943 the new Boeing B-29 Superfortress was flying with R-3350s. The engines remained temperamental, and the rear cylinders tended to overheat, partially due to inadequate clearance between the cylinder baffles and the cowl. A number of changes were introduced to improve cooling, and the aircraft was rushed into service in the Pacific in 1944. This proved unwise, as

1239-656: The Reno Air Races use R-3350s. Modifications on one, Rare Bear , include a nose case designed for a slow-turning prop, taken from an R-3350 used on the Lockheed L-1649 Starliner , mated to the power section (crankcase, crank, pistons, and cylinders) taken from an R-3350 used on the Douglas DC-7. The supercharger is taken from an R-3350 used on the Lockheed EC-121 and the engine is fitted with nitrous oxide injection. Normal rated power of

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1298-486: The 1990s, as their low speed was not an impediment. An Eastern Air Lines Connie holds the record for a New York–to–Washington flight from take off to touchdown in just over 30 minutes. The record was set prior to speed restrictions by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) below 10,000 feet (3,000 m). One of the reasons for the elegance of the aircraft was the dolphin-shaped fuselage,

1357-528: The Constellation came into its own as a fast civilian airliner. Aircraft already in production for the USAAF as C-69 transports were finished as civilian airliners, with TWA receiving the first on 1 October 1945. TWA's first transatlantic proving flight departed Washington, D.C., on December 3, 1945, arriving in Paris on December 4 via Gander and Shannon . TWA transatlantic service started on February 6, 1946, with

1416-433: The Constellation's wingspan was longer than the distance of his first flight. On September 29, 1957, a TWA L-1649A flew from Los Angeles to London in 18 hours and 32 minutes—about 5,420 miles (8,720 km) at 292 miles per hour (470 km/h). The L-1649A holds the record for the longest-duration, nonstop passenger flight aboard a piston-powered airliner. On TWA's first London-to-San Francisco flight on October 1–2, 1957,

1475-617: The Dominion of Newfoundland government in March 1946, although the RCN's radio station remained and the military role for the entire facility was upgraded through the Cold War . The Canadian federal government changed the name to "Gander Airport" after Newfoundland joined Canada in 1949. It opened the current passenger terminal in 1959. On 16 September 1945, the first transatlantic proving flight,

1534-651: The L-1049 ), L-949 (an unbuilt, high-density seating- cum -freighter type, what would come to be called a " combi aircraft "). These were followed by the L-1049 Super Constellation (with longer fuselage), L-1149 (proposal to use Allison turbine engines) and L-1249 (similar to L-1149, built as R7V-2/YC-121F), L-1449 (unbuilt proposal for L1049G, stretched 55 in (140 cm), with new wing and turbines) and L-1549 (unbuilt project to stretch L-1449 95 in (240 cm)). The final civilian variant

1593-564: The Lockheed designation of L-049; as World War II came to a close, some were completed as civilian L-049 Constellations followed by the L-149 (L-049 modified to carry more fuel tanks). The first purpose-built passenger Constellations were the more powerful L-649 and L-749 (which had more fuel in the outer wings), L-849 (an unbuilt model to use the R-3350 turbo-compound engines adopted for

1652-606: The R-3350. A larger twin-row 22-cylinder version, the Wright R-4090 Cyclone 22 , was experimented with as a competitor to the 4,360 in (71.4 L) displacement four-row, 28-cylinder Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major , but was not produced. With Pratt & Whitney starting development of their own 2,800 in (46 L) displacement 18-cylinder, twin-row radial as the R-2800 Double Wasp in 1937, Wright's first R-3350 prototype engines with

1711-586: The U.S. Navy and Air Force operated the EC-121 Warning Star variant until 1978, nearly 40 years after work on the L-049 began. Cubana de Aviación was the first airline in Latin America to operate Super Constellations. A TWA-liveried Connie appears in the 1957 Audrey Hepburn/Fred Astaire film "Funny Face." The footage shows take off, a brief shot in flight over Paris, and landing. Finally, it

1770-535: The US Army 101st Airborne Division , crashed during takeoff, probably due to being overweight and experiencing atmospheric icing ; there were no survivors. The crash was, and remains, as of April 2024 , the deadliest airplane accident on Canadian soil. The Gander International Airport Authority ( GIAA ; French : Autorité aéroportuaire de Gander ) was formed in 1996 by the Government of Canada , which

1829-513: The advent of jets with longer range in the 1960s, most flights no longer needed to refuel. Gander has decreased in importance, but it remains the home of Gander Control , one of the two air traffic control centres (the other being Shanwick Oceanic Control in western Scotland) which direct the high-level North Atlantic Tracks . Most aircraft travelling to and from Europe or North America must talk to at least one of these air traffic controls . Some commercial transatlantic flights still use Gander as

Lockheed Constellation - Misplaced Pages Continue

1888-450: The air field are military, and do not pay landing fees . However, domestic passenger traffic increased by over seven percent in 2006, while weekly cargo flights from Iceland show some promise of expansion. The terminal building—built in the 1950s and noted for its modernist design and heritage architecture—still includes many of its original furnishings and fixtures. In April 2014, Gander Airport Authority made plans to abandon

1947-442: The aircraft stayed aloft for 23 hours and 19 minutes (about 5,350 miles (8,610 km) at 229 miles per hour (369 km/h)). Jet airliners such as the de Havilland Comet , Boeing 707 , Douglas DC-8 , Convair 880 , and Sud Aviation Caravelle rendered the Constellation obsolete. The first routes lost to jets were the long overseas routes, but Constellations continued to fly domestic routes. The last scheduled passenger flight of

2006-419: The central Newfoundland communities near the airport has been one of the most widely reported happy stories surrounding that day. To honour the people of Gander and Halifax for their support during the operation, Lufthansa named a new Airbus A340-300 "Gander/Halifax" on May 16, 2002. That airplane is listed with the registration D-AIFC, D-AIFC had been diverted to Gander during Operation Yellow Ribbon, and

2065-610: The changeover to the United States Army Air Forces and by the RCAF destined for the European Theatre travelled through Gander. The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) also established Naval Radio Station Gander at the airfield, using the station as a listening post to detect the transmissions and location of enemy submarines and warships. Following the war, the RCAF handed operation of the airfield back to

2124-497: The civil airport and does not oversee the nearby Gander (James Paton Memorial Regional Health Centre) Heliport nor CFB Gander. Following the September 11 attacks on September 11, 2001, with United States airspace closed, Gander International played host to 38 airliners, totaling 6,122 passengers and 473 crew, as part of Operation Yellow Ribbon. Gander International received more flights than any other Canadian airport involved in

2183-480: The early B-29s taking off at maximum weights, in the high temperature conditions of the B-29s tropical airfields, caused overheating that was not completely solved, and the engines also had a tendency to swallow valves. Because of a high magnesium content in the crankcase, engine fires could burn with a core temperature approaching 5,600 °F (3,090 °C) which could burn through the main spar in seconds, causing

2242-565: The existing terminal building due to high operating costs and replace it with a new terminal a quarter of the size. In 2017, the airport announced the existing terminal would instead be renovated and downsized, at a cost of $ 26.4 million. Gander has two active runways : runway 13/31 which is 8,900 ft × 150 ft (2,713 m × 46 m), and runway 03/21 (changed from 04/22 in August 2004) which measures 10,200 ft × 150 ft (3,109 m × 46 m) and underwent

2301-472: The increased exhaust heat meant a return to the engine destroying exhaust valves. The fuel burn for the PRT-equipped aircraft was nearly the same as the older Pratt and Whitney R-2800, while producing more useful power. Effective 15 October 1957 a DA-3/DA-4 engine cost $ 88,200. By this point reliability had improved with the mean time between overhauls at 3,500 hours and specific fuel consumption in

2360-600: The model L-249 as a long-range bomber. It received the military designation XB-30 , but the aircraft was not developed. A plan for a very long-range troop transport, the C-69B ( L-349 , ordered by Pan Am in 1940 as the L-149 ), was cancelled. A single C-69C ( L-549 ), a 43-seat VIP transport, was built in 1945 at the Lockheed-Burbank plant. The C-69 was mostly used as a high-speed, long-distance troop transport during

2419-549: The most used aircraft engines in the late 1930s and early 1940's, powering the Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bomber, General Motors FM-2 Wildcat fighter and Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bomber, among many others. By 1931 Pratt & Whitney had started a development of their single-row Wasp nine-cylinder engine into the larger and much more powerful fourteen-cylinder, twin-row R-1830 Twin Wasp with

Lockheed Constellation - Misplaced Pages Continue

2478-623: The national airline of Colombia. Sleek and powerful, Constellations set many records. On April 17, 1944, the second production C-69, piloted by Howard Hughes and TWA president Jack Frye , flew from Burbank, California , to Washington, D.C. , in 6 hours and 57 minutes (about 2,300 miles (3,700 km) at an average 331 miles per hour (533 km/h)). On the return trip, the aircraft stopped at Wright Field in Ohio to give Orville Wright his last flight, more than 40 years after his historic first flight near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina . He commented that

2537-591: The onset of World War II , the TWA aircraft entering production were converted to an order for C-69 Constellation military transport aircraft, with 202 aircraft intended for the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF). The first prototype (civil registration NX25600) flew on January 9, 1943, a short ferry hop from Burbank to Muroc Field for testing. Edmund T. "Eddie" Allen , on loan from Boeing , flew left seat , with Lockheed's own Milo Burcham as copilot. Rudy Thoren and Kelly Johnson were also aboard. Lockheed proposed

2596-590: The operation apart from Halifax . The 6,595 passengers and crew accounted for the third highest total of passengers that landed at a Canadian airport involved in the operation, behind Vancouver and Halifax. A major reason that Gander received so much traffic was its ability to handle large aircraft and because Transport Canada and Nav Canada instructed pilots coming from Europe to avoid major airports in Central Canada, such as Toronto-Pearson and Montréal-Dorval . The reception these travellers received in

2655-417: The order of 0.4 lb/hp/hour (243 g/kWh, giving a 34% fuel efficiency). Engines in use as of the 2020s are limited to 52 inHg (180 kPa) manifold pressure , giving 2,880 hp (2,150 kW) with 100/130 octane fuel (or 100LL) instead of the 59.5 inHg (201 kPa) and 3,400 hp (2,500 kW) possible with 115/145, a higher octane fuel, which is no longer available. Several racers at

2714-548: The original stock R-3350 was 2,800 hp (2,100 kW) at 2,600 rpm and 45 inHg (150 kPa) of manifold pressure. With these modifications, Rare Bear ' s engine produces 4,000 hp (3,000 kW) at 3,200 rpm and 80 inHg (270 kPa) of manifold pressure, and 4,500 hp (3,400 kW) with nitrous oxide injection. Data from Jane's . Related development Comparable engines Related lists Gander International Airport Gander International Airport ( IATA : YQX , ICAO : CYQX )

2773-412: The runways and terminals. Gander is near the great circle route between eastern North America and Europe. Starting in the 1940s it was a refueling stop for transatlantic flights and continued in this role through the early 1960s and in some cases into the 1990s. Carriers at Gander during this era included: Runway 04/22 was extended from 8,400 to 10,500 ft (2,560 to 3,200 m) in 1971. With

2832-555: The war, the Turbo-Compound system was developed to deliver better fuel efficiency . In these versions, three power-recovery turbines (PRT) were inserted into the exhaust of each group of six cylinders, and geared to the crankshaft by fluid couplings to deliver more power. The PRTs recovered about 20% of the exhaust energy (around 450 hp (340 kW)) that would have otherwise been lost, but reduced engine reliability. Mechanics nicknamed them Parts Recovery Turbines, since

2891-555: The war, the engine had matured sufficiently to be used in many civilian airliners, notably in its turbo-compound forms, and was used in the Lockheed L-1049 Super Constellation airliners into the 1950s. Its main rival was the 4,360 in (71.4 L), 4,300 hp (3,200 kW) Pratt & Whitney R-4360 Wasp Major , which first ran some seven years after the Duplex-Cyclone. The engine

2950-593: The war. In total, 22 C-69s were built before the end of hostilities, but seven of these never entered military service, as they were converted to civilian L-049s on the assembly line. The USAAF cancelled the remainder of the order in 1945. Some aircraft remained in USAF service into the 1960s, serving as passenger ferries for the airline that relocated military personnel, wearing the livery of the Military Air Transport Service . After World War II,

3009-540: The winter months can result in the flights being declared "minimum fuel", forcing refuelling stops at Gander in order to safely complete their journeys. During the Cold War, Gander was notable for the number of persons from Communist nations who defected there (including Soviet chess player and pianist Igor Vasilyevich Ivanov , Cuban Olympic swimmer Rafael Polinario, and the Vietnamese woman famously photographed as

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3068-465: The year before also attended the ceremony. The musical stage show Come from Away and its film adaptation are based around the experiences of residents of Gander in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador and those affected by the forced landings. Officials at Gander International Airport stated in 2006 that the future for the airport is grim unless the federal government provides funding to cover costs. Over 50% of all aircraft operating from

3127-501: Was close to that of the Lockheed P-38 Lightning , differing mostly in size. 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 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

3186-617: Was divesting its direct control of airports across the country to similar operating agencies. Previously, Gander was operated by the Government of Newfoundland from 1938 to 1942 and 1945 to 1949 before transferring to the Government of Canada when Newfoundland became a province. Its mission is to operate the airport in a self-sufficient fashion. It receives its revenues from landing fees on airlines, departure fees on passengers, parking revenues and facility rentals. The revenues are used for operating and capital expenses. The GIAA only operates

3245-731: Was during the Berlin and the Biafran airlifts . Three served as the presidential aircraft for Dwight D. Eisenhower , one of which is at the National Museum of the United States Air Force . Lockheed had been working on the L-044 Excalibur , a four-engined, pressurized airliner, since 1937. In 1939, Transcontinental and Western Airlines (TWA), at the instigation of major stockholder Howard Hughes , requested

3304-693: Was opened in 1938, with its first landing on January 11 of that year, by Captain Douglas Fraser flying a Fox Moth of Imperial Airways . Within a few years it had four runways and was the largest airport in the world. Its official name until 1949 was "Newfoundland Airport". In 1940, the operation of the Newfoundland Airport was assigned by the Dominion of Newfoundland to the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) and it

3363-556: Was renamed "RCAF Station Gander" in 1941. The airfield was heavily used by RAF Ferry Command and Air Transport Command for transporting newly built aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean to the European Theatre , as well as for staging operational anti-submarine patrols dedicated to hunting U-boats in the northwest Atlantic. Thousands of aircraft flown by the United States Army Air Corps through

3422-802: Was the L-1649 Starliner (all new wing and L1049G fuselage). Military versions included the C-69 and C-121 for the Army Air Forces / Air Force and the R7O R7V-1 (L-1049B) EC-121 WV-1 (L-749A) WV-2 (L-1049B) (widely known as the Willie Victor) and many variant EC-121 designations for the Navy . After TWA's initial order was filled following World War II, customers rapidly accumulated, with over 800 aircraft built. In military service,

3481-407: Was the first aircraft of that fleet with a city name from outside of Germany. The airport was the site for Canada's memorial service to mark the first anniversary of the attack , over which Prime Minister Jean Chrétien , Transport Minister David Collenette , US Ambassador to Canada Paul Cellucci , and provincial and local officials presided. 2,500 of the 6,600 people that were diverted there

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