Dutch Connie

Howard500

You seem to be labouring under the misapprehension that all Vintage aircraft preservation must involve flight.

It cannot and does not – Please try to embrace all the different ways that we try to look after our heritage; it is not all about getting kicks at airshows.

Bruce

Yes I realize that I’m not stupid I understand some. Can’t be. Made airworthy and keep them to keep the nations heratage such the Dutch and raf museum

Howard500

You seem to be labouring under the misapprehension that all Vintage aircraft preservation must involve flight.

It cannot and does not – Please try to embrace all the different ways that we try to look after our heritage; it is not all about getting kicks at airshows.

Bruce

How do you mean ?

Exactly as I said before. See post #8. If there are those of a different opinion, I’d be very interested to see them post a list of the companies and/or individuals who are in the queue to keep a Constellation – or any other vintage airliner – in airworthy condition and operating as such. From my perspective, I applaud those at Aviodrome who acquired and maintained this Constellation in airworthy condition and I am sad at the predicament in which the museum now finds itself. However I don’t subscribe to the ‘if they aren’t doing with it what I think they should, it ought to be taken away from them’ school of thought – unless the person expressing the opinion is prepared to put his or her money where his or her mouth is and offer to purchase the object in question and use it in the manner in which he or she says its present owner should be, but is not, doing so.

Guys,

At the Aviodrome there’s 56 employees celebrating an unemployed Christmas, a very bitter time for them and their families. Also, the work of the hundreds of volunteers is laying in ruins, and the future of one of Europe’s premier collections – their life’s work in many cases – is very bleak indeed. I think some sensitivity is called for here…

That said, the Constellation is fully owned by the Aviodrome and as such might end up for sale in a few weeks.

You did rather ask for the comments by suggesting an early sale was possible! 😉

Thanks for your vote of confidence and support. Doing the inventory of the museum is not even complete and you’re already dividing up the loot. Classy.

How do you mean ?

But one is not exactly spoilt for choice.

May or the red bulls in Austria a Connie would complement there dc6 quiet well 🙂

Breitling seem to have deep pockets, would they like another one? 😉

Oh right my mistake but I hope it fly soon it would be awesome at legends 🙂

The Lufthansa machines are Lockheed Starliners -I am not aware of Lufthansa saving any Connies from Pima.

But the delerlict Connie’s in Pima sone are luckily being safed by company’s such as Lufthansa

Howard -I dont think your realise that the majority of these Connies have either been derelict former sprayers or rescued from dereliction at Pima.
The museums involved have invested large sums of money to get them back into a reasonable state -its hardly a case of them being unsuitable to own them!

Connie at Wroughton.

There is a Connie at Wroughton,I was Mate of the ferry that carried it from Dublin to Fleetwood,it had been arrested/abandoned at Dublin airport,it was a freight conversion with a large door on the port side aft which I was told had been intended as a racehorse transport.This happened about 28 – 30 years ago,I later saw it at Wroughton at a Science Museum open day after it had been re-assembled.
Colin

I don’t know if Bill Gates is in the market for a Constellation! However I suspect that it would take someone with pockets as deep as his to maintain it in flying condition and to fly it as well – whether or not with paying passengers aboard. I suspect that, in the modern world, there are far more airworthy or potentially airworthy vintage airliners than there are those who are both able and willing to fund such expensive luxuries.

thanks chaps i just hate seeing amazing aircraft grounded such the connie if they don’t have the money to mantain it sell it to somone how has 😡

One could say the same about the MoD today!

Seems rather amazing that what appears to effectively be the national collection of aircraft in Holland could be allowed to get in such a financial mess!!

Are they still trying to make it airworthy ?

Technically she is airworthy. The reason she does not fly much is money. The museum did not go bankrupt by chance (and I am not implying that flying the Connie was the only or even the main reason).

Maybe if legislation was more favourable it could have been financially possible. As it is, the plane is classed as an experimental and is not allowed to take passengers. Good luck trying to make an empty plane, in particular one that is as maintenance intensive as a Constellation, in any way cost neutral or even profitable.