Save our Super Constellation from destruction !

I saw that too Monsieur Ancien. I am a bit too far away, but you are rather closer!

More news, received by e-mail this morning. So if you’re in Western France the weekend after next, with time on your hands, here’s a suggestion……

Bonjour,

L’Amicale du Super Constellation organise des Journées Portes Ouvertes les 28 et 29 septembre 2013.
Ce sera l’occasion pour le public de (re)découvrir le Lockheed L-1049 C Super Constellation, le plus bel avion de ligne à moteurs à pistons jamais construit.
Sorti des usines de Burbank, CA en novembre 1953, le F-BGNJ est le dernier exemplaire encore en “bon état” existant en France.
Classé monument historique, il est le premier appareil à avoir participé aux évacuations sanitaires lors du conflit du Biafra en 1968.
Il est ainsi à l’origine de la création d’Aviation Sans Frontières qui verra le jour 10 ans plus tard.
En restauration depuis 2000, il est depuis 2012 enfin ouvert au public.
Beaucoup de travaux de restauration restent à faire, notamment le remplacement de l’ensemble des hublots, la restauration complète du cockpit (en cours), l’aménagement d’une partie des sièges et d’un petit salon version “Parisien Spécial”, la remise en place des dérives à entoiler…

Venez nombreux !

Lieu : Aéroport de Nantes-Atlantique – Chemin de Frémiou, Saint Aignan de Granlieu. (à côté de Météo France)
GPS : Lat 47° 8’57.59″N – Long 1°36’25.12″O
Horaires d’ouverture : Samedi et Dimanche de 9h à 18h.
Renseignements et informations : http://superconstellation-nantes.fr et [email]contact@superconstellation-nantes.fr[/email]

….and if anyone wants it, let me know and I’ll post a translation into English.

Yes I would be very interested in a English version !! That would be very nice of you. I’ve plan to do it but I think I’m not enough “fluent” to translate it. Maybe you can help me?

Pierre “Pappy”
Amicale du Super Constellation, Nantes – NTE LFRS

Sorry for my late reply, but you have a Private Message. 🙂

Hi everybody,

our website has moved. Now you can see us at this adress:

http://superconstellation-nantes.fr

Thanks.

Pierre “Pappy”
Amicale du Super Constellation, Nantes – NTE LFRS

Frenchman’s written English

Pierre,

Your written English is a darn-sight better than that of some native English speakers who contribute to this Forum.

Anon.

Yes I would be very interested in a English version !! That would be very nice of you. I’ve plan to do it but I think I’m not enough “fluent” to translate it. Maybe you can help me?

Pierre “Pappy”
Amicale du Super Constellation, Nantes – NTE LFRS

Pierre, would you be interested in an english translation for your site? Seems to me you could use any help, and the english speaking part of the world could make a major contribution.

Pierre, seriez-vous intéressé dans une traduction anglaise pour votre site ? Me semble vous pourriez utiliser n’importe quelle aide, et la partie Anglophonee du monde pourrait faire une contribution majeure.

Hi avion_ancien,

Very good questions ! I’m gonna try to answer the best I can with my poor English:

– No, Our Connie is not accessible to the public and it is the same for the entire collection while the area is strictly prohibited. We use to have the keys to enter that zone but since september 2007, they change all the gate’s locks.

– The aircraft was moved there in may 2004 because we had all the authorisation to do it while the Airport Administrator plan to extend his parking area where the Connie was parked. At that time, that new area on the far side of the runway was reserved to our Museum project, the Aeroscope. The problem is that the area is civilian (Civil Aviation Ministry) and it is administrate by the army and the sale of the land would probably finance Notre Dame des Landes new International Airport…

– We don’t know at the present days what is going to happen to the Connie and our collection when Nantes Airport will be relocate in 2016 (maybe later).
The city of Bouguenais wants to have the cession of the land. If they have that land, they will give us the area and the Aeroscope project will surely born one day and the Connie will be preserved and visited by thousand of people. If they can not have that land, nobody knows whta’s going to happen !

That’s why we put a Petition to make react our Culture Ministry to do something while the Connie and a rare racer, the René Leduc RL21, are classified as Historic Monument by the ministry himself !

How lucky you are to live in UK or USA where the historic aircraft heritage is part of your mentality and all is done to help in aircraft preservation. How difficult it is here in France! What a shame….

By the way, we will continue to fight and try to win that battle !!

Thanks.

Pierre “Pappy”
Amicale du Super Constellation, Nantes – NTE LFRS

Je suis désolé que je n’ai pas mis mes questions en français – mon français est mauvais aussi! Mais parce que c’est un forum brittanique, peut-être ces sont mieux en anglais. Nous attendrons vos nouvelles de l’avenir de F-BGNJ et nous vous souhaitons bonne chance.

Pierre Pappy, no doubt we’ll all be keeping our fingers crossed for you and F-BGNJ. But in the meantime can you tell me:

– whether the aircraft is ever accessible to the public (and the same question applies to the Aéroscope collection of vintage aircraft kept in the hangars adjacent to it)?

– why the aircraft was moved, several years ago, from behind the GA hangars to the apron in front of the old hangars on the far side of the runway?

– if you are successful in obtaining permission to retain the aircraft in its present place, what is likely to happen to it when Nantes Airport relocates to Notre Dames des Landes next decade?

Hi avion_ancien,

Very good questions ! I’m gonna try to answer the best I can with my poor English:

– No, Our Connie is not accessible to the public and it is the same for the entire collection while the area is strictly prohibited. We use to have the keys to enter that zone but since september 2007, they change all the gate’s locks.

– The aircraft was moved there in may 2004 because we had all the authorisation to do it while the Airport Administrator plan to extend his parking area where the Connie was parked. At that time, that new area on the far side of the runway was reserved to our Museum project, the Aeroscope. The problem is that the area is civilian (Civil Aviation Ministry) and it is administrate by the army and the sale of the land would probably finance Notre Dame des Landes new International Airport…

– We don’t know at the present days what is going to happen to the Connie and our collection when Nantes Airport will be relocate in 2016 (maybe later).
The city of Bouguenais wants to have the cession of the land. If they have that land, they will give us the area and the Aeroscope project will surely born one day and the Connie will be preserved and visited by thousand of people. If they can not have that land, nobody knows whta’s going to happen !

That’s why we put a Petition to make react our Culture Ministry to do something while the Connie and a rare racer, the René Leduc RL21, are classified as Historic Monument by the ministry himself !

How lucky you are to live in UK or USA where the historic aircraft heritage is part of your mentality and all is done to help in aircraft preservation. How difficult it is here in France! What a shame….

By the way, we will continue to fight and try to win that battle !!

Thanks.

Pierre “Pappy”
Amicale du Super Constellation, Nantes – NTE LFRS

Glad to sign..beautiful aircraft !!

Pierre Pappy, no doubt we’ll all be keeping our fingers crossed for you and F-BGNJ. But in the meantime can you tell me:

– whether the aircraft is ever accessible to the public (and the same question applies to the Aéroscope collection of vintage aircraft kept in the hangars adjacent to it)?

– why the aircraft was moved, several years ago, from behind the GA hangars to the apron in front of the old hangars on the far side of the runway?

– if you are successful in obtaining permission to retain the aircraft in its present place, what is likely to happen to it when Nantes Airport relocates to Notre Dames des Landes next decade?

Hi everybody,

the situation is still unchanged, unfortunately..
we now have a new website where you’ll find more informations on our Association :

http://fbgnj.free.fr

Sincerely,

Pierre “Pappy”
Amicale du Super Constellation

pétition

Fait! Bonne chance!

Laurence

Been there, done it

Signed and validated …… je pense!

Done my friend 1216 now regards Alan

Hi all,

we still need your help !!
more signs we get, more chances we’ll have to make things change.
so please, do not hesitate by signing our petition if you think our Connie deserve it.

Thanks.

Pierre “Pappy”
Amicale du Super Constellation F-BGNJ Nantes, France
Sign our PETITION to save the F-BGNJ Super Constellation

Hi everybody

yhank you all for signing the petition!
we have now reach 1050 signatures ! That’s good, but not enough!! We need more.

thank also to all of you who tried to leave a French comment. Very kind of you. We really appreciate the effort! (my english is quite “corroded” too !)

Things are beginning to move here, many people wants to help us, that’s good. But still nothing from the Culture Ministry….let’s see what happen now.

Thanks.

This was one of the CATAIR ones that used to visit Turnhouse in the early 70s bringing in the French rugby supporters. Happy memories.

Signed, confirmed and left commentsd in my best french. Maybe if they get enough visits from englishmen who think they can write french they will give in and liberate the connie. It might just be easier than trying to translate our comments.
Connies are getting to be rare birds and for my money are one of the most beautiful airliners of their age.