The Most Graceful Super 'Lady'

I do recall back in the mid 90’s Qantas engineers and I think their historical arm ( which is run by volunteers ) brought a Connie back from the US. Perhaps it is now at the Qantas museum in Longreach? If anybody has an answer would love to know. It would be worth to couple of thousand kilometer trip just to see her again. Chris.

G`day Chris, although some of the HARS engineers who restored the Connie and flew it back to Australia were retired Qantas employees and Qantas did provide some sponsorship in the early stage it`s not a Qantas aircraft and it`s not at Longreach.
The Connie is still flying and it`s located at the HARS museum at Albion Park airfield south of Wollongong, New South Wales and you would be most welcome to come along and see her.
Simmo

Qantas Connie

I do recall back in the mid 90’s Qantas engineers and I think their historical arm ( which is run by volunteers ) brought a Connie back from the US. Perhaps it is now at the Qantas museum in Longreach? If anybody has an answer would love to know. It would be worth to couple of thousand kilometer trip just to see her again. Chris.

I’ll take your word for it … IIRC it was then described as a Qantas aircraft … and Qantas also sponsored the GP, always sending one of their aircraft over for a low fly by. As you say it’s painted in Qantas colours including of course the flying Kangaroo. I wonder if Qantas sponsored it or similar?

Here’s a fabulous clip on youtube of it taking off in the dusk … check out the exhaust headers!

The only connection is its wearing Qantas colours it`s a purely HARS aircraft.
Proctor is correct it`s a genuine warbird ex US military delivered US servicemen to Vietnam.

If my memory serves me correctly isn’t the HARS one an ex US military Connie, certainly not an ex-QANTAS bird.

Sorry Chris, must disagree with you the HARS connie pictured in my previous post and ozters is the only Constellation flying in Australia and it has no connection with Qantas.
Simmo

Really? There was a Qantas Constellation flying about in the late 90’s or early 00’s … I remember it overflying the F1 GP at Melbourne before I left MEL (therefore between ’98 and ’04 GPs).

A moment later, when putting up this pic to prove the point … are they perhaps one and the same machine?

Baldrick, look at the tail in your pics for the Qantas connection.

Wow !!!! thank you for that David, supurb pics, I must have a three fin thing ?
Having been born at Stansted (1948), I remember all of these beauties doing their thing !!
A couple of my pics saved from who knows where ?

For Keith…who is obviously as attached to Skyways Connies as he is to Dan Air Yorks!

G-ALAL on wet day at Changi in mid-1961. She’d have looked even better on a nice sunny day.

David T.

I was lucky to see N494TW at Fairford in the late 90’s, can anyone tell me why she is now static?

She was put up for sale and eventually bought by a museum in South Korea, where she’s now kept. Saw her up close and personal at Biggin when she was over for the Berlin Airlift 50th anniversary, and I have to agree it’s a great shame she no longer flies.

Have to agree with you there. When I was a young lad I used to fly on her out to Kuwait. A bit noisy but wow what a lady. Are you aware that QANTAS has one still flying. She was in the US, restored and flown back to Australia?
How I would love to fly in her now. Forget all these super aircraft of today, these were ‘the’ aircraft and will never lose their grace. Cheers. Chris.

Sorry Chris, must disagree with you the HARS connie pictured in my previous post and ozters is the only Constellation flying in Australia and it has no connection with Qantas.
Simmo

The Most Graceful Super ‘Lady’

Have to agree with you there. When I was a young lad I used to fly on her out to Kuwait. A bit noisy but wow what a lady. Are you aware that QANTAS has one still flying. She was in the US, restored and flown back to Australia?
How I would love to fly in her now. Forget all these super aircraft of today, these were ‘the’ aircraft and will never lose their grace. Cheers. Chris.

The view from First Class…

As flown just a few weeks back on 22 February at the HARS base in Wollongong. A great flight!

I was lucky to see N494TW at Fairford in the late 90’s, can anyone tell me why she is now static?

Such a graceful bird !

Since feather#3 hasn`t appeared I`ll post some photos of his favourite lady taken at this years Lawrence Hargrave tribute day from Bald Hill, Stanwell Tops and a recent HMAS Albatross Nowra airshow.

The two famous L1649A Starliners owned for many years by Maurice Roundy of Auburn, Maine…he also owned a third 1649 which is currently at Kermit Weeks’ Fantasy of Flight in Florida.

N7316C, ex-TWA “Star of the Tigris”

N8083H, named “Star of San Pedro Sula” for the Honduran town whence Mr Roundy obtained this 1649

That’s that from me…over to others, keep the Connies coming!

S.

The Most Graceful Sideways Move ? Look at the ‘railway’ tracks ?

Three more Super Connies:

Save-A-Connie Foundation’s neo-TWA (actually ex-Slick Airways) 1049H, N6937C, seen at London (Ontario) airshow 1990

N6937C makes a flyover at the CNE (Toronto waterfront) airshow

C-121C on display on the Lackland AFB parade ground, San Antonio TX, September 1992 (plenty else was parked on the same lawn…)

VC-121C “Columbine III”, third of President Eisenhower’s official Connies, seen in the early 80s at Dayton

Cockpit of “Columbine III”

Couple 1649s next…

S.

CF-RNR continued…

Open for business circa 1999 as the “Super Connie” bar/sandwich shop; those glazed two-storey lobbies mar the port side view just a bit…

Cockpit of CF-RNR, looking quite decent…

Cabin, fitted out like a railway dining car; a nice oaken bar was at the other end; note the period Connie-related magazine ads…

View over the port wing, note the former Millardair base in the background, complete with one of the grounded C-54s.

Stay tuned for more “Supers”…

S.

Two L-1049G and a L-1649A

N7109C Heathrow 1956, BG-579 Northolt 1972, LX-LGY Gatwick 1968