The Lockheed Constellation, or “Connie,” is a plane that while possibly not as lovely to behold as a Boeing 747 or perhaps as celebrated as a Concorde nonetheless played its part in the history of the flying industry.
One of the largest contributions of the Lockheed Constellation to aviation was to make cabin pressurization technology the norm, something we now take for granted on flying. Pressurization makes it possible to fly between 10,000 and 15,000 feet without oxygen masks for passengers. At altitudes such as these, the plane will be higher than most weather, so the flight would be more comfortable and safer.
Although the Boeing 307 Stratoliner was the first pressurized airliner, its modest production run of only 10 examples fell short of the production total of over 800 Constellations.
Lockheed’s creativity also saw use in the Constellation’s distinctive shape, both a design and functional matter. The triple fin tail arrangement was used to ensure the plane could fit into pre-fabricated hangars. It was a necessity at a time when airplane facilities were being built for airplanes of the small DC-3 class. De-icing systems, hydraulic flight controls, and tricycle landing gear were all innovations of the time made available on the Constellation.
Subsequent versions achieved a speed of 377 mph, which was faster than competing airliners and even some World War II warplanes. The high speed was accompanied by the capacity for more than 18 tons, so the Constellation was a successful transport in both commercial use and wartime purposes.
The Constellation’s military service was not only restricted to transport operations but also included VIP and presidential missions. Its military version’s classification as C-121A put it in active use at the Berlin Airlift, even indirectly through the runway size constraint of Berlin airports. Surprisingly enough, it was assigned to General Douglas MacArthur during the Korean War and flew as the first plane to operate with the Air Force One designation when President Eisenhower took it for a spin.
