Lockheed Constellation („Connie“) je vrtulový dopravní letoun vyráběný mezi lety 1943 a 1958 firmou Lockheed Corporation v Burbanku v Kalifornii. Celkem bylo vyrobeno 856 letounu v různých verzích, z nichž všechny vynikaly trojitými svislými ocasnimi plochami, trupem ve tvaru delfína a ve většině případů 18válcovým motorem Wright R-3350. Letoun se dočkal jak civilního, tak i vojenského užití a byl nasazen například během blokády Berlína. PC-121A „Columbine II“ používal americký prezident Eisenhower, PC-121A „Bataan“ zase generál MacArthur.
Three of them served as the presidential aircraft for Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Records
Sleek and powerful, Constellations set a number of 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, DC, 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 to give Orville Wright his last flight, more than 40 years after his historic first flight. He commented that the Constellation's wingspan was longer than the distance of his first flight.[2]
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, non-stop passenger flight aboard a piston-powered airliner. On TWA's first London-to-San Francisco flight on October 1–2, 1957, 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)). | |