Anything Kelly Johnson touched turned out to be solid gold. The man was an aviation genius bar none. RIP Mr Johnson. You set the bar sky high.

As a 10 year old kid, emigrating with my family to Canada from Paraguay, we changed planes in Buenos Aires and boarded a Constellation, and took it to Miami,Fla. I will never forget seeing that big,silver airplane, I was totally in awe of it and I can still recall that moment, great childhood memory.

We had 30 Super Connies based at Korat air base in Thailand 68/69, never got tired of watching and hearing them take off.

All these youngsters sadly never had the opportunity to fly in them. I did ... for hours and hours up and down the Ho Chi Minh trail ... at night ... in FOUL weather. They were still a delight to ride in. I even managed a few hours of stick time. She had very few, if any, bad habits and was certainly quieter and more comfortable than a C-130 !!! All in all, the editors hit the nail on the head. It truly was a GREAT PLANE.

I have to add. I worked and maintained the EC-121 as a propeller technician at McClellan AFB California in 1971- 1973. Did many TDY'S to Thailand and beyond. I have many fond memories of flying and making island hoping, Wake island and such. Changing out engines or jugs. carried my tool chest. Saluting the acft commanders. The whole experience of me, an airman first class. being part of Americans finest.

I built many Constellation models as a boy. Destroyed playing with them. Had the dream of piloting them. As with these planes my dream faded away. The Connie still is one of the most stylish, sexiest aircraft ever built. Thanks Lockheed.

I flew from JFK Airport (at that time, Idlewild Airport) to Miami on my honeymoon -1960 - during the day on The Lockheed Constellation. Spectacular experience but the engines were super loud. The flight was great, but not the marriage. The flight was about 4 hours. The marriage about 4 months. I should have stayed on the plane.

"If it looks good, it flies good".....the Connie is one of the most beautiful aircraft ever built....👍😊

I have fond memories of watching Connies on approach to SFO as a child. My world was beautiful and free. I'll always remember the introduction of the 727, because it appeared so much slower. To me, the end of the Connie was the end of life as I knew it. Everything started moving faster, and fields began to be filled in with houses. I yearn to go back to the Connie days.

I watched this video because I remembered my Dad raving about the Connies that he worked and flew on in his long USAF career, and low and behold at 34:58, there he his working on one. I’m guessing, but I’d say that film was shot at Donaldson AFB up to 1963, or Hunter Army Airfield, up to 1965. It could be footage from Danang 1967,68, or 69 too. He looks young so I’m leaning towards Greenville or Savannah. It was a joy to discover and I wish I could call him and tell him about it. Thanks for making and posting the vid. :)

Thanks, brings tears to my eyes. My father owned two Super Connies in the 60s for transport. I remember flying with him.

A Lockheed 4-engined Propeller driven Super G Constellation plane brought me to U.S.A in Jan. 1958 from India. As I recall, it took us 8 stops and approximately 24 hours from Bombay to New York. I was 21 years of age. Jay Nadkarni.

My Mother was pregnant with me, and flew to Okinawa and back tell her Dad about her "condition ".... my first multi-engine flight time in 1961!

I was a happy kid, back in the Fifties, watching Connie's fly, in to and out of, Lockheed Air Terminal in Burbank , Ca. Lucky to live near by. The most beautiful airliner to grace the skies.

The Constellation series represent the most beautiful airliner EVER designed.

Hello all. In 1961, me mom and brother boarded "our Connie" flying to the remote USAF base that my dad had been stationed as a missile maintainer. I am currently writing a book to document our experience that began when a surprise North Atlantic storm rose up. Our Captain made five passes to land there was no way. We flew to get out of the storm but it was every where and very tall. It flew us out of American Air Space and yes we were met and surrounded by Russian fighters. It is an amazing story, all truth that I am certain will thrill and also touch your heart. I expect a year from now to be in print and will advise back here at that time. I love this aircraft and our Captain who flew her and made use of every design feature to keep us aloft in the worst possible weather and political conditions. Connie is a hero!!!!!!

One of the most beautiful planes to ever fly

In 1957 my grandparents flew to Europe on a Constellation. They were completely WOWed! Their carry-on luggage was B.O.A.C. So that airline must have had Constellations at that time. Gramps bought a TR-3 sports car while in England. He picked it up at the factory then proceeded to go out onto the road in the wrong lane. He immediately had a head-on collision. He reports that the TR people pulled his car in and repaired it right away. They were quite gracious. He was SO grateful! For my part, I could never figure out how such a stern, practical man could DO that. But they got through it, had a lovely trip and came home safe and happy.

My dad took me, at the age of 6, to watch KLM's Constellations on Schiphol airport in the sixties....and I fall in love with the grace of the Lockheed Constellation! It is still, after 55 years, in my favorite time line list of aircraft; Supermarine Spitfire > Fokker G1 > Messerschmitt ME-262 >Lockheed Constellation > DC-10 > Boeing 747 > MD-11......!

I grew up in Burbank, California where the Connie's were built. As luck would have it the flight path of the day would take the Connie right over my elementary school. During recess, many a time I would miss a pop fly as one of those magnificent birds would fly overhead as a 10 year old kid would keep one eye on a ballgame and the other on a legend flying off to its destination. Such a beautiful sight to behold.

1974 and still in service , wow, I remember my Dad pointing one out very very high up , he could always tell where the planes were in the sky, I never could, He flew in a B 50 back in 1948 or so , thanks for everything Dad.

I remember living in Valley Stream, Long Island in the 50's as a young boy. Our house was under the flight path to Idlewild airport (now JFK). I used to watch these beauties fly overhead every day. We even would make a trip out to the airport and watch the planes from the observation deck. Boy, aviation has come a long way since then, but you still can't beat the look of the Connie.

My grandparents lived just about 1/2 mile from the Lockheed Airport in Burbank, CA. When I was 4 or 5 Lockheed was building the Constellation and flying them off several times each day and through the night. Those radial engines absolutely shook the house...caused the TEEVEE set to go wacky...and scared the living daylights outta 4 or 5 year olds. I can still remember those Connies flying over in the dark of night...flames blazing out of the exhaust...

I remember this show, Great Planes. It was on The Discovery Channel in the late 80s. It’s name was eventually changed to Wings, then later it became the first new Discovery spinoff channel, Discovery Wings!

The Connie remains one of the most beautiful planes! In 1961 my family flew with a connie from Fort Dix to Frankfurt, Germany. I sat next to the starboard wing and saw flames shoot out of an engine. The engine was shut down and we landed in Gander, Newfoundland. Waited many hours until a replacement airplane arrived. Though only seven at the time, I recall the events.

As a child, I flew from Morocco to NYC in 1958, an experience I shall never forget.

I didn't hear them mention that before his death in 1948, Orville Wright was given the honor of taking the controls of a Connie! Must have been quite an experience for him.

I was a crew member in EC121's with VW1 out of Guam from 1965 - 1967 loved those planes they were very tough birds.

The Super Connie (has?) served for decades as Hurricane Hunters, delivering life saving recon data, as well as scientific observation that could not be gotten any other way. They even delivered radio sondes into the eye wall, the most dangerous place in the flyable atmosphere besides a tornado.

Flew in a Connie in 1955 from Cairo to London over the Alps, invited to the cockpit to view the Matterhorn, It even had a bar at the rear where one could stand up and have a drink!

Don't forget the tragic Grand Canyon collision...Awesome Ship, Juan's Bavy ✈️🫠

I flew on the last scheduled flight of a TWA Connie in '62 or '63 from Ontario, California to Albuquerque. Sat just behind the engines over the wing. Watching those big radials crank up was magic! Flames out of the stacks, smoke everywhere, the "chug, chug, chug" of the individual cylinders firing - MAGIC. I went on to have a great aviation career spanning 40 years and 24,000 hours. The Connie will always be my favorite airplane followed by the Boeing 757 followed by the 747. Beautiful airplanes all.

My father worked Flying Tiger Air Freight out of Portland Oregon with the Super Constellations. He loved their lines and ease of loading.

I was fortunate enough to get to fly the military version, C-121, from November 1958 until sometime in late 1962 or early 1963 to best of my recollection. I’m 85 years old and that was about 60 years ago, so my memory is a little fuzzy. But I do remember what a great lady she was and how beautiful she was. She was a great plane, but she also had some unfriendly quirks too. Those Wright Turbo Compound engines were famous oil burners. The flight controls were hydraulic boosted but man-o-man, if you lost that system and you had only the manual controls with no boost, she was a real handful. When everything was working as designed, she was a pleasure to fly. Still the most beautiful piston powered transport ever built.

The Eastern Airlines Shuttle Newark (EWR) to Washington (DCA). I enjoyed sitting at a window on the leading edge of the wing looking down the throat of the exhaust on the Constilation. Always at night, I commuted for a year every weekend in the early 60's. Thanks to the Team at Lockheed.

I loved flying on the Constellation. It was the biggest, fastest and smoothest flying passenger aircraft ever made.

I was a stewardess of the "Golden Age of Flying" and the "Connie" was among others we had to take a FAA exam on.

Such a beautiful plane. The lines and body shape are unique to her. The unmistakable Connie.

Kelly Johnson holding a signboard at 5:06 is priceless.

In 1956 and 1957 my mom and I flew from LAX to KCMO and back to visit relatives. I was 6 and 7 respectively. We flew on TWA Constellation. In 1956 while flying to and from Kansas City, our pilots circled the Grand Canyon so we could view the beauty. I loved it and most others did too but my mom was airsick as the plane did encounter turbulence on this flight. I can remember going to the cockpit and shaking hands with the pilots and engineer. The seats were so comfortable and the engine hum eventually lulled me to sleep. Shortly after this flight, there was the horrific collision between the Constellation and United DC-7 where everyone died. I often think of how that could have happened to us. In 1957 TWA did not allow circling over the canyon and the pilot mentioned how they could not do it any longer. The Constellation was a beautiful plane. I flew with my Dad on DC-6 MAINLINERS on United to Honolulu and once on the Boeing 377. For a little kid who loved airplanes, the 377 was huge with the lounge/bar down stairs. We would go to the lounge where I would have a soda and my Dad a beverage. I would love to fly in a Constellation and DC-6 again for the memories. That was when the airlines gave great service and you felt safe flying because the major airlines kept up maintenance thanks to regulations and a safety mindset. Safety went by the wayside due to deregulation and airlines cutting corners. Remember Alaska Airlines in 2000 going down off the coast of California because their maintenance people were too lazy to service and inspect the jack screw on the MD 80?

As a Naval Aviator, my dad navigated Radar Pickett Constellations out of Hickam Field in 1957, When we were transfered back to Conus, we flew back in a Super G. Depending upon wind conditiions you could see the wings actually flap. My first trip in a plane at 10 was that MATS flight.

First AWACS type of aircraft. Very cool

In 1961/62 I was the Air Terminal Officer at Naval Station Keflavik, Iceland. A Connie assigned to Admiral Moore was on the tarmac near my office. I just had to see what the Admiral's plane looked like on the inside so I walked up the steps, told the armed guard at the door that my crew had cleaned the plane for the Admiral and that I wanted to check their work. He allowed to access to the aircraft.That was the only time I deliberately lied (that I remember) to get what I wanted while in the service. Was it worth it? Hell Yes!

I flew the P-3 Orion during my 21 year Navy career....Late 1990;s I had a chance to fly on a Connie during a airshow....best day of my life....:)

Glad to have flown in one at young age when all the stewardesses were looking really good. loved to see the fire come out of the exhaust and the sound perfect.

A lifetime of beautiful memories brought back. It is some 75 years since I last saw the Super Connie which was being operated between South Africa and Perth, Western Australia when I was working at Perth Airport. Their terminal was right next door to our hangar and I loved seeing them in all their beauty. Thank you for this great story. If memory serves me, the Engineer in Perth was Kyril Bolonkin, (I hope I got his name close to correct spelling) a big man who lived for the Connies.

My father was an inspector at Lockheed at the time and inspected many Connies.

My first plane ride in 65 The start up and taxi are still etched in memory. A huge event for a 7 year old kid.

OMG! that opening scene with that shiningly beautiful Super Connie about to touch down is beyond ... exciting and thrilling.

The Connie and the Comet: two most beautiful passenger aircraft ever built, and the most revolutionary in their day.

Absolutely the most beautiful aircraft ever designed and produced!

I flew on one of these in Dec 1964. I was in the Navy, on leave, and managed to hitch a ride from Memphis to Omaha Nebraska, SAC. The weather was terrible but the Connie was more than up to the job. I was only 6 months in the Navy and had the entire plane to myself until a young AF officer boarded and sat right across from me. He was a pilot and at first he just stared at me. He then began to tell me about VietNam and the unknown war being waged. (Advisory action at that time and mostly not known by the public) He told me about the men he saw killed and was very upset. He appeared to have PTSD. I guess I really didn't understand what he was saying. I have never forgotten that encounter with that young pilot and my ride on the AF Constellation. A few months later the VietNam war began in earnest.

The "Connie" was one of the greatest planes of all time. Beautiful flying machine !!

My first plane ride was in 1962, from Kansas City to San Francisco, to go to Coast Guard boot camp. Got to sit in the semi round "clipper seats" at the back, and the stewardesses made us feel like kings.

I was in a constellation at an air show once. I was amazed at how big and roomy it was. Much nicer than today's cramped airplanes. The ceiling was so high and there was so much room.

Beautiful planes!!! The curvy lines and the Triple Fins made these planes so unique... And when taking off, The sound of those mighty 3,350's just roaring was seriously awesome.... Graceful and quite fast, with the Amazing lines of a shapely woman, it is little wonder why so many people felt safe and at-home when boarding these amazing planes... It's a shame that so many of them were scrapped because of being quickly replaced by the Jet planes... But they will never be forgotten.... Thank You for posting this!!!

What an excellent programme. I had always percieved the Connie with awe and great fondness, but never realized the extent and value of the planes' performance. It was truly a @'reat Plane'

I flew 180 12 hr.Flights out of Newfoundland across the north Atlantic looking for Russian bad boys I was a radar operator from mid 59 to mid 1961 Ron 3rd class acw.

I got to hop a Navy C-121 headed home from Guam to Dallas. We lost port outboard on approach to Kwajelan so I had to catch a C-141 for the rest of my trip back stateside, but I got to ride in a Constellation, and that was 1977. Lucky me!

In 1978 I bought a ticket to fly from Isla Mujeres to Cozumel. As soon as the plane appeared in the distance, I got an ear to ear grin. It was a Connie. So I got to fly to Cozumel on a Connie for $10. It was a short but fun experience with only 5 passengers. Woohoo.

Sorry he didn't mention their use as hurricane hunters by the NAVY. Such an elegant looking plane. I only worked on one once in my NAVY service but spent many hours on the R-3350TC engines we had on the Neptunes.

Kelly Johnson is a real pioneer, from his work here to the skunkworks department...

What a classic plane !! One of my favorites along with the DC-6, B-707, DC-8 and Convair 990. Today's wide bodies have nothing to offer.

Such a beautiful design and execution of fine manufacturing by Lockheed Aviation. Still love these planes.

if only Modern airliners were this beautiful. Now everything looks the same mostly.

First job as a Lockheed engineer was refurbishing WV-2 fleet for the Navy with new electronics. Later flew on Lockheed's private airline to area 51 on Connies. Loved them.

A great series and a great episode.

A beatiful design that has earned my respect when I flew in 1957 in a Comnie to Australia . Our family was 12 people . It felt as being at home. When the whole family finally arrived in Scheyville Migrant Holding Centre near the towmship of Windsor me and a brother hitchhked all the way back to Kingston Smith Airport Sydney some 65 miles just to see her again. On the way back we slept in a policestation .The officers could hardly believe our story.. That's how much we loved "our " Connie.

I have 2500 hours on the EC-121 with the 552nd (McClellan AFB) and the 79th (Homestead AFB). The Connie was the finest 3 engine airplane ever built... and if you ever flew them more than once, you'd understand.

There are two super connies being restored in Auburn Maine. Beautiful planes sitting side-by-side. I have no idea of their service history but am now motivated to look into that. Great story well presented!!!

The Constellation series represent the most beautiful airliner EVER designed.

A true legend, masterpiece of engineering..LOCKHEED enough said..

I am Italian and my mother was working close to Rome TWA office and they gifted me with a small model of her......

Such a beautiful aircraft that it should be in the museum of modern art - if it would fit..

I have being flying 1957 the SUPER CONSTELATION TO Rio de Janeiro 1957.beautiful aircraft.never forget.Nice Video.

The peak of piston-engined airliner art.

In a biography of James Dean. He was working as an actor in NYC when he got an offer to star in a film in Hollywood. He boarded a TWA Constellation for the Coast-to-Coast trip. He slept most of the flight to the low hum of the propeller engines. Wonder. if he flew first class or coach...

I lived in South Gate CA, in the flight path to LAX. I loved watching this beautiful plane fly over when I was a kid.

As a teenager I had the opportunity to fly this plane a number of times before the jetliner came into being and it was a great aircraft to say the least

Connie, the most beautiful aircraft ever made.

I was lucky enough in 1990 to take a ride (and skydive out) on one of the last few flying Connies at a skydive convention. Worth every penny it cost.

Born in 1965 I lived in a house on the approach path to Adelaide Airport and I was always excited when the planes with three tails went overhead. Connies always had a special sound. The last time I saw one was before about '75 because we moved then. It was such an avant-garde design that I was surprised when he said that a) it was a design that reached back to before the war and b) form was simply following function. Jet airliners aren't quite the featureless triangles of jet fighters but they are brutalist by comparison to these elegant ladies.

I never realize how long the "Connie's" were kept in service within the military. It was a changing time in aviation where every other month something new was built and tried , many planes had a very short history but the Constellation and all her variants keep flying and that tell much about a airframe and performance . When I was a kid I remember civilian air carriers flying across the skys where I grew up and lots of times they flu at FL 8000, wasn't uncommon to see and hear these big birds and us kids loved it,,, Once the 707 came along that plane spotting soon faded away. One time as a kid while in the house that was in a city of about 22000 we all heard this enormous roar and all ran outdoors to see what the hell that noise was. It took about 2 seconds before getting our answer,,, The biggest aircraft I ever saw to this day come right over our home,, a big two story on a hill in the west of town. It was a B-29 at treetop level,, I swear If someone was standing on top of the chimney on out house as if fly over they could have almost touched the underbelly of this monster. I found out years later that it was a simulated attack on an military installation in a big city south and west of our town at about 70 miles.

In 1951, our family immigrated from The Netherlands to Canada by Constellation. I was a month shy of my 7th birthday; it was an unforgettable experience and ignited my love of aviation and a strong desire to learn to fly, a dream realized many years later.

I flew over 1,000 hours as a crewman on Navy EC-121M's with VQ2. Great aircraft! Beautiful lines, especially without the radar domes we had on our aircraft. When viewed from the side the fuselage kinda' resembles a dolphin. Those 3350's were very strong engines, though somewhat prone to breakage. We often came home on three engines, which really wasn't a problem!

In my humble opinion, the most beautiful piston engine Air-Liner ever to grace the skies! Thanks for sharing!:)

Back in 1960, I had the good fortune to fly on 2 DC3s and a Connie. The first DC3 was on Air Corse from Marseilles to Paris. Then, a week later, the Connie was on Air France from Paris to NYC and the second DC3 was on TWA from NYC (Idlewild) to Chicago (Midway). You always felt safe on DC3s and Connies.

In it’s time it was a great aircraft back in the 50’s! And as a kid, I had the opportunity to fly it a couple of times between the states and South America.

I flew into several hurricanes with VW-4 in the sixties and 70's. It kept me alive.

I remember watching as my mom boarded a Connie at Boston’s Logan Airport for a trip to San Francisco in 1960. I was four years old, had never been on an airplane, but my dad was a private pilot with great admiration for well-designed aircraft. It rubbed off.

Fabulous looking aircraft!

I lived in the north east SFV of L.A. during the 50s and could always recognize the Connie in the skies....Lockheed Burbank was Just around the corner. Gosh I miss those days and the 50s and 60s 😎

was a crewman on these for 3 yrs got to see coopers spash down in the pacific

I can easily blame the Connie for me having an airline career. In the early '60's my dad would take me to Kansas City Municipal Airport to watch airplanes. The TWA Connies were what caught my eye the most. I went on to fly several models of Boeings, Douglas and the Lockheed L-1011 over a 38 year career. Such a beautiful airplane.

One of my favorite "Great Planes"

A friend of mine was working on one in Switzerland for a few weeks last year. They were fabricating replacement motor mounting cradles (amazingly they are quite light). One issue they had was hanger space to store it, which is a major cost factor.

I fondly remember working the super G’s at Washington National when Eastern Air lines used them as shuttle a/c. Many a white shirt got spotted with oil from them. Most graceful looking a/c on the planet.❤

My mom traveled from Greece to NYC back in 1948 on a Connie. The plane made seven stops and took 36 hours to reach the US. Romantic and nostalgic yes, but give me a Boeing 747 any day.

Flew on Connies on the eastern shuttle in the early 1960s from D.C. to New York. Memorable for a little kid. I loved the three tails. Beautiful.

Flew in one from Kadena AFB Okinawa to the Philippines and back. Man those were the days.