CV990 From , joined Dec 1969, posts, RR: Reply 1, posted (9 years 2 months 6 days 18 hours ago) and read 1166 times:
Hi!
Yes you're right, TWA was infact the largest operator of the Connie. They had:
C-69, L049, L749, L749A, L1049, L1049G, L1049H and L1649
But there were other large operators, KLM, Air France were among the biggest too. KLM operated: L049, L749, L749A, L1049C, L1049E, L1049G and L1049H. Air France operated: L049, L749, L1049C, L1049G and L1649.
Regards
Aussie747 From Australia, joined Aug 2003, 1161 posts, RR: 0 Reply 2, posted (9 years 2 months 6 days 17 hours ago) and read 1134 times:
Qantas too had one of the largest connie fleets. The most it had at any one time was 16 Connies / Super Connies and that was in 1958 on the eve of Qantas getting it's 707's. Overall it had operated approx 30 Connies / Super Connies not at the same time (source "from the dawn of aviation: The Qantas Story")
Canoecarrier From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 2657 posts, RR: 12 Reply 3, posted (9 years 2 months 6 days 16 hours ago) and read 1106 times:
I saw this earlier and was going to say that Quatas probably had a large fleet of Connies. However, I wasn't exactly sure of the fleet size. I knew they had at least 10 to provide service from the US to Sydney.
There is a great documentary on Discovery Wings about a Connie some Av. enthusiasts found in the desert, that was repainted by Lockheed, and flown to Sydney. If you see it on the air it's really worth your time.
A little trivia, the reason for the tri tail, is that TWA's hangers wouldn't fit a Connie with a single tail, it would be too tall, so they designed it to fit TWA's hangers with the tri tail.
Milesrich From United States of America, joined Jul 2003, 1855 posts, RR: 7 Reply 5, posted (9 years 2 months 6 days 11 hours ago) and read 988 times:
TWA had by and far the largest Connie Fleet. Prior to the introduction of 707's in 1959, with the exception of the Martin 404, their entire passenger fleet was made up of Constellations: 049's, 749's, 1049's, 1049G's and H's. and 1649's, over 120 aircraft in 1959. Eastern had less than half that number in their fleet at its Connie peak. No no US airline even came close to those numbers.
Isitsafenow From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 4984 posts, RR: 26 Reply 7, posted (9 years 2 months 6 days 5 hours ago) and read 887 times:
TWA...bought a total of 172 connies, not all of course, in service at the same time, AF 62, EA 79, Pan am and Panair Do Brasil 53 . My connie book says 23 total to Qantas. Others to Air India, Lufthansa, Flying Tiger and Trans Canada to name most.
I have two connie books and no where is mentioned of the TWA hanger/triple tail story. That's a myth. The tri-tail was chosen after experimenting with a twin tail like the B-24 bomber had. When the plane was fitted with the flaps, directional stability improved as did directional control and the plane required little trim when the flaps and gear was down.
safe
If two people agree on EVERYTHING, then one isn't necessary.
Sponsor Message: 
From Canada, joined Jan 2004, 716 posts, 
From , joined Dec 1969, posts, 
From Australia, joined Aug 2003, 1161 posts, 
From United States of America, joined Feb 2004, 2657 posts, 
From Netherlands, joined Jan 2002, 1983 posts, 
Printer friendly format 
