Cool, Little Project

[david wild]

Rantoul, IL to Birmingham, AL Southern Museum of Flight. F-101 Voodoo

[Red Horse]

Nice but easy move-check the network news tonight-TWA Constellation southbound from Maine to NYC today. News I saw was an aerial of it on I-495 going through MA.  No tail of course.  That 3 rudder assembly was a load in itself.  I think the fuselage is like around 105'

[70mackMB]

Bob, WBZ channel 4 says the truck got a flat tire near your house. You didn't toss anything out on Rt 495 did ya?     .....Hippy

[41chevy]

Going to be a cocktail bar at JFK airport. I don't drink but I'd like to go into it when open.

[david wild]

  Never to be out done, there is one plane left intact at Rantoul, big bad C133, we are working with client who wishes to be unknown at this time, same idea, restaurant or such, we moved a B25 out there also but the C133 is the one I really want, we will see what happens, I think it might end up in FL. maybe new home for Mickey and friends. ???? got some pics. of concrete plant that we moved from CA. to MI. and yes the old Mack went to CA. came out with OD load, so much for CA. not giving permits to old trucks. CHP even visited site before we left, more BS from people that know nothing.    

[kscarbel2]

14 hours ago, Red Horse said:

Nice but easy move-check the network news tonight-TWA Constellation southbound from Maine to NYC today. News I saw was an aerial of it on I-495 going through MA.  No tail of course.  That 3 rudder assembly was a load in itself.  I think the fuselage is like around 105'

A classic Connie should be restored and flying, a symbol of America's aviation history, not broken apart to be a cocktail lounge.

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[mrsmackpaul]

Im pretty sure there is air worthy amd flying connie at Longreach air museum that was used on the Kangaroo hop as it was known (London Sydney) back in its day

And John Travolta also had one paunted QANTA's colours

 

Paul 

[Vladislav]

I remember from news in the past that John Travolta donated his big Boeing to some Australian aviation museum. If the memory serves it was 707 or 737 and it was originally in service in some Australian company.

David - that little project seemed little indeed. Until you see it loaded on a low boy Hope you didn't need that special tool to remove the wings.

[kscarbel2]

1 hour ago, Vladislav said:

I remember from news in the past that John Travolta donated his big Boeing to some Australian aviation museum. If the memory serves it was 707 or 737 and it was originally in service in some Australian company.

David - that little project seemed little indeed. Until you see it loaded on a low boy Hope you didn't need that special tool to remove the wings.

https://www.flyingmag.com/john-travolta-donates-his-boeing-707-to-australian-museum

[41chevy]

Six flyable or certifiable in the U.S. One in Switzerland carries (passengers), one in Netherlands, one in Germany (Lufthansa) and one in Australia. All flying except the one in Netherlands. It flew there and ended up in a theme park. T%hey are both Connies and Super Connies.

Edited October 12, 2018 by 41chevy

[harrybarbon]

We visited Longreach, Queensland, 2015, there is the amphibious biplane, the Qantas 707 that was converted to a private jet, used by Michael Jackson and other entertainers used, the interior remains as converted for private use, all dark wood and various rooms, very basic  - it was sitting at an airfield in England for many years wasting away and a group of former and then current Qantas pilots and engineers worked for more than 6 months to get it air worthy for flight to Australia, it flew from UK to Canada across USA and John Travolta flew his Qantas 707 side by side on the flight to LA, then it flew to Sydney and later to Longreach where it remains today.

The Qantas 747 - 200 remains exactly as it was retired as a complete passenger jet, nothing has been altered nor removed, it's flight to Longreach required precise planning for fuel load and weather conditions for the flight because the short runway, every foot of the runway was used for it's final flight.

The other plane is a DC3 and it has no seats because it's interior was converted for freight work.

There was a Qantas Super Connie that was based I recall at the Richmond air base out of Sydney or the outer Brisbane air base, which was restored by a group of Qantas pilots and engineers some time before 2007, this Connie was at the 2007 Avalon Australia air show, I went into this Connie at the 2007 show and spoke to Qantas pilots and engineers who operated this Connie. There is no information where this Connie is today, maybe the foundation that owned it has sold it and now it is no longer in Australia. It had the flying kangaroo on the rudders and inside it was fitted out with the Qantas livery, all seats and catering equipment, complete as original.

41 Chevy do you know any information of where this Connie may be located today?

And there is a salvaged Connie (from Manila) that is being restored at Longreach, there is no information to indicate that this Connie will be a flying aircraft.

None of the Longreach aircraft have flown since they were taken/flown to Longreach.

 

 

 

[harrybarbon]

An update, I checked the web site www.hars.org.au and found this is the museum located at Albion Park 1 hour south of Sydney, it was and continues to be the owner of the Connie and yes it continues to fly. John Travolta has donated his 707 to HARS.

Interesting site for aircraft followers to do some reading

[Quickfarms]

[quote post="407692" timestamp="1539266545" CHP even visited site before we left, more BS from people that know nothing.    


What did they do to you?

I had them complain about oil vapor coming out of the slober tube at an inspection one time.

[david wild]

No special tools for this one, just good old American made snap on, I keep the Mig tools locked up to many people have eyed them, by the way Vlad I found the Mig tools in Ireland ????    and CHP did nothing looked around  saw we were removing all the rocks, units had new tires and we put light bars on and left, 4 days of picking rocks and a big compressor to blow the dirt and cement out, got into needles at 10 pm and slid out in the morning, got more crap in OK. than anyplace else, DOT claimed we needed escorts for interstate, then finally admitted he never read our permits.     

[41chevy]

11 hours ago, harrybarbon said:

41 Chevy do you know any information of where this Connie may be located today?
 

 

Like the Catalina, whats the story on it?

Connie VJ-EAG was last with the Historic Aircraft Restoration Society - in the standard livery at Albion Park Regional Airport, April 29, 2016.

Edited October 13, 2018 by 41chevy

[gxbxc]

I always liked the Connie when I was a kid ,to bad the jets replaced it so soon TWA had the most and flew them the longest I think. President Eisenhower had one back in the  early fifties. Saw one at National airport in 1964, 

[41chevy]

31 minutes ago, gxbxc said:

I always liked the Connie when I was a kid ,to bad the jets replaced it so soon TWA had the most and flew them the longest I think. President Eisenhower had one back in the  early fifties. Saw one at National airport in 1964, 

Eisenhower had two.  Columbine II and III. USAF held on to it until 1968 when it was sold for scrap.

Constellation was a former presidential aircraft. In the years to come, Christler would team up with his son, Lockie, and other family members to restore Columbine II. Harry Oliver joined the effort in 1989, and remains a co-owner today. By 1990, the aircraft had been restored to flying condition, standard Air Force livery removed in favor of the presidential paint scheme. Columbine II was flown to various events commemorating Eisenhower’s 100th birthday in 1990, and joined a few airshows in 1991. Oliver and Lockie Christler have tried for years to find a buyer, or a museum willing to trade for the aircraft, but it stirred little interest until recently. Brett Crowley, Lockie’s nephew and the late Mel’s grandson, said active discussions are under way with the Air Mobility Command Museum in Dover, Del., that may give Columbine II a new home if the particulars can be worked out.

The owners hope to once again restore the aircraft, now stored on an airfield in Tuscon, Ariz., to flying condition, and secure a ferry permit to bring it east “She needs to fly at least one more time,” Brett said.

Tim said making the aircraft airworthy may be a challenge: It basically needs an annual, he said—one that could cost about $200,000. (His brother Brett was a little more optimistic about the extent of required work.)

Columbine III, which replaced Columbine II in 1954 as the primary presidential aircraft, is today in the collection of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force in Dayton, Ohio. It was the last propeller-driven presidential aircraft, giving way to the Boeing 707 under President John F. Kennedy. The Air Force began using the “Air Force One” call sign in the 1950s to avoid confusion with airlines operating with similar call signs. It is not clear which of the two Columbines were first flown under the now-famous call sign that indicates an aircraft has the president on board. It is well-established, however, that Eisenhower used Columbine II on several occasions, a fact that Mel impressed on his grandson in 1989, when Brett Eisenhower visited the aircraft during a vacation from military school.

The quintet caught the eye of Mel Christler in 1970. Christler operated Christler Flying Service, and was building up a fleet of aerial sprayers to win a government contract to eradicate fire ants. Columbine II had been fitted with landing gear designed for the larger Super Constellation, and was used for spare parts to keep the other four flying.

“It appears that the military let loose of it by mistake,” Christler’s grandson, Tim Crowley, said.

The constellations, according to a recollection written by Christler and provided by the family, were not well-suited to distributing the dry fire ant bait, but came into their own during Canada’s battle against the Spruce Budworm, and in American efforts to control grasshoppers. Eisenhower’s former ride stayed on the ground, slowly being stripped of parts.

In 1980, a call from the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum alerted Christler that his “spares” Constellation was a former presidential aircraft. In the years to come, Christler would team up with his son, Lockie, and other family members to restore Columbine II. Harry Oliver joined the effort in 1989, and remains a co-owner today. By 1990, the aircraft had been restored to flying condition, standard Air Force livery removed in favor of the presidential paint scheme. Columbine II was flown to various events.

 

 

NOW

 

Edited October 13, 2018 by 41chevy

[gxbxc]

Eisenhower  also had a two engine Aero comander that used to fly him to Gettysburg and other short hops, I remember a picyure of him on the plane next to a cornfiield   don't know if it was on his farm or someplace else

[kscarbel2]

1 hour ago, gxbxc said:

Eisenhower  also had a two engine Aero comander that used to fly him to Gettysburg and other short hops, I remember a picyure of him on the plane next to a cornfiield   don't know if it was on his farm or someplace else

http://airportjournals.com/ikes-aero-commander/

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[Vladislav]

23 hours ago, david wild said:

No special tools for this one, just good old American made snap on, I keep the Mig tools locked up to many people have eyed them, by the way Vlad I found the Mig tools in Ireland ???? 

From where I'm sitting it only surprizes me you could find them somewhere. And now I know whom to ask for if anyone would pay interest in the future.