Remarks by Jack
McKillop:"This aircraft was delivered to Eastern Air Lines
of New York, New York, USA, on November 26, 1951, Fleet Number 203.
As delivered, the aircraft was intended for overland operations and
configured to carry 88-passengers and a crew of five. Initially, the
aircraft was primarily used on the Newark, New Jersey, USA to Miami,
Florida, USA, route but by 1952, the routes had been extended to
Boston, Massachusetts, USA, and Washington, D.C., USA, to Miami.
By mid-1953, the original Wright 956C18-CA1 radial engines were
replaced with more powerful Wright 975C18-CB1 engines and the Model
Designation changed to 1049-54-67; a further modification to the
fuel management system caused the designation to change to
1049/02-54-67 by mid-1956. By 1964/65, the interior accommodations
were increased to 95-passengers.
Eastern Air Lines withdrew the aircraft for service on February 15,
1968 and placed it in storage at Opa-Locka, Florida, until it was
sold to the Aviation Corporation of America in Fort Lauderdale,
Florida, on September 30, 1968 with 42,589 hours on the airframe.
The company purchased eleven 1049s in 1968 with the intention of
using three of the aircraft for intrastate services in Florida and
the remainder would be sold or leased. A few flights were flown in
1968-69 but the aircraft were sold off; this aircraft was sold to
the Donald L. Shepard Aircraft Leasing Company of Boynton Beach,
Florida. By December 1971, this aircraft was placed in storage at
West Palm Beach, Florida. The condition of the aircraft
deteriorated and by January 1975, the radar had been removed and a
small red maple leaf added to the aircraft's outer fins.
The aircraft was scrapped at West Palm Beach International Airport,
Florida, ca. 1976."
Text from an advertisement in the September 1944 issue of Flying
magazine.
THE CONSTELLATION
The epic of flight, of man's resolute will to win the air, is still
in the making. Yet when the story is entered in the chronicles of
the future, the Constellation will signal the end of one chapter
and the beginning of another. It will be recorded then: the routine
transcontinental flight of less than sever hours, the precious
cargoes swift to the war fronts, the superior speeds and rate of
climb and load capacity. All these will be revealed and it will be
evident that in the year 1944 Lockheed's Constellation brought to
full expression all the triumphs of the pas, establishing new
standards in air transportation and setting a true course for the
designers and builders of the future.
the highest speed of any transport
longest range of any transport
biggest load-carrying capacity of any transport
greatest rate of climb of any transport
FOR NEW STANDARDS IN AIR TRANSPORTATION LOOK TO LOCKHEED FOR LEADERSHIP
Lockheed Aircraft Corporation
Burbank, California, USA
