More info here, second paragraph... http://www.conniesurvivors.com/1-connie_news.htm
You have to see the tail. In its day it was the iconic airliner. Mad Magazine did a bit on "updated" constellation names, and Cygnus the Swan became Constellation the Constellation ... very witty.
I put in many hours on Connies during the Vietnam War. We had EC 121’s, electronic countermeasures, with a bunch of spooks on board. It was not pressurized so rarely went above 12,000 feet but it was very, very comfortable to fly on. We had a galley with a cook, best food I ate in VN. Our missions were 8 1/2 hours each and I flew nearly every day out of Danang Air Base. P-3’s replaced the Connies but were a lousy replacement from a comfort point of view.
It will make the trip just fine; it was built when America was still American.
When I returned stateside from Japan and was separated from active duty in the Regular Army in July 1961, I flew home to Pennsyltucky from Oakland, CA in a Super-G Constellation. In its day, a very fine aircraft. One of my favorites, however, for aesthetic external beauty and for flight comfort is the Lockheed
L-1011 wide body.
The new Boeing 787 Dreamliner that debutted on Tuesday is a sweet-looking aircraft, as well.
The Constellation has to be one of the best looking airplanes ever built. Just gorgeous lines and curves.
That museum in McMinnville is really shaping up as something pretty spectacular. It’s becoming like the Smithsonian of the West.