Super Constellation Flight with Authur Godfrey part 1

[abbafan247]

My Grandad was an engineer building the Connie!

Thanks for the vid!

[jcharlesbinder]

I'm not sure Godfrey is right about this being a super constellation flyable at 400 mph. The nose looks like it's just a regular constellation.

[AryanKnight]

~A.'Red' Godfrey Republican Radio-celebrity with daytime Nat.variety-show for years, --and an avid flier, so in this circa-1950's documentary he is promoting the notion of flying, rather than taking the popular Train in those days. The Lockheed Constellation was designed with a sleek-lined efficient lifting-fuselage by entrepreneur HowardHughes for his TWA(TransWorldAirlines); -and although most were radial-engined, the ultimate 450mph 'Connies' were those fitted with turbine R7V2-Turboprops.!!!

[Pine1000]

One the worlds most beautiful aircraft of all time.

[alanjay35]

My favorite plane

[8090alex]

boff je prefére l'a380 :)



[legenois]

Le Superconstellation, le plus bel Avion du monde.

[bigtampabear]

My dad was an aircraft mechanic for Eastern from 1954 to 1984...I remember all thses planes very well.

[Liberator74]

This is great!



[danbaumann84]

Take off power!

[aguilalatina]

Wooow men that was real fight, I knew a colombian Constellation captain from Avianca Fernando Ruiz (RIP) He told me eral stories from this eagle.

[orbits2]

TWA was part of the mob las vegas

[666Iluminatis666]

WONDERFULL VIDEO



[XBoeingCapt]

what a ham Godfrey was....on the line you didn't wear your hat while flying....what a great old airplane

[irish89055]

@XBoeingCapt Capt, I wonder what Dick Merrill really thought of Godfrey? Eddie Rickenbacker was truly a great guy... My dad met him once when he was at Eastern.  The superconnie is super..

[irish89055]

how wah ya how wah ya how wah ya??. yeah, he had a few belts before this flight..

[XBoeingCapt]

arthur godfrey was such a clown in this film..there are times when I think he was actually loaded, in the scene coming out of the cockpit, arms stretched to the overheads with his hat falling off...what a clod

[clubmyndset]

My dad was a flight engineer on the connie for many years, and I had the privilege of sitting in the Captains seat while in flight as a young boy.

[CaesarInVa]

My dad was a career naval aviator and at the tail end of his flying career he was assigned as Ops Officer to AEWRON-11, which flew Connies out of NAS Argentia, Newfoundland. After his transition training down at NAS Pax River, MD., dad and family relocated up to Newfoundland where he flew Connies from '57 through '56. He absolutely loved the Connie and always marveled over her sleek, elegant landing gear. He thought they were an engineering marvel, given the loads they carried.

[IronPump89]

this nose gear is so damn big

[carsanookdotcom]

The best aviation movie ever made. 5/5 Carsanook Magazine points.

Trust me I've seen a few.

Dr John Carsanook

Kingdom of Bangkok

[bastkrug]

just one of the most beautifulest planes ever build!

[ROCKSTARCRANE]

Simply the most beautiful airplane ever built.

[WALLYNIGHT]

hi, please where I can get off po this documentary? thanks

[flatpat]

No way were black people allowed to fly or work on those planes back in those days.

[Spiv62]

Looks like Miami MIA airport, although the say Idlewild on the radio. Then agan it was all simulated.

[bgibb101]

Fantastic! Thanks so much for posting

[oskarbider99]

Bomber Guy; thks for this wonderful film. Detail: It is Arthur Godfrey and not Authur..

[srphantom]

In 1960, I lived near LaGuardia airport In NYC and my friend and I rode our bikes out to the airport and were able to go right out to the aircraft. No terrorist threats back then. We left our bikes under an Eastern Constellation and a crewmember who was probably preflighting the aircraft, was nice enough to show us the cabin and cockpit and explain the controls....a nice man.

I will always remember how exciting it was as a 10 yr old kid to go up into the cockpit and sit at the controls.

[ford9572]

In I think Summer of 1957, My Dad, his sister & their parents flew from Boston Logan International Airport to Los Angeles International aboard a TWA Super Connie to visit relatives I think in Riverside, Dad remembers the flight being really long and boring to him and his sister so they'd periodically walk back & forth up & down the aisle until their Dad told them to, "Stop, Sit down & buckle up", "Take a nap if you want, Wake up & we'll already be there."

[topgun51]

My father flew the Super Connie between New York and London for TWA, I hated him not being at home for days at a time,but when i watch videos like this i can see why he loved his job and the Connie the way he did. Thanks for the memory.

[clubmyndset]

@topgun51 Well said. Same here my dad flew in the Navy and would be gone for weeks at a time then he went on to fly as a civilian, Same deal but maybe not quite as bad. I can certainly relate. I missed him all my life and I miss him now.

[Monrocsol]

@topgun51 My Dad used to fly them from Cuba to Bermuda to Azores, and on to Madrid.

[2129261184]

@Monrocsol I remember to see them here ate Santa Maria Azores :) Good old days :(

[Monrocsol]

@2129261184 best looking plane; like a moquito. I miss my Dad.

[shnewsman]

Arthur Godfrey reportedly had over 25,000 hours and was rated in virtually every aircraft from the Piper Cub through the Boeing 707. I got a lot of my primary flight training at Leesburg Airport, located on his sprawling estate. He had a radar and oxygen-equipped Baron; before that a Navion, Bonanza and the DC-3. He was a natural flier; many times I'd watch him turn base and roll out right on the numbers. General Aviation owes him a lot.

[youherre]

To all, this is Super, this is history in aviation. My younger trans ocean flight days are back again. At that time we flew regular with KLM. from Nw. Guinea to the Netherlands.

Regards,

Herman Siebenhaar

[steelgil]

Man thats some old school avionics!

[buffey]

Great video full of memories. A Connie was my introduction to flying, Philadelphia-Idewild (JFK)

Never made it to NY, lost #3 engine over the old Philadelphia Navy Yard and had to return to PHL

[michaelXXLF]

Is this guy drunk?

m

[BruceWLA]

ARTHUR GODFREY was type rated in constellations???? WOW I never new that

[stringtheorysucks]

Yeah he was a pilot. I believe he owned a beechcraft bonanza.

[MrJoewhiting]

mr godfrey was not rated on the connie, the plane he was in did not take flight, it was simulated. My uncle who worked with Dick Merril actually was involved in this film as the FE on the actual connie seen feathering down to one engine.

[boeingdriver525]

Eastern gave Godfrey his own C47 for the work he did for them. He once lost his licence for 6 months for buzzing the tower at Teterborough when he was ticked off with the controller.

[jmstowe]

My father flew connies they were magnificent airplains.

[mrblujet]

My Grandfather flew the Constellation for TWA for many years.

[bryrexsurfer]

@mrblujet my grandfather flew the Super Connie for TWA as well. Idlewild based. small world

[SkiMadRiverGlen]

I never knew he was a pilot!

I remember him on daytime tv sitting in a Hawaiian shirt saying "Howahya-Howahya-Howahya!"

He always portrayed an even personality on TV...

Guess that's good for a pilot.

[82abnoff]

How nice that a human like AG is a pilot. My grandmother listenned to the AG show. I did not know.

[pedr1947]

bomberguy, thanks for the memories...

in 1958 (if the film was recorded on that year) i was 11 years old and fly aboard the Super Constellation was my dream,,, thanks again for you made my dreams come true after 50 years!

Fernando Zanchetta

Sao Paulo-Brazil

[stevenreiss]

i flew in it when i was about 12 years old. that was some time ago !

[erelprivat]

I guess most of you young whipper snappers never heard of arthur godfrey..Let me the lanky gentleman at the beginning.. President of eastern airlines and FAMOUS US WW1 flying ace EDDIE RICKENBACKER!! great video!!

[turhanergin]

Cool, thanks for pointing that out. I'd read about him. I guess he was injured when one of the Eastern planes he was in crashed. I wonder if that was after this.

[erelprivat]

wikipedia EDDIE up ..fascinating life

[ruiforuifo]

Wonderfull video! Tks for sharing it!!

[tpcrb]

What a cool video.

My mom refused to fly until one day Godfrey mentioned on his TV show is was OK and safe to fly.

That was all she needed.

[workforcetrust]

The Super Conny is the most beautiful aircraft in the world. Thanks to Howard Hughes.

[louswire]

the last of the planes designed by humans and not by computers. Designed with style and beauty and grace.

[pcsbyte]

I'm Ready~!

[imallearsru]

Thanks so much for posting this, she's my favourite commercial plane. Stunningly beautiful.

[Brac1]

LOL. Love the check Captain's calm. "Whatever - it's all good" nature as the Captain is freaking out looking at his watch. Great stuff. :-) Was right next to an ex-Qantas Constellation today at the Ambeley air show in Australia - awesome aircraft.

[NewarkAce]

I Loved it - Real Guy Flick - What a beautiful bird - Loved the Eastern Eagle Icon

Thanks it was a great flight back in time

[nedmarc]

400 MPH? I thought that even the fastest Connie had a max speed of 300 MPH.

[rlthestig]

The Lockheed Super Constellation Starliner (L-1649A) has a top Speed of 377mph at 22,000 feet. Max gross weight of the this connice is 160,000lbs

This is an earlier connie I think it is a L-749. they say the gross weight of the connice in the video is 112,00lbs and that that is a full load. That is why I am thinking an L-749

[wcstflyer]

That was one of the first 1049C Constellations with the nightmare Wright 3350 turbo-compound engines. wouldn't it be fun to know what BMEP and internal temperatures they ran at 22,000 ft? For a time the airlines never went over 12,000 ft in low blower except for weather or terrain.

[696739]

Wow, haven't seen the film since I was apprentice mechanic at Eastern in '67. Glen Kiser was one of my instructors. I'm sure he's past . One great guy.

[nutsack60]

Thanks Bomberguy......Authur Godfrey was a great broadcaster and pilot....too bad the "chesterfields" got him!!! But I am glad he did this clip of the Connie, which has to be the most beautiful airplane ever made.

[irish89055]

thought that was Dick Merrill, guess that's one reason he lived to be 88, no cigs.. (check part 2) Bomber, thanks for posting...

[chrigel1234]

I'm currently building a Super Constellation simulator from original parts... visit my blog if you're interested.

hxxp.//conniesim,blogspot,com

[helmuthoorn]

Well don't forget to build in cabine-pressure failure and engine hickups, cause those were the main reasons for their unfortunate tendency to crash. Beautifull birds though.

[stevenreiss]

very bad were runaway propellers or lack of oil in the feathering mechanism. there were some nasty traps but that was in the electra and the dc 4 too.

pressurization and aileron cables as well as props where main problems - engines where slightly less of a problem in the statistic.

[helmuthoorn]

Placed this comment so long ago that I completely forgot about it. Just like the connie

[chrigel1234]

edrre ddss sxxx ferrf

[Leebm29]

I liked Arthur Godfreys show but he made a big mistake firing Julius LaRosa, Arthur started going downhill after that

[mbazell]

Except for the smoking in the cockpit, proceedures really haven't changed that much since the early 50's. I remember my first ride on a Connie from BOS-MDW in 1956. They let us kids up in the cockpit during flight in those days. Great video! Lot's of memories

[gqlf]

Thanks Bomberguy for the memories of AG and Connie!

Kerry,Ireland

[awkwarddude]

Thanks, bomberguy, for the memories! Arthur and "Connie"! Wow...made this "babyboomer" smile a mile!

[jeanlouistulou]

Thank you for posting this gem!

[shnewsman]

My first-ever flight at age 3 was in a L1049-C from Columbus, OH to DC in 1958. It was a spectacular plane for its time. I still have my "First Flight" Certificate somewhere. It was a different time back then. Here's Godfrey, PIC, leveling at FL200 then lighting up. Chesterfield paid him a bundle back then. Smoke in the cockpit today and you'll go to prison. Amazing.

[ronaldavid]

Wow! "Eddie" Rickenbacker was the President and CEO of Eastern Air Lines, and the highest scoring American Ace in World War One; The host, Arthur Godfrey, was a legend in the radio broadcasting world, a commercially rated pilot and an untiring supporter of aviation, and the pilot in the right seat is the famous Captain Dick Merrill who safely piloted a single engine Vultee VI called "Lady Peace," in the first round-trip non-stop crossing of the North Atlantic in September of 1936. - Ron David

[cheetajet]

WOW...those were the days!! Imagine TWA flew that prop plane accross the Ocean!!

[michaeluae]

Just amazing, do you know what year this was? Idlewild, the airport they departed, is now JFK - and a bit more crowded!

[fordroad]

Great posting from the front seat of a Lockheed Super Connie.