Mission with Connie

Air Classics, Sep 2000 by O'Leary, Michael

THE MAGNIFICENT CAMARILLO CONNIE DISPLAYS ITS NEW COLORS

Orbiting from our perch at 3500 feet near Camarillo airport in

southern California, George Hulett and I were able to watch a late afternoon fog bank moving in from the Pacific towards the ex-USAF interceptor base. Monitoring the tower, we heard the call "Connie cleared for takeoff." At the east end of the field, a massive cloud of dust was kicked up from the surrounding farm fields as Captain Pat Farrell opened the throttles on the four Wright R-3350-34 radials, building up 13,600horsepower for takeoff. After a deceptively short takeoff run, the Connie gracefully lifted off and skimmed the edge of the tog bank before setting up its climb to reach our previously briefed photo altitude.

The fact that his magnificent survivor of the golden age of four-engine prop liners was airborne on our 22

June flight was something of a miracle. Built at Burbank as s/n 54-0156

(Lockheed Model 1049-55-96), the aircraft comprised part of the 55 percent of the Connie production run that went to the military. Delivered on 1 November 1955, the plane became part of the Military Air Transport Service (MATS). Phased out of active USAF service in 1962, the Connie went to the Mississippi Air National Guard's 183rd Air Transport Squadron where it took the place of Fairchild C-119s. It was not uncommon for aircraft to be transferred between different Guard units and '0156's next stop was the 167th Aeromedical Transport Squadron of the West Virginia ANG.

When C-130 Hercules became available, the C-121 C was retired in 1972 and flown to Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona, for storage and eventual disposal. There seemed to be little use for the craft but Aviation Specialties at Falcon Field, Mesa, Arizona, had other ideas. The company had the last surviving example of a Boeing 307 Stratoliner in its possession and a deal was worked out to obtain the C-121 C in trade for the 307 in what probably goes down as the dumbest trade in aviation history. The company had no love for the rare and rotund former airliner - they wanted to convert it to a fire bomber to join their fleet of B-17 Flying Fortresses. However, they also had a need for a large acreage sprayer so the 307 went to the National Air and Space Museum (it is now at Boeing in Seattle where it is being completely restored) and Aviation Specialties got the Super Connie which received the civil registration N73544.

On arrival at Falcon Field, the aircraft was gutted of military equipment, a huge tank was added inside the fuselage and spray bars were rigged on the wings. For the next six years, the triple-tail transport made money attacking the spruce bud

worm population but maintenance was minimal and the craft's condition headed downhill.

The plane was flown to nearby Chandler Memorial Airfield in 1982 for a far-fetched plan to use two exUSAF Cannier an tours of the Grand Canyon. Nothing came of That and the plane was flown to Chino in March 1983 where it was halfpainted by a group of house painters. In Late 1983, it waS purchased by Daryoush "Benny Younesi and a partner for their Winkey's Fish Company. The plan was to haul Tuna from the Philippines to the sushi-mad Japanese in Tokyo. The company had two Connies and one actually made a few trips before being impounded in 1988 cat Manila where it now sits sinking into the tarmac.

N73544 remained firmly on the ground at Chino until 15 January 1984 when Frank Butorac and Archer Ward steered the beast to Camarillo Approaching Camarillo, one of the R-3350s was feathered while another started to burn. It was an eventful flight. Once on the ground: the craft was pushed to a remote end of the field and simply left.

Its condition steadily went downhill and it appeared that the scrapman would be a visitor. However: in 1991, Benny formed the Constellation Historical Society and gathered a dedicated band of volunteers who eventually beat the Connie back into flying condition their hard work coming to fruition on 23 June 1994 when Frank Butoric and Chuck Grant completed a successful test flight. Since then, the aircraft has constantly been improved upon and our June test flight was to capture the aircraft in its new scheme with large United States of America titling ors the fuselage. The aircraft was flying from Camarillo to Van Nuys for that field's annual airshow and the Connie was a big hit, taking in lots of needed revenue from T-shirt sales and tours. Currently, the Constellation Historical Society plans to visit more shows and is working on plans for an aerial tour of the UK and Europe during the summer of 2001.