ights, there would be one crew
from Australia to Singapore,
one crew from Singapore
to Karachi and a third from
Karachi to London.”
Until the advent of Qantas jet
services from 1959, the Super
Constellations were considered
premium airliners and had
an enviable reputation with
passengers and ight crews.
Capt Darwell added: “At the
time the Constellation was a
very modern aircraft. It was
fully pressurised and could y
at 23,000ft, so above most of
the weather. It was a frontline
international aircraft and on par
with the DC-6 and DC-7.”LOSING FAVOUR
The Super Constellation formed the
backbone of the Qantas international service
throughout the 1950s, recognised as a
reliable and comfortable way to y.
While the airline couldn’t eclipse the
low-cost advantage of its ocean liner rivals,
the type introduced a range of services
that paved the way for Qantas’ eventual
domination of international transportation to
and from Australia.
In 1958, the Boeing 707 made its rst
commercial ight when Pan Am ew it across
the North Atlantic. The jet revolutionised
travel and within months had started to
dominate air itineraries in the Northern
Hemisphere.
In late 1959 Qantas became the rst non-
American customer to acquire the 707 when
its rst aircraft, a 707-138, arrived at Sydney
Airport. It was much faster than the Super
Constellation and ew higher, avoiding the
turbulent air that often affected piston-driven
aircraft.
Passengers fell in love with jet travel as
the 707 replaced Super Constellations on
the longest routes, but the ‘Connie’ found
continued employment on shorter trips well
into the 1960s.
David Crotty said: “The Boeing 707
immediately replaced the Super Constellation
on the Kangaroo and Southern Cross routesin 1959. The Super Constellations continued
on the Wallaby Route until 1963 alongside the
Lockheed Electra, but did not operate alongside
the Boeing 707 on Qantas routes due to the
performance disparity between the two aircraft.”
From the early 1960s the company’s
promotions emphasised the bene ts of
jet travel, particularly speed, quietness
and passenger comfort, and the Super
Constellation eet slowly retired – to be
replaced by the 707 as well as the newer,
quieter Lockheed Electra turboprop.
In their nal years of service, the
remaining Super Constellations were used
for emigrant services, the airline nally
establishing a stronghold in this market.
“Increasingly after 1959, the 1049 eet was
used for charter and migrant ights, with one
of the nal services in 1963 bringing a group
of new migrants from Malta to Australia,”
Crotty explained.
“The nal scheduled Qantas Super
Constellation passenger service was own
on the Wallaby Route, arriving in Sydney from
Johannesburg on April 19,1963.”
The departure of the last ‘Super Connie’,
VH-EAG, was marked by a farewell ramp
ceremony at Mascot, New South Wales, wherea sign made for the event
read: “Farewell EAG. Very
good performance. Held her
reputation. Entered service rst.
Always reliable. Going out last.”PR ESERVATION
The Constellation was absent
from Australian skies for more
than 30 years until the arrival
of a C-121, a military transport
version of the type, in 1996.
Registered VH-EAG in honour
of Qantas’ last aircraft, and
resplendent in its livery, it
proudly wears the name
Southern Preservation and is
nicknamed ‘Connie’.
Saved from an Arizona
boneyard, it had been used
by American forces until the
founder of the Historical Aircraft Restoration
Society (HARS), Bob De La Hunty, stumbled
upon it while sourcing spare parts for an
already preserved Lockheed P-2 Neptune.
De La Hunty was well aware of the
Constellation’s signi cance to Australia’s
aviation and believed it was worthy of being
saved.
“We built a volunteer team to refurbish the
aircraft and bring it to Australia. Restoration
work was undertaken in the grounds of the
Pima Air & Space Museum, Tucson and took
ve years,” he explained.
“The work on the Constellation was
enormous. Qantas supported us, but it was
still very costly as we had to fund 16,000
man-hours and 47 team trips to the US,
which each took around two weeks. We
raised over AU$800,000 to fund the work.”
The restored aircraft left Tucson on
January 24, 1996, arriving in Australia on
February 3. Today it’s the last airworthy
example of its type. Based at the HARS
facility at Illawarra Regional Airport (WOL), it’s
regularly seen at air shows across Australia
and the world.
Visitors to HARS can inspect the
interior, which has been restored to Qantas
Constellation speci cations, and learn rst-
hand what made the Lockheed Constellation
a game changer for Australian aviation.46 Aviation News incorporating Jets March 2018The ight deck of the HARS Constellation
shows the instruments and dials from the
analogue age. Chris FrameThe HARS Connie makes a smoky start. Mark Keech42-46_prop_quantasDC.mfDC.mfDC.mf.indd 46 02/02/2018 13:23