Maiden Flight of the Constellation

Finally after a three year period of near total secrecy, on January 9, 1943, the Constellation made its maiden flight. This occurred at the Lockheed Airport runway in Burbank California among a throng of company employees and spectators. This first Connie was supposed to be decked out in all of the interior luxurious appointments for passenger travel, but as we have already covered, the plane was outfitted and painted in Army camouflage colors ready for war service.

 

 

January 1943 issue of The Skyliner Magazine announcing the maiden

flight results that occurred on January 9, 1943

 

 

The prototype XC-69 before it was designated C-69.

Notice the P-38 Lightening’s in the background.

(Lockheed image)

 

First Constellation painted in Army drab designated C-69

ready for maiden flight.

(Lockheed image)

 

 

The first official flight test for the Constellation was re-designated C-69. It was a plane beautiful in form as well as function. The rounded and tapered shape of the fuselage resembled a wing airfoil for low drag. First flight went so well that five more flights were performed the first day. Below is the test crew that spent months at the Lockheed assembly plant getting familiar with the new super planes systems and all the required details during its production. After the maiden flight this crew spent weeks flying the plane on the West Coast.

 

 

 

 

The First Connie crew included – Captain Lawrence J. Chiappino with more than 2.25-million air miles to his credit. He was a line pilot for TWA since 1930 and graduated from the University of California in 1927. He went directly to Army flying school at Brooke and Kelly Field, San Antonio, Texas. He returned to California in 1928 and became a flying instructor at the Palo Alto School of Aviation and later was a pilot for Western Air Express. Captain Robert L. Loomis was the first officer, a TWA employee since 1940. Edward T. Bolton was the chief navigator who in his younger days circled the globe 8 times at sea. Once he came ashore he studied aerial navigation and eventually became assistant chief navigator in September, 1942, the same year he joined TWA. Orville R. Olson was the second officer. He joined TWA in 1937 and advanced to assistant chief clerk. He received his flight training under the CPT program and became second officer with the International Division in 1942. Chief Flight engineer Richard de Campo joined TWA in 1935 as a mechanic at Newark, NJ and also was a flight engineer on TWA’s fleet of Stratoliners. Flight engineer R.L. Proctor joined TWA in 1935 as a mechanic and also became flight engineer aboard Stratoliners during their commercial operations. Radio officer Charles L. Glover joined TWA in 1942. He had flown 250,000 miles aboard the Stratoliners during their operations for the Air Transport Command.

 

 

 

Above is a description of the flight from two TWA employees that were aboard from Burbank to Las Vegas. They were Kenneth R. Rearwin and Jay M. Jackson, both thrilled. Jackson states that after riding DC-3’s he felt he was in another world aboard the Connie with its smooth ride.

 

At the time, the new Constellation with its four 2000hp Wright engines could propel the big 80,000 pound plane over 340 mph at just 65% power at 19,000 feet, faster than any war bird of its time. And it could land on runways shorter in length down to 77 mph!

 

 

Jack Frye (left) and Paul Richter (center) are looking pretty happy about the new Constellations performance after landing in the #2 plane in Las Vegas. By the following Monday Jack will have piloted the Connie on its historic non-stop flight to National Airport in Washington DC.

 

 

Next up – The Historic first commercial Flight of the Connie

 

Images courtesy WHMCKC