In Australian Service – Constellation

If a beauty contest were to be held for airliners, The Lockheed Constellation family would have to be the front runners. The fine lines of the series were a familiar sight around the world in the era before the introduction of the big jets.

Design work commenced in June 1939, under the control of Chief Engineer Hall L. Hibbard. Only six months earlier, on January 27, another famous aircraft from the same team, the P-38 Lightning, had taken to the air for the first time. Although there may not seem to be any direct connection, the wing design of the Constellation was in fact based on that of the Lightning.

Transcontinental and Western Air (TWA) had approached Lockheed with a requirement for a 40-seat four-engined airliner to carry a 6000 lb payload over 3500 miles at a speed of 250-300 mph at an altitude of approximately 20,000 feet. Lockheed started doing their sums and commenced the design of an aircraft using the 2200 hp Wright R-3350 Cyclone 18 as the powerplant with a maximum take-off weight of 72,000 lb and maximum landing weight of 65,000 lb. Known initially as the Model 49, it began to take shape.

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