Friday, May 13, 2016

RC Super Constellation L 1049 | Maybe the Most Beautiful Aircraft Ever to Fly (video)

The opinion held here at the Rockhouse is clearly shared and, oh, by the way, did I say there was one Super Constellation.  Oh, no, there are two of then ... flying in formation with each other.




The Lockheed Super Constellation was made obsolete overnight for long-haul passenger service by the advent of the Boeing 707.  The 707 was the aircraft which flew us out of Australia and as relatively-small kids, we didn't even realize how cool it was.  That was our introduction to the jet age but we can look at the Constellation, often called a "Connie" by the many who loved her, my ol' Dad among them, and get wistful for that time even though we knew almost nothing about it.

Many of the large-scale RC model aircraft seem to originate in Germany so there must be a whole lot of enthusiasm for it over there.  Emphasizing again, this is no quick hobby as these birds are seriously expensive.


Ah, here's a video of the cabin of a Constellation and check out the bunks for sleeping.  This was a time of elegance which has been displaced and the bird had no chance against the Boeing 707 because her cruising speed was 311mph with a maximum of 366mph whereas the cruising speed of the 707 was 511mph.  The Constellation was obsolete the moment the 707 came to the runway.





One more which isn't related but is so ridiculously cool.  This one is a replica of an aircraft from 1929, the Dornier DO-X 1929 Giant RC Airliner ... with twelve props.

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