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It was a gradual game, with some spectacular shows in between.As you’ll see in this painfully long discussion, “engineering” in an airline means a lot more than you think.On February 20, 1935, Leland S. Andrews and H. B. Snead had flown their single-engined Vultee transport from Los Angeles to Washington in 10 hr. 22 min. at an average speed of 221.6 m.p.h. And on January 19, 1937, Hughes himself piloted a specially-designed plane from Burbank to Newark, N. J., in 7 hr. 28 min., making the crossing at an average speed of 327 m.p.h.That seemed about the irreducible minimum until the Constellation [and, a few weeks later, a Mustang] came along.Powered by turbo compound Wright 18-cylinder twin-row radials of various sizes and horsepowers, the Super Connies loomed large on Lockheed’s drawing boards in 1943 in comparison with the DC-3.But Lockheed’s war work with Hudson bombers, the P-38 and later the jet P-80s slowed and sometimes stopped the Constellation’s development. It was 1950 before a worthy competitor for the Douglas DC-4 rolled off the line.The Connie and its competitor, the DC-7, were the final refinements of piston-powered airliners. Their top speed touched 260 knots with a range of 3,041 nm at cruise, which was to make them useful long after the major airlines replaced them with jets.The Connie stood up well against the Douglas DC-7.With about 100 more seats and about 170 knots more speed, it was the Boeing 707 that erased the existence of piston-engine airliners.In the last days of piston airliners, only a true ramp expert could distinguish a DC-6 from a DC-7, but a Connie was clearly a Connie, and was never called anything else.▲On April 17, 1944, TWA's new Lockheed Constellation hung up the record of 6 hours 58 minutes for non-stop flight, Burbank, Calif., to Washington, D. C. Average speed: 330.17 M.P.H. Constellations, developed for Transcontinental and Western Air Lines by Lockheed, will carry 57 passengers coast-to-coast on regular nine-hour flights, or fly to London or Paris overnight after the end of the war.— Advertisement in 1944.▲Demonstrating big plane's capacity, this scene will be repeated in peacetime service when 57 passengers can ride comfortably in Constellation-type planes. — Advertisement in 1944.▲In this cockpit, TWA's Jack Frye and Howard Hughes piloted Constellation to a new record.IT IS early Sunday evening, April 16. Howard Hughes and TWA President Jack Frye decide that tomorrow is the day.Edward J. Minser, TWA meteorologist, has predicted favorable weather.Orders go to make the plane ready.It stands out on the field at Burbank, Calif., looking like a gigantic streamlined whale with wings, its back humping as though it is about to dive.The triple-ruddered tail helps identify it as the Lockheed Constellation, world’s largest land-based transport plane.Crew members and passengers are instructed to be aboard at three a.m. Pacific War Time, Monday, April 17.All hands are on deck an hour before take-off.Field lights cut through the darkness.The ground crew services the craft.Hughes climbs into the cockpit, takes his place behind the pilot’s controls on the left side.Frye moves into the copilot’s seat on the right. C. L. Glover, radioman, slides into his spot behind Hughes. R. L. Proctor, flight engineer, takes his post behind Frye.Howard Bolton, navigator, goes into his compartment on the left side of the plane directly behind the cockpit.At precisely 3:57 a.m. the Constellation starts rolling down the runway. Exactly 6 hrs. 57 min. 51 sec. later, at 1:54:51 p.m. Eastern War Time, the plane is over Washington National Airport.A new transcontinental record has been set.The estimated 2,300-mile trip was accomplished at an unofficial average speed of 331.6 m.p.h. The Constellation was operating at only 65 per cent of its maximum power.Eight hours before the Constellation took off from Burbank, a TWA DC-3 took off from Los Angeles on a scheduled commercial flight to New York. It arrived in New York three hours after the Constellation had landed in Washington.The Constellation carried 17 persons on its record flight. It had luxury accommodations for 43 more. It could have carried 100 soldiers with full equipment.Frye said: “It was not a speed test. We came over in normal cruising power.”Further, flying conditions were not perfect. The flight started in darkness. A couple of detours were necessary to skirt restricted Army areas. Some “weather,” including light icing conditions, made it necessary for the plane to veer slightly off the Great Circle route.The Constellation cruises with nearly the speed of a Lightning, can outrun a Jap Zero. It is powered by the same 18-cylinder Wright Cyclone, 2,200-H.P. being used on the new Boeing Superfortress. Its flush riveting reduces drag; its triple rudders give it great stability. It is maneuverable and as simple to service as a DC-3.Twelve passengers accompanied the five crew members on the memorable trans-continental trip. They were L. J. Chiappino, Leo Baron, Robert L. Loomis, Edward J. Minser, Richard De Campo (who relieved Proctor as flight engineer at the half-way point), Lee Spruill and Orville R. Olson, all of TWA; Richard Stanton, R. L. Thoren and Thomas Watkins of Lockheed; S. J. Solomon, chairman of the Airlines’ Committee on Post-war Aviation Policy, and Lieut. Col. C. A. Shoop of the Army Air Forces.Let us make the record-smashing trip with them.They have plenty of room in the big plane. There are quarters for four extra crew members. Behind these, on the right side, is a cargo compartment. A diagonal aisle separates it from the radio equipment room on the left side of the plane. Behind these two compartments is the passenger section.The passengers have their choice of seats. On the left side is a row of 16 “bench” seats. On the right are 11 blocks of back-to-back seats, each block accommodating four passengers—a total of 44. To the rear are galleys. Thi one on the left contains a coffee-heater, a food jug and a thermos; that on the right has a refrigerator and drinking water. Behind the two galleys are the two rest rooms.At 3:57 a.m., the Constellation starts rolling down the runway. In seconds, Hughes has it off the ground, climbing swiftly and smoothly. The field lights fade from sight.At 15,000 feet, Hughes levels her off. The passengers chat casually. Bunks are made up for those few who feel the need of sleep.Less than an hour after take-off the lights of Needles, Calif., wink below the left wing of the Constellation. (Fast trains usually require 11 hours to cover the same distance.) Minutes later, Kingman, Ariz., comes into view.Only a few years ago transport planes had to stop here to refuel on the Los Angeles to Winslow, Ariz., run.The sky is still clear. The weather at this point is CAVU—ceiling and visibility unlimited. But a “front” is expected ahead.Dawn breaks shortly after five a.m. as the Constellation roars toward Winslow.Some of the dozing passengers stir. Olson and Watkins heat coffee. Breakfast is served in packed boxes—orange juice, fruit, cereal, sweet rolls, coffee and milk. Loomis goes up front to relieve Frye, who comes back for a bite to eat.The sun breaks over the horizon. Minutes later Winslow is left behind.The Constellation swings north. Just south of Durango, Colo., a bit of weather forms up. Clouds appear for the first time. Updrafts bounce the Constellation slightly. Light icing conditions develop near Wichita.Hughes takes the plane up to about 19,000 feet.Above, the sky is a deep blue. Below there is a solid mass of clouds. The ground won’t be sighted again until near Cincinnati. Outside, the temperature is below zero, but inside the passengers are in shirt-sleeves. The Constellation passes south of Kansas City and goes over Butler and St. Louis. East of St. Louis brisk tail winds push the plane along. She is crowding 400 m.p.h. and keeps it up to Cincinnati.The clouds below are breaking apart. Frye, who took over the controls somewhere over Kansas, brings the plane down a bit and levels off at 16,000 feet. The descent is scheduled to start just east of Cincinnati but thunderstorms are reported over the Alleghenies. Instead, the descent starts at Elkins, W. Va.Soon, Frye has the plane down to 7,000 feet.Somewhere near Cumberland, Md., there is the first evidence of excitement within the plane. Someone remarks that if Washington can be reached within 10 minutes, the Constellation will have a new transcontinental record.Up front, Frye and Hughes are not aware of this. But less than 10 minutes later, Frye circles Washington’s National Airport and guns across the finish line. Newsmen below clock the finish at 1: 54:51 p.m. (EWT), but when Hughes steps out and hears the news, he is astounded: “I forgot to wind my watch,” he admits sheepishly.The Constellation is the new cross-country champ―6 hr. 57 min. 51 sec.▲Hurtling cross-country at an average speed of 35.5 m.p.h., TWA is sleek new Lockheed Constellation arrives at the Washington airport Monday, April 17, 1944 with a new record of 6 hours and 58 minutes. This largest transport plane in the world has been turned over to the Army for whom it can carry 100 soldiers with full equipment.— 1944 Lockheed Press Release.▲AC Spark Plugs took out an ad in Flying Magazine Oct 1944 on the occasion of the flight.If the world were at peace, the Constellation—and many planes like it—doubtless would have been in coast-to-coast passenger service. This was part of the Hughes-Frye idea when they first conceived the plane five years earlier. TWA originally contracted with Lockheed for 40 Constellations but turned the contracts over to the Army when war started.The pressurized cabin of the Constellation is an important advantage for carrying men who, as a rule, cannot take high altitudes. The rate of change of pressure in the Constellation cabin can be adjusted so that the plane can ascend or descend at 2,000 feet per minute while the cabin pressure changes only at the rate of 500 feet per minute.The Constellation is able to get into and out of small fields. At sea level, its 8,800 h.p. will permit take-offs from a runway of less than 1,500 feet. Its landing speed is less than 80 m.p.h. and flaps make it possible for the craft to stop in a remarkably short space.Some idea of the tremendous size of the Constellation can be gained from these statistics: From wing tip to wing tip, it spans 123 feet. Its overall length is 95 feet—nearly one-third the length of a football field. Its overall fuselage height (static) is 18.8 feet and a 12-foot unloading carriage is necessary to get passengers into and out of the plane.It can carry a payload of 14 tons.There is enough radio and electric wiring in the plane for 31 homes of six rooms each. In all, there are 2,500 separate wires with a total length of 35,000 feet—nearly seven miles.The interphone system consists of stations for pilot, co-pilot, engineer, radio operator, navigator, cabin entrance door, at every nacelle and at external battery receptacles.It has nearly a mile and half of metal tubing with 1,500 separate tubing assem1blies.About 1,500 square feet of Alclad were needed for the plane, together with 650 pounds of dry paint primer.The Constellation can lift its 80,000 pounds to an altitude of better than 30,000 feet. With one engine cut, the plane can achieve an altitude of 25,000 and it can take off and cruise to 16,500 feet on only two engines. Each engine is controllable by either pilot and adjustable from the flight station by the engineer.Each unit packs 2,200 h.p. into a 55-inch diameter and has a nose section specially designed to permit use of a close-fitting cowl to decrease air resistance further. The 55-inch diameter is the same as that of the original nine-cylinder Cyclone which was introduced in 1927 with a rating of only 525 h.p. Each engine weighs just fractionally over one pound per horsepower.▲Wright Turbo-Compound engine ad: 1957. This was the last airline big piston.Wright engineers designed a special gear reduction system—with what is probably the lowest ratio (less than half of crankshaft speed) ever used on any aircraft engine.The propellers are Hamilton Standard hydromatics.In designing the power plant installation, special emphasis was placed on maintenance and serviceability. It is possible to make a complete erigine installation in about 28 minutes.Two-speed gear-driven superchargers begin operation the moment the plane leaves the ground. TWA estimates that the unusual economy of operation reduces existing mile costs by 20 per cent.Exhaustive wind tunnel and laboratory tests made the performance of the Constellation a certainty long before it ever left the ground. These tests were worked out in such minute detail that the actual test flights were routine.Principal test stages in the development of the Constellation:1. Wind tunnel to test speed, take-off, load and control characteristics.2. Laboratory tests of the hydraulic, control, flap and landing gear systems.3. Engine flight tests.4. Actual flights.A nine-foot model complete with running engines was set up in the wind tunnel, simulating actual test-flying conditions. Power effects were noted with one, two and three engines out. Wing flap settings were tested.An exact duplicate of the hydraulic and control systems was set up in the laboratory. This included cockpit controls and a control stand. Four Ford motors drove the hydraulic engines, making it possible to simulate landings and take-offs.Flying in cold weather was simulated through use of cold boxes. Experiments showed the systems could operate at a temperature of 70°.There were on-the-ground endurance tests for the various parts. Each part was put through a severe trial―500 hours of simulated flying time with full deflection of controls at short intervals. These 500 hours of testing represented thousands of hours of actual flying since, in actual flight, all controls are moved rarely or, at best, gradually.The power plants were run through three sets of tests, with Wright engineers working at the Lockheed plant on all engine problems.The tunnel model was set up to test air flow through each engine and determine whether the cooling flaps were effective.Test block experiments followed, then two complete power plants were mounted on a Ventura frame so that whatever “bugs” there were could be worked out of the engines before they went into the Constellation.Fuel consumption, engine performance and virtually all other problems were worked out in these tests.Then came the first actual test flights on the first Constellation, predecessor of the one which made the cross-country journey.Before Constellation I took off, a water ballast system was installed to simulate all types of loading conditions.This system consisted of 17 tanks, with 130 gallons capacity each, distributed throughout the plane to represent loads and connected with pipes and valves which made it possible to shift loads in flight with the turn of a hand.The first actual test flights with Constellation I were made January 9, 1943. Six test flights were made that day—three by Lockheed’s Milo Burcham and three by the late Eddie Allen of Boeing who noted after his turn at the controls: “This thing works so perfect you don’t need me around anymore.”United States peacetime service Constellations will be used primarily for speedy, deluxe travel passenger service capable of flying from New York to Los Angeles in 10 hours with one stop along the way—or approximately nine hours or less non-stop with full load. TWA estimates that the Constellation, carrying 50 passengers and baggage in peacetime service and allowing for intermediate stops, would fly from Washington to London in 13½hours, Washington to Honolulu in 18 hours, to Tokyo in 28 hours, Moscow in 19½hours, Manila in 35 hours, Melbourne in 42 hours, Chungking in 35¼hours and Paris in 14½ hours.Peering into the not-too-distant future, Frye predicts that planes of the Constellation class will be hauling all types of cargo to all parts of the world in peace-time commercial service, and at rates to fit middle income pocketbooks. He expects TWA will have at least 40 Constellations in service within five years after the war.The Connies are nearly all gone now. They were one of the first modern airliners and the last to be piston powered.Constellations had four of the biggest radial engines ever made, and three rudders. Their pressurized fuselage was curved as gracefully as a lady’s leg.Lockheed first made Connies for TWA, back when Howard Hughes had a lot to say. First known as the Lockheed L-049, she was a 1940 design built to compete with Boeing’s pressurized Stratoliner. For her maiden flight, in January 1943, she made a nonstop coast-to-coast run in seven hours. Most airliners couldn’t do that then.But the common man never enjoyed the new Lockheed, unless he was in uniform. All production went to the military, as the C-69 transport.During the war, Lockheed stretched its design with a 16-foot plug in the fuselage and gave the airplane a greater wingspan and bigger engines.The competition was now the Douglas DC-4. Wright and Pratt & Whitney kept building bigger radials, to keep pace with the growth of four-engine transports and the B-29 Superfortress.Douglas entered the postwar period with its DC-6.Lockheed, now building the L-649, named its new airliner the Constellation. Pilots called it Connie.Pratt & Whitney went for more cylinders to gain more power, and built a complicated radial that had four banks of seven cylinders. Wright opted for two banks of nine cylinders. Its R-3350, with six-inch pistons, got almost as much power as Pratt & Whitney’s engine. The Wright was used in wartime B-29s, but was unloved by crews because it had a reputation for catching fire.By 1950 Wright had revised the R-3350 into a turbo compound engine, its exhaust spinning the turbo, which fed power back to the crankshaft through fluid couplers. Takeoff horsepower rose to 3,400 H.P. from 2,800 H.P., thereby reaching that elusive goal of engineers—one horsepower per cubic inch. And the fires abated.Then the jets arrived.Overnight, engines changed.▲P&W JT3 engine receiving I,200-hour over-haul. American, for one, expects this to climb to 3,000 hours. —1960 pictureBritish jet transports were the unchallenged first to race the sun along the world’s commercial air routes, a modest new effort began to get United States development out of the doldrums. They lost the first round; they had no chance of participating in the beginning of turbine-powered air transportation.The de Havilland Comet, which British Overseas Airways Corporation went into passenger service in the spring of 1952—slicing in half many present scheduled flying times—enjoyed two years of freedom from competitive types.There stood the Comet stood one day in August 1951, its clean form silhouetted against the impressive terminal at Karachi—London 4,545 miles and 11 flying hours behind.Such proving-flight times became commonplace for the so-called Comet I, powered by four Ghost engines of 5,000 pounds thrust, of which BOAC purchased nine. Speed and range were to be boosted upward in the Comet II, to have four Avon engines of 6,500 pounds thrust, and BOAC had 11 of these on order. Comets carried from 36 to 48 passengers.Use of Comets on New York-Bermuda and New York-Nassau routes was 18 months away and, because the Comet II was yet to be developed, transatlantic operations into New York were not likely until 1954.BOAC also contemplated round-the-world operations including, apparently, a segment crossing North America which would link with services of another Comet customer, British Commonwealth Pacific Airlines.“Britain,” said Sir Miles Thomas, BOAC Chairman, “is after world leadership and we’re going to get it.”Turbine-powered designs to be produced in the US were expected to have superior performance to the 490-mile-an-hour British ship. The air world stood now at the threshold of 500-mile-an-hour speeds with all they meant, potentially, to business, recreational habits and international relations.Views of manufacturers and airline operators varied widely on the question of when American turbine-powered aircraft would come into general use.One uncannily good prophet, Frederick B. Rentschler, chairman of United Aircraft Corporation, said replacement of current types will not take place until more is known about the relative merits of jets and turbo-props.“Early indications appear to favor the propeller-turbine,” he said, “not only for range and economy but because of its inherent operational characteristics.”It will take three years to know definitely, and consequently a start on current fleet replacement is five years away, Rentschler said.Jet passenger service began in the United States in the late 1950s with the introduction of Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 airliners.▲Donald W. Douglas, Jr. and Sr.Pan American introduced overseas flights on 707s in October 1958. National Airlines soon began domestic jet service using a 707 borrowed from Pan Am. American Airlines opened domestic jet service with its own 707s in January 1959. Delta and United began flying DC-8s later that year.▲TWA started flying jets in the 1950s, starting with the revolutionary Boeing 707.British de Havilland D.H. 106 Comets and Soviet Tupolev Tu-104s had entered service earlier. But 707s and DC-8s were bigger, faster, had greater range, and proved more profitable.“THEY are the most efficient airplanes we have ever operated.”So said C. R. Smith, president of American Airlines, about the jetliners that are rapidly becoming the mainstay of the airline industry.And he was echoing the general enthusiasm for the big, new planes and their dependable powerplants.They’d been in operation for nearly two years, time enough for a realistic appraisal of their worth by both the traveling public and the airlines themselves.The public responded by flying in ever-increasing numbers.And the consensus among industry spokesmen seemed unanimous: the commercial jet age is turning out to be even better than expected.The key to this eager acceptance was reliability.The new planes established a standard of in-flight dependability that the Federal Aviation Agency labeled “unprecedented in airline history.”TWA and Continental, for instance, chalked up 99.8 per cent completion of schedules in 1959 with their Boeing 707s.And all jet carriers stated that they were operating their jetliners between eight and nine hours a day, seven days a week.That hasn’t been significantly bettered today.