Actor's use of Connie draws flak [John Travolta and Save-A-Connie]

The Kansas City Star ^ | Wednesday, February 11, 2004 | MIKE McGRAW

[TroutStalker]

I'm sorry to see the Save-A-Connie group involved in controversy, but it appears that even they make exceptions for celebrity.

I was working in another part of town on Friday, or I would have seen Connie take off. Her flight path is right over my back yard and you can hear her coming in time to go out and watch. Really awesome!

[Little Pig]

Didn't this plane belong to Travolta originally anyway? I thought he donated it to the museum. He was planning to give it to the Smithsonian, and the museum approached him and told him they'd keep it flying, so he gave it to them instead.

[boomop1]

There must be hundreds of EC-121s in the bone yard shoot save all of them they would have connies coming out of their wazoo.

[TroutStalker]

The museum's Connie was built in 1958, one of the last to come off Lockheed's assembly line in Burbank, Calif., but was never used by TWA.

It was originally acquired by another airline and later hauled cargo during the Vietnam War. The plane was found abandoned near Mesa, Ariz., in 1986. The discovery sparked the formation of Save-A-Connie, which restored the plane and decorated it in TWA livery.

Geldersma said Travolta, an expert pilot who once owned a Constellation

[Kirkwood]

Travolta's never going to make a donation now! Someone just ticked off because they either didn't get to fly or didn't get to meet Travolta. I was with one of the largest flying museums in the US for a few years and this kind of in-fighting about who gets to fly and when went on constantly. When an influential outsider comes in asking to hop aboard on the next flight, it gets 10 times worse.

[azcap]

Here's a tip for the people who run non-profit aviation museums and restoration groups. If a multi-millionaire aviation enthusiasts stops by your place, give him a ride on anything he wants. If he wants to drive your wifes Miata - give him the keys.

[Little Pig]

This is what I get for not reading the whole article. He did donate his Connie to a museum though.

[ClearCase_guy]

You've got it exactly right. Travolta should not be seen as a "celebrity" who gets special treatment but as a weathy philanthropist who will consider making a donation. Many non-profits (universities, etc.) give red carpet treatment to the rich. Why? They want money. There's nothing wrong with it -- unless you want all the non-profits in the world to dry up and go away.

Does Bill Gates have an honorary degree from any university? He does? Shocking!!!! Why would they do that???? Oh, yeah, publicity and resulting charitable contributions. Carry on.

[TroutStalker]

I guess I agree with you on that, afterall it isn't a government agency. But what if he wants to drive your wife?

[B4Ranch]

This is a picture of the aircraft which I made mty 1st cross country flight on. Sat up in the cockpit with the pilots for about an hour! What a way to thrill a young boy.

Specifications:
Lockheed Model 1049H "Super Constellation"
Dimensions:
Wing span:	Wing Span: 123 ft 0 in (37.49 m)
Length:	Length: 113 ft 7 in (34.60 m)
Height:	Height: 24 ft 9 in (7.52 m)
Wing Area:	1,650 sq ft (153.29 m²)
Weights:
Empty:	70,083 lbs (31,789 kg)
Gross:	109,530 lbs (49,681 kg)
Maximum T/O:	137,500 lbs (62,368 kg)
Performance:
Maximum Speed:	366 mph (589 kph)
Cruising Speed:	314 mph (505 kph)
Service Ceiling:	23,200 ft (7,071 m)
Range (max fuel):	4,760 miles (7,660 km)
Range (max payload):	2,880 miles (4,634 km)
Powerplant:
Four Wright Cyclone R-3350-988TC18EA-2 Turbo-Compound Engines Rated @ 3,400 Hp (2,535.38 Kw) each

Want to listen to a fly-over?
Turn the sound up until your desk vibrates for the "real thing"!

[TroutStalker]

Sat up in the cockpit with the pilots for about an hour! What a way to thrill a young boy.

Do you like Gladiator movies?

[Stone Mountain]

I see Rags is a boy dog... : )

[B4Ranch]

I have no idea what they are.

[TroutStalker]

From the movie "Airplane", the pilot (Peter Graves), asks kids visiting the cockpit if they like Gladiator movies, and other (homo)sexually suggestive remarks. ;-)

[GodBlessRonaldReagan]

"Have you ever seen a grown man naked?"

"Do you like Turkish prison movies?"

[Buck W.]

...just don't call me Shirley.

[alfa6]

Good afternoon TS, Shoot I can hear them 13,000 horses just about any time they fire that sucker up. I live right off the approach to the north/south runway at Downtown airport.

I still think that there has not been a prettier airliner made.

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[alfa6]

Hey TS, got any spare change laying around???

Check this thread out

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1076002/posts

Would that look cool in your front yard or what? I would put it in mine but I ain't got the room :-(

Regards

alfa6 ;>}

[TroutStalker]

Looks like fun:

Yeah, I guess you do get more notice on Connie's departure than me. It never fails to excite me when I see it. Think they'd take us somewhere on it?

[Criminal Number 18F]

AMARC doesn't keep sheenry all that long. EC-121s have been shipped out to museums, or turned into aluminium foil and cookie trays.

Here is a current and reasonably accurate world Connie census. It even has the wrecks at Sao Tome (they were flying arms to Biafran rebels in the early seventies and have been abandoned since the collapse of the Ibo insurgency there):

http://www.oldprops.f9.co.uk/Constellation%20census.htm

Here's some general information on AMARC: http://www.go.to/AMARC taken from a book about it.

Here's the official site: http://www.dm.af.mil/AMARC/

d.o.l.

Criminal Number 18F