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Thread: Flying on a Super Connie.

  1. #1
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    Default Flying on a Super Connie.

    Hi everyone,
    It is sixty four years (1957) since I flew from Abadan to London aboard a KLM super constellation. It was a very long journey. Firstly we arrived at Cairo, then on to Rome then to Muni ch, then to Amsterdām and finally London.
    Here is a very interesting video, especially if you ever flew in a super Connie.
    Click on html below.

    https://youtu.be/U6VfkKjlhXs

    Regards from,
    Fouro.

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    Default Re: Flying on a Super Connie.

    Nice Video thanks Fouro , never did get to fly in one of those , but did a few flips in the old Dakota's they were fun!
    Cheers
    Senior Site Moderator-Member and Friend of this Website

    R697530

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    Default Re: Flying on a Super Connie.

    In 1957 Runcimans started hiring Dakotas for crew changes on the continent , these were the years that started the crew change via aircraft , the old Dakotas went way past their RAF usage. They were still being used well into the 60s. Those wary of flying in those days was a good excuse to get blotto before climbing on board. JS
    R575129

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    Default Re: Flying on a Super Connie.

    When working on the west coast of Mexico on pemex charter, we would fly to Dallas and then by air Mexico to Mexico city, have a night or two in a hotel then fly to Oaxaca city by passenger jet and then fly down to Salina Cruz by unpressurized Dakota, flying lower than the mountain ranges en route. The airport at Salina Cruz was a straight stretch of tarmacked road that had been fenced off to form the runway and the plane would circle the runway whilst the airport staff, which consisted of a lady who ran the ticket desk and a couple of policemen would chase the goats and pigs that inhabited the area, away from the runway before it was safe for the plane to land!!!!!. Going home on leave was the reverse but the Dakota flight schedule was not fixed and depended very much on the weather conditions in the mountains between Salina Cruz and Oaxaca which often meant stays in a hotel in Salina Cruz whilst waiting for weather conditions to be suitable for the flight.
    Rgds
    J.A.

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    Default Re: Flying on a Super Connie.

    First flight I ever did was on a DC 3 from an airfield in Hampshire, just a grass runway that was in about 1966 going to Jersey.

    Still had the lines where the parachutes were linked up to and bloody freezing inside,
    Sat near the rear door, could see the sky from the gap all around it.
    Happy daze John in Oz.

    Life is too short to blend in.

    John Strange R737787
    World Traveller

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    Default Re: Flying on a Super Connie.

    Had 1 flight on a super connie, from Singapore to Perth in 1960. Good flight but a bit of a come down, as had flown London to Singapore on a comet.
    Last flight in a DC3 was n the NT in early 80's on a Connellan Canary Coloured Coon Carrier. Had a stop in Rose River mission and walking round the plane with the pilot, a George Washington,(and he looked the age) remarked to him that engines very clean and no signs of oil leaks. Oh dear he replied, it must all have run out.

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    Default Re: Flying on a Super Connie.

    Quote Originally Posted by Fouro View Post
    Hi everyone,
    It is sixty four years (1957) since I flew from Abadan to London aboard a KLM super constellation. It was a very long journey. Firstly we arrived at Cairo, then on to Rome then to Muni ch, then to Amsterdām and finally London.
    Here is a very interesting video, especially if you ever flew in a super Connie.
    Click on html below.

    https://youtu.be/U6VfkKjlhXs

    Regards from,
    Fouro.
    I flew in a SuperCon of QANTAS,from London to Perth (WA) in Feb '57 to join Asiatic's 'Subadar' We had 2 overnight stopovers, one in Karachi, but forget where the other was, in hotels run by the old BOAC. Trip took best part of 3 days & was very glad when we reached Perth! Good old days???
    Mike.
    Last edited by Mike Hutchins; 10th June 2021 at 10:29 PM. Reason: addition

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    Default Re: Flying on a Super Connie.

    #7 Mike the BOAC brings back memories of a friend I had out here who started life in the airline Industry a trainee accountant with Imperial Airways before they went on to grander things. Think I mentioned him in a previous post, he was also at Dunkirk as was a reserve soldier in the RASC and a driver. He finished the war as a bird colonel , that was private to colonel in five easy lessons. He was an extremely interesting man and when the whiskey bottle came out and swapping yarn for yarn he could certainly hold his own. He was also stationed in different parts of the world before settling in Australia. The Bahamas, Aden, Different parts of India, you name it he had some knowledge of most places, he went on to become I think head accountant for
    Malaysia and then Singapore Airlines and lived in Singapore for many years. One of the members of this site , think he has passed away now but not sure, who was an employee of a well known Shipping Agency, passed on certain info. appertaining to this mans family as he also worked in Singapore for a number of years. Apparently he was the son of a knight of the Realm who had also held the equivilant authority of Governor General prior to the fall of Singapore . So my friend had also had a public school education which he never implied to anyone. He died on falling out of bed many years ago aged 90, I still have feelings of remorse because at that time that evening would have been indulging in the old whiskey bottle with him, but I had had a heart scare and just out of hospital so had to go home. He caught pneumonia as lay there all night before being discovered in the morning. One meets many people during life , but only find out in their orbituaries who they really were. So just have to remember them as a good friend. JS
    R575129

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    Default Re: Flying on a Super Connie.

    Quote Originally Posted by j.sabourn View Post
    #7 Mike the BOAC brings back memories of a friend I had out here who started life in the airline IndustryHe caught pneumonia as lay there all night before being discovered in the morning. One meets many people during life , but only find out in their orbituaries who they really were. So just have to remember them as a good friend. JS
    And what a sad way to end such a life!
    Mike (R599059).
    Last edited by Doc Vernon; 12th June 2021 at 01:35 AM.

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