PC Pilot’s Richard Benedikz relives the golden age of air travel with a classic Connie.
A2A Simulations has, for some years, been making high-quality general aviation and historic aircraft addons that take realism to another level. Its latest release focuses on a different genre, taking us on a journey back in time to the dawn of airline travel with the iconic Lockheed L-049 Constellation. Affectionately known as the ‘Connie’, the aircraft harks back to 1939 when Howard Hughes, the owner of Transcontinental & Western Air (which later changed its name to Trans World Airlines [TWA]) made a deal with Californian manufacturer Lockheed to build a 40-seat airliner capable of flying non-stop coast-to-coast. Hughes had a very special design in mind. The aircraft had to be sleek and distinctive while incorporating new technologies such as electric de-icing and hydraulically assisted controls.
It was to be equipped with supercharged Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclones, the most powerful engines available at the time, giving the aircraft a cruising speed of 340mph (547km/h), while a pressurised cabin would enable it to fly above the weather in smoother air.
But plans to put the type into civilian service were frus…
