Contrary to legend, billionaire industrialist, film-maker and aviator Howard Hughes did not personally design the Constellation. As a majority shareholder in Transcontinental and Western Airlines (TWA), however, Hughes did have a major influence on its layout and performance.
At a secret June 1939 meeting in a Beverly Hills hotel, Hughes and TWA head Jack L Frye met Lockheed executives, including the company’s president, vice president and its chief research engineer, Clarence L ‘Kelly’ Johnson. Together, they refined the specifications of Lockheed’s L-44 design to achieve transcontinental range with 20 passengers in sleeper compartments, while flying 100mph (160km/h) faster and 10,000ft (3,048m) higher than the current market leader, the Douglas DC-3. The key was pressurisation, which first appeared on an American aircraft with Lockheed’s XC-35 in 1937. Boeing’s 307 was the first pressurised airliner in service, but was built in limited numbers. The Constellation was the first with pressurisation to see widespread service.
Bankrolled by Hughes, TWA placed an $18m order. Pan American Airways ordered 40 of the L-049 initial production model (now named Constellation in line with a Lockheed tradition for astronomical names…
