This video (below) reminded me how The Super ‘Connie’ was one of the extraordinary airplanes that I used to watch land and takeoff at our local airport when I was a boy. It helped inspire my interest in one day becoming an airline pilot. Here are some short excerpts from my memories in “Uplift – A Pilot’s Journey.”:
“…Then the deep roar of an arriving Lockheed Super Constellation assailed us, its four huge radial engines spitting and popping as this elegant aircraft rumbled up and parked. If jet fumes were perfume, then engine noises were a pure symphony to my twelve-year-old senses. We watched with fascination as ramp crews swarmed the plane and passengers disembarked. We waited expectantly for the moment when the uniformed pilots would emerge from the aircraft’s main door, stride confidently down the stairs and cross the ramp into the office below us. A few minutes later they’d reappear to begin their preparations for another departure…”
“…A puff of black smoke and a pop and rumble and then more smoke and the propeller would accelerate into a flashing blur of silver in the sparkling sun. Finally, the engine would roar once and settle into a steady idle. The procedure was repeated three more times, adding to the glorious soundscape. “
“…Later that night—unable to sleep, sitting up in bed, still excited— I would re-enact the entire sequence, playing the part of the captain while producing a full array of engine sounds—but softly as to escape my mother’s detection and her reminders to “Go to sleep!””
The Wings Stayed On! 