A Lockheed Super Constellation similar to those flown by Qantas Airways in the 1940s and 1950s will be making the long trek from Manila to outback Queensland after finding a new home at the Qantas Founders Museum.
The museum acquired the Super Constellation, which had been grounded for the past 25 years, at a recent auction of old aircraft organised by the Manila International Airport Authority.
Previously used by World Fish and Agriculture Inc to transport fish cargo, the aircraft is not airworthy and will be transported first by ship then onwards to the museum’s location at Longreach, Queensland, by road.
The Qantas Founders Museum said the timing of the various stages of the project were still being determined.
The museum said the Super Constellation was “an iconic aircraft in the history of Qantas and Australian aviation” and its chief executive Tony Martin was confident it would prove a big attraction.
“In the past, Qantas Founders Museum has experienced a growth in visitor numbers of 10–20 per cent as a result of a new aircraft being added to its collection such as the inclusion of the Boeing 707 in June 2007,” Martin said in a statement on Monday.
“We hope the Super Constellation will exceed or mirror this.”
The museum has identified a number of iconic Qantas aircraft it should have in its collection so we are delighted to finally have the Super Constellation as part of our museum.”
Highlights of the Constellation in Qantas colours:
- Constellation operated Qantas Kangaroo route air services between London and Sydney from 1947
- Constellation was the first Qantas aircraft to feature flight hostesses, and the first pressurised aircraft operated by Qantas.
- Super Constellation operated the first Qantas trans-Pacific air service in 1954
- Super Constellations in Qantas colours operated first ever regular round-the-world air services via both hemispheres in 1958
(Source: Qantas Founders Museum)
