NEW AIR GIANT

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 42, 19 February 1943, Page 2

NEW AIR GIANT

ROARS INTO SKY

AMAZING FEATURES

(0.C.) SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 22. Into the winter sky swept a brilliant new star—Lockheed's supertransport Constellation. First of these great giants, the four-engine colossus spec! down the long eastwest runway at Lockheed Air Terminal, skipped off the concrete and zoomed upward with a surging roar. A few breath-taking seconds full throttle had written a matter-of-fact climax to two years of secret development that evolved a 60 passenger transport faster than a Japanese Zero fighter. It is an unvarnished war production take-off, emphasising as nothing else could the grim driving need for huge work planes to carry the battle swiftly to the ends of the earth. Yet it was the first significant aviation event of 1943. The Constellation is said to be the largest, speediest and most powerful land-based cargo or transport plane in the world to-day. Built along graceful lines of a fighter the craft is faster than any four-engine bomber now in service anywhere. It can cross the continent from Los Angeles to New York in less than nine hours with 60 passengers • aboard in addition to its crew, and fly to Honolulu from California under similar conditions in twelve hours. Even at half power its cruising speed is approximately 100 miles per hour faster than that of a standard airliner. Within its supercharged cabin, airdensity will remain at the 8000 ft level when the Constellation is cruising at "over-the-weather" altitudes up to 35,000 ft. So great is its power that the monster can maintain 25,000 ft on three engines and 16,500 ft on two. As for economy of operation, the plane can fly her full load hour after hour using but one gallon of gasoline per mile. One Taxi Test At the controls when the transport lifted its tricycle gear in flight were Eddie Allen, army pilot . and veteran four-engine flyer, and Milo Burcham, Lockheed test pilot, noted for his substratosphere testing of the P-38. Also in the ship'were C. L. (Kelly) Johnson, chief research engineer for the aircraft company, Rudy Thoren, Johnson's assistant, and Dick Stanton, chief mechanic. There was but one taxi test, the highlight of which was a brief blaze in one of the four engines following a backfire as the ship turned to roll back to the head of the runway. The

fire was doused quickly, and the Constellation stood ready for her maiden flight, the focal point of hundreds of eyes as workers, army guards and officials watched expectantly. Colonel Bernard Morley, on behalf of the U.S. Army Air Forces, said the army was glad to see the test and it would take many such planes when full production commenced. Upton Close, the well-known American authority on affairs of the Orient, was present and, asked for observations, he said: "I am interested in this new plane, principally as to whether it can be turned out in quantity production to supply China and keep her in the war at this very crucial moment. We have learned that China is discouraged, but if we can get these Constellations flying over the Alaska route we can fly in hundreds of tons of stuff to China and pave the way for China bombing Tokyo with these great planes. This encouragement should keep China not only in the war, but help her materially to win against Japan." While these opinions were being expressed, each engine was being "revved up" in turn. Then the four black propellers whirled as one. The Constellation shot forward, a hurtling land monster —until her propellers plucked her from the earth in an incredibly short span of runway and sent her thundering triumphantly toward the sun. In a moment she had almost vanished, only to bank in a wide turn and drone back over the terminal twice before leading following craft off toward the desert to the army airport at Muroc Dry Lake, where she landed gracefully an hour later. Debut Completed Shortly before dusk the giant craft returned to the Burbank terminal, and settled easily on the runway. Her debut was over. But war is not her ultimate destiny, nor was it so planned in her beginning. She was designed as a luxury liner for the Transcontinental and Western Airlines, a prototype of vast fleets that yet will cruise the sky-ocean in peace. Built into the Constellation is a landing speed as slow as 77 miles per hour. It has manoeuvring flaps which provide three distinct sets of performance characteristics. There are dual landing wheels for her tricycle gear, dual brakes and automatic fire control system for safety, twin superchargers to maintain air density in the pressurised cabin, deicing system and a reserve flying range in outreach storms. The plane also has exterior spot-welding on 75 per cent of her slim fuselage and 10 per cent on her wings, and interchangeability of equipment whereby a complete new power plant can be installed ready for flight in 45 minutes. In years to come she may be making periodic trips from San Francisco to New Zealand, expediting mail and passengers to America's "neighbour of the Pacific."