Lufthansa L-1649A "Super Star" Project Alive and Well

[2csonTriple7]

The Lufthansa Starliner Project is well on track.
Here are a few links.

http://http://superstar.lufthansa.com/en/restoration/high-tech.html (http://superstar.lufthansa.com/en/restoration/high-tech.html)

http://https://www.lufthansa-technik.com/super-star-news (https://www.lufthansa-technik.com/super-star-news)

http://gaahf.org/constellation/

http://http://www.conniesurvivors.com/1-lufthansa_starliner_update-2016.htm (http://www.conniesurvivors.com/1-lufthansa_starliner_update-2016.htm)

Lufthansa Lockheed L-1649A Super Star Restoration - Part 2 (http://warbirdsnews.com/warbird-restorations/lufthansa-lockheed-l-1649a-super-star-restoration-part-2.html)


They seem to have a lot of great sponsors onboard too.

[tonytales]

A truly magnificent rebuild. The thoroughness and quality is what I had seen years earlier working on Lufthansa aircraft. I worked the L-1649A while with Lockheed Air Service at KIDL /KJFK. Their Super Star'ssystems differed from the L-1049 Connies. The dual 3000-psi hydraulic system apparently borrowed some features from th L-188 Electra. It certainly leaked a lot less than the old 1700-psi system on the Connies. The engines and their QEC were basically identical to late model Connies although they had a higher prop reduction gear ratio and a different prop. The 150-foot wingspan required more care when towing.
However it certainly was the most beautiful of aircraft when one climbed away and then banked and you saw that long, thin wing. Again, kudos to Lufthansa for a wonderful job.

[2csonTriple7]

Modern looking NAV suite. Looks like they will be able to fit right into the RNAV world.

http://http://gaahf.org/2015/04/30/a-new-flightdeck-for-the-super-star/ (http://gaahf.org/2015/04/30/a-new-flightdeck-for-the-super-star/)

[bafanguy]

Modern looking NAV suite.

ABSOLUTE HERESY !!! :*

[Herod]

bafanguy. You may be right; it would be great to see it with the old panels. However, they would never get it past the regulators if they want to carry passengers. Quite apart from the question of where the navs and engineers would come from. I assume it's going to be certificated for two-crew ops.

[bafanguy]

I assume it's going to be certificated for two-crew ops.

WILL THE HERESY NEVER END ? :*

[DaveReidUK]

The Lufthansa Starliner Project is well on track

That's good to hear.

It would be even more reassuring if any of the the links in your post contained progress reports on the restoration that are more recent than 2016.

[2csonTriple7]

No 2-man ops for this Super-Complication.
The flight engineer is a must on this bird and they will usually fly with a second FE as well.

[2csonTriple7]

Try this. It's from September 2017. Is that recent enuf for-ya?

http://http://superstar.lufthansa.com/en/a-new-super-star.html (http://superstar.lufthansa.com/en/a-new-super-star.html)

[DaveReidUK]

Try this. It's from September 2017. Is that recent enuf for-ya?

Yes, that's more like it. Thanks.

[The AvgasDinosaur]

What a wonderful project, congratulations to the team.
What a crying shame that LH management didn't see fit to duplicate this effort with the Viscount they had in their training school for c40 years+ and only recently passed on to a static museum.
Full marks for setting an example to many airlines around the world.
Let's hope she's finished before Air shows become extinct, round here.
Be lucky
David
https://worldairlinenews.com/2013/10/31/lufthansa-donates-its-vickers-viscount-814-d-anaf-to-the-museum-of-technology-in-speyer-germany-will-modify-157-airbus-a320-family-aircraft/
Viscount c/n 447 operational record (http://www.vickersviscount.net/Index/VickersViscount447History.aspx)

[Herod]

No 2-man ops for this Super-Complication.
The flight engineer is a must on this bird and they will usually fly with a second FE as well.

Of course. Sloppy thinking on my part. Too many hours on jets.

[bafanguy]

This restoration is obviously a spectacular effort and project...awesome. But not "restoring" it to the state of the art when it left the factory leaves it a bit short of justice done.

These mighty airplanes deserve nothing less than respect for their origins. Isn't that why they get restored in the first place ?

Regulatory authority objections ? You can pay for a ride in some restored B17s here in the US. They have round gauges.

Here is a restored airplane (perhaps not the equal of the subject Connie). Notice the roundness of the gauges. It seems fitting:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0P5KDBdEF2Y



And perhaps F/Es are in short supply...so you make them out of energetic guys from the hangar. They've been up to their elbows in the machine and know it better than you do anyway. The young ones will be energetic enough to jump the hurdles to the license.

[DaveReidUK]

This restoration is obviously a spectacular effort and project...awesome. But not "restoring" it to the state of the art when it left the factory leaves it a bit short of justice done.

These mighty airplanes deserve nothing less than respect for their origins. Isn't that why they get restored in the first place ?

I'm ambivalent about that. Happily, I'm old enough to have seen Connies (well C-121s) flying while they were still in USN service, and I enjoyed the display by one at Farnborough a few years back.

If a glass cockpit is judged to be the best way of getting another one in the air, I guess I can just about live with that.

Incidentally, it's criminal that the Science Museum keep theirs locked away out of sight of the public, it's a lovely example albeit not airworthy.

[BEagle]

Last September I flew from Birmingham to Ljubljana via Zurich. The first sector with Swiss went fine, then after a 4 hr stopover we were taken to the Adria CRJ for the second sector, only to find that it was tits-up.

So, back to the terminal. Eventually after several hours, a light snack and a beer, we were told that a replacement aircraft had been found.

So, back on the bus and off to rather a remote part of the airport. As the bus drew to a halt, I saw a triple fin tail....and it wasn't an Avro York! Surely not? We weren't really going to fly to Ljubljana in a Connie, were we?

Sadly not - it was HB-RSC, the Breitling Super Constellation! Instead we were herded on to rather a grubby ATR operated by 'Darwin Airline', but how wonderful the Connie looked!

I note that 'Darwin Airline' went bust a few months later - whereas the Breitling Super Constellation continues to fly!

[mkenig]

The glass cockpit is to enable the Connie to fly charter into any class airport. The FE panel arrangement of gauges is getting an ergonomic redesign, but will still have steam gauges.

[treadigraph]

Have you seen the Condor that is going through a similar rebuild in Germany.
Absolutely stunningly unbelievable.

Condor? As in FW? Really...?

Edit: Blimey, hadn't head of this project (http://company.airbus.com/company/heritage/now-and-then/Days-of-the-Condor.html)... Fantastic. Shame it won't fly.

[BEagle]

About 10 years ago, I was doing some consulting work on an Airbus programme at Bremen. My colleagues told me that there was a group of elderly folk restoring 'a Focke Wulf' in one of the workshops past which we used to walk on the way from our offices to the laboratory.

I assumed they meant an Fw190 or possibly an Fw 189, but they assured me that it was, in fact, an Fw200 Condor.

Peering through the windows of the workshop didn't give many clues, but there was quite a lot of green metal worked into various shapes, so it was clear that whatever was being restored wasn't just a fable.

[ATNotts]

Can you estimate the cost of this project.
1/ Buying three aircraft.
2/ Building a hangar.
3/ Cost to restore.
4/ Cost to maintain.
Against worth of publicity gained?

Thankfully it isn't always about the money.

That said, LH Technik are using the project to train future engineers, and that obviously gives them some sort of payback.

[bafanguy]

The glass cockpit is to enable the Connie to fly charter into any class airport.

So without the fancy-shmancy nav gear, this spectacular flying machine would be denied entry to some airports in the EU if it had original equipment (VOR/ILS etc) ?

And leave the FE panel alone too ! :=

[2csonTriple7]

Lufthansa Board of Directors has decided to pull the plug on the Super Star (L1649A) project in Auburn, Maine. The restoration was begun in 2008 and, after spending a reported $200M on the project, the board has made the misguided decision to end the project, which was nearing completion.

Full article here.

Constellation News (http://www.conniesurvivors.com/1-connie_news.htm)

[Less Hair]

Chopping off the wings can't be overly helpful to bring it back to flying condition.

[Mr Mac]

Perhaps if they had not wasted so much on a "new image" which has been roundly rejected by all who have seen it there may have been something left to complete this project. I hope either their board see, some sense or another party takes it on, Mr Cruise perhaps ?

Kind regards
Mr Mac

[Less Hair]

Breitling just ended all of it's aviation sponsoring. This leaves only Red Bull and Paul Allen to hope for.

[pzu]

Ironically Lufthansa has just reported RECORD PROFITS of approx €3 billion for 2017!!!

PZU Out of Africa (Retired)

[Rodney Rotorslap]

Chopping off the wings can't be overly helpful to bring it back to flying condition.

Where does it say anything about "chopping off the wings"?

[2csonTriple7]

Lufthansa to move ?Super Star? from Auburn to Germany - Lewiston Sun Journal (http://www.sunjournal.com/lufthansa-to-move-super-star-from-auburn-to-germany/)

[2csonTriple7]

The 1649 has a one-piece wing. If they do chop it.. well then... that's all she wrote..

[DaveReidUK]

The 1649 has a one-piece wing. If they do chop it.. well then... that's all she wrote..

I suspect that the poster who made that comment is getting confused by the photos of the R7V (L-1049) that's now at Townsville.

[tonytales]

All the Connie wings from the L-49 throgh the L-1049 were attached just outboard of the fuselage to the center section wing. Don't recall how the L-1649A wing was built.

[Less Hair]

I suspect that the poster who made that comment is getting confused by the photos of the R7V (L-1049) that's now at Townsville.

No he isn't.

[DaveReidUK]

No he isn't.

Fair enough, then he must have a vivid imagination if he reckons the 1649 in question has had its wings chopped off.

[Wunwing]

The major difference between the 1049 and 1649 is the wing which was specifically designed to extend the range for the Trans Atlantic crossings.
The wing unlike all the earlier series is one piece. The only way to move the aircraft would be to separate the wing which was always transported separately during construction.


Referring to the mention of FEs. The museum operator that I was with until recently, specified 2 FEs. There are emergency procedures that require moving plumbing around in the fwd holds which is accessible in flight. Also some circuit breakers down there as well.

Wunwing

[atakacs]

although I don't have a link (yet) I have just learned that the Swiss Super Constellation (ex Breitling) has lost her caretakers association. They simply don't have the budget to maintain the aircraft.

[l.garey]

This link refers to the sad news that atakacs refers to.
https://www.superconstellation.org/fr/

Basically says the Flyers Association is being dissolved, decided on 23 April 2019. The 20 million CHF needed to restore HB-RSC has not been guaranteed.
There is a mention that this is not definitively the end of the story and efforts continue to save the situation.
Sounds a rather forlorn hope though.

Laurence

[Volume]

The wing is one piece with a center joint. Once joined, it is mounted under the fuselage by a small number of fittings only, fairly easy to separate again..You may call that 2 piece as well... But definitely no center wing box.The Flight global archive contains a nice multi pages report about the design of the L1649, don´t know the year by heart.

[atakacs]

This link refers to the sad news that atakacs refers to.
https://www.superconstellation.org/fr/

Basically says the Flyers Association is being dissolved, decided on 23 April 2019. The 20 million CHF needed to restore HB-RSC has not been guaranteed.
There is a mention that this is not definitively the end of the story and efforts continue to save the situation.
Sounds a rather forlorn hope though.


As an aside this is somewhat related to the Ju-52 crash.

During the initial investigation it turned out that there was substantial corrosion inside the wings as recovered post accident.

This prompted a review of all vintage aircrafts in Switzerland, including the Connie. And low and behold it turns out that she would also need a substantial restoration which was not really planed till then.

[atakacs]

Good news: apparently HB-RSC has found a new home (http://chrome-extension://oemmndcbldboiebfnladdacbdfmadadm/https://www.superconstellation.org/images/MV_4JUL_E.pdf) ! Let's hope they can indeed restore it to flight worthy.

[l.garey]

Thanks for that potentially good news, atakacs. I can't open the link you posted. Can you check it? Thanks

Laurence

[andyjhatton]

Thanks for that potentially good news, atakacs. I can't open the link you posted. Can you check it? Thanks

Laurence

I think it should be superconstellation DOT org/images/MV_4JUL_E.pdf

[l.garey]

Thanks Andy. That seems to work. Let's hope they manage to get RSC back in the air, but it looks as if it will be a long job.
Laurence

[atakacs]

well I don't think they would mind me copying the full press release:

Farewell, HB-RSC
The «Star of Switzerland» will be leaving Switzerland In the coming weeks, the «Star of Switzerland», will be dismantled and transported to Bremgarten, Germany. With retroactive effect to July 1, 2019, our Super Connie L-1049, including all of its inventory, will be taken over by a group of German investors. The group of aviation enthusiasts has set a goal to refurbish the Connie, and get it back into an airworthy condition. They expect it will take approximately 3 years to get the Super Constellation back into the air. The group owns several airworthy, vintage aircraft. All associated costs will be covered by the investor group as of July 1, 2019. This includes mechanic salaries, hangar rent, costs associated with aircraft disassembly and transport, as well as all spare parts and tools. The goal of the associations’ designated liquidator, Peter Manzoni, has been achieved- the SCFA will be liquidated free of debt. The available funds will be used to settle all debts and to reimburse members for unused flight credits. In spite of the boards’ tremendous commitment and dedication, a «Swiss solution» could not be reached. It was the goal of the board to restructure the aircraft wings in Switzerland and to continue operating the Connie, possibly by founding a new association. This is the hopeful conclusion of our extraordinary member assembly (extraordinary general member assembly or ao MV) held on July 4, 2019, in Olten. However, we are all joined in hopes of resuming flight operations with our Connie in Bremgarten, Germany. 26 of 50 Association members (Connie owners) were in attendance. The following is a quote of an Associate member: «we would like to extend our sincere gratitude to the liquidator, Peter Manzoni, who has found the most appropriate solution for the Super Connie and everyone involved in the project.» According to Peter Manzoni, «the new investors will not lose sight of their goal to soar the skies above Switzerland with the Super Connie once again.» We are filled with hope to hear the sound of «our Connie’s» four 18-twin-cylinder engines on the skies of Europe again someday. We hope that we will be able to see the most beautiful commercial airliner soar the skies once more. We have therefore assured the investors of our support, including our mechanics, pilots, and flight engineers. The agreement with the investor group will be signed in the coming days. The liquidator, the members of the board, as well as the association members would like to thank everyone for their faithful support and dedication over the last 15 years. It is thanks to their efforts that the Swiss history of HB-RSC was so successfully written. Passing the Connie on to the German investor group has given us an opportunity to create a solution which will allow the aircraft to remain close to Switzerland. The investors encourage everyone who has dedicated their time and effort to the Super Constellation in the past to support the project in its new form in the future. We will continue to keep you updated on the progress of the liquidation as well as the well-being of our Connie. For further information, please reference our website. Farewell, «Star of Switzerland»- we hope we will see you flying the skies again one day! Fly, Connie, fly!
Super Constellation Flyers Association in liquidation Peter Manzoni, liquidator

[01thomas]

Is there any news on the Lufthansa Starliner and it's aborted restoration?