26th April 2004: Ferry flight: Camarillo - Omaha

N73544, cleared for takeoff!

At 09h45, the control tower gave the clearance to N73544 (the  former Camarillo Connie) for takeoff. Many visitors came to see the departure of the Super Constellation. N73544 released its 13,000 horsepower and was airborne on a heading towards , and then the of , . The emotions on the ground as well as in the aircraft were running high. The report of this flight will be published tomorrow.

Sponsor

A prestigious sponsor has decided to support our project. It is the well known Swiss watch house of Breitling. We are very proud and happy with the decision of Breitling and are very pleased to participate in this magnificent adventure with them.

To remove any doubt, please note that the Association is always independent and needs the support of the members to succeed with the project. The appearance of a sponsor allows us to cover a large part of the significant costs of this non-profit project.


 

Return Flight

The Super Constellation took off from on Monday April 26th at 9h45am local time (6h45pm Swiss time, 5h45pm GMT) with a destination of , for the first sector of our return flight. The arrival at is planned for 6h45pm local time (12h45pm Swiss time, 11h45pm GMT).

The flight from Omaha (Nebraska) – Mancheser (New Hampshire) is planned to depart on Tuesday April 27th at 9am local time (6pm Swiss time, 2pm GMT) and to arrive at 3:30pm local (9:30pm Swiss time, 7:30pm GMT)


 

The flight crew for the return flight

Pat ,

Pat is the pilot of the Constellation Historical Society (CHS) and has been flying the Super Constellation since 1994. He has participated in more than 120 air shows. Pat is also an aircraft mechanic on the Super Constellation.

Francisco Agullo,

President of the SCFA and initiator of the project, Francisco is an airline pilot and captain on a Boeing 757 for PrivatAir in . He is passionate about classic aircraft and has already flown the Constellation.

Ernst Frei,

New to the Super Constellation, Ernst has flown many aircraft, from the smallest to the Boeing 747 for Swissair before retiring as a captain. Ernst is equally the operations director of our Association and is a member of the SCFA committee.

Patrick Danalet,

New on the Super Constellation, Patrick is a captain on the Boeing 757 of PrivatAir in as well as acting as their flight safety manager. He participates in several administrative functions for the SCFA.

Jerry Steele,

Jerry is the flight engineer for the Constellation Historical Society (CHS) and has the highest Connie experience in the world as a flight engineer, with over 10’000 hours on the Super Constellation. Retired from the US Navy, he has flown on the Super Constellation since 1960. Jerry is also a mechanic and a specialist on the Super Constellation.

Carlos Gomez, Floride

Carlos is internationally recognized as an expert engineer on the Super Constellation. Owner of Florida Air Transport which operates a DC-7 and a DC-6, Carlos is also a flight engineer and was part of the team that ferried our first Super Constellation.

Monica Blattmann, Suisse

Monica, our chief cabin attendant, had more than 20 years experience as cabin attendant with Swissair. Monica is also an enthusiast of aviation as well as the project.


Text: Patrick Danalet

Translation: Antony Simmins