Evening star., 1949-02-04
Constitution Carries
90 Across Continent
In Easy y91.Hour Hop
By ChorIes J. Yorbrouoh

The Navy has the current answer
of how to get there "fustest with
the moetest"- in this case, in
the most comfort.
That is the story of the
giant Lockheed Constitution, which
crossed the continent with a record
passenger load yesterday, riding in
bright sunshine high above the
weather all the way.
It landed at National Airport last
night, nine hours and IS minutes
after 40-second. jet-assisted take
of from Moffett Field, Calf. Its
average speed for the easy hop was
268 miles an hour and the plane
had 1000 gallons OF fuel left in
the tanks.
Today, the four-engine, pinch
wasted craft settles down to a six
month evaluation schedule to deter
mine, in the words of Rear Ad-
miral John H. Cassidy, Just how
big a transport can be, what per-
formance can be built into it and
yet have profitable future"
Admiral Cassidy, assistant chief
Of naval operations for air, was
among the u well-fed and COM
Portable passengers. The crew num-
bered 1S for this flight. I,
Largest Transport in Service.
The Constitution, which weighed
$4,000 pounds when it left the Cali
fornia runway, and is large enough
to loft three railroad cars and a
passenger bus with all the ease of
yesterdays 2,557-mile fight, still
isn't the largest transport plane ever
built. 1t is, however, the largest one
in service. The Air Force expert
mental XC-99, transport version Of
the B-36 bomber is larger, as is the
Hughes flying boat.
To the 70 passengers aboard, the
big planes speed was almost Sec
ondary to it's comfort. 1t is, in
the words of veteran bucket-seat
air travellers, plush job" with
wide aisles and sleep-inducing seats. |
There is ease of movement and
plenty of space for it.
Contrast to East Bound Hop.
Although most of the flight was
above 10000 feet, the pressurized
cabin had a pressure altitude Of
only 10000 For about IS East |
Coast news. radio and magazine |
representatives who made the trip
to the coast in four-engine trans
port, the contrast was even sharper.
They called the west-bound DC-4
the Deep Freeze" after heaters
failed west of Chicago and the
writer's completed the trip swathed
In blankets. The outside air tenn
perature at $4,000 feet was 10 de-
grees below zero.
But aboard the Constitution,
East-bound, it was as comfortable
as homeland thrice as roomy.
There were T-bone steaks for
lunch over Nevada's eastern border
at $50 miles an hour. The coffee
urns were open all tie way an6
sandwiches nipped the edge of
hunger near the end of the fight.
Passengers Applaud Pilot.
Comfort was the word to the last
landing roll. Passengers broke out
in spontaneous applause as Comdr.
William M. Collins, an ex-flghter
pilot, put the giant down on the
runway so softly that actual contact
could not be felt. .
The giant plane is one of two
built by Lockheed for the Navy at
a cost in excess Of $27 ,000. .000-a fig
ure that neither the aircraft indus
try nor commercial airlines could
handle.
Results of the Nays use OF the
two big transports will be made
available to plane builders as well
as the airlines, Admiral Cassidy said.
It can carry 1853 passengers and q
crew of l6. 1t has wing span OF
1s9 feet, an overall length OF l56
feet and tail height Of over 50 feet.
On its California takeoff yester-
day it carried 1000 gallons OF gas
oline and thirsty engines drank 1t
up at the rate Of 120 gallons per
hour per engine. Yet the coast-to-
coast hop was made at about 60 per
cent power.
The Constitution was placed in
commission by the Navy at the Ala
media, Calf, base Wednesday and
will shuttle across the continent
from Patuxent, Nd, to the West
Coast on naval passenger service
during the six-month evalutlon
study.