BASIC INFORMATION ABOUT LOCKHEED R6V CONSTITUTION
The Lockheed R6V Constitution was a large, propeller-driven, double-decker transport aircraft, developed as a long-range, high-capacity transport and airliner for the U.S. Navy and Pan Am. Only two of the aircraft were ever built, both prototypes. Although these two planes went into service with the U.S. Navy, the Constitution design ultimately proved underpowered and too large for practical airline use at the time. The first Constitution made its first flight on November 9, 1946. The second Constitution first flew on June 9, 1948.
The U.S. Navy operated the two Constitutions through the end of the 1940s and into the 1950s. By 1949 the U.S. Navy announced that it could no longer afford to operate them, and offered them to airlines on a five-year lease. There was no interest from airlines in using the Constitutions, so the U.S. Navy retired both aircraft in 1953. They went into storage at NAS Litchfield Park, Arizona in 1955. Both aircraft and 13 spare engines were sold. The first Constitution was brought to Las Vegas, where it served as an enormous billboard for Alamo Airways, before being scrapped. The second Constitution was flown to Opa-Locka Airport, Florida, where it was damaged by an internal fire. It was stored on the airfield until the mid-1970s, then was towed to an empty lot several miles from the airport. There were plans to convert it to a restaurant and museum theme park. The project never materialized, and the airplane was destroyed due to lack of funding and pressure from the city to have it removed.
RELATED LINKS FOR FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT LOCKHEED R6V CONSTITUTION
WIKIPEDIA ARTICLE ABOUT LOCKHEED R6V CONSTITUTION
Lockheed R6V Constitution - MAIN PAGE
AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURERS - MAIN PAGE