Celebrating 100 Years of Flight
|
 |
On December 17, 2003, we celebrated the first 100 years of powered flight with celebrations across the United States to commemorate the first flight of the Wright Flyer. While major air shows and static displays were happening at these various locations, I was in the middle of meetings in Los Angeles, just outside of Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). I didn’t expect the tempo of LAX to be disrupted with its own 100-year celebration, but as I gazed out the window during one meeting, I spotted a Lockheed Constellation touching down on runway 25R. It was evidently as late to the celebration as I was! One of my colleagues mentioned that LAX was having a static display at their Imperial Air Terminal (named after its location off of Imperial Highway at the southwest corner of LAX). It was time to grab the camera and get into the celebration!
The
Imperial Air Terminal is now a museum open to the public to showcase the
now 75 years of operations. Inside are numerous photo exhibits and even
a nicely restored T-6 cockpit in its ‘original’ configuration.
For this event, a large section of tarmac was cordoned off and the ‘VIP’
aircraft were brought in to represent each generation of air transport
that operated from LAX. On hand was a Ford Tri-Motor, Douglas DC-3, Lockheed
Constellation, Boeing 720B, and Boeing 747. In light of the security issues
of having the public out on the ramp, there was plenty of security on-site,
but my hat is off to that team as they were able to keep everything under
control without imposing restrictions on the spectators.
The
Ford Tri-Motor was my first stop, as I was fascinated with what I saw.
Not only was this aircraft kept in immaculate condition (it is used for
tourist flights) but I started picking out the various modifications that
have crept into the airframe. It was like looking at the aftermath of
Tim Allen meets the Tri-Motor. The aircraft sported three pristine radial
engines turning three-bladed propellers – I could already hear the
Tim Allen grunt and the cry for more horsepower. It was evident that the
nose had been rebuilt and a new cockpit enclosure designed to improve
visibility. The amazement doesn’t stop there, it was clear that
the aircraft had a new tail wheel that raises the tail higher off the
ground and further improving forward visibility on the ground. The banner
tow hook on the tail wheel strut is a nice touch – I can’t
imagine a tri-motored banner tow aircraft… The final and probably
most significant improvement is the vertical stabilizer. It is much larger
with more modern aerodynamics to provide ample directional stability in
the event of engine failure, and yes, it is still corrugated. While I
didn’t go inside the aircraft, it was clear that cockpit and interior
were also brought up to date as well. This aircraft is an interesting
blend of nostalgia and state-of-the-art safety rolled into one beautiful
airframe.
The
next stop on my tour was the Douglas DC-3. This aircraft has been kept
in pristine condition and still flies passengers on special tour flights.
The exterior and interior are virtually the same as when the aircraft
was still in mainline service. The exception is the cockpit which, like
the Tri-Motor, has been modernized to operate safely in controlled airspace
in all weather conditions.
  |
Next
on the air tour was the huge Lockheed Constellation. Actually this aircraft
is a C-121C that was restored and is operated out of Camarillo, CA and
is one of only a few airworthy Connies left in the world. The aircraft
displays serial number 4175 on the side, which turns out to be its contract
serial number, which in turn translates into USAF serial number 54-156.
According to my references, many of the aircraft in this production batch,
including possibly this one, were modified into EC-121C and EC-121S configurations.
For a closer look at this aircraft, I’ll be posting walkarounds
of all of these aircraft up on cybermodeler.com.
Honeywell
brought their test aircraft, a Boeing 720B, over from it’s Phoenix,
AZ facility for the display to represent the Boeing 707 generation of
aircraft. Formerly a Northwest Airlines passenger aircraft, today the
airframe serves as an airborne testbed for Honeywell’s latest technologies,
including their AS900 series of turbine engines which are mounted to the
test pylon on the starboard side of the nose.
Last
but certainly not least, Qantas provided one of their 747-400ER’s
for the display. As I was walking around near the end of the day to photograph
this aircraft, the service crews were already starting to gather around
the aircraft to begin loading supplies for its evening trip back down
under. It was a doubly awesome to be walking around this aircraft as not
only is this the biggest and newest aircraft that Boeing offers in its
long-range catalog, but it is equally rare to be able to walk around a
line aircraft in this day and age.
The
day ended with the Ford Tri-Motor, DC-3 and Connie all departing back
to their respective homedromes. The 720B was no-doubt ferried out later
in the evening, while the 747 was towed across the field to its gate and
awaiting passengers.
In all, while perhaps small in comparison to many of the celebrations around the country, this double commemoration for LAX – 100 years of flight and 75 years of LAX operations, was a very well done event and if you’re in the area, stop by the Imperial Air Museum for a look at the unique history behind the airport that is now internationally known by its airport trigraph – LAX.
