My friends and I had been waiting weeks for the MATS Constellation to come for a visit at the American Airpower Museum in Farmingdale Long Island. We were supposed to be here the week before but the plane did not show up due to a hurricane warning. My friend was going for a ride and I was going to take pictures. The day before his ride, the Connie had already arrived. When we realized this we were both in the car within 15-20 minutes with empty memory cards and full batteries for our cameras. For some weird reason I made it to Farmingdale in record time.

    Upon arrival we realized that the Museum was not open to the public for another few hours.  So we decided to sneak in.  We found ourselves on the ramp with the C-47/DC-3 that was filming a show called “Paratroopers”, for the History Channel.

    The Mats was blocked in by the DC-3. The Connie would turn out to be the loudest prop I ever heard. We watched as the press went on an off. As we watched and listened I kept murmuring to my friend, “We’re going to get in trouble”! He would look at me and say, “Sit tight”. Than he would look away, smiling with great satisfaction. As it turns out, it was press day and we were not supposed to be there. As you could gather, we stayed anyway.  During the day we listened to the most amazing stories.  We heard people reminiscing to reporters, “I remember the first time I lost an engine in this Connie….”  Followed by “and this plane has 4 engines?” and "a jet is faster than a propeller aircraft, right?" We couldn’t believe our ears.  Here they were experiencing what was to be a great day in aviation history and the reporter had no idea what he was talking about.

 After a little while, I got up the nerve to go up to the C-47/DC-3 and took some pictures.

   I climbed up on the stairs and asked the director if I take some quick shots.  He had no idea who I was but with a wide smile said, “No problem”. I found it amazing how nice everyone was to us. My friend and I then got to take some shots of the interior of the Connie. We were smiling from ear to ear.

    Stepping onto this bird was like stepping into a time machine.  The thick musty smell of the oil that burned was incredible.  Looking towards the rear of the aircraft I saw the aft pressure bulkhead that I have only seen in pictures, until now.  It was hidden 5 feet behind curtains where they now use the space for the memorabilia they sell.  Turning around I saw two by two seating that stopped at the wings.  Walking forward there was a step down as you made your way towards the flight deck.  Looking to the right I could not help but notice a very large engine that was cut away to show the visitors how the engine worked.  Very large posters were hung in frames all around the forward section of the fuselage.   When I reached the flight deck, it was empty.  I thought to myself, “Life is good”!

    I took about 30 shots but it was dimly lit and I knew that most of the shots would be blurred.  We hung around the flight deck for about 2 minutes but it seemed much longer.  As I was looking around, I remember seeing a second set of throttles by the engineer’s station and thinking, “Wow, I got to see this cockpit up close and personal”.

    Walking back out, I saw a bunch of guys standing around the left main gear.  As it turned out, the Connie needed to have the #2 Generator removed because it was “Banging around in there” during the previous flight. They then busted the bolts and needed a blanking plate to cover the hole of the removed #2 generator.

 What was cool about the generator was the TWA Tag still on it.

Ok, I have about 50 Smokey startup shots and they all look great. I wish I
could Post all 500+ images I shot over the last 2 days.  They were all great!

    Connie crews were all around the museum that day.  After many great conversations with these living members of history, I watched them pull the rope for the rickety aluminum stairs and seal the door as they were taking journalists and news reporters for a ride. I remember thinking that they would probably enjoy a ride on a 737 more! I was crying on the inside just thinking about how these people would not appreciate what they were about to do.  I knew that I would not be able to take a ride on this flight or any other this year but still looked intently as ever with glazed eyes of anticipation waiting for a another firey startup, so that I could at least get a GREAT PICTURE.   I watched as the #3 engine started to crank over.  “Click, click, click” as the push rods pushed the lifters and the lifter pushed at the valves open and closed.  From the first muffled bangs of the 2 cylinders firing… then 5….then the low rumble as the 12 and 15 cylinders develop power, then finally all 18 were up and running.  There was a man in front of the engine ready to alert the flight crew just in case there was any problem.  Behind him there was a fire truck waiting should there be a big problem.  

With all four engines fired up, she slowly taxied past us and I could not help but notice the beauty of the nose wheel that was not vertical.  I remember noticing how the front gear was pitched more forward than I expected it to be.  The front tires were in the shape of a “V”.  The rear mains were also unique in having a forward slant.   The plane continued to the run-up area and then out of sight and watched it take off.  I decided to skip lunch and dinner so I could stay for a little while longer and wait for the landing.

    The landing itself was nothing special from ACROSS THE AIRPORT but I did notice that they shut down engines 1 and 4 for the taxi back in.  The plane roared past us and was backed up by the tug.  As the tug pushed the plane back, I watched one of the front tires come off the ground in what seemed to be inches from the ground.  The plane was now in place and was ready for the static display for the people visiting the museum. 

Saturday morning begins (I did not know that I would be flying in the Connie today!)