Museum Plans Constellation Flight Re-enactment »
The countdown has begun for the ambitious re-enactment of a record-setting flight that helped usher in the modern age of air travel. The National Airline History Museum hopes to re-create the inaugural coast-to-coast flight of a Lockheed Constellation flown by Howard Hughes and Jack Frye in its own Connie. Right after the first Constellation was rolled out on April 17, 1944, Hughes and Frye jumped in the cockpit and flew across the country in less than seven hours. Orville Wright was onboard and it was his last flight. The museum hopes to have its Connie fully restored and ready for the flight on the 70th anniversary in 2014. "There are so many great stories and great people associated with this effort," said John Roper, VP of Operations for the museum. There is a huge fundraising task ahead of the volunteer-run effort, however. More