LHT undertakes restoration of Super Star Constellation

The Lockheed L-1649A Super Star was the queen of the skies in the late 1950s and it might again become a familiar sight aloft, according to Lufthansa Techn

By Curt Epstein • Business Aviation Services Editor

June 9, 2009

The Lockheed L-1649A Super Star was the queen of the skies in the late 1950s and it might again become a familiar sight aloft, according to Lufthansa Technik. In cooperation with the company’s Tulsa, Oklahoma subsidiary, BizJet, restoration on one of the 50-year-old airliners has begun at a specially built hangar at Auburn-Lewiston Airport in Maine.

The final iteration of Lockheed’s successful Constellation series, the four-engine Super Star was the last word in long-range airborne luxury in the days before passenger jet travel. Joining Lufthansa’s fleet as flagship starting in 1958, the four Super Stars–out of a total of 44 built–were used on the nonstop transatlantic route until the Boeing 707 superceded them in the mid-1960s. The Super Stars saw the inauguration of Lufthansa’s first-class service. Onboard, a chef catered to the 32 passengers who made the nearly 15-hour flight from Hamburg to New York in the comfort of sleeper beds and nearly lie-flat seats.

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