Camarillo Connie Smoky Engine Starts

[@dpohunter]

Very lucky to have gotten a flight on her in 1997 while at Camarillo. Saw an ad in the back of Propliner- $350 and worth every cent! Beautiful bird.

[@jim5549]

Always liked the lines of those old Connie's. High style in it's day!

[@flynlr]

saw this when it came to Hawthorne Municipal airport in the mid 90s during an airfair quite impressive to see there and it's departure was a nice treat as well.

[@jwdickinson643]

I had the pleasure of seeing her as a static display at Camarillo....and even though she was disheveled, had parts missing, paint peeling, she was still a beautiful majestic lady.

[@osocool1too]

I used to see these in the 1950s flying high above our house in the U.K.

[@LHRaviation1]

Great Video Ryan!!!!Nice to see all these good people dedicated to their passion. And this sound.....!!!!!

[@alejandrosienra2179]

🔝🆙 a beautiful to passangers Aircraft of the time ✈️💪 the last of Embolo Engine 🌠💫

[@paralleler]

Groan..., sad to see this is the aircraft that went over to Europe to fly for Brietling. In the late 1990s I purchased a flight for $400-ish at the Moffett Open House. From Moffett, we popped over SFO at about 3,000 feet, descended and flew the San Francisco waterfront to the Golden Gate (watched the beauty of the Golden Gate in her polished aluminum propellers), flew over SF's Sunset District watching her amazing shadow as she bounded from block-to-block, circled Stanford (GO BEARS!) and returned to Moffett. It was a BEAUTIFUL flight but I didn't have a camera -- only the memories to share with friends. WHAT A FLIGHT! Many thanks!

[@KentuckyRanger]

That poor old Super Connie has seen better days. Awesome that someone is going to fix it up! I'd love to see what's happened since 2013...

[@AreeyaKKC]

Bretling owned n flew her in europe. Its been sitting last few years but was in airshows til like 2018

[@brianingarfill1773]

Gosh, it is looking pretty bedraggled from when I would visit it in the beginning of 2000, I've even seen it painted as an early "Air-force one" for a movie. Never knew where it went after it left Camarillo.

[@timfremstad3434]

This one was WV 167 ANG in the early 70s when I was a kid, I accidentally came on it's webpage while looking at Lockheed Constellations. Shame it left for Europe.

[@4thstooge75]

So glad to hear that!

[@mrspenn1611]

Nice use of Technical Screwdriver at 1.48

[@billwelter4101]

Looks like she was sitting for a while before startup, lots of spark plug lube there! The A&P was having trouble turning #4 over by hand, sounds good though!

[@johannamunchensthauffenber3418]

Ich mag alte FLUGZEUGE 🌹🌹

[@mytmousemalibu]

Hmm, No.1 looks like its hydrolocked, bucking back against the starter. Could be somthing in the starting system just as easily too.

[@ATomcatter]

He was making sure that any fuel that may of ended up in the exhaust didn't ignite - Saw a Corsair do it and fire spread rather quickly from the engine exhaust to the tarmac - NAS Oceana several years ago

[@MrFrontenginedragste]

Does anyone else hear what sounds like a loose screw inside the spinner of the 1st engine started?

[@bearbon2]

I heard that too. Good ear. I think a better mechanic would want to check that out before starting the engine.

[@LaLaLand.Germany]

That is normal. The counterweigts on the crancshaft do that sound while starting up. The other engines sound alike but not audible when the 1st engine fired up...

[@clydesuckfinger7097]

Got to love radial engines.

[@PeterNGloor]

Camera guy in picture - can't he observe the photo line? Even if he is with the crew, he could have shown some team spirit

[@corvette724]

Is this the later Breitling Super Constellation, HB-RSC?

[@mjw1955]

It is. They've put more money into it than the Constellation Historical Society ever could.

[@corvette724]

ok, may you recognize some of my Videos about the Plane. For example, take off, cockpit view:.-)

[@LaLaLand.Germany]

yes

[@MrFrontenginedragste]

Should turn 21 blades before the mags go hot. Pull all the lower plugs in #4 and pull it through by hand until clear, then try restart.

[@davecc0000]

Engine #1.

[@tlfrantz1]

Sounded like there was a screw rolling around in the spinner while #4 was being started.

[@SulCoCrazy]

is it me or did the person carrying the camera get a little too close to the prop for comfort?

[@Blaze0357]

Craig Moorer One word....... Zoom! ;-)

[@gabrielvieira6529]

What was that sound on the first engine????? Wow ...... scary

[@davef.2329]

That's called "the old loose nut-plate flopping around in the prop spinner" syndrome. Basically, just a loose piece of small hardware laying in the hollow metal prop spinner. It centrifuges outward and nestles in one place as the prop picks up speed.

[@AviationDirection]

Sorry if I missed it...what year was this filmed? Thanks.

[@gabrielvieira6529]

What happened to the 4th engine?

[@mjw1955]

I am proud to say I was a member of the Camarillo Connie's crew from restoration to it's departure to Switzerland. I'll always look back fondly on those days.

[@MrLordwrecker]

Did this aircraft become the Breitling Connie? I check the registration and seen that was exported to Swartz in like 2008 2009.

[@MrLordwrecker]

+James Vaughan Nevermind I read down further in the comments and found it this is Breitlings Connie I was obviously before they got it.

[@mjw1955]

+James Vaughan Right you are. The start up video was taken in early '94.

[@erad5]

+Michael Witkowski thank you for your hard work and dedication, my personal favorite airplane! I only saw it once back in '97 at the last MCAS El Toro airshow, but I will always remember seeing it in person as a kid.

[@mjw1955]

+James Vaughan Yes, that's the one.

[@aaronchandler2380]

Yes!

[@timstill152]

That's odd. On the one wing the engines turn opposite of each other. On the other side the engines turn the same direction. Why is that?

[@aarongene9507]

Torque, if they all sound the same direction the plane would want to roll

[@HootOwl513]

I don't think the Connie had opposite-rotating engines like the P-38. They should all rotate the same. What you are seeing is a stroboscopic effect of the camera picking up the prop blades at so many frames-per-second, so it may appear to be rotating in the opposite direction. As the RPMs cycle up, the rotoscoping gets more varied. Cinematographers used to go nuts on Westerns, when the wagon wheels of a stagecoach seemed to be rolling backwards when the camera was set at 24 FPS for sync-sound.

[@jack-n-the-bots2926]

Where is the airplane now??

[@tomsamuelson8512]

Grounded, corrosion , in the main spar I think I read.

[@kkteutsch6416]

Where are the rudders ? All three left...

[@heffoandjuff5903]

It kinda looks like that Curtis Wright turbo compound engine #4 had hydraulic lock.

[@scootergeorge9576]

+heffo and juff You mean engine #1 don't you? They are numbered left to right as viewed from the cockpit or from behind the aircraft.

[@heffoandjuff5903]

+Scooter George Yep, you are right Scooter. I cant believe I made a stupid mistake like that. My Dad was an engineer for Boeing so I have been around large airplanes all my life. Indeed it was number one engine. Too much gin when I posted that comment-------Sorry.

[@scootergeorge9576]

heffo and juff No biggie. I believe you are correct about the hydraulic lock though. Didn't look like it was damaged though. Just pull spark plugs from the lower cylinders to drain accumulated oil. Looks like the Connie wasn't started for some time. A lot of smoke from 2, 3, and 4. Back in the seventies I was in a navy squadron operating the SP-2H. On start the R-3350 would smoke but not this bad. When we traded in the P-2 Neptune for the P-3 Orion one P-2 went to the museum in Pensacola, a few went to Argentina, and the rest to the bone yard. One of the Argentine Neptunes saw action in the Falklands war and its surface search radar located the British fleet.

[@bearbon2]

+heffo and juff Ouch on #1. I guess they didn't walk the props through to clear the oil. You can get away with purging with the starter unless it's been a long time between runs. Looks like we're losing another vintage Connie to the rich Illuminati in Europe but at least it will be kept flying.

[@mjw1955]

The then owner strictly forbade pulling the props thru by hand. Hi said we were risking damage to a con rod. If we got a hydrostatic lock we dropped the lower cowling and started pulling plugs until oil poured out.

[@drfiberglass]

Looks like there were a few parts missing and it really could use a paint job..

[@mjw1955]

Right you are. The rudders were out being re-skinned. We later flew it up to Mojave for a complete paint job.

[@Ducati_Dude]

A beautiful bird... ✔

[@ervinthompson6598]

#1 possibly hydraulic locked ??

[@winkerdude]

I got a tour of it at the beginning of restoration. It's wheels were still sunk into the tarmac. The interior was empty. Someone had set up bowling pins in the very rear. Quite amusing.

[@drfiberglass]

You can tell those engines haven't been started in a long time. They should have hand propped them first.

[@paublusamericanus292]

looks like #4 had a hydraulic lock, hope it never bent a rod.

[@comander402]

hi thanks friend ok good video greetings

[@RTD1947]

another Lockheed masterpiece!!!!! Sweet!!! LOL...that's a lot of oil!!!!!

[@marybrothers7718]

is that a hammer? I'm not flying in that.

[@EBenderTheRobot]

What's with that jerk in the red shirt? (the camera guy)

[@rpsellers]

A pretty terrible editing job to show the starboard engines starting after they've already been starting and running...

[@RyanBomar]

I'm sorry that you feel that way, but you're 100% inaccurate here. I won't resort to personal insults, however. 3:48 starts #4 4:48 starts #3 5:56 starts #2 Number one wouldn't turn If you're referring to 5:40, where it looks like number 4 isn't running...it is, it's the camcorder seeing an optical illusion, like on some videos where it appears that the prop stops and then spins the other way.

[@mattsta1964]

Nice one Ryan. Owned! HAHA!

[@rmachayes]

Rp, you missed the entire point of this video. For those of us who enjoy videos of truly beautiful aircraft, such comments are amiss. Not being critical of you, but just saying. Cheers!