Photograph taken August, 1995, at Aurora Municipal Airport. Credit: Kevin S. Forsyth
The MATS Connie is one of the last flying Lockheed Constellation aircraft in the world.
The Lockheed Constellation reigned as queen of the skies in that exhilarating post-World War II era when commercial aviation came into its own. 856 Connies were built between 1943 and 1958. They were used extensively by both the military and civilian airlines until the mid 1960s. TWA, Pan Am, Eastern, Northwest Orient, KLM, BOAC, Qantas, Air France, Lufthansa and many other airlines flew Constellations.
The MATS Connie is a military version of the Constellation 749A, also known as a C-121A. It was delivered to the U.S. Air Force in 1948 and used as a VIP transport, accumulating 16,000 hours of flying time during its Air Force career. Connies flew in World War II, Korea and Viet Nam.
After retiring from the military in 1968, it was purchased by the Chrysler Flying Service in 1970 and used as a spray plane over Canadian forests until 1984, changing ownership twice. In 1984, the MATS Connie was purchased by a private collector. It was sold to the Constellation Group in 1987.
Restoration work began in August of 1991 and the MATS Connie returned to the sky in June 1992. Extensive additional restoration work is conducted each winter in Tuscon, Arizona.
Text from the souvenir ticket that comes with the tour of the MATS Constellation, courtesy of The Constellation Group. Reprinted without permission.