Conifair Connie Tanker 2

M

mrogers

SOH-CM-2025
Hi there, there was no Conifair repaint for Manfred Jahn's L749 Connie that I could see, so I got busy with my paintbrushes....

View attachment 71794View attachment 71795View attachment 71796

Lockheed Constellation C-121A C-GXKR, Tanker 2 of Conifair Inc, 1979. I think this Connie later became the Aviodrome KLM Connie at Lelystad, Holland. If anyone is interested I'll wrap it up and upload it in the next day or so.
There was a number "2" painted on the fuselage top according to the reference pictures that I had, and I tried to paint that on, but the result was so distorted due to the way the texture wraps around the top, so I unfortunately had to leave it out. Still, even without it, it still looks good.
 
mrogers said:
Hi there, there was no Conifair repaint for Manfred Jahn's L749 Connie that I could see, so I got busy with my paintbrushes....

View attachment 71794View attachment 71795View attachment 71796

Lockheed Constellation C-121A C-GXKR, Tanker 2 of Conifair Inc, 1979. I think this Connie later became the Aviodrome KLM Connie at Lelystad, Holland. If anyone is interested I'll wrap it up and upload it in the next day or so.
There was a number "2" painted on the fuselage top according to the reference pictures that I had, and I tried to paint that on, but the result was so distorted due to the way the texture wraps around the top, so I unfortunately had to leave it out. Still, even without it, it still looks good.
Click to expand...

Hello Mark,

She's looking great! :applause::applause: I am very much interested in adding this repaint to MJ's Connie. Coincidentally some flightsim forum members from SOH and CalClassic, incl. myself had a great look around and inside the Aviodrome Connie one month ago. A very beautiful plane.

Thank you very much for making this repaint. I'm looking forward to download.

Cheers,
Maarten
 
Very nice indeed. However was the aircraft indeed the radar nose version in those days and then converted to the snub nose she is today ??

Like Maarten I am looking forward to yet another Connie paint to add to my collection.

Cheers
Stefan
 
Sunny9850 said:
Very nice indeed. However was the aircraft indeed the radar nose version in those days and then converted to the snub nose she is today ??

Like Maarten I am looking forward to yet another Connie paint to add to my collection.

Cheers
Stefan
Click to expand...

Hello Stefan, yes Indeed she was originally a radar nose version with the curtiss electric props.
When she was restored the radar nose was converted to the snub nose and Hamilton Standard props.
 
Maarten said:
Hello Mark,

She's looking great! :applause::applause: I am very much interested in adding this repaint to MJ's Connie. Coincidentally some flightsim forum members from SOH and CalClassic, incl. myself had a great look around and inside the Aviodrome Connie one month ago. A very beautiful plane.

Thank you very much for making this repaint. I'm looking forward to download.

Cheers,
Maarten
Click to expand...

Thanks fot your interest Maarten, it may be hard to believe but this is what the Aviodrome connie was In a previous life. She sat derelict for years after retirement and was then restored into what you now see at the Aviodrome and flown across the Alantic to the Aviodrome.
It is a beautiful restoration indeed. In her time as Tanker 2 of Conifair she was so well maintained and kept in immaculate condition.
 
Lends itself to some fun flying... 150ft at 200kts.
View attachment 71812 [FONT=MS Sans Serif, Geneva, sans-serif]Sprayer No. 1, G-GXKO seen in action at an altitude of approx. 150 feet (50m) some where in Quebec in July 1980. The insecticide is colored red to aid visibility (particularly for the chase plane). Nearly 150 nozzles leave a wide swath behind the Connie covering a line of 7 miles (11,2 km). Up to five lines could be covered with one load of 6'000 gallons (23 00 liters).

[/FONT][FONT=MS Sans Serif, Geneva, sans-serif] https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ALX1tg-XZc7JXMpudQvPT9MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink Photo taken June 1980, Steve Piercey Collection.[/FONT]

http://www.zoggavia.com/Conifair_Aviation.html
 
srgalahad said:
Lends itself to some fun flying... 150ft at 200kts.
View attachment 71812 [FONT=MS Sans Serif, Geneva, sans-serif]Sprayer No. 1, G-GXKO seen in action at an altitude of approx. 150 feet (50m) some where in Quebec in July 1980. The insecticide is colored red to aid visibility (particularly for the chase plane). Nearly 150 nozzles leave a wide swath behind the Connie covering a line of 7 miles (11,2 km). Up to five lines could be covered with one load of 6'000 gallons (23 00 liters).

[/FONT][FONT=MS Sans Serif, Geneva, sans-serif] https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ALX1tg-XZc7JXMpudQvPT9MTjNZETYmyPJy0liipFm0?feat=directlink Photo taken June 1980, Steve Piercey Collection.[/FONT]

http://www.zoggavia.com/Conifair_Aviation.html
Click to expand...

Thanks srgalahad, as you can see by the picture it certainly is interesting. There were 2 connies used by Conifair, Tanker 1 and Tanker 2. According to a reference I found on the web, they were fitted with an INS computer system for following the complex grid flying pattern they flew when spraying.

I think I will do another repaint, that of Tanker 1 C-GXKO. This one later became Vern Raeburn's MATS connie and was seen at airshows around the U.S. It was acquired by a Korean museum and flown across the Pacific to Korea where it is now on permanent display.
 
I must say I am surprised by the neat spray pattern behind those 4 large props. I would have expected some disturbance in the air immediately following the aircraft.
I did save that image to my ever growing collection.

Once you have one repaint done a different numbered sister ship is a piece of cake ;) so yes please do go ahead and give us #1 as well. I do have both aircraft in their current form, so getting them both in earlier life would be neat.

Cheers
Stefan
 
Here's C-GXKO Tanker 1. Both Connies were identical in scheme so it was fairly easy to just change the number and rego, however Tanker 1 had it's number 1 in a slightly different position on the tail.

View attachment 71867View attachment 71868

So that's it, I'll get both textures zipped up and uploaded as soon as possible.

However I am thinking of doing one more scheme of C-GXKO in Christler Flying Services colors as N9464 before it was acquired by Conifair...instead of the blue colour it was a pale yellow with a black trim where the red trim is and natural metal rudders. or painted silver as perhaps the rudders were fabric, but the photo of it on the web that I spotted shows quite shiny looking metal rudders with light gray trim tabs. There is only one photo of it and that's all I've got to go by.

Im flying the Connie, on sectional legs towards Anchorage from Juneau. Currently I'm parked at PACV Cordova and have just one more leg from there to Anchorage. Love it flying the Connie, such a graceful airliner and easy to fly. I'm flying it in full realism and by the book, taking care with the blowers, etc!
 
Hi,

actually this is one of my favourite paint schemes and I am happy to see someone does this repaint. It looks fantastic! Thanks a lot and I am looking forward to some low-level flying at Riviére du Loup.

Maybe one day we will have a matching model but that's a matter of time and I don't see much available right now.

Best regards,
Volker
 
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