VH-EAP Southern Zephyr
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| Type: | L-1049G-82-153 Super Constellation |
| MSN: | 4680 |
| Subsequent Identities: | N9723C |
History:
| 57 | Built as L-1049G-82-153. |
| 08NOV57 | First flown. |
| 19NOV57 | Accepted by Qantas as "Southern Zephyr". |
| 20NOV57 | CofR No 2880 issued to Qantas Empire Airways as VH-EAP. Export CofA No E-28735 issued. |
| 21NOV57 | Delivered from Burbank to San Francisco. |
| 23NOV57 | Departed San Francisco on a proving flight to New York, Gander and London and return. (Capt R.F. Uren). |
| 03DEC57 | Departed San Francisco on delivery to Sydney via Honolulu. |
| 05DEC57 | Arrived Sydney. Total Time: 107:12. |
| 30DEC57 | Entered service (to Hong Kong). |
| 14JAN58 | Departed Melbourne on Qantas' inaugural round-world service via the "Kangaroo Route". (Capt J.P. Brodie). See also VH-EAO which departed at the same time in the opposite direction via the "Southern Cross" route. |
| 20JAN58 | Returned to Sydney. Flying Time: 128 hours. |
| 14NOV58 | Damaged in heavy landing short of runway at Nadi. The aircraft was later ferried to Sydney for repairs. |
| 15DEC58 | Test flown after repairs. |
| 03OCT59 | Departed Sydney on its last Qantas service (to Johannesburg). |
| 23OCT59 | Sold to Lockheed. Total Time: 5,765:16. Landings: 916. |
| 25OCT59 | Departed Sydney on delivery to Ontario. |
| 27OCT59 | Arrived Ontario. (Capt A.F. Emmerick). |
| 05NOV59 | Cancelled from Australian Register. Re-registered N9723C. |
| 59 | Leased to Resort Airlines late in 59 until JUN60 when the airline ceased operations. |
| JUL60 | Seen stored at Oakland in Resort colours. |
| AUG60 | Leased to Twentieth Century Airlines by this date until 61. |
| 61 | Seen stored at Lockheed Aircraft Service, Ontario in Twentieth Century colours by late 61. |
| 62 | Unconfirmed lease to Capitol Airways. |
| JUN63 | Returned to Lockheed by this date and used as a company aircraft until approximately 70. |
| 12DEC70 | Sold to California Airmotive Corp/American Jet Industries. |
| MAY71 | Stored at Fox Field, Lancaster, California by this date. |
| 18JUL71 | N9723C
appeared at an unlimited air race meeting in San Diego, California.
Carrying California Airmotive titles, the race number 64c and the
name "Red Baron" on the nose, the Connie was intended to compete with
a DC-7B named "Super Snoopy". Flown by Allen Paulson (owner of California
Airmotive), Herman "Fish" Salmon (famed Lockheed test pilot) and Chuck
Mercer (experienced Connie flight engineer), the "Red Baron" participated
in qualifications, rounding the pylons at 200 feet! Sadly, the Connie
Racer was reluctantly withdrawn from further racing as a result of
pleas from the pilots of lesser aeroplanes such as Mustangs and Bearcats,
concerned about the effects of wake turbulence from the Connie and
the DC-7 circulating around the pylons. Subsequently the aircraft
was returned to storage at Burbank. See What Might Have Been. |
| NOV71 | For a planned appearance in a movie, the Connie was given a Concorde-like pointed nose and small round cabin windows in the forward fuselage. The aircraft carried "Global" titles and the inscription "The Condor - A Product of Great Britain". |
| 02OCT72 | Registered to Stereo Vision International Inc. |
| 01NOV72 | On or about this date, the aircraft made several short flights, including one to Long Beach in connection with the proposed movie. The aircraft was captained by "Fish" Salmon. Ultimately the project was abandoned and the aircraft was returned to California Airmotive. |
| JUL74 | The
aircraft was scrapped at Burbank. Ironically, the tip tanks from the
scrapped N9723C were later acquired by Duncan Baker for fitment to
that other colourful ex-Qantas Connie, N11SR! See VH-EAB #2 |
| JAN75 | Cancelled from the U.S. Register at the request of California Airmotive. |
Why
LAV Tip Tanks?
| Issue | Date | Remarks |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | 25NOV21 | |
| 4 | 25FEB16 |
Revised
presentation of type.
|
| 3 | 21DEC15 |
Added
an image of VH-EAP thanks to the Qantas
Heritage Collection.
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| 2 | 13SEP00 |
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