Eastern Air Lines Lockheed Constellation 1948 promo movie
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This is an amazing 1948 promo movie from Eastern Air Lines in which the airline’s founder Captain Eddie Von Rickenbacker tells the story of the airline’s latest and greatest and most modern new airliner to enter service, in the form of the Lockheed L-749 Constellation. The film was shot in glorious colour, and gives the public a primer not only on Eastern’s new L-749 Constellation, but also on the advanced post war state of the aviation industry in the United States, with the advent of large bombers, jet engines, and rockets. The film has a whiff of Cold War propaganda for those who pay close attention. The real star of the movie is the Constellation footage when the plane is taken up for a test flight for the benefit of the cameras, and three of the four engines are shut down in flight to demonstrate how safe and stable an airframe is in the form the Lockheed Constellation. This film is an historic gem for Eastern Air Line fans, airline buffs and propliner fans alike. We hope you enjoy your time machine journey back to 1948 for a rare visit to Eastern Air Lines in the immediate post war era.
2 Responses to “Eastern Air Lines Lockheed Constellation 1948 promo movie”
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You are certainly right about the propaganda!
Lovely footage of the Connie.
I believe we flew Eastern in 1947, from New York to Miami, on our way to join my father, who had taken up a post in Colombia. I would have been one year old at the time, and have no memory of the trip. It could have been on a Constellation, as they started service with Eastern in 1947.
It would have been on Eastern, Pan American. National, or Northeast. These were the main operators on the Miami to New York routes in the post war years. So it could have very easily been an Eastern Connie.