Airline enthusiasts are fighting to keep a "Connie" in Canada, one of the last relics from what some call the golden age of Canadian air travel.
The airplane in question is a Lockheed L-1049G Super Constellation first used in the 1950s by Trans-Canada Air Lines - which later became Air Canada - and speculation suggests it might be sold to the Museum of Flight in Seattle.
The plane is Canada's last post-war, trans-Atlantic piston-engine airliner and should be preserved as a piece of Canadian aviation heritage instead of being sold off, said Paul Cabot, curator of the Toronto Aerospace Museum, which wants to buy the Connie.
"Super Constellation airliners were an important part of the story of Canada's development as a nation," Cabot said.
"We're adding our voice to the many Canadian airline retirees and aviation heritage groups across Canada opposed to plans to export this historically significant aircraft to the U.S.A."
The plane was introduced in Canada in the years after the Second World War and eventually replaced ocean liners as the primary means of travelling to and from Europe.
For many travellers, their first flight was on one of TCA's Connies, and it was a wonderful experience totally unlike what a plane ticket buys today, said aviation enthusiast Brian Munro, who has joined the effort to save the Connie.
CTV
The airplane in question is a Lockheed L-1049G Super Constellation first used in the 1950s by Trans-Canada Air Lines - which later became Air Canada - and speculation suggests it might be sold to the Museum of Flight in Seattle.
The plane is Canada's last post-war, trans-Atlantic piston-engine airliner and should be preserved as a piece of Canadian aviation heritage instead of being sold off, said Paul Cabot, curator of the Toronto Aerospace Museum, which wants to buy the Connie.
"Super Constellation airliners were an important part of the story of Canada's development as a nation," Cabot said.
"We're adding our voice to the many Canadian airline retirees and aviation heritage groups across Canada opposed to plans to export this historically significant aircraft to the U.S.A."
The plane was introduced in Canada in the years after the Second World War and eventually replaced ocean liners as the primary means of travelling to and from Europe.
For many travellers, their first flight was on one of TCA's Connies, and it was a wonderful experience totally unlike what a plane ticket buys today, said aviation enthusiast Brian Munro, who has joined the effort to save the Connie.
CTV
