Lockheed L-1649 Starliner

what is it?

The Lockheed L-1649 Starliner is the last model of the Lockheed Constellation line of airliners. Powered by four Wright R-3350 Turbo-compound engines, it was built at Lockheed's Burbank, California plant from 1956 to 1958.

🔎How to recognise it: 4 piston engines with propellers · 45.7 m wingspan

base stats

• speed 607 km/htop speed
• range 9,900 kmwithout refuelling
• seats 99passengers
• size 70.8 tmax take-off weight
• built 44made in total

Bars compare against all aircraft: 3,500 km/h, 20,000 km, 850 seats; size and number built on a log scale up to 640 t (An-225) and 45,000 built (Cessna 172).

fun facts

• 🎂First flew 70 years ago, in 1956.
• 🏎️Top speed is 4.7× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
• 🚗Wingspan of 45.7 m: about 10 cars parked nose to tail.
• 🐘Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 12 African elephants (~6 t each).
• 🌍Range of 9,900 km: Amsterdam to New York (≈5,850 km) without stopping.

piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.

spec sheet

first flight

1956-10-10

introduced

1957

status

retired

number built

44

role

airliner

origin

🇺🇸 United States

makers

Lockheed Corporation

engines

4× Wright R-3350 988 TC18-EA-2 Duplex-Cyclone

passengers

99

length

35.4 m

wingspan

45.7 m

height

7.5 m

max take-off weight

70.8 t

top speed

607 km/h

cruise speed

467 km/h

range

9,900 km

ceiling

7,224 m

Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.

family