what is it?
The Lockheed L-649 Constellation was the first real civilian version of the Lockheed Constellation line, as the Lockheed L-049 Constellation was a simple redesign from the military Lockheed C-69 Constellation. The L-649 was planned to be the new standard version of the Constellation, but the L-749 Constellation, a co-jointly produced improved derivative, was chosen over the L-649 by most airlines. Most of the few L-649 aircraft built were delivered and operated by Eastern Air Lines.
How to recognise it: 4 piston engines with propellers · 37.5 m wingspan
base stats
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 80 years ago, in 1946.
- Top speed is 4.0× a car on the Dutch motorway (130 km/h).
- Wingspan of 37.5 m: about 8 cars parked nose to tail.
- Fully loaded it can weigh as much as 7 African elephants (~6 t each).
piston: A car-like piston engine turning a propeller: simple and cheap, the classic small plane.
spec sheet
- first flight
- 1946-10-19
- introduced
- 1947
- status
- retired
- number built
- 27
- role
- airliner
- origin
- 🇺🇸 United States
- makers
- Lockheed Corporation
- engines
- 4× Wright R-3350-749C18BD Duplex-Cyclone
- crew
- 5
- passengers
- 81
- length
- 29 m
- wingspan
- 37.5 m
- height
- 7.2 m
- max take-off weight
- 42.6 t
- top speed
- 523 km/h
- cruise speed
- 438 km/h
- range
- —
- ceiling
- 7,450 m
Specs are for the version in the Wikipedia article's specification section. Blank means the sources don't say.
family
Sources: Wikidata Q14946520, Wikipedia: Lockheed L-649 Constellation (CC BY-SA 4.0).Updated 2026-10-24.