Lufthansa L-1649A Starliner Restoration Project

[JimH]

During our tour stop at Auburn in 2015 we had a chance to talk to the people involved with this project. There is still A LOT of work to do and it is still around 5 years out. This will be the best Connie that has ever graced the skies...it will just take time. Unfortunately no photos were allowed inside the hangar but I got these with my phone from the outside.

Jim






Just looking at some of the guts of the parts airplane gives you an idea of the complexity of this rebuild...which is being conducted to 100% airline capability, including pressurization.

During our tour stop at Auburn in 2015 we had a chance to talk to the people involved with this project. There is still A LOT of work to do and it is still around 5 years out. This will be the best Connie that has ever graced the skies...it will just take time. Just looking at some of the guts of the parts airplane gives you an idea of the complexity of this rebuild...which is being conducted to 100% airline capability, including pressurization.

That is really too bad if we have to wait ANOTHER 5 Years before seeing this beautiful airplane take to the skies. Certainly not the impression I had from things I read over the last couple of years. But in any case this is a magnificent restoration that will be worth waiting for.

Hope that 5 years is an outside estimate with perhaps in the next 2 or 3 at most more likely, but I know you cannot rush this kind of work.

The "German American Aviation Heritage Foundation:"

http://gaahf.org/

http://www.warbirdsnews.com/warbird-res ... ation.html

http://www.sunjournal.com/news/lewiston ... rn/1920550

http://www.lufthansa-technik.com/super- ... _count%3D2

And Part 2 of the "Warbirds News" narrative on the on-going work on the Starliner:

http://www.warbirdsnews.com/aircraft-re ... art-2.html

[Brenden S]

Great update and read.

Short, but nice article on the project in the latest issue of "Air & Space Smithsonian" magazine:

http://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-f ... 180960064/

IF the prediction in the article works out, the Starliner may perhaps fly before the end of 2017 and hopefully be available for paying passengers and to be seen at air shows in 2018.....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=y ... pp=desktop

http://superstar.lufthansa.com/en/a-new-super-star.html

http://superstar.lufthansa.com/en/home. ... ea333c7820

[DH82EH]

The level of commitment to this project is unprecedented.
She is going to be magnificent.
I have to go for a flight!

Andy

[Cubs2jets]

A friend of mine, Bill Bosworth, scratch built a Lufthansa 1649 in 1/48 scale. It is a thing of beauty!







I apologise for the size and poor quality of these cell phone pictures.
C2j

[Pat Carry]

Well this certainly is not good news regarding this project www.conniesurvivors.com/1-connie_news.htm#AUG27

[JimH]

Looks like my estimate of 5 years was a tad off. $300m...when we we there numbers were being thrown around which spelled doom...but no where near $300m.

Jim

[Kyleb]

Based on what I've seen/read, they built a substantially new Connie, which had to cost an insane amount of money. Why they didn't do more of an IRAN on a much lower budget, I'll never know. I cannot imagine that any bottom line conscious company could spend >$100M on a vanity project like this, no matter how interesting it is to aviation enthusiasts.