Lockheed WV Warning Star
The Lockheed Constellation, affectionately nicknamed the 'Connie', is one of the most elegant airliners ever built, instantly recognisable by its graceful, dolphin-shaped fuselage and distinctive triple tail fins. Its curved fuselage shape wasn't just for looks — it was designed for structural strength while keeping the cabin floor level during the era's long, low-altitude flights. It dominated golden-age transatlantic and round-the-world routes through the 1950s before jet airliners took over. Specialised military versions, fitted with large rotating radar domes as airborne early warning aircraft, kept variants of the Constellation flying long after its airliner career ended.
Did you know?
This Warning Star variant of the Lockheed Constellation carries large rotating radar domes, turning the classic airliner shape into a Cold War airborne early-warning aircraft.
Specifications
| Length | 29 m (95 ft) |
|---|---|
| Wingspan | 37.5 m (123 ft) |
| Height | 7.2 m (24 ft) |
| Maximum passengers | 95 |
| Persons on board | 96 |
| Maximum take-off weight | 65.7 t |
| Range | 3,000 NM (5,556 km) |
| Maximum speed | 290 kt (537 km/h) |
| Service ceiling | 24,000 ft (7,315 m) |
| Optimum ceiling | 27,000 ft (8,230 m) |
| Rate of climb | 960 ft/min (4.9 m/s) |
| Fuel capacity | 17,750 l |
| Engines | 4x Wright R-3350 |
| Units built | 232 |
Curated by CatchFlights from manufacturer documents, ICAO Doc 8643 and reference works; values are left out where no source could confirm them. Sources are listed on our credits page.
In CatchFlights
In CatchFlights the Lockheed WV Warning Star starts as a Legendary catch. The tier is an editorial judgement of how special a sighting of this type is. The more often you catch it, the closer it moves to Common for you. The first catch of a legendary type pays a bonus of its own.
A catch counts for the manufacturer Lockheed, the WV Warning Star family and the model in your collection, and the daily Type Rating quiz asks about the types of each family.
Catch it yourself.CatchFlights shows the aircraft flying near you on a radar, so a type like this one is only a catch away when it passes overhead. Explore CatchFlights.
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