Tyler Perry’s Constellation
Was Jerry Smith’s ([email protected]) photo taken of a full-scale Lockheed Constellation or a model of the airplane?
Photographer’s note
He wrote:
“When you first look at this airplane you have to think it is real. A closer look reveals the aileron, flap, and elevator linkages hanging out.
“The airplane belongs to Tyler Perry—movie writer, producer, and actor. Tyler loves to fly RC airplanes. With what little time he has for his hobby and with his resources, he has the best. The Constellation was kitted and built in Germany by Phoenix Aircraft and was flown here in the U.S. for the first time.
“The Connie has a wingspan of 165 inches and is powered by four Hacker motors, each running on five-cell batteries located in each nacelle. Its overall flying weight is 90 pounds. I don’t often see airplanes of this size flown at our flying field and it was a real treat to see Tyler’s airplane in the air. Very realistic and majestic in flight.”
Historical background
Historically, the Constellation, affectionately known as the Connie, was a four-engine, propeller-driven aircraft built by Lockheed between 1943 and 1958 in Burbank, California. Four model variations totaling 856 aircraft were produced. The Connie was used as a civilian airliner and a U.S. military transport airplane, seeing service in the Berlin Airlift and as President Dwight D. Eisenhower’s presidential aircraft.
Photo details
Jerry shot the photo using a Nikon D300 at a 155 mm focal length, with an f-stop of f/9, ISO 500, and a shutter speed of 1/1000 second in shutter-priority mode.
- Email your high-resolution “Viewfinder” photo and a short note telling the airplane or helicopter story to [email protected]
- Or visit www.modelaviation.com/viewfinder.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
