Super Constellation Starliner lands in Warmbaths/Bela-Bela

Super Constellation Starliner

The story below recounts the sensational arrival in Warmbaths/Bela-Bela of a Super Constellation Starliner, nicknamed Connie, which, in its operational lifetime, was able to convey a maximum of 44 passengers in  pressurised comfort on international routes. Although this blog is unable to confirm the source of the information and photographs, the name of Erik Eriksen crops up frequently.

Connie was withdrawn from service by Trek Airways in April 1969 and stored in Johannesburg until it was bought for the sum of R2 000 in July 1971 by a local businessman named Willem Pelser who planned to convert the aircraft into a restaurant. At the time, Pelser was the owner of the Klein-Kariba holiday resort, 7 km north of Warmbaths/Bela-Bela.

The aircraft’s last flight was to Warmbaths/Bela-Bela on 9 October 1971. Captain Retief approached from the direction of Nylstroom and skilfully landed Connie on a primitive landing strip in the bush. See photograph below.

There were no runway lights nor (perhaps) even a windsock. It was, in fact, little more than a glorified plaaspad!

The plans for a restaurant did not materialize. When Klein-Kariba was taken over by the Afrikaanse Taal- en Kultuurvereniging in 1973, the aircraft was converted into a boardroom.

A glorified boardroom!

In 1978 the South African Airways bought the aircraft to restore it to its former glory. It was dismantled, loaded on trucks (see photograph below) and transported to Johannesburg in 1979 where the restoration was completed in 1988.

Today she is on display at the South African Airways Museum, Rand Airport in Germiston (see photograph below).