Of all the airliners that have graced the sky I think one of the most beautiful, ranking with Concorde, is the Lockheed Constellation the last and greatest of the piston-engined airliners. First flown in 1943 for TWA the Connie served for many years in both civil and military forms. Powered by four immensely powerful but fiendishly complicated Wright Turbo Compound Cyclones it was boss of the walk, despite the aspirations of its competitors, the Douglas DC -7C and Boeing Stratocruiser.
With its characteristic triple fins and gracefully swooping lines it was gut-achingly beautiful and made its competitors look,well, dowdy. But beauty wasn't enough. The advent of jet airliners, like the de Haviland Comet and Boeing 707, killed it stone dead as an airliner although it soldiered on in the military until the '70s, and several restored aircraft still fly today.
Sic transit gloria mundi
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