The airplane itself was one of the last built by Lockheed and left the line in Burbank in 1957. It was delivered in 1959 to Slick Airways, converted to a freighter in 1966 and last operated as a sprayer from 1973 to 1975. It sold at auction for $4,000 in 1985 and was donated to the Save-A-Connie organization, which overhauled it in Kansas City through 1988. It flew in various airshows and special events before an engine failure grounded it in 2005. The engine was replaced and it was maintained in readiness for return to flight since then.
The Airline History Museum had grown out of an effort, started in 1986, to restore a vintage Lockheed Constellation, or “Connie,” airliner. Initially called Save-a-Connie, the nonprofit grew into a kind of club for pilots, mechanics and former TWA employees in Kansas City. In 1990, the Save-a-Connie museum opened on the east side of the Downtown Airport, and in 2000 it took over Hangar 9, on the far west side of the airport, and was rebranded the Airline History Museum. In addition to vintage planes, the museum is home to a variety of artifacts from the golden age of commercial flight: TWA cockpit simulators, Southwest engines, stewardess uniforms, photos, books.
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