USA NortheastAuburn-Lewiston Mun'l Airport -
12oct09
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2009 VISIT
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A modern hangar was erected esspecially for this 3-year project, dedicated |
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Lufthansa operated 4 Starliners (or 'Super Stars' as the Germans named them): D-ALUB, D-ALAN, D-ALER and D-ALOL in passenger and cargo service from 1958 until 1966 (I read elsewhere 1957 - 1968). The L.1649A's primarily flew on North Atlantic routes and could fly non-stop from Germany to/from North America. L.1649A D-ALOL survives as ZS-DVJ on display in Johannesburg, in the livery of former operator Trek Airways.  But compare the rigging with the 2011 update further below. |
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The cargodoor will be replaced by a passengerdoor. L.1649A ZS-DVJ (ex/ D-ALOL) has been preserved in Johannesburg and is the only remaining Starliner which was not converted to cargo configuration. The South African owners have allowed Lufthansa to produce replica passenger doors, which will be fitted to ZS-DVJ, while Lufthansa will receive the doors of ZS-DVJ to fit them on N7316C once they are inspected, repaired and approved to be installed. |
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| Initially it was said that volunteers from maintenance division Lufthansa Technik would work on the Starliners here in the USA, but this plan has been abandoned. Progress by using (former) employees on a voluntary basis would probably see an erratic progress, due to varying number of volunteers willing/able to join this project. BizJet from Tulsa,Oklahoma is a Lufthansa subsidiary and has been contracted to do most of the work here. BizJet International is the maintenance, repair, overhaul (MRO) and fixed base operator (FBO) arm of Lufthansa Technik in the USA for VIP and business aircraft, their operators and their users. Founded in 1986 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where its premises today extend over an area of 85,000 square meters, the company offers its customers a wide range of services, from aircraft and engine maintenance, overhaul and repair to avionics services, cabin design, refueling and the use of a comfortable pilot lounge. Since 2000, this specialist provider, which has a workforce of around 200, has been a fully-owned subsidiary of Lufthansa Technik. |
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N7316C (c/n 1018) has been stripped of all removable components, everything that could be removed has been removed for inspection, evaluation and refurbishment. The cockpit has been cleaned out in the same manner. Many structural components have been shipped to Tulsa,OK for inspection and refurbishment by Lufthansa's subsidiary BizJet once all approvals are granted. The multitude of parts removed from the 3 aircraft, plus the parts collected by Maurice Roundy over the years, have been evaluated, cleaned, catalogued, inventoried and stored for further disposition. The logistics of this project is immense, but in Lufthansa's capable hands. Michael Austermeier is Lufthansa's resident project manager in Auburn and in constant liaison with the FAA and Lufthansa headquarters in Germany.
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 N7316C will be painted at the facilities of Lufthansa Technik in Hamburg,Germany. Due to the massive 150 feet wingspan of this L.1649A, the plan to have it painted at BizJet's facilities in Tulsa,OK had to be abandoned: it just wouldn't fit! |
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A lot of work needs to be done before it will take to the air again, but when it does, it will be a sensation wherever it will fly and grace the skies!
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And updates on Lufthansa´s website: Kermit Weeks on the Starliner at his Fantasy of Flight, stripped of parts for the benefit of the Auburn project: www.youtube.com/watch?v= |
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| Six Wright R-3350 Turbo-Compund engines have been sent to Ray Anderson Airmotive in Idaho for overhaul. |
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In Sep.2018 I came across a post on Facebook, showing N8083H resprayed in TWA colours, awaiting disassembly and transport to New York's JFK airport, destined to become a decoration in a new terminal. And here it is, Starliner N8083H seen arriving in New York City (march 2019):
See also www.conniesurvivors.com/N8083H |
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LUFTHANSA'S LOCKHEED SUPER STAR PROJECT REVISITED - AUBURN,ME 29SEP2011
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| In spite of his busy daily schedule, Director of Operations Michael Austermeier, involved here from the start of this project, walked me through the progress of this fascinating project once more. As with previous visit we agreed to have my webpage screened by Lufthansa Media dept., but in spite of sending reminders I received no reaction. Since it is now 2023, and the project in Maine (and to make it fly) has been terminated , I decided not to await Lufthansa's permission and publish my 2019 update. |
| Compared to my visit two years ago little progress seemed to have made, but appearances are deceiving here! The open areas shown in the photo above are to facilitate installing cockpit instruments and equipment. |
| The biggest changes made, I found, were in the organisation. A team of engineers have joined this project in Auburn,ME because the information flow for engineering advise between Auburn and Germany took so much time it was found to be far more efficient to bring in a team here. Engineering advise for repairs (and cost comparison to have components manufactured new) are all important for the progress in this ambitious project. The Auburn Project has moved up in terms of management as: a senior manager has joined in May, expediting decision making and budget handling. 'Bizjet Auburn' has been formed as part of the Lufthansa Technik Group; as a company, with all rules and regulations taken care of; the professionalism and commitment here at Auburn are obvious. |
More and more new components find their way into this Lockheed Starliner
| Both front and aft (above) the fuselage has also been fixed, which is controlled and regulalry checked by using laser technology! There is a constant concern that by opening and/or removing parts of the structure, permanent damage may occur by disalignment; measures such as these, as well as carefull planning of every step of the project, have secured prevention of such damage. |
| While the project seems a long way off from completion, the project is now well defined in terms of process and targets: I hope to see a first flight in perhaps in a little over a year! UPDATE (may 2014): A first test flight is expected by end-2014 and first service in 2015. It will have 32 seats. |
| Director of Operations Michael Austermeier observes the new ribs which have been put in place; these ribs are one of many examples where 'manufacture to order' has been more cost effective then repairs. These ribs, with their minute nuts and bolts, have a set way of removing and reassembly; they show how painstakingly precise such restoration work is. Never before has a vintage aircraft been so meticulously restored, utilizing hi-tec technology! |
Next major step will be removing the aft section of the fuselage. The aft fuselage has an upward curve and for proper access below the maindeck this removal is required, for further inspection and possible repairs. Also during this winter more than 5.000 Starliner components will be overhauled; it is now a cmatter of finding suitable specialist companies to overhaul them over the coming months. |
N8083H can not be used for parts anymore, but may serve as source for information on how things were assembled. But Lufthansa's 'new' Starliner sees an assembly far more precise and thought through than could ever have been realized on Lockheed's original assembly line during the 1950s. See also: www.dlbs.de/en/Projects/Lockheed-Superstar/News.php |
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Thanks to Michael Austermeier of Lufthansa for allowing me these visits! And good luck to Lufthansa on this gloriously inspiring project! |
Report: Constellation Restoration Nearing CompletionAVwebFlash - February 2, 2015 A Lockheed Super Star Constellation, one of only 44 ever built, is expected to roll out of a hangar in Auburn, Maine sometime this year, after a seven-year restoration effort, the Boston Globe reported this week. The airplane, built in 1957, was bought at auction in December 2007 by a non-profit arm of the Lufthansa airline and reportedly up to $60 million so far has been spent on the project. The airline intends to fly the finished airplane to Europe, where it will be used for "very special flight experiences for passengers, comparable to those in the golden days of aviation," a spokesman told the Globe. "They are going all out on this," said Ray Anderson, owner of Anderson Airmotive in Idaho, which is overhauling the engines. "There's never been anything like it and probably never will be anything like it." The airplane, known as The Star of Tigris, was built for TWA, according to www.conniesurvivors.com. It was later converted to a freighter and flew for Alaska Airlines, then changed hands several times before it was abandoned at Stewart Airport in New York in 1976. Maine Coast Airways bought the airplane and flew it to Auburn-Lewiston Airport in 1983. Restoration efforts continued at a slow pace until the airplane, along with two others used for parts, was sold to Lufthansa for $745,000. The new owners built a 50,000-square-foot hangar at Auburn for the restoration, at a cost of $3 million. About 95 percent of the fuselage skin has been replaced, according to the Globe, and 120 workers are dedicated to the project, working seven days a week. The owners disputed the Globe's estimate of $60 million spent, but declined to provide an accurate figure. More than 800 Constellations in total were built before the airlines made the switch to jets. The Super Star Constellation, also known as the "Starliner," which entered service in 1951, was "a plane ahead of its time," according to Lockheed Martin. It featured air conditioning and reclining seats and was twice as fuel-efficient as the early passenger jets. At least two others are still flying (one in Switzerland and one in Australia) and several other restoration projects are under way. The last Constellation was built in 1959. An update I read in Air Classics (april 2016) by Ralph M. Pettersen provided a few more details as well a postponed redelivery... Here are parts from an article in Air&Space Magazine (august 2016), by Phil Scott, which may serve as an update- Nice 2016 article about the Starliner project: "... Also, the C-130J program and P-3 program have also assisted the Starliner restoration. When Lufthansa needed a main landing gear component redesigned, Lockheed Martin engineers from those programs, were able to model the new part, analyze the structural requirements, and provide the computer model to the manufacturer to fabricate the part. This high level of technical competence allowed Lufthansa to get the engineering change approved through the FAA with minimal project impact. The Lufthansa Super Star restoration is a huge project – to the level of removing the cargo doors and reinstalling passenger doors, examining every fastener and rivet, and installing a modern cockpit – still has obstacles to overcome on the long journey back into the air. But the aircraft is now coming together and this classic beauty will soon fly again." Written by Stefan Oestreicher. Stefan is a design engineer in the Aviation Safety & Airworthiness group at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in Marietta, Georgia
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| Keep track of Lufthansa's Starliner restoration, which is hopefully nearing its completion; below is a 2017 update.
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The delays in completing the Lufthansa Starliner must have driven DLH's management to distraction and now there is another setback! 14Aug2017. From: www.sunjournal.com/news/lewiston-auburn/2017/08/14/... In 2018 Lufthansa came with shocking news: leehamnews.com/2018/06/04/pontifications-lufthansa-is-sabotaging-history/ In Scramble magazine (Feb.2019) I read: "By spring 2019 Starliner N7316C is expected to travel across the Atlantic onboard of a Antonov transport plane. Most likely scenario now, will see the Starliner being preserved somewhere around Lufthansa property at Frankfurt Airport." In Dec.2018 news went round that the FAA's decision not to certify the Electronic Flight Instrument System (EFIS) modifications in the Starliner's cockpit was crucial in abandoning the restoration at Auburn! Published 06Sep19: Update Nov.2019. Lufthansa Lockheed Starliner Moves to Paderborn Airport in Germany --by Ralph M. Pettersen (03Mar2021) UPDATE 2023: 'HB-RSC - Former Swiss Super Constellation Flyers Association, now under ownership of DIAG Aviation, UPDATE 20Oct2023:
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Some propliners 'die', other reappear for a more promising future..
 In january 2025 a series of photos in various Facebook groups hailed this event: rollout of N7316C. The project in Auburn, Maine (see my webpage The Lufthansa Starliner Project, visits 2009 + 2011) was too ambitious by far. Allegedly an attempt was made pressurizing this 70 year old airliner. The glass cockpit design was deemed stupid by many.
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Photos © R.Leeuw
