Constellation CF-TGE
And now it's time for the old girl to shed 54 years worth of paint
What lies beneath those layers of paint history? - Amazing things are revealed
The old TCA cheat stripes re-emerge
Along with the TCA logo
There's the "T R A N S" from TRANS-CANADA AIR LINES
And there's the W O R L D from WORLD WIDE AIRWAYS - her last operator
Ralph Pettersen
Yes, there it is! TRANS-CANADA AIR LINES
The TCA logo and speed stripe on the vertical fin
Several old registrations, including N8742R from 1963 and then owner Aircraft Radio Industries
Ralph PettersenLook closely and you can see CF-TGE above the N-Number
The Canadian Coat-of-Arms appeared on the LH rear fuselage
Empire Aero's Connie Project Mechanic Kevin Lacey described it all
in a letter to former owner Catherine Scott
| The
old girl is shedding her paint jobs quickly and we can continue our
moments of discovery. The old art work and lettering and insignia from
decades past are all still there in varying degrees of legibility.
Evidence of each and every owner, still in the shadows of the paint
layers and in places, staining her skin itself. Like chapters in a
book, each layer of paint reveals a milestone that was survived or
endured by the lady. Now she stands in her glory, stripped of the paint
that represented abuse and neglect. She holds her shoulders square
against the hangar's encroaching sunlight. Her chin held high and proud
like a thoroughbred being groomed for the race. She knows she will
never be what she was in her youth, but she responds to our touch. She
knows she is loved, she knows our hearts ache as we uncover each wound
and each indignity that left her in derelict ruin lying mere inches
from the Canadian soil. Her integrity grows as her lovely facade is
slowly restored. Her engines will never again roar with the music of
her soul. The clouds will never again look up to see her pass. But we
will raise her up... and her spirit will soar in us, and all who gaze
upon her. And we will all have a little piece of her in our hearts,
And though she will never again look exactly like she did, I think that
perhaps she was never quite as beautiful as she is becoming. |
Next - it's on to the drawings and creation of the decals.
Photos by Janet Dietz, Kevin Lacey and Ralph Pettersen. Used with permission
Copyright 2007 - 2008 Robert Bogash. All Rights Reserved