Developed by Jack Frye with Howard Hughes' Financing

TWA Launches Trans-World Service with their Brand New Pressurized Transport

Constellation Cross-Country Celebration (1946)

With a cross-country flight to Hollywood, then San Francisco, with a cabin full of reporters and V.I.P.'s. This event showcased the new TWA Lockheed Constellation Airliner, Star of California/Navajo Sky Chief, TWA NC86503. President of TWA Jack Frye, (shown) as Captain on this flight. This experienced pilot could fly anything TWA owned and was a remarkable and skilled airman. Guests were treated to a tour of Hollywood, Warner Bros., an audience with movie stars, Joan Crawford and John Garfield, and then a visit to San Francisco!

Press Flight of a Lifetime to LGA-BUR & SFO-LGA

Jack Frye Pilot

TWA President Jack Frye at the controls of quad-motored Lockheed Constellation which smashed the commercial transport cross-country record on February 3rd, 1946 (7-hours, 27-minutes, 48-seconds). Average speed 329 M.P.H. Lockheed Constellation. More than mere coincidence led to the establishment of the starting record on February 3. That date is a significant anniversary for Jack Frye and TWA, for it was on February 3, 1926 that Frye begin his first aviation venture in California. The plane he flew marked another milestone in the aviation career of Jack Frye. It was the first of TWA's new fleet of thirty-six Constellations, the plane began flying in scheduled international service the same week the record was set. Developed by Frye, and Howard Hughes, to set, once more, the air transport pace first established by TWA with the DC-3. The Constellation was first flight tested in 1943 and delivered to the Army shortly thereafter (as the C-69).

Source- TWA Skyliner (January-February 1946)

"Jack and Howard intended to build a fleet of Constellations for TWA and make all other airlines obsolete-- the very first fast planes. This is why they were building the plane in secret. Unfortunately, with the onset of the war (1941), the Army asked what they were doing. Subsequently, a deal was made, whereby TWA would fly the planes for the Army Air Force." Helen Frye- Red Rock News- 1974

“Into the darkness over Burbank Airport the early morning of February 3 climbed the triple- finned Constellation No. 503, headed east to meet the rising sun halfway. At the controls was President Jack Frye, the man who, with Howard Hughes, had first conceived the super airliner which was built for TWA by Lockheed. In the right-hand seat was another 20-year veteran of TWA, Western Region Operation’s Manager Lee Flanagin...." Source TWA Skyliner

Connie sets a Record

By Betty Harvey Slegman

It was late at night on February 2, 1946, I was part of a press junket that had left from New York the day before and was returning from Los Angeles aboard a brand new Lockheed Constellation airplane piloted by Jack Frye, then president of Trans World Airlines. We were flying over uncharted airways on this transcontinental trip, which would last seven hours and twenty-seven minutes. It was a flight that would set a record in aviation history! It was an exciting two days. I was included in the press entourage because of a column I was writing for United Press called “The World of Tomorrow.” I was part of the radio division of the news department in New York. Our staff rewrote the news as it came off the teletype machines for the radio broadcasters (there were no televisions in those days). My features, however, were “written from scratch.”

Pre-Flight Press is Frantic with Activity

You can't keep a news hound away from a typewriter as demonstrated by (clockwise) Talbott, Roddy, Sibley, Hughes, and Jenkins. Also seen, President of TWA, Jack Frye checks weather reports for his transcontinental trip, while reporters Gene Gillette  and Betty Harvey look on curiously. (Betty Harvey) 

I arrived at United Press (UP) now called United Press International, during the summer of 1944. I had just graduated from the University of Michigan, where I edited the women’s page of the “Michigan Daily,” the only morning paper in Ann Arbor. (I had been a member of the Mortar Board in economics.) Employees with writing experience were at a premium in those war-time days, so I was hired a copy girl. We were the first small group of women to enter UP’s hallowed newsroom. Copy girls brought everyone’s coffee and sandwiches, calculated money exchange and sometimes typed for writers. We also worked at the baseball desk. This was almost my undoing, as I knew only a smattering about baseball. Batting averages were over my head. UP started to get complaints from around the world that put my job in mortal danger. My Boss, Phil Newsome, called me to his desk and said he either would have to fire me or promote me, as things were at a crisis at the baseball desk. I said, ‘Phil, please promote me I’ll do well, I promise.” I was crossing my fingers. He agreed and I started to type and write in a new position as a genuine UP writer. (Betty Harvey seen with Jack Frye)

Boarding begins for the Giant Lockheed Airliner at New York City

UP ran day and night, so my hours varied. Overnight shifts were hard on my stomach. I never knew whether to eat breakfast, lunch, or dinner. But as I grew in the job, made friends with the staff and learned to meet deadlines every fifteen minutes, my life took exciting turns. I handled news from Europe, the Pacific, and the home front—whatever I was assigned. My most exciting story came the day the Atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima. My father, a noted scientist and engineer, told me once that the country that developed the Atom bomb would rule the world. I was covering the Pacific roundup when the story arrived over the teletype machines unheralded. It was a minor bulletin. Big stories were usually a “flash” in the newsroom; all but one machine stopped and everyone stood at attention. I told my editor, Arnold Dibble, what my father said, and Dibble told me to “write it big!” I did the best I could to cover the Atom Bomb story that day and the next, as the secrets concerning 'The Bomb' were released. This was a defining moment in my career because the big stories were usually given to men. In 1999, the Atom Bomb story was named number one as the story of the 20th Century. Perhaps as a reward for my intense and prolonged Atom Bomb coverage and my recognition of its importance, I was then promoted to the feature desk. It was a wonderful promotion because I actually had a desk, a phone and regular nine-to-five hours. One of my features was “The World of Tomorrow.” My boss recommended me to Trans World Airlines when the invitation arrived to go aboard the Constellation airplane for a two-day press trip to introduce the new airplane. That’s how I happened to be on that record-setting flight. Betty Harvey

Lockheed Reporters Enjoy Unprecedented Luxury & Accommodations

Celebration of the Beginnings of Trans Continental & Western Air (1926-1930)

Audience with Movie Stars Joan Crawford & John Garfield on Movie Set "Humoresque"

Rarely seen images of the Popular Night Club Dega Riondo at Los Angeles

We boarded the airplane early on February 1, 1946 for an uneventful ride to Los Angeles, with a stopover in Kansas City, Missouri. We had a glamorous dinner in Los Angeles, toured MGM, met Joan Crawford and John Garfield (on the set of Humoresque 1946). We enjoyed lunch and dinner (at the famous nightclub Dega Rionda), then climbed back into the Constellation late on February 2nd For San Francisco. Betty Harvey

Reporters were Treated to a Sight-Seeing Jaunt Around San Francisco

Finally after a Whirlwind Tour of the West Coast

The Mighty Lockheed Constellation 049 Boards for Return Trip from SFO to LGA

Betty Harvey is seen visiting with one of her Contemporaries

While TWA Hostess  Rita Crooks conducts a Drawing as to time of Constellation Return Flight

Extreme Down-Draft Injures Passengers

About 1: A.M. on February 3, 1946, most people were sleeping. We were over the Sangre de Christo mountains in New Mexico (near Santa Fe) when I felt a little tremor. I grabbed the arms of my seat. Suddenly, the plane dropped. It seemed to fall forever. Unfortunately, in those days, no one told us to buckle our seat belts. As a result, many of the new people on board went headfirst into the brand-new luggage racks, piercing big holes in them. Some passengers were tossed into the aisles along with their baggage and typewriters. Many reporters suffered broken ribs and head wounds. Thankfully, there were no severe casualties. Jack Frye, the pilot, fortunately stabilized the airplane. He flew us back to New York. We deplaned a rather sorry-looking group of reporters, but grateful to be alive. We decided among ourselves that our stories would only briefly mention the mishap. After all, the big story was that Frye flew the Constellation coast-to-coast in seven hours and twenty seven minutes, setting a new transcontinental record. I did not learn until later that the mishap knocked the co-pilot unconscious. He had been standing when the airplane plummeted and hit his head on the ceiling of the cockpit. I read this in a new article written by aviation editor Justin D. Bowersock of the Kansas City Star newspaper on March 15, 1967. He wrote “The transcontinental flight 21 years ago...”

Previous to the Frye flight mentioned (above) the same Constellation left New York City for Burbank, Friday, February 1 @ 6:42 A.M., stopping at Kansas City @ 11:48 A.M. to board additional passengers, then to depart @ 1:09 and arrive at Burbank California previous to the Frye flight mentioned (above) the same Constellation left New York City for Burbank, Friday, February 1 @ 6:42 A.M., stopping at Kansas City @ 11:48 A.M. to board additional passengers, then to depart @ 1:09 P.M. and arrive at Burbank California by 6:52 P.M. The plane set an east-west transcontinental record of 10 hours 49 minutes on that flight. Shortly after, the giant TWA airliner departed Burbank @ 5:00 P.M., to arrive in San Francisco @ 6:15 P.M., on yet another promo flight with 45 passengers, at a cruise speed said to be 375 M.P.H. The Lockheed returned to Burbank on February 2, with 56 passengers (49 with a crew of 7) breaking a record for most passengers carried between these two cities. Flight time was 1 hour 14 minutes with a cruise speed averaging 275 M.P.H., and a maximum of 305 M.P.H. between Fresno and Bakersfield. After landing in Los Angeles, the plane was immediately prepped for the early morning February 3, V.I.P. flight with President Frye and his full load of New York passengers. (Betty Harvey seen having a drink with her passenger-mate).

Helen Frye Greets Jack after Record-Breaking Flight at N.Y.C. 

Shown (left to right) Capt. Paul Frederickson (Western Division Superintendent of Flying), Paul (Slim) Henry (Relief Co-Pilot), Captain Lee Flanagin (Western Region Operation's Manager), Mr. and Mrs. Jack Frye, and Joseph E. Casey. On stairs (left to right) TWA flight hostesses Dorraine Strole and Rita P. Crooks. (Not shown) is E. T. Greene (student training Flight Engineer), A. P. Lundin (TWA Relief Pilot), and John Hunt (TWA Communications Engineer). Helen Frye compliments the TWA flight crew as she kisses her husband after Frye set a new transcontinental speed record as Captain of TWA Constellation No. 503. This record breaking (nonstop) TWA cross-country Constellation flight is identified as the TWA "Navajo" Registration Number NC86503, TWA Fleet Number 503, C/N 2024. Source- TWA Skyliner March 5, 1979.

Departure Burbank early Sunday morning (February 3) 3:59.12 A.M. with arrival LaGuardia @ 11:27 A.M. TWA Captain (left seat) Jack Frye, TWA Co-pilot (right seat) Lee Flanagin. Broke two records: west-east transcontinental speed record @ 7 hours 27 minutes, 48 seconds, (previous record was a TWA Stratoliner on July 8-9, 1940 @ 11 hours 55 minutes). Second record was "largest number of passengers carried on a single flight” 45 passengers, 7 crew members (TWA Skyliner states 44 and crew of 8) the difference is the same, a transport of 52. Cruise elevation of 15,000 to 17,000 feet. Speed an average of 329 M.P.H. (5-miles a minute); however, Frye stated to the press he averaged 345 to 350 M.P.H., with a top cruise speed of 375 M.P.H. from Fort Wayne Indiana to Hayesville Ohio. Flight miles were 2474 (one source stated 2490). Fuel consumption @ 450 gallons per hour. Interestingly, the all-time fastest record (at that time) for cross-country flight was an U.S.A.A.F. P-80 fighter jet, @ 4 hours, 13 minutes, 26 seconds on January 26, 1946, from Long Beach CA. to New York.

Howard Hughes was also the pilot of the "Star of California" as it streaked across the United States on February 15 @ 8 hours 38 minutes with 28 Hollywood celebrities. Point of origin was Burbank, departure at 2:30 A.M., with destination to LaGuardia Field, arrival @ 11:08 A.M. Unfortunately, although it was the intent of Hughes to break Frye's Feb. 3 record, he failed.

'Star of California' Tours Country as Showcase of TWA Technology

Previous to the Frye flight mentioned (above) the same Constellation left New York City for Burbank, Friday February 1 @ 6:42 A.M., stopping at Kansas City @ 11:48 A.M. to board additional passengers, to depart @ 1:09 and arrive at Burbank California by 6:52 P.M. The plane set an east-west transcontinental record of 10 hours, 49 minutes, on that flight. Shortly after the giant TWA airliner departed Burbank @ 5:00 P.M., to arrive San Francisco @ 6:15 P.M., on yet another promo flight with 45 passengers, at a cruise speed said to be 375 M.P.H. The Lockheed returned to Burbank on February 2, with 56 passengers (49 with a crew of 7), breaking a record for most passengers carried between these two cities. Flight time was 1 hour, 14 minutes, with a cruise speed averaging 275 M.P.H., and a max of 305 M.P.H. between Fresno and Bakersfield. After landing in Los Angeles, the plane was immediately prepped for the early morning February 3, V.I.P. flight with President Frye, and his full load of New York passengers.

Jack Frye Comments on Hughes Involvement with the Lockheed Constellation

Discrepancies Reported (For the Record)

As a personal reader of Look Magazine, I have noted with personal interest the references made to me and TWA in your current series of articles (Look, February 23) Oil, Airplanes, Movies and Women – the Howard Hughes Story. A number of my friends in the aviation field have called my attention to, and I have recognized as much myself, several gross errors appearing in the article of the February 23 issue which refers to Mr. Hughes’ introduction to TWA and that part concerning me. As much for the present and future welfare and reputation of TWA as for myself and your readers, I think these errors should be corrected. I specifically refer to the section of the article which says, “Frye desperately came to Hughes for help.” This is not true. Mr. Hughes called on me and he proposed financing the acquisition of an airplane manufacturing or transportation company. The article further stated that “what he (Frye) needed was $15,000,0000 in cash.” No mention was ever made of that sum of money. The sum we discussed as being necessary to acquire working control of TWA was about $500,000. The references concerning the part Mr. Huges performed in connection with the Boeing Stratoliner and Constellation are grossly exaggerated… TWA had already secured bids from one manufacture on the airplane in question that ultimately evolved into the Constellation-- before Mr. Hughes ever showed interest in TWA or became its principal stockholder. In conclusion, I would like to say that Mr. Hughes deserves credit for having the courage to financially support purchase of the Stratoliner and Constellation after he purchased stock interest in TWA.

Signed, Jack Frye, New York, N.Y.

TWA Lockheed Constellations Paris 'Sky Chief' Star of California Star of Paris

Discrepancies Reported

As a personal reader of Look Magazine, I have noted with personal interest the references made to me and TWA in your current series of articles (Look, February 23) on Oil, Airplanes, Movies and Women – the Howard Hughes Story. A number of my friends in the aviation field have called my attention to, and I have recognized as much myself, several gross errors appearing in the article of the February 23 issue which refers to Mr. Hughes’ introduction to TWA and that part concerning me. As much for the present and future welfare and reputation of TWA, as for myself and your readers, I think these errors should be corrected. I specifically refer to the section of the article which says, “Frye desperately came to Hughes for help.” This is not true. Mr. Hughes called on me and he proposed financing the acquisition of an airplane manufacturing or transportation company. The article further stated that “what he (Frye) needed was $15,000,0000 in cash.” No mention was ever made of that sum of money. The sum we discussed as being necessary to acquire working control of TWA was about $500,000. The references concerning the part Mr. Hughes performed in connection with the Boeing Stratoliner and Constellation are grossly exaggerated… TWA had already secured bids from one manufacture on the airplane in question that ultimately evolved into the Constellation—before Mr. Hughes ever showed interest in TWA or became its principal stockholder. In conclusion, I would like to say that Mr. Hughes deserves credit for having the courage to financially support purchase of the Stratoliner and Constellation after he purchased stock interest in TWA. Signed, Jack Frye, New York, N.Y.