EC-121 Lockheed Super Constellation

This is the plane I worked on in the Air Force. The old Lockheed Super Constellation from the 50s. Our planes were radar planes used in Iceland and Vietnam. I was an autopilot tech, so I maintained the old PB-10 autopilots used in these planes.

We basically had 3 models. First was the EC-121G, a passenger planes outfitted with seats and a galley. Then there were the radar planes, the D and T models. All of these had a large radome on the bottom. Some of the planes had one on top that looked like a shark fin.

In Iceland, we provided radar coverage when Soviet planes flew through the area. We would scramble a plane to accompany a couple of fighters that would escort the Soviet plane through the area.

In Vietnam, the EC-121s acted as airborne traffic control.

Then there was me, keeping the autopilots functioning. All the planes used the Bendix PB-10 autopilot. It was a pretty antique system that could hold an altitude, a compass direction and keep the plane straight and level. Just the basics.

I was stationed at McClellan AFB in the Sacramento, CA area from summer 1973 until Jan 1976.