STOP PRESS:

DATE: 28 SEPTEMBER 2002
PLACE: LELYSTAD AIRPORT, THE NETHERLANDS
TIME: 12.45 LOCAL

DUTCH LOCKHEED C-121A CONSTELLATION N749NL LANDED SAFELY
AT LELYSTAD AIRPORT TODAY. ARRIVING FROM MANSTON (UK) THE CONNIE
FLEW OVER SCHIPHOL INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT FIRST, THEN OVER TEXEL ISLAND BEFORE LANDING
TO A MASSIVE CROWD OF TV, PRESS AND WELL WISHERS!
AFTER THE OFFICIAL ARRIVAL CEREMONY ORGINIZED BY THE AVIODOME MUSEUM IT WAS TIME FOR THE LOCALS
TO VIEW THE CONNIE UP CLOSE.
AT 17.15 THE CONNIE DEPARTED FOR SCHIPHOL AIRPORT, WHERE SHE WILL STAY FOR AWHILE. THERE SHE
WILL BE PAINTED IN OLD ROYAL DUTCH AIRLINES COLORS.
TO BE CONTINUED.....

GREETINGS MICHAEL PROPHET

Thank you Michael,

A pefect ending to a perfect story...they have finally made it safely home. Congratulations to our Dutch
friends for making a dream come true...they and their Connie are home.

Doug

May I echo everything Doug Vernon has said in his message above.

What an incredible achievement! A magnificent pistonliner flys the Atlantic in its fifty-fourth year and is saved for posterity. Congratulations again to the Dutch and MATS Connie teams.

We are so very pleased and happy to hear about the safe landing of the Dutch Connie in Holland. Congratulations to all who invested such a lot of enthusiasm, time, energy and money to bring this fabulous aircraft to Europe. Having seen restauration work at Avra Valley last year I could not believe it would make the transatlantic flight...

You certainly have done an excellent job. Congratulations and all best wishes from the team around the Munich Connie

Horst Jahnke

First of all congratulations to all people involved. It was certainly a great job, done by Dutch Aviodome and the MATS team. Hopefully this Connie will be kept in flying condition once refurbished in classic KLM livery... After all planes are not made to rest in a hangar!

Fernand Van de Plas, Belgium

Let's hope Aviodome can keep it flying, even if only occasionally, but the only way they are going to achieve this is if we propliner enthusiasts in Europe are prepared to dig deep into our pockets to finance them.

Not only funding from Europe....but the U.S. and the other great countries around our globe. Let's send the Dutch whatever we can afford....from a few pennies from possibly the children who love airplanes to whatever the people of the world can
afford. I say this only because the Dutch and Mats
have done such an indredible feat in putting this
old and beautiful classic back together and have flown her thousands of miles across the U.S., Canada, Iceland and then transited the long and dangerous expanse of the North Atlantic. For an old Queen of the Skies to accomplish that mission, she deserves are continued support. Now, let's make a concerted effort to keep her in the skies for the rest of her days.

Doug Vernon

Congrats to the Dutch and all those who worked very hard to make this happen. Bravo. Please keep the thing in flying condition, and actually FLY it.