A Kansas City fixture for 39 years, famed ‘Connie’ airplane now belongs to John Travolta
Academy Award-nominated actor John Travolta has long had a thing for Kansas City’s ‘Connie.’
A 1959 Lockheed Super-G Constellation aircraft, its distinctive triple-tail and dolphin nose have been a fixture at the Airline History Museum — currently shuttered in the midst of a lease dispute — at the Charles Wheeler Downtown Airport for 39 years, since 1986.
The Connie in February 2004 ferried Travolta, a licensed pilot and aircraft enthusiast, to his 50th birthday party in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
In October 2007, Travolta was the special-guest and main draw to a lavish museum fundraiser in Hanger 9 at the Downtown Airport at which an anesthesiologist’s spouse bid $20,000 to dance with the “Saturday Night Fever” star not far from where the Connie sat.
Now, Federal Aviation Administration records show, the Connie belongs to Travolta, or at least to the Florida business of which he is president, Constellation Productions Inc., in Tampa.
Museum dispute
FAA records show that its tail number, N6937C, was registered to the company on Sept. 4.
Whether Travolta actually purchased the aircraft, or for what amount, is unclear. Calls and texts to company officials went unanswered.
It is also uncertain in what way, if any, the transfer of the Connie to Travolta’s company plays a role in the museum’s current lease dispute. John Roper, president of the museum, declined an invitation Tuesday to discuss the transfer of the Connie to Travolta’s company.
“It’s not a simple answer,” Roper wrote in a text. “There’s still a lot going on at the museum with Signature and no support from our city council.”
The city of Kansas City owns the Downtown Airport. It leases the majority of its hangars to Signature Flight Support, which in turn has subleased Hangar 9 to the Airline History Museum since 2000.
But for nearly three years, Roper and his organization’s members have been locked out of the museum by Signature. Museum leadership have said Signature wants to lease the hangar to a more profitable tenant and has locked the museum out in violation of a city lease that guarantees it free rent. Signature has argued that the lease is invalid and says the museum is behind on several years’ worth of rent payments.
Turbulence
The Airline History Museum’s own history has hit turbulence before.
Travolta’s use of the plane for his 50th birthday party in 2004 briefly drew flak from federal regulators for possible improper use of the aircraft as a charter. The investigation led to no fines against the museum.
In 2010, Paul Sloan, a former executive with the museum, pleaded guilty to stealing upwards of $51,000 from the nonprofit in 2007 and 2008. He was sentenced to five years supervised probation.
Travolta’s company, too, has had recent troubles. In April 2024, two pilots were arrested and charged with embezzling nearly $800,000 from Constellations Productions, Inc. between October 2021 and July 2023.
On Monday, the online aviation news site, AVWeb, noted that the Connie has not flown since 2005.
Still here
For now, Connie remains in Kansas City, still at the Downtown Airport, and being worked on at the TWA Museum, 10 Richards Road.
“It’s still here. It was moved over to our hanger where our museum is,“ said Judy Gerling, a TWA Museum board member. “They have started some of its engines, but it needs quite a bit of work before its going to be flown anywhere.”
Built in 1959, the Connie in 1985 was sold at auction to pilot and businessman Paul Pristo for $4,000, according to the Airline History Museum’s timeline. The Kansas City-based Save-A-Connie organization, founded by Larry Brown and Dick McMahon in 1986, began to restore it in Mesa, Arizona.
The aircraft was ferried to Kansas City in July of that year and renamed “Star of America.” Donated to the organization, the aircraft was later repainted in 1950s-era Trans World Airlines colors. In 2000, Save-A-Connie Inc. was renamed the Airline History Museum.
In July 2005, the Connie was grounded when an engine suffered “a catastrophic failure.” Overhauled engines were installed but they failed during a test flight in July 2006.
This story was originally published February 18, 2025 at 3:21 PM.
