The Shreveport Airport Authority is bringing one of the world's top vintage airliner displays to the 2004 Barksdale Air Show.

The airport and several community supporters will sponsor the Airline History Museum's Super Constellation display at the Barksdale show, scheduled April 24-25, 2005. The four-engine aircraft, nicknamed "The Connie," is a beautifully restored airliner that was queen of the skies for airline travel during the 1950s.

"The Shreveport Airport Authority received an amazing amount of positive feedback from the Connie's appearance at Barksdale in 2003," said Wm. Howard Malpass, Chairman of the Board for the Shreveport Airport Authority. "Because of the many requests for the airliner to return, we are proud to partner with companies such as TAC-Air to bring the Connie back in 2004. Anyone who tours the Constellation will see an amazing piece of aviation history."

The Connie is restored in its original airline configuration with vintage seats and interior decore. It is painted in a TWA paint scheme. The aircraft will be open for tours throughout the Barksdale Air Show during regular show hours.

Besides the Shreveport Airport Authority, the aircraft's Barksdale visit is sponsored by TAC-Air of Shreveport, Hampton Inn of Shreveport, and National Car Rental.

The Super Constellation is owned and operated by the Airline History Museum. In 1986 the group of dedicated Kansas City based aviation enthusiasts decided they were going to find, acquire, and restore to like new condition a Lockheed Super G Constellation, model L-1049G. By that time the "Connie", as it was affectionately called, had disappeared from the skies.

After much detective work, the group found a derelict Connie, registration number N6937C, in storage at Falcon Field in Mesa, Arizona. It was one of the last Constellations off Lockheed'sassembly lines in 1958, and was built as a cargo plane for Slick Airways. It passed through many hands after being sold by Slick Airways, and had been parked at Falcon Field nine years earlier, much the worse for wear, after its life as a bug sprayer in Canada was over.

The "Star of America" has since been restored to its original condition and been involved in television and movie releases, as well as several television commercials. It was featured in the Arts and Entertainment documentary entitled First Flights, narrated by Astronaut Neil Armstrong, and the motion picture, "Voyager" released in the U.S. in 1992. The Connie was also used for interior scenes for the movie, "Ace Ventura - When Nature Calls", in 1995, starring actor Jim Carrey.

For more information, visit the Shreveport Airport Authority's website: www.flyshreveport.com or the Airline History Museum's website: http://www.airlinehistorymuseum.com/

Contact: Bill Cooksey: (318) 673-5370