Thank you to Steve McDonald for providing this great image of the Constitution at Opa-locka Airport. This was one of two aircraft that the U. S. Navy operated in the late 1940's and 1950's.

This massive double decker aircraft was parked at Opa-locka Airport for years and suffered a fire onboard that damaged the interior. It was later purchased by a gentleman named Frank Sosa Sr. who spent a forture moving it from the airport to a location on NW 135th Street east of the railroad tracks and refurbishing it into a restaurant. As I recall he ran out of money and the project stopped before completion. After sitting for a year or so the City of Opa-locka demolished the aircraft because it was considered an eyesore. It was a shame that the aircraft was destroyed instead of being placed into an aviation museum.

There is more information, and photos, of the Constitution at: http://aeroweb.brooklyn.cuny.edu/specs/lockheed/xr6o-1.htm

There is a great video featuring the Constitution in flight and news segments from when it was delivered to the Navy at:
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=34d_1215353267

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My buddy Eric Olson's account of the Constitution at Opa-locka:

"As for the history of it: I was the lineboy at Sunline back then who had the responsibility of telling the Dade County tow tug driver where to put the Constitution, although it may have been a Hangar One tug driver under the direction of someone from the county. It was late 1966 or early 1967 and it was after the fire which had occurred in 1963 when the Constitution was on the Hangar One ramp. It had been stored in the hard packed dirt just north of the Hangar One ramp for a few years after the owner apparently abandoned it. Tie down fees were owed to the county and Hangar One wanted it off their property, too, so it was moved."

"I was on duty at Sunline late one afternoon and someone from the county came into the office and wanted to know where they were to put the Constitution. The only people on duty at that time were the girl behind the desk and me, the intrepid lineboy. No one knew anything about us (Sunline) getting the Constitution so I ended up calling the general manager (not the owner, Doc Smith) and told him what was going on. He told me to have them put it in the dirt, just east of one of our little taxiways. The problem was that there was a B-25 in the same area undergoing restoration. The other main problem was the dirt--it was super soft, like sugar sand. So I had a long conversation with the tug driver and, after walking the area, we figured out how to place the Constitution without hitting the B-25, but I told him we would only have one shot at getting the Constitution clear of the main diagonal taxiway due to the soft dirt. He agreed and said he would rev it up real good to get enough momentum to shove it back onto our dirt area with one push. That way we could get the Constitution's nose clear of the main taxiway which was our primary concern. Needless to say, he did manage to get it back far enough to clear (just barely) the main taxiway without hitting the B-25. As I recall, it was almost dark when we finally got it positioned. It stayed there until it was dismantled and moved off the airport to Minton's Dump on NW 135th Street where it was eventually scrapped, years later."

"Somewhere I have some black & white photos of me in the Constitution's cockpit and on top of the wings. It was pretty ugly inside the beast due to the fire. You gained access to the cabin through a door in the nose wheel compartment and there was a stairway to the upper deck and cockpit. I think it was a spiral stairway, but I can't be sure after all these years. The entrance door was on the rear bulkhead of the nose gear well (step up on the nose gear tire and then onto a small ledge) and it was a full sized, stand up door. That will give you some idea of the size of that beast! The cockpit was pretty well gutted and I was really disappointed that the control wheels had been hacksawed off. (Guess what I wanted to do--can you imagine what they would be worth today?) The upper floor had melted through about 20 feet behind the cockpit and the whole thing stank of burnt rubber, electrical wiring and smoke. The entire floor didn't collapse, only about another 20 foot segment. If my memory is correct, the upper floor then continued to the rear of the fuselage. I found a bunch of old promotional literature about the Constitution back there on the lower deck, but most of them had been ruined by water damage (they were stuck together as if they were glued) and smoke and soot. I managed to save only a few of them. Somewhere I have one and I remember giving one to John Ebel. (John Ebel is the only person I know who possesses an original USN flight manual for the Constitution.) You could actually crawl out "into" the wings through an access hatch on each side of the cabin on the upper deck that was about 3 feet by 2 1/2 feet. You had to crawl on your hands and knees through a narrow tunnel, but you could access the rear of each engine (presumably in flight, too) for minor maintenance. I did that crawl a number of times. It was a really tight fit and you had to be a contortionist to turn around. I often just backed out of the tunnel instead of trying to turn around. Hope this helps."

Eric Olson

Thank you to Mark Lincoln for correcting the aircraft type along with the former designation number.