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Work on refurbishing this antique Lockheed Superstar is being undertaken by Lufthansa Technik with a crew of highly skilled local mechanics.
Lufthansa
For many years, people who drove by the Auburn-Lewiston Municipal Airport saw three hulking antique planes sitting dormant. They were more abstract art than aircraft. Little did the community realize that what was staring back at them was an important part of history that would provide a huge opportunity for Lewiston-Auburn and for worldwide aviation giant Lufthansa Technik.
In December 2007, Lufthansa’s aircraft foundation, Deutsche Lufthansa Berlin-Stiftung (DLBS), caught wind that three of the world’s few remaining examples of the legendary Lockheed Super Star were located in Auburn. They included a former Lufthansa flagship plane in service with the airline between 1958 and 1966. Lufthansa bought the aircraft at auction, and began plans to restore them to specification (with the exception of some modern engine and cockpit instrumentation) as they would have come off the assembly line in post-World War II Europe. Directly after the purchase, DLBS appointed Lufthansa Technik to restore the best preserved of the three to airworthy condition in Auburn, Maine.
With more than 30 production facilities and over 25,000 employees, the Lufthansa Technik Group is one of the leading providers of aircraft-related technical services in the world.
In the late 1950s, the Lockheed Constellation series pioneered long-range air travel. The technically superior model, the L-1649A “Super Star,” opened new horizons in air travel with its unprecedented capability of flying more than 6,100 nautical miles. The “Super Star” marked the beginning of the non-stop transatlantic operation bringing Germany and the United States closer together.
In Auburn, Lufthansa created several high-skilled local jobs, often training young apprentices or local mechanics to work on what has become one of the most revered aviation projects in New England. A special hangar was built to accommodate the work and leased to Lufthansa. The hangar will become an important business attraction tool for the airport when the project is complete. The project has attracted aviation enthusiasts and history buffs from New England and across the country.
The Lockheed L-1649A Superstar is considered the most elegant long-haul piston-engine aircraft ever built, and technologically the most complex civil prop liner of its time. When complete, the restored aircraft will be used to provide aviation enthusiasts and tourists — willing to pay a hefty fee — the opportunity to experience a luxury flight in the classic plane.
