In March, 1957, future pilots and stewardesses took over when The Flying Tiger Line got delivery of the first of its new fleet of 10 Lockheed Super Constellation 1049H aircraft at Burbank from the Lockheed Aircraft Corp.
Designated the “littlest” crew for the “biggest” airplane, a contest among the children of FTL employees resulted in the selection of a flight crew of six boys and two girls from the San Fernando Valley, ages 8-11.
They were chosen by their knowledge of specifications of the aircraft, which went into service in April, 1957 on the Flying Tiger system as the nation’s largest and fastest transcontinental air freighter at the time. The children chosen successfully answered such questions as cruising speed, payload, fuselage length and wingspread of the ship. If you didn’t know, they are, in order, 331 miles per hour, 42,600 pounds, 113 feet 7 inches and 123 feet.
After their selection, President Bob Prescott awarded each crew member an official set of wings.