A Constellation and a Moon Module

11/29/19 Lockheed 1049G Super Constellation

On the day after Thanksgiving, I was invited to sketch with a few friends at the Museum of Flight. Although I’ve sketched there several times, it had been several years since my last visit. I couldn’t accept fast enough!

My plan was to sketch in the Great Gallery, the largest exhibit area, which allows standing far enough away from a plane that scaling it becomes a bit easier. But as I made my way down the corridor where the restrooms are, I found a glass doorway that gave me a terrific view of the Lockheed 1049G Super Constellation out on the sun-drenched front lawn. I could sketch it without myself standing in the 35-degree morning! And since I often struggle with scaling, I knew it would make a good study in putting a humongous plane on a 5½-by-8½ -inch page – and indeed, it was a staggering challenge. It’s also not the first time I’ve attempted it: More than four years ago, I sketched it from the museum’s upper level “control tower” for a super view of the Super G. First built in 1954, this “Connie” was made for Trans-Canada Air Lines.

 

11/29/19 Apollo command module replica

Next I wandered through the Apollo exhibit. I missed the museum’s 50^th anniversary celebration earlier this year when the actual Apollo 11 command module was on exhibit. The one I sketched is a full-size replica, which still gives an excellent feeling of how cramped and claustrophobic the module is (a peek inside the window shows a mannequin astronaut).

I could visit the museum every week and never run out of things to sketch! On this day, it was an ideal alternative to shopping on Black Friday.