What did the Australian and Breitling Swiss Super Constellations have in common?

The Historical Aircraft Restoration Society (HARS), in Australia, keeps the Super Constellation VH-EAG "Southern Preservation" flying, which is actually the militarized version of the aircraft. According to the association itself, this aircraft and Breitling's Super Constellation were built side by side in the factory: the Australian one is number 4176, and the Swiss one is 4177. For years they were the only two flightworthy Super Constellations; HARS now considers its own the only L-1049 still flying in the world.

The VH-EAG ended its active service with the Pennsylvania Air National Guard, where it flew from mid-1972 until it was sent into storage at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Arizona, in June 1977. Restoration began in May 1992 at the Pima Air & Space Museum, and in September 1994 the aircraft flew again after nearly eighteen years on the ground. On 3 February 1996 it arrived in Sydney.

Its twin, a former USAF C-121C, had belonged to the Constellation Historical Society of Camarillo, California. In 2003 the Super Constellation Flyers Association, of Switzerland, signed a lease-and-purchase agreement, and in May 2004 brought it to Basel. It flew with the US registration N73544 until, in May 2007, it was registered in Switzerland as HB-RSC. The association operated it between 2004 and 2016 as the only active Super Constellation in Europe, taking its members to festivals and historic flights. In 2018 the main sponsor, Breitling, withdrew, and the aircraft was renamed "Star of Switzerland."