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At the time of the first Lockheed Constellations, airliners fitted with a weather radar were not common, and the navigator was not placed in the airplane nose. Thus, the nose seems to be mostly dead space.

Was the nose dead space with no useful equipment in it, or was it used for equipment I don't know about?

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    $\begingroup$ One data point here. I have seen a DC3 with the nose opened up (hinged on top). It had some electronics up there. Not much, but it was basically an E&E bay. $\endgroup$
    – acpilot
    Dec 10, 2019 at 14:14
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    $\begingroup$ Maybe a frog in a jar with a ladder? $\endgroup$
    – PerlDuck
    Dec 10, 2019 at 19:45
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    $\begingroup$ Machine guns!!! $\endgroup$
    – Hot Licks
    Dec 10, 2019 at 23:13
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    $\begingroup$ Older aircraft noses had a lot of hair. $\endgroup$
    – copper.hat
    Dec 11, 2019 at 5:29
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    $\begingroup$ @HotLicks I was thinking "bombardier" $\endgroup$
    – Criggie
    Dec 11, 2019 at 7:45

1 Answer 1

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enter image description here
(Source)

Externally, the Connie (shown above) had lights, with the red being the now obsolete passing light.

From the high-res DC-3 and DC-7 cutaways, all sort of stuff, from autopilot oil and air filters, wiring, windshield spray systems, to hydraulic reservoirs.

There wasn't one main object like there's now, nor was it completely empty. Its main aerodynamic function remains though.

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