2023-07-04 11:00:18
Former USAF and NASA, the C-121 48-613 registered N422NA left its long restoration site on June 20, 2023 in Chino, California. He had not flown since 2016. He should be one of the big stars of the Oshkosh rally at the end of July.
This four-engined aircraft was directly built as a military transport aircraft then was transformed into a VC-121, that is to say with a special layout to accommodate the highest authorities on board. This is how it was, in the early 1950s, the personal plane of General MacArthur who had it baptized “Baatan”, from the name of the Philippine peninsula which he lost to the Japanese in April 1942 and which it resumed in February 1945.
The plane served with NASA from June 1966 to 1969 before being displayed at Fort Rucker from 1970 to 1993. There, the Planes of Fame museum bought it. It was restored to flying condition and transported between Alabama, Texas, California and then Arizona for various restoration projects, from 1993 to 1995. Then exhibited in Valle, Arizona with an interior consistent with the one it had on the time of General MacArthur it was sold in 2015 to the Lewis Air Legends who had it conveyed to Chino on January 14, 2016 for a restoration in complete flight condition.
This huge project now done, the Constellation has since made several flights over the Los Angeles region in preparation for the delivery to the Oshkosh gathering (July 24-30) of which it should be the huge star.
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#Constellation #Bataan #flown