I can't believe they are getting rid of "that thing", as some would call it.:isadizzy:
I guess in the bigger picture of things, this bird will get what it deserves, a rebuild and people to care after it.
Evergreen Air & Space Museum Receives Helena EC-121T 52-3417 – May 20, 2009
Back in November 2008 I received an email from friend, and fellow aviation enthusiast Bob Bogash, forwarding a very interesting email he had received from Blair McAnally. As reported on this website on November 8, 2008 and December 26, 2008 , the University of Montana – Helena College of Technology had declared long-time training airframe EC-121T 52-3417 surplus and were looking for a new home for the veteran aircraft. Blair, who is a Production Superintendent at the 120th FW of the Montana Air National Guard, was leading the charge on saving the aircraft and my November 8, 2008 news article generated quite a bit of interest in the museum and warbird communities. I’m happy to report today that the old Connie has found a home at the Evergreen Air & Space Museum and that the paperwork transferring ownership to the museum was signed yesterday in Salem, Montana by GSA and museum representatives.
<CENTER><TABLE cellSpacing=10 cellPadding=0 width=960 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle width=300>
</TD><TD align=middle width=300>
</TD><TD align=middle width=300>
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></CENTER>The aircraft has been a fixture at the College of Technology since July 1981 when it was flown to Helena after being retired by the USAF. The college used it for training aircraft maintenance techs until recently when it was declared surplus to the school’s needs. While the school wanted to find a good home for the veteran aircraft, there was a very real possibility of it being scrapped if a new home couldn’t be found. A number of organizations expressed an interest in obtaining the aircraft with plans varying from stripping it for parts to fully restoring it for display.
I first became aware of Evergreen’s interest in the aircraft in early February 2009 when I received an email from the museum’s curator, Stewart Bailey, saying he had read about the aircraft on my website and asking for Blair McAnally’s contact information. We have been in contact since then and I was very pleased to hear from Stewart on Thursday May 14th that the museum had been selected by GSA to receive the aircraft. This is indeed good news for all involved as the McMinnville, Oregon based museum has ambitious plans for restoring the aircraft.
The museum plans to make the aircraft airworthy and flying it from Helena to their overhaul and maintenance base at Marana, Arizona, where a complete inside-out restoration will be performed. According to Stewart, the restoration will take at least six months after which the EC-121T will make her final flight to museum headquarters in McMinnville where she will be put on permanent static display. At this time, the museum has no plans for keeping the aircraft airworthy. The interior of the aircraft, essentially complete after all these years, will be restored to absolutely military stock, and possibly be opened up for public display. One member of the Evergreen team, JR Kern, was part of the crew that flew 52-3417 from Tucson to Helena back in 1981. That flight was commanded by Frank Lang, of MATS Connie fame, and JR was his young co-pilot. JR was lead mechanic and flight engineer for Vern Raburn’s Constellation Group, which flew the MATS Connie (N494TW) on the US airshow circuit from 1992 through 2004. JR will be part of the team that gets the EC-121T ready for her ferry flight back to Marana, which is a few miles north of Tucson. JR and his involvement with this aircraft appear to have come full circle after almost 30 years!
With any luck, we may witness two EC-121’s take to the air in the next 12 months! Keep posted for updates on this very exciting development. For additional information about the project, a very interesting article was published May 18th on the Victoria Advocate website.
Great Connie website
http://www.conniesurvivors.com/index.htm#top
I guess in the bigger picture of things, this bird will get what it deserves, a rebuild and people to care after it.
Evergreen Air & Space Museum Receives Helena EC-121T 52-3417 – May 20, 2009
Back in November 2008 I received an email from friend, and fellow aviation enthusiast Bob Bogash, forwarding a very interesting email he had received from Blair McAnally. As reported on this website on November 8, 2008 and December 26, 2008 , the University of Montana – Helena College of Technology had declared long-time training airframe EC-121T 52-3417 surplus and were looking for a new home for the veteran aircraft. Blair, who is a Production Superintendent at the 120th FW of the Montana Air National Guard, was leading the charge on saving the aircraft and my November 8, 2008 news article generated quite a bit of interest in the museum and warbird communities. I’m happy to report today that the old Connie has found a home at the Evergreen Air & Space Museum and that the paperwork transferring ownership to the museum was signed yesterday in Salem, Montana by GSA and museum representatives.
<CENTER><TABLE cellSpacing=10 cellPadding=0 width=960 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD align=middle width=300>
</TD><TD align=middle width=300>
</TD><TD align=middle width=300>
</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></CENTER>The aircraft has been a fixture at the College of Technology since July 1981 when it was flown to Helena after being retired by the USAF. The college used it for training aircraft maintenance techs until recently when it was declared surplus to the school’s needs. While the school wanted to find a good home for the veteran aircraft, there was a very real possibility of it being scrapped if a new home couldn’t be found. A number of organizations expressed an interest in obtaining the aircraft with plans varying from stripping it for parts to fully restoring it for display. I first became aware of Evergreen’s interest in the aircraft in early February 2009 when I received an email from the museum’s curator, Stewart Bailey, saying he had read about the aircraft on my website and asking for Blair McAnally’s contact information. We have been in contact since then and I was very pleased to hear from Stewart on Thursday May 14th that the museum had been selected by GSA to receive the aircraft. This is indeed good news for all involved as the McMinnville, Oregon based museum has ambitious plans for restoring the aircraft.
The museum plans to make the aircraft airworthy and flying it from Helena to their overhaul and maintenance base at Marana, Arizona, where a complete inside-out restoration will be performed. According to Stewart, the restoration will take at least six months after which the EC-121T will make her final flight to museum headquarters in McMinnville where she will be put on permanent static display. At this time, the museum has no plans for keeping the aircraft airworthy. The interior of the aircraft, essentially complete after all these years, will be restored to absolutely military stock, and possibly be opened up for public display. One member of the Evergreen team, JR Kern, was part of the crew that flew 52-3417 from Tucson to Helena back in 1981. That flight was commanded by Frank Lang, of MATS Connie fame, and JR was his young co-pilot. JR was lead mechanic and flight engineer for Vern Raburn’s Constellation Group, which flew the MATS Connie (N494TW) on the US airshow circuit from 1992 through 2004. JR will be part of the team that gets the EC-121T ready for her ferry flight back to Marana, which is a few miles north of Tucson. JR and his involvement with this aircraft appear to have come full circle after almost 30 years!
With any luck, we may witness two EC-121’s take to the air in the next 12 months! Keep posted for updates on this very exciting development. For additional information about the project, a very interesting article was published May 18th on the Victoria Advocate website.
Great Connie website
http://www.conniesurvivors.com/index.htm#top
