Pima County Air Musem
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I toured the Pima County Air Musem on March 31, 1974 before its official opening.
Boeing KC-97G Stratofreighter 53-0151 was retired to the Military Aircraft Storage and Disposiion Center (MASDC) on November 3, 1965. Its construction number is 16933.
Boeing KC-97G Stratofreighter 53-0151
Four years later: Boeing KC-97G Stratofreighter 53-0151 on December 18, 1979.
Twelve years later: Boeing KC-97G Stratofreighter 53-0151 on November 24, 1986.
Thirty-one years later: Boeing KC-97G Stratofreighter 53-0151 on September 26, 2005.
Boeing WB-50D Superfortress 49-0351 was retired to MASDC since October 6, 1965.
Two years earlier Boeing WB-50D Superfortress 49-0351 in storage in MASDC on April 24, 1972. Aircraft intended for display in the Pima County Air Musem were tamporarily stored on the south side of the base. The boxy fairing on the top of the fuselage housed a particulate air sampler to capture radioactive particles downwind of Soviet nuclear bomb tests. After several years on display at the Pima County Air Musem, it was restored to airworthy condition, named Flight of the Phoenix, and ferried to Castle Air Force Base to be displayed in the Castle Air Museum.
Sixteen years later: Boeing WB-50D Superfortress 49-0351 on display in the Castle Air Museum on March 1, 2000. The particulate air sampler was removed during its restoration.
Lockheed EC-121H Warning Star 53-0535 was registered as N51006. It has been scrapped.
Balair Boeing C-97G Stratofreighter HB-ILY was delivered to the Air Force as 52-2626. Its construction number is 16657. It was built as a KC-97G Stratotanker. It was leased to Baliar of Switzerland and served in the Biafran airlift in 1969 - 1970. It was retired to MASDC as CH0439 on March 9, 1970.
Four years later: Balair Boeing C-97G Stratofreighter HB-ILY on December 18, 1979. Its vertical stabilizer has been replaced with the stabilizer from Illinois Air National Guard C-97G 52-2759, which was retired to MASDC as CH507 on July 7, 1971.
Four years later: Balair Boeing C-97G Stratofreighter HB-ILY December 18, 1979.
Thirty-one years later: Balair Boeing C-97G Stratofreighter HB-ILY on September 26, 2005.
Curtiss C-46D Commando 44-77635 was retired to MASDC as CN0089. Its Curtiss construction number is 33031.
Three years earlier: Curtiss C-46D Commando 44-77635 at Davis-Monthan AFB, Arizona on January 16, 1971. Examples of many of the aircraft types that had been relegated to the Military Aircraft Storage and Disposition Center were displayed on the perimeter of the base along Golf Links Road. The aircraft later formed the nucleus of the Pima County Air Museum adjacent to the base.
Four years later: Curtiss C-46D Commando 44-77635 at the Pima County Air Museum on December 18, 1979. It had been restored to World War II period olive drab over gray. It was given the name Syracuse Shackrat.
Twenty-three years later: Curtiss C-46D Commando 44-77635 on November 26, 1997.
Twenty-seven years later: Curtiss C-46D Commando 44-77635 on November 23, 2001.
North American F-86H Sabre 53-1525 was retired to MASDC as FC010.
Lockheed VC-121A 48-0614 Columbine was delivered to the Air Force in February 1949. Its Lockheed construction number is 2606. It served as the personal transport of General Eisenhower. It was retired in January 1967 and was included in a collection of Air Force aircraft displayed along Golf Links Road at the edge of MASDC.
Three years earlier: Lockheed VC-121A 48-0614 Columbine displayed along Golf Links Road at Davis-Monthan AFB on January 16, 1971.
Seventeen years later: Lockheed VC-121A 48-0614 Columbine at the Pima Air Museum on November 27, 1991. It has been restored to the appearance of "Columbine" when it served as the personal transport of General Eisenhower.
Twenty-seven years later: Lockheed VC-121A 48-0614 Columbine at the Pima Air Museum on November 23, 2001.
Lockheed C-69 Canstellation 42-94549 was last operated by Lake Havasu Airlines. Its Lockheed construction number is 1970. It was transferred from the Air Force to TWA in October 1948. TWA named it "Star of Switzerland" and registered it as N90831. TWA sold it to the Hacienda Hotel in April 1961. Hacienda Hotel operated it as the "Desert Queen" and leased it to World Wide Airlines, Consolidated Airlines, and Standard Airways, before selling it to Trans World Insurance Brokers in December 1964. McCulloch Properties acquired it in December 1965 and used it to ferry potential home buyers to Lake Havasu City. After passing through the hands of a couple of holding companies in 1970, it was sold to the Pima County Air Museum in 1971.
Five years later: Lockheed C-69 Canstellation 42-94549 restored in the colors of TWA L-049 N90831 on December 18, 1979.
Seven years later: TWA Lockheed L-049 N90831 on December 30, 1981.
Seventeen years later: TWA Lockheed L-049 N90831 on November 27, 1991.
Boeing S-307 Stratoliner N19903 was delivered to Pan American Airlines on March 22, 1940 at Brownsville, Texas. Its Boeing construction number is 2003. During World War II it flew South American routes under contract to the Army Air Transport Command. Pan Am sold it to Airline Training Incorporated of Homestead, Florida on November 1, 1948. The Haitian Army Air Corps acquired it on December 11, 1953. It was later used as the personal transport of president "Papa Doc" Duvalier. Flight Investment Corporation of Dallas, Texas returned it to the U.S. register as N9307R on September 15, 1959. It was registered as N19903 in 1960. Ewell Nold Jr. of South Houston, Texas bought it on November 12, 1962. It flew for Arkansas Air Freight Incorporated until Inter-American Incorporated of Derby, Kansas bought it on November 23, 1965. Numerous liens were placed against Inter-American and it sold the Stratoliner to Aviation Specialties Company of Mesa, Arizona for $11,667 on May 28, 1969. Aviation Specialties flew it to Falcon Field at Mesa and parked it. The National Air and Space Museum traded a Lockeheed C-121 Constellation for N199093 on February 20, 1973. N19903 was restored to flying condition for a ferry flight from Falcon Field to Davis-Monthan AFB near Tucson. It was towed from the Air Force Base to the Pima Air Museum.
Boeing S-307 Stratoliner N19903
Three years earlier: Boeing S-307 Stratoliner N19903 was sitting at Falcon Field, Arizona still wearing the colors of Inter-American Incorporated on May 7, 1971.
Three years earlier: Boeing S-307 Stratoliner N19903 at Falcon Field, Arizona on May 7, 1971.
Two years earlier: Boeing S-307 Stratoliner N19903 at Falcon Field, Arizona in April 1972.
Five years later: Boeing S-307 Stratoliner N19903 at the Pima Air Museum, Arizona on December 18, 1979.
Five years later: Boeing S-307 Stratoliner N19903 at the Pima Air Museum, Arizona on December 18, 1979.
After display to thousands of visitors to the Pima Air Museum over 23 years, Boeing employees "discovered" it while retrieving the 367-80 for restoration. It was flown to Boeing Field in June 1994.
In the summer of 2001, a Boeing crew completed the complete restoration of the only remaining Boeing 307 Stratoliner, N19903. It appeared at the Experimental Aircraft Association Fly-in at Oshkosh, Wisconcon shortly after restoration.
On March 28, 2002 Clipper Flying Cloud was ditched in Elliot Bay near Seattle. The Stratoliner was carefully hoisted from the water on March 29. On June 14, Boeing announced that they intended to restore the Stratoliner to flightworthy condition within a year. Boeing rolled out the restored Stratoliner on June 13, 2003. It is displayed at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles International Airport.
Marine Corps Douglas C-117D Skytrain BuNo 50826 was delivered to the US Army Air Force as C-47B 43-49663. It was assigned to NAS Norfolk, Virginia. It was assigned to NACA Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory, Langley Field, Virginia from August 27, 1946 to December 9, 1948. It was modified to R4D-8 with new MSN 43363, then redesignated C-117D in 1962.
Four years later Marine Corps Douglas C-117D Skytrain BuNo 50826 on display at the Pima County Air Museum on December 18, 1979.
Douglas C-133A Cargomaster 59-0527 on display in the Pima County Air Musem on March 31, 1974. At that time the museum was in possession of two Cargomasters. All identifying marks had been obliterated on the Cargomaster visible in the background of this picture. It was probably C-133B, 59-0531. The aircraft had been transferred to the Army for use as a ground instruction airframe on July 26, 1971. It returned to MASDC in October 1973 and was stored there until March 1974. The aircraft then was moved to the Pima County Air Museum compound and stored there until July 1978. Registered to the United States Civil Aircraft Register as "N2276V" in July 1978, the aircraft was moved to the old airport compound of Tucson AP. It was scrapped at Tucson International Airport in January 2001. Its owner was the Cargomaster Corporation of Anchorage, Alaska.
Two years earlier Douglas C-133A Cargomaster 59-0527 in storage in the Military Aircraft Storage and Disposiion Center on April 23, 1972. It was retired to MASDC as CU023 on June 30, 1971.
Nineteen years later Douglas C-133A Cargomaster 59-0527 on display in the Pima County Air Musem on Novemnber 23, 2001.
The Pima Air & Space Museum is one of the largest non-government funded aviation and space museums in the world! Featuring over 350 historical aircrafts, from a Wright Flyer to a 787 Dreamliner. Sitting on 80 acres the museum opened its doors to the public in May of 1976.
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