Following the devastating damage which a tornado inflicted upon the Berlin Airlift Historical Foundation's (BAHF) long-serving Douglas C-54E Skymaster Spirit of Freedom in Walterboro, South Carolina during April, 2020, one could be forgiven for wondering whether the organization could rebound from such a body blow. But such thoughts surely underestimated the drive of those involved, determination which mirrors the spirit of the aircrews whom they celebrate for their bravery and sacrifice in saving West Berlin from starvation under the 11 month Soviet blockade of 1948/49. While their original C-54/R5D (seen above) might well have suffered mortal wounds in the storm, the volunteers at the BAHF have worked hard to resurrect the Spirit of Freedom in a new airframe, this being C-54D 43-17228. Interestingly, unlike their original Skymaster which served out the bulk of its military career with the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps (as R5D-4 BuNo.90414), the BAHF's new charge actually h
Lufthansa Lockheed Starliner Moves to Paderborn Airport in Germany
Lufthansa Lockheed Starliner Moves to Paderborn Airport in Germany
Photo via KTL Transporte GmbH
After our most recent report from Constellation connoisseur Ralph Pettersen concerning the status of President Eisenhower’s executive VC-121 Constellation transport,
Columbine II, presently under rebuild with Dynamic Aviation in Bridgewater, Virginia, a number of questions arose regarding what happened to Lockheed L-1649A Starliner N7361C which Lufthansa spent vast sums restoring, only to cancel the project at the last hurdle. Oddly enough, breaking news emerged about this airframe just a short while later, and Pettersen kindly gave us permission to republish his report here…
Wheeling Columbine II out of her old hangar in Bridgewater, Virginia. (photo by Michael Sheeler via Dynamic Aviation)
Following the profound shock and sadness we all felt in learning of Karl Stoltzfus untimely passing last November, there was an understandable concern over what his death might mean to the continuation of various historical aviation projects he had initiated. Such questions are never easy to articulate without seeming self-serving or callous, but Stoltzfus had been such a driving force in the restoration of
Columbine II, President Eisenhower’s Lockheed VC-121 Constellation, that it was only natural for changes to occur. However, following staff-reductions on the project a couple of weeks ago at Dynamic Aviation, wild speculations began to spread on social media, which is never a healthy scenario, so we felt the need to help tamp down such nonsense.