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Aero Commander 500
The Museum received this Aero Commander on June 27, 2022 from Bridger Aerospace of Bozeman, MT, as a donation. It is an Aero Commander 500, a light twin engine piston aircraft. This aircraft, N6252X was built in 1962. It has approximately 4,000 hours of flight time being an air attack platform for forest fires around the U.S. The aircraft would fly above the fire to direct air traffic to different divisions of personnel on the ground. Thank you for your generosity, Bridger Aerospace!
PB4Y-2 Privateer
During WWII it was decided to "navalize" the B-24 Liberator that was originally designed for the U.S. Army Air Corp. Hence the PB4Y-2 was born. The Privateer featured a longer fuselage, a large single 32-foot tail (stabilizer), and turbo super-charged engines. With it's 2800-mile range, the Privateer was so useful that the Navy took delivery of 739 of them, but very few reached the front line by V-J day. The PB4Y-2 went on to perform their best work in the Cold War as a radar and electronics-counter measures platform. Following service with the U.S. Coast Guard, the aircraft were retired in the early 1960's. A small number were then used as fire-bombers in the U.S. until 2002. The two PB4Ys in the museum are privately owned.
Take a Virtual Tour of our PB4Y-2 Privateer Tanker 126 here.
Take a Virtual Tour of our PB4Y-2 Privateer Tanker 127 here.
C-119 Flying Boxcar
The Fairchild C-119 is also known as the "Flying Boxcar" because it holds the same weight as a railroad boxcar. The C-119 evolved from the C-82 Packet built by Fairchild during WWII. The first C-119 prototype flew in 1947 and deliveries began in 1949 with a total of 1,184 aircraft being built. The
C-119 saw extensive action in Korea and Vietnam for the US and were used mainly for hauling cargo and troops. Many C-119s were provided to other nations as part of the Military Assistance Program, which included the Royal Canadian Air Force. After its retirement from active duty, many C-119s soldiered on in the U.S. National Guard until the mid 1970s. The two C-119s in the museum were purchased by Hawkins & Powers in the 1970s. Hawkins & Powers used tanker 136, with the jet on top for firefighting. The other C-119 was used for aerial spraying, movie making, and cargo hauling. This aircraft was featured as the Spruce Goose in The Aviator. The two C-119s in the museum are on loan from the U.S. Forest Service.
Take a Virtual Tour of our C-119 Flying Boxcar Tanker 06 here.
Take a Virtual Tour of our C-119 Flying Boxcar Tanker 136 here.
Neptune P2V-7
The P2V was a maritime Patrol and anti-submarine warfare aircraft. It was developed for the United States Navy by Lockheed. The concept for the Neptune began early in WWII but was considered a low priority compared to other aircraft. The first Neptune aircraft was accepted into military service in 1947. The Neptune was designed to be land-based and never made a carrier landing. The military retired the P2V in 1984. The P2V has been used by several civilian firefighting operators as an air tanker. In a effort to have more modern aircraft that have turbine engines for firefighting, the US Forest Service decided that 2017 would be the last year to have the P2V on contract. This P2V was donated to the Museum by Richard Camp of Lewes, Delaware and the Save a Neptune organization. The Museum can't thank Richard enough for his generous donation!
Beech 18 | Twin Beech
The Beech 18 started life as an American transport plane for the civilian population in 1935. In 1939, WWII interrupted the Beech's civilian life, and it became a military aircraft. Beech built a total of 4,526 of these aircraft for the Army Air Force between 1939 and 1945 in multiple versions, two of which are the AT-7 "Navigator" navigation trainer and the AT-11 "Kansan" bombing-gunnery trainer. After WWII Beech returned to manufacturing the civilian Model 18, used as mail delivery, spraying, movie making, and banner towing. Later the U.S. Forest Service used the Beech for smoke jumpers and cargo transport. The Twin Beech ceased production in 1969 after 30 years of an amazing run and 9,388 aircraft being built. There are still many Twin Beeches flown today all over the world. This Twin Beech is on loan from the U.S. Forest Service.
Take a Virtual Tour of our Twin Beech here.
