It has been some time since we have reported on the progress Dynamic Aviation is making with their efforts to resurrect one of President Eisenhower’s personal transport aircraft from his time in the White House: Lockheed VC-121A Constellation 48-0610 ‘Columbine II’. Their team of employees and volunteers has been hard at work in Marana, Arizona working on the venerable Connie over the past year or so, bring her airframe, systems and engines up to operational condition for a flight to their main base in Bridgewater, Virginia. Well, we have excellent news to report. We have just heard from Ken Stoltzfus at Dynamic Aviation that they have progressed exceedingly well with their efforts, and are hoping to have Columbine II flying again sometime soon, perhaps even within the next month!
Furthermore, while Dynamic Aviation had originally intended to bring Columbine II up to ferry-condition in Marana, before flying her across the country to Virginia for a more thorough restoration, we now learn that they decided to proceed with a more in-depth level of maintenance in situ. Therefore, when the aircraft arrives at her new home in Virginia she will actually be fully certified for flight. Dynamic Aviation will then go through the aircraft in Bridgewater to restore her back into display condition where she can tell the story of the presidential aviation fleet on the air show circuit in the years to come. Quite how long that will take is unknown at present, but Columbine II is bound to become an instant favorite at any venue she visits.
Karl Stoltzfus Sr., Dynamic Aviation’s founder, wanted to stress how much this entire project has depended upon… “the on-site leadership of Dynamic’s Brian Miklos and the generous contribution of others, in particular Scott Glover and his Mid-America Flight Museum, of Mt. Pleasant, TX.”
WarbirdsNews shall endeavor to report on progress as and when new information becomes available, but we thought our readers would want to know of this exciting update. Watch this space!
