Columbine II
| Columbine II | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Columbine II taking off from Davis–Monthan Air Force Base en route to private ownership and further restoration, 24 October 1990. | |
| Type | Lockheed VC-121A-LO Constellation (Model 749-79-36) |
| Manufacturer | Lockheed Aircraft Corporation |
| Registration | N9463 |
| Serial | 48-0610 |
| In service | January 1953 to November 1954 as President Eisenhower's personal aircraft |
| Last flight | March 2016 |
| Preserved at | Conditionally airworthy (2016) |
Columbine II is a Lockheed VC-121A-LO Constellation (Air Force Serial Number 48-0610, Lockheed Model 749-79-36); the aircraft that was to become the first plane to use the Air Force One callsign and the only Presidential aircraft ever sold to a private party. The aircraft has been ferried from long term storage in the Sonoran Desert at Marana Regional Airport, Arizona, to the east coast for restoration in March 2016.
Columbine II was built as a C-121A at Burbank, California and bailed to Lockheed to support the Lockheed Air Service International maintenance facility at Keflavík, Iceland. Early in 1953 this aircraft was converted to VC-121A-LO standard for use by President-elect Dwight D. Eisenhower until replaced by VC-121E-LO Columbine III (AF Ser. No. 53-7885), operated by the 1254th Air Transport Squadron of the United States Air Force (USAF).
After being replaced, Columbine II continued in service with the United States Air Force until retired to Davis–Monthan Air Force Base for storage during the late 1960s. The aircraft was sold as part of a package lot to Mel Christler, a Wyoming businessman who owned a crop-dusting service, and was made airworthy in 1989 and flown to Abilene, Kansas for Eisenhower's 100th birthday celebration and to an air show at Andrews Air Force Base, Maryland. In 2003, it was flown to Marana Airport, Arizona.
The aircraft owner was considering cutting the aircraft up as scrap when the Smithsonian Institution, during a research project, contacted the owner and informed him that 48-610 was, in fact, a former presidential aircraft. The owner then, in the hope of finding a new owner willing to display the aircraft, attempted to sell the plane at auction, but it was not sold.
...
Wikipedia